The first attempt to penetrate this virgin wilderness, with an idea looking to conquest and possession,
was made by Governor Spottswood in 1714, when
he, with a following of the youthful chivalry of
Virginia, sought to realize the golden visions he had
long delighted in, regarding the paradise beyond the
mountains. His zeal and enthusiasm led him to the
discovery of the beautiful Valley of Virginia, as well
as the realization of the fact that the geography of
the region was on a grander scale than he had
anticipated. The great Apalachian range still
separated him from the head-waters of the Ohio,
which he had expected to find at the western base
of the Blue Ridge, but the daring enterprise of
himself and his followers opened a charming valley
to the hundreds of immigrants who were then
arriving upon our shores.
Of the region bordering on the upper Potomac, however, there is no history, either written or oral, to enlighten us as to the events of an epoch earlier than about 1728. At that date there was located in the Province of Maryland, at the junction of two streams known as the Cohongaronta and the Caiuctucuc, an Indian town, which also bore the latter name. The town of Caiuctucuc was built on the ground lying between these streams, from their confluence to a point some distance up the river Cohongaronta, the greater portion of the town being located upon the site of the west side of the present city of Cumberland. Other towns were dotted along the river 8 bank, for a distance of more than forty miles, the most easterly being the present site of
