There lived in Pennsylvania in the early part of the eighteenth century a young man by the name of James Smith. A short while before General Braddock was defeated by the French and Indians, Smith was taken prisoner by a band of Indians, and carried to the French fort where the city of Pittsburgh now stands. Here he was made to run the gantlet; and so well did the Indians, ranged on either side, use their clubs and sticks and stones, that Smith was badly beaten and made ill for a long time.

The Indians then carried him to their home in Ohio, where an old chief pulled out the prisoner's hairs one by one; only a scalp lock was left which was ornamented with feathers and silver brooches. His ears and nose were pierced and hung with silver rings, his face, head, and body were painted, and he was adorned with a breechcloth, chains of beads, a belt of wampum, and silver armlets.

An old chief then made a speech to the other Indians, while he held Smith by the hand. The prisoner was then accompanied to the river by three young squaws who attempted to "duck" him. Fearful of being drowned, Smith resisted until one of the women in broken English cried, "No hurt you, no hurt you."

After "scrubbing all the white blood out of him," they dressed him in a ruffled shirt, leggins, and moccasins, presented him with a pipe, tobacco, pouch, flint, steel, and tomahawk and told him he had been adopted in place of a brave young chief who had fallen.

The Indians called Smith "Scouwa." They finally gave him a gun to use and trusted him fully, but because he once lost his way in the woods, his gun was taken from him and for a long while he was permitted to use only a bow and arrow.

Smith had some exciting experiences while living the life of an Indian. At one time, during a snowstorm, he took refuge all night in a hollow tree, and when he tried to move the block by which he had closed up the opening in the side of the tree, he found the snow was piled so deep against it he could not move it. He was badly frightened, but by pushing with all his strength he finally succeeded in getting out.

At another time Smith, an old chief, and a little boy were alone in their hut in midwinter and all came near starving, but Smith walked many, many miles, hunting game, and thus saved the lives of all three.

In 1759 the Indians that had adopted Smith journeyed to Canada; and as Canada then belonged to the French, and as the French and Indians were fighting the English, who then owned Pennsylvania, Smith slipped away. Joining the prisoners that were to be sent back to Pennsylvania in exchange for some French the English held, he soon rejoined his family. He was a leader of the "Black Boys," served as lieutenant in General Henry Bouquet's expedition, and witnessed the Indian cruelties to the unfortunate British captives.

In July, 1766, he learned that the king's agent, Sir William Johnson, had purchased from the Indians all the land west of the Appalachian Mountains, and between the Ohio and Cherokee (Tennessee) rivers. Having heard the red men tell of this rich land, Colonel James Smith, accompanied by Joshua Horton, Uriah Stone, William Baker, and a mulatto slave of Horton's named Jamie, passed through Cumberland Gap, explored the country south of the Kentucky River, and, striking the Cumberland, passed down its entire length to its junction with the Ohio. They were the first white men to explore southern and southwestern Kentucky, although not the first to visit it, for in 1730 John Salling of Virginia was brought a prisoner by the Cherokee Indians to the Tennessee. After reaching the mouth of the Cumberland, the others separated from Colonel Smith and the mulatto boy. These two were for a long time alone in the wilderness. When they again reached civilization they wore nothing that had been woven; and when they told of their experiences, people could hardly believe that any one could make that journey and live to return.

A short distance below the mouth of the Cumberland the town of "Old Smithland" was named in honor of this first white man to explore that region, and later the town was built just at the junction of the Cumberland and Ohio and is now the capital of Livingston County.

Smith spent the latter part of his life in Bourbon County, where he was as useful in state councils as he had been in Indian conflicts.