That said, Boone was rarely at home no matter where his family resided. The woods were where he enjoyed being most. Boone, who lived to age 86, had a truly remarkable life.
He was a man of enthusiasm and accomplishment. He led the first Kentucky settlers through the Cumberland Gap and cut the Wilderness Road so that others could follow. He fought Indians when there was no alternative, but when he was taken captive by the Shawnee, he became so beloved that he was adopted by the chief as a member of the family.
Recounting his various careers highlights his adaptability to the 18th-century frontier. He was an expert marksman and gunsmith; a hunter, trapper, and scout. He was a trader, innkeeper and storekeeper, land surveyor, militia colonel, and Revolutionary War hero. He harvested and sold ginseng, and at various times made money sugaring maples, which he allowed was one of his favorite occupations. He even served in the Virginia legislature three times. Boone was able to make large amounts of money from his endeavors—all of which he spent, lent without return, gave away, had stolen, or just plain lost.
This occurred so frequently that he was in debt for most of his life. Some historians contend one reason Boone kept moving to new frontiers was to escape his debtors and legal problems. They have a point. At the time of his death, he was living in Missouri with his youngest son, Nathan, with barely a dollar to his name. The 10, acres Boone had been granted in that state only a year earlier had to be sold to pay off debts.
He abhorred a mean action, and delighted in honesty and truth. Chester Harding, the distinguished artist of Boston, who came to Missouri in , at the request of Revs. James E. Welch and John M. Peck, expressly to paint the picture. Boone, at that time, was at the home of his son-in-law, Mr. Flanders Callaway, near the village of Marthasville, in Warren county. He was at first very much opposed to having his portrait painted, being governed by feelings of modesty and a strong dislike to anything approaching display or public attention ; but he was finally prevailed upon by friends and relatives to sit for his picture.
He was quite feeble at the time, and was supported in his chair by Rev. He wore his buckskin hunting shirt, trimmed with otter's fur, and the knife that is seen in his belt, is the same that he carried with him from North Carolina on his first expedition to Kentucky. This picture is pronounced by persons who knew Boone intimately, to be a perfect likeness, and the following certificate from Rev.
Welch, who is still living, at Warrensburg, Mo. Welch, of Warrensburg, Johnson Co. Daniel Boone, which was painted in the summer of I stood by and held the Colonel's head while the artist was painting it, and my impressions at the time were, that it was an excellent likeness of the old pioneer, which I believe was the only picture ever taken of Col. His grandfather, George Boone, was a native of England, and resided at Brandwich, about eight miles from Exeter.
In he emigrated to America, with his family, consisting of his wife and eleven children, two daughters and nine sons. Soon after his arrival in America he purchased a large tract of land in what is now Bucks county, Pennsylvania, settled upon it, and named it Exeter, after his native town. The township still bears that name.
The names of only three of the eleven children have come down to the present time, John, James, and Squire. The latter was the father of Daniel Boone. The maiden name of the mother of these children was Sarah Morgan. When Daniel was a small boy, his father removed to Berks county, not far from Reading, which was then a frontier settlement, exposed to assaults from the Indians and abounding with game. Panthers, wild-cats, and other dangerous wild animals were numerous, and young Daniel, at a very early age, began to exhibit both skill and courage in hunting them.
One day, while out hunting, in company with several other boys, a loud cry was heard ringing through the woods. They all knew too well that the sound proceeded from the throat of a fero-cious panther, and all except Boone fled in terror.
He bravely stood his ground, and shot the panther dead just as it was in the act of springing upon him. Boone's school days were short, and his education, so far as book knowledge was concerned, imperfect. The school houses of that period a few specimens of which are still to be seen in some of our frontier settlements were built of rough, unhewn logs, notched together at the corners, and the spaces between them filled with mud and sticks. A large chimney, built of sticks and plastered with mud, supported at the back and sides, where the fire burned, with a wall of stones, stood at one end; a hole cut in the side, and closed with a frame of puncheons, or often with nothing more than a blanket or the skin of some wild animal, constituted the door, while a window was made on the opposite side by removing a log and covering the aperture with a puncheon, fastened to the log above-with hinges of raw hide, which admitted of its being raised or lowered as the weather and light permitted.
No glass was used, as it could not be had. The earth formed the floor-rough clapboards, fastened with. The only writing desk was an inclined puncheon, supported-on wooden pins that were driven into the logs. It was in such a school house as this, surrounded by a dense forest that furnished fuel for the fire, and near a spring of sparkling water that provided draughts for the thirsty, that Boone received his education, which embraced only a few easy lessons in spelling, reading, arithmetic and writing.
His school days came to a sudden and rather violent end. The teacher, a dissipated Irishman, kept his bottle of whisky hid in a thicket near the school house, and visited it frequently during the day for refreshment and consolation. The boys noticed that after these visits he was always crosser and used the rod more freely than at other times, but they did not suspect the cause.
One day, young Boone, while chasing a squirrel, came accidentally upon the teacher's bottle, and at the first opportunity informed his playmates of his discovery. They decided, upon consultation, to mix an emetic with the liquor, and await the result. The emetic was procured that night, and promptly placed in the bottle next morning. A short time after school opened, the teacher retired for a few minutes, and when he came back he was very sick and very much out of humor, Daniel Boone was called up to recite his lesson in arithmetic, and upon his making a slight mistake, the teacher began to flog him.
The boy, smarting with pain, made known the secret of the whisky bottle, which so enraged the school master that he laid on harder and faster than ever. Young Boone, being stout and athletic for his age, grappled with the teacher; the children shouted and roared, and the scuffle continued until Boone knocked his antagonist down on the floor, and fled out of the room. Of course the story spread rapidly over the neighborhood, and the teacher was dismissed in disgrace, Daniel was rebuked by his parents ; and so ended his school days.
When Daniel was about eighteen years of age, his father moved his family to North Carolina, and settled on the Yadkin river, in the north-western part of the State, about eight miles from Wilkesboro. Here game was abundant, and the young hunter spent much of his time in the pursuit of his favorite amusement. He was often accompanied on his hunting expeditions by one or more of the sons of Mr.
William Bryan, a well-to-do farmer who lived near his father's, who was blessed with a number of stalwart sons and blooming daughters. Their association and mutual love of hunting soon begot a strong friendship, which lasted through life ; and, being strengthened and cemented by intermarriage and continued association, was transmitted through their children to future generations, and the two families are still closely allied by ties of blood and friendship. But it was not farmer Bryan's sons, alone, that drew Daniel Boone so often to the house.
There were other attractions there in the bright eyes of a daughter named Rebecca, and it soon be-came whispered about that Daniel was courting her. These whisperings were at length confirmed by the announcement of the approaching wedding, which came off in due time, and was celebrated in the most approved style of the times. Rebecca Bryan was a very attractive, if not really a handsome young woman, and the love which she inspired in the breast of young Boone never cooled or abated during their long and eventful married life.
Each was devoted to the other, and the dangers and hardships through which they passed cemented their love and drew them more closely together.
She was in every respect a fit companion and helpmeet for the daring pioneer. Nine children resulted from, this marriage, viz. James, the eldest son, was killed by the Indians, in his 16th year, while his father was making his first attempt to move his family from North Carolina to Kentucky.
The particulars of this sad event will be given elsewhere. Israel was killed at the battle of Blue Licks, in Kentucky, August 19, , in his 24th year. Susanna married William Hayes, an Irishman, and a weaver by trade. They lived in St. Charles county, Mo. Jemima married Flanders Callaway, and lived in what is now Warren county, Mo. She died in , in her 67th year.
While the family were living in the fort at Boonesborough, Ky. Richard Callaway, were captured by the Indians while gathering wild flowers on the opposite bank of the Kentucky river, which they had crossed in a canoe. They were pursued by Boone and Callaway and six other men, and recaptured the following day. Lavinia married Joseph Scholl, and lived in Kentucky. She died in her 36th year. Daniel M. He settled in Darst Bottom, St. Charles county, in , but moved to Montgomery county in He held several important positions under the government, and during the Indian war was appointed Colonel of the militia.
He made most of the early government surveys in the present counties of St. Charles, Warren, Montgomery, and Lincoln. At the time of his death he was living in Jackson county.
In personal appearance he resembled his father more than any of the other children. He was below the medium height, and stoutly built had light hair, blue eyes, fair complexion, and his voice was like a woman's. Rebecca, the youngest of the four daughters, married Phillip Goe, and lived and died in Kentucky. Jesse married Cloe Vanbibber, and settled in Missouri in He had received a good education, and became a prominent and influential man before his death, which occurred in , at St.
Louis, while serving as a member of the first Missouri Legislature. Nathan Boone, the youngest child of Daniel Boone, came to Missouri in Nathan Boone was also a surveyor, and made a number of government surveys.
At the commencement of the Indian war of he raised a company of rangers, and received his commission as Captain from President Madison in March, In August, , he was commissioned Captain of dragoons by President Jackson, and during President Polk's administration he was promoted to Major of dragoons.
In he was again promoted, and received his commission as Lieutenant-Colonel of dragoons from President Fillmore. He died October 16, , in his 76th year; and his wife died November 12, , in her 75th year. Nathan and Jesse Boone were tall, square-shouldered, powerfully built men, with light hair and blue eyes, like their father. For several years after his marriage, Boone followed the occupation of a farmer, going on an occasional hunt, when the loss of time would not interfere with the proper cultivation of his crops.
But as the population increased, his neighborhood began to fill up with a class of citizens who possessed considerable means, and were somewhat aristocratic in their habits, which, of course, did not suit Boone and his plain backwoods associates, who longed for the wild, free life of the frontier.
Several companies were, at different times, organized and penetrated the wilderness along the head waters of the Tennessee river, in quest of game, and, finally, in , Boone and a small party of hunters proceeded as far as Rock Castle, a branch of the Cumberland river, and within the present boundaries of Kentucky.
This expedition was undertaken at the solicitation of a company of land speculators, who employed Boone to ascertain and report concerning the country in that quarter. He was highly pleased with the country, climate, abundance of game, etc. In a hunter named John Finley, accompanied by two or three companions, proceeded as far as the Kentucky river, and spent a season in hunting and trading with the roving bands of Indians.
To them the country seemed almost a paradise, and upon their return to North Carolina they gave such a glowing description of it that Boone and several of his neighbors decided to go on an excursion there; but several months elapsed before their arrangements could be completed.
A party of six was formed, and Boone chosen their leader. They set out on their perilous journey May 1, , and by the 17th of June they were in the heart of the Kentucky wilderness. They carried nothing with them except their rifles, tomahawks, knives and ammunition. They slept in the woods, without covering, and depended for food upon the game they killed each day.
Their dress consisted of a loose, open frock, made of dressed deer skin, and called a hunting shirt; leggins, made of the same material, covered their lower extremities, to which was appended a pair of moccasins for the feet. A cap, made of beaver or raccoon skin, covered their heads, and the capes of their hunting shirts and seams of their leggins were ornamented with leather fringe. Their under-clothing, when they wore any, was made of coarse cotton.
Such a suit as this would stand almost any amount of wear and tear, and it was what they needed in climbing the rocky mountains and forcing their way through the dense thickets of undergrowth and briars that lay in their course. No thorn or briar could penetrate the heavy deer skin, and they could tread upon the most venomous serpent with impunity, as its fangs could not reach their flesh. Vast herds of buffalo roamed over the prairies and through the wilderness of Kentucky, at that time, and Boone and his companions spent the summer in hunting them, and examining the country.
It is generally supposed that the scene of their summer's operations lay in what is now Morgan county, on the waters of Red river, a branch of the Kentucky. And here we must correct an error that has existed since the earliest settlement of Kentucky, in regard to the meaning of the name. Kain-tuck-eels a Shawnee word, and signifies, "at the head of the river.
The habits of the buffalo are peculiar. In moving from one place to another they travel in vast herds, and always go in a stampede. The cows and calves, and old and decrepid ones are placed in front, while the stout and active ones bring up the rear. Nothing will stop or turn them, and woe to any that stumble and fall, for they are immediately trampled to death by those behind. When a ravine, creek, or river comes in their way, they plunge in and swim across, the weak and timid ones being forced in by the strong.
If any living thing gets in their way, death is the inevitable result. On two occasions Boone and his companions came near being trampled to death in this way, and nothing but their presence of mind saved them. One time they sprang behind trees, and as the buffaloes passed on either side, they coolly punched them with the breeches of their guns, and laughed to see them jump and bellow.
The next time, however, they were in the open prairie, with no trees to protect them. Death seemed unavoidable, for the herd was so large that it extended a mile or more on either side, and the speed of the fleetest horse could not have carried them out of danger.
To run, therefore, was useless, and nothing apparently remained but to stand and meet their fate, terrible as it might be. Several of the party were unnerved by fright, and began to bewail their fate in the incoherent language of terror.
But Boone remained perfectly cool. By this time the buffaloes were within thirty yards of him, when coolly raising his rifle to his shoulder, he glanced along the bright barrel, touched the trigger, and the sharp report rang out above the roar of the rushing bisons.
A large bull in the front rank, plunged forward, and fell, mortally wounded and bellowing, at their very feet. As the herd came on they would snort and spring around their wounded companion, and thus a lane was opened through their ranks, and the hunters were saved. In December they divided into two parties, for the greater convenience of hunting, and that their observations might be extended over a larger area of country.
Boone and Stewart formed one party, and on the twenty-second of December they were on the banks of the main Kentucky river. In fact, for the purpose of deceiving the Indians and throwing them off their guard, they pretended to be well pleased with their new associates, and went along with them as cheerfully as if they were all out on a hunting expedition together. So completely were the Indians deceived that they kept very little guard over their prisoners, but suffered them to do pretty much as they pleased, and treated them with marked hospitality.
At night they all lay down and went to sleep, seeming to feel no apprehension that the white men might try to escape. Thus the time passed until the seventh night, when Boone, having matured his plans, decided to make an attempt to escape.
Great caution was necessary, lest the savages should awake and discover them. Any attempt to run away, where kindness and hospitality have been shown to a captive, is a mortal offense to an Indian, and can only be atoned for by the death of the offender. Late at night, when the Indians were in their deepest slumbers, Boone gently awakened Stewart, and by signs and whispers made known his purpose. Securing their guns, knives, etc.
They took their course as near as possible in the direction of their old hunting camp, and traveled all the balance of that night and the next day. But when they reached it they found it deserted and plundered. No trace of their friends could be found. Boone and Stewart supposed they had become disheartened and returned to North Carolina, but in this they were mistaken; and from that day to this no clue to the fate of the balance of the party has ever been discovered. The most probable conclusion is, that they were killed by the Indians, and their remains devoured by wild animals.
Boone and his companion continued their hunting, but with more caution, for their ammunition had begun to fail, and their late experience led them to be more vigilant in guarding against surprise by the Indians. The strangers discovered them at the same time, and began to advance and make signs that they were friends. But this did not satisfy Boone, who very well knew that the Indians often resorted to such tricks to deceive their enemies and throw them off their guard.
So he gave the challenge, "Halloe, strangers! They had traced the white hunters by their camp fires and other signs, and only an hour before the meeting, had stumbled upon their camping place of the previous night. This happy meeting infused new life and spirit into the entire party, and they continued their hunting with renewed energy and zeal.
But only a few days elapsed before a sad misfortune befel them. Daniel Boone and Stewart while hunting in company, at some distance from their camp, were again attacked by a party of Indians. Stewart was shot and scalped, but Boone made his escape. Still another misfortune befel them shortly after this. The man who had come with Squire Boone from North Carolina, went into the woods one morning, and did not return. The two brothers supposed he was lost, but after several days of diligent search, they gave him up, supposing he had taken that method to desert them and make his way back to the settlements.
But he was never seen alive again. Long afterward, a decayed skeleton and some fragments of clothing were discovered near a swamp, and these were supposed to be his remains. The manner of his death was never known, and by some unaccountable oversight his name was never made public. The brothers were now entirely alone, but they were not despondent or indolent.
They continued their hunting during the day, and sang and talked by their fires at night. They built a rough cabin to protect themselves from the weather, and, though surrounded by dangers on all sides, they were contented and happy. As spring approached, their ammunition began to fail, and it was decided that Squire Boone should return to North Carolina for fresh supplies. On the 1st of May the brothers shook hands and separated. Squire took up the line of march for the settlements on the Yadkin river, more than five hundred miles distant, leaving Daniel alone in the wilderness.
For several days after the departure of his brother, he was oppressed by a feeling of loneliness, and his philosophy and fortitude were put to a severe test. In order to relieve himself from this feeling, and to gain a more extended knowledge of the country, he made long tours of observation to the south-west, and explored the country along the waters of Salt and Green rivers.
The time for his brother's return having arrived, he retraced his steps to their old camp, and upon his arrival there discovered, by unmistakable signs, that it had been visited by Indians.
His absence, therefore, had doubtless saved him from capture, and perhaps death. On the 27th of July his brother returned, and a joyful meeting ensued. He rode one horse, and led another heavily ladened with the necessaries required. His brother's family he reported to be in good health and comfortable circumstances, which afforded great consolation and relief to the long absent husband.
Convinced that the portion of country they were now in was infested by bands of Indians, and that the horses would most likely excite their cupidity and lead to their capture, they decided to change their location. Acting upon this decision, they left their old camping ground, and proceeded to the country lying between Cumberland and Green rivers, which they thoroughly explored. They found the surface broken and uneven, abounding in what are called sink holes, or round depressions in the earth, which are not unusual in cavernous limestone regions; the timber was scattering and stunted; the soil seemed thin and poor, and they soon became dissatisfied with that portion of the country.
In March, , they returned by a north-eastern direction, to the Kentucky river, where the soil appeared more fertile, and the country more heavily timbered; and here they resolved to fix the site of their projected settlement.
Having now completed their observations, they packed up as much peltry as their horses could carry, and departed for their homes on the Yadkin river, determined, as soon as possible, to return with their families and settle permanently in Kentucky.
It was a joyful meeting that took place between Daniel Boone and his family, for he had been absent two years, during which time he had seen no other human being except his travelling companions and the Indians who had taken him prisoner, and had tasted neither bread nor salt.
And of the party of six who left the Yadkin two years before, he alone lived to return. Any one less enamored of frontier life, would have been disheartened at these trials, and satisfied to spend the remainder of his days in the enjoyment of a quiet domestic home.
But he seemed to regard himself, during his entire life, as an instrument in the hands of Providence for opening and settling up the western wilderness, and acted as much from a sense of duty as a love of adventure. Notwithstanding Boone's anxiety to remove his family to the hunting grounds of Kentucky, more than two years elapsed before he had completed his arrangements for so doing.
He had no trouble in persuading his wife and family to accompany him, for they were willing and anxious to follow wherever he would lead. They had seen enough of frontier life to know its dangers, and realize the discomforts and inconveniences they would have to endure; but these did not deter them, for the pioneer women of those days were as daring and self-sacrificing in their sphere as their husbands, sons and brothers.
Moreover, they had bright dreams of vast plantations and future wealth for their children and descendants in the midst of the rich forests of Kentucky, where land could then be had for the occupation; and these visions no doubt had their influence in nerving them to meet the perils of a pioneer life. On the 25th of September, , Daniel and Squire Boone, with their families, bade farewell to their friends on the Yadkin, and set out on their march for the distant land of Kentucky.
A drove of pack-horses carried their provisions, clothing, bedding, ammunition, etc. At Powell's Valley, through which their route lay, they received an accession to their party of five families and forty well armed men. But they soon met with a misfortune that changed the whole aspect of affairs, and caused the expedition to be abandoned for the time being.
Their route led them over Powell's, Walien's, and Cumberland mountains, it having been marked out by the brothers on their return from their previous expedition. In the latter range, near the junction of Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, there is a singular opening, now called "Cumberland Gap," and it was through this the party intended to pass. As they were approaching it, seven of the young men, who had charge of the cattle, and who bad fallen some five or six miles in the rear of the main body, were suddenly and furiously attacked by a party of Indians.
Six were killed on the spot. The seventh, though unarmed, made his escape, and the cattle were dispersed in the woods. Among the slain was James Boone, the eldest son of Daniel, who, in the opening promise of manhood, thus fell a victim to savage ferocity.
The rest of the party heard the firing, and hastily returned to the scene of the massacre, but too late to save their friends. The Indians were driven off, and the dead buried, in the midst of the lamentations and tears of their friends and relatives. The emigrants were so disheartened and terrified by this calamity, that a retreat was resolved upon; and they returned to the settlements on Clinch river, in the south-western part of Vir-ginia, forty miles from the scene of the massacre. Here Boone remained until June, , when a messenger from Governor Dunmore arrived in the settlement, with a request from him that Daniel Boone would go immediately into the wilderness of Kentucky and conduct from thence a party of surveyors, who were believed to be in great danger from the Indians.
Boone was now in his fortieth year, with finely developed physical powers, and a mind well trained for the work that lay before him. He set out immediately, in company with another pioneer named Michael Stoner, and in sixty-two days they had performed the journey, accomplished their object, and returned home, having traveled in that time, eight hundred miles, on foot.
Among the party of surveyors which Boone and his companion had thus rescued, were Thomas Bullet, Hancock Taylor, James Harrod, and James, Robert, and George McAfee, several of whom afterward settled in Kentucky, and established families that are still in existence in that State. During Boone's absence in Kentucky, several tribes of Indians, whose country lay to the north-west of the Ohio river, commenced open hostilities against the white settlers, and upon his return he was appointed to the command of three contiguous garrisons on the frontier, with the commission of captain.
Several skirmishes ensued at different times, and the campaign finally ended with the battle of Point Pleasant, at the junction of the Great Kenhawa and Ohio rivers, in which the Indians were routed and dispersed, although their numbers greatly exceeded those of their opponents.
The white troops consisted of eleven hundred men, in three regiments, commanded by General Andrew Lewis. The Indians were commanded by the celebrated chief Cornstalk, who led them with great courage and sagacity.
At the close of hostilities, Boone returned to his family, and spent the following winter in hunting. Early in , he was employed by a company of land speculators, called the Transylvania Company, who had purchased large bodies of land in Kentucky, from the Indians, to explore the country and open a road from the settlements on the Holston to the Kentucky river. He was supplied with a company of well armed men, and proceeded at once to the task assigned him, which he found to be a very difficult one.
Hills, mountains, and rivers had to be crossed, thick cane-brakes and dense forests penetrated, and all in the face of a vigilant, wily, and treacherous Indian foe.
On the 22d of March, , when they had ar-rived within fifteen miles of the future site of Boonesborough, they were fired upon by the Indians, and two of the party were killed and two wounded. Three days afterward they were again fired upon, and two more men were killed and three wounded. The following letter from Boone to Col. On March the 25th, a party of Indians fired on my company about half an hour before day, and killed Mr. Twitty and his negro, and wounded Mr.
Walker very deeply, but I hope he will recover. I have sent a man down to all the lower companies in order to gather them all to the mouth of Otter Creek. My advice to you, Sir, is, to come or send as soon as possible. Your company is desired greatly, for the people are very uneasy, but are willing to stay and venture their lives with you; and now is the time to flusterate their the Indians' intentions, and keep the country, whilst we are in it.
If we give way to them now, it will ever be the case. This day we start from the battle ground, for the mouth of Otter Creek, where we shall immediately erect a fort, which will be done before you can come or send; then we can send ten men to meet you, if you send for them. We stood on the ground and guarded our baggage till day, and lost nothing. We have about fifteen miles to Cantuck, at Otter Creek. This was the first permanent settlement of whites within the limits of Kentucky.
During the building of the fort they were constantly harrassed by the Indians, who seemed stung to madness at the idea that white people should presume to erect houses on their hunting grounds. In , he settled an area he called Boonesborough in Kentucky, where he faced Indian resistance. Boone died in Femme Osage Creek, Missouri, in His father, Squire Boone, Sr.
Boone, the couple's sixth child, received little formal education. Boone learned how to read and write from his mother, and his father taught him wilderness survival skills. Boone was given his first rifle when he was 12 years old. He quickly proved himself a talented woodsman and hunter, shooting his first bear when most children his age were too frightened. At age 15, Boone moved with his family to Rowan County, North Carolina, on the Yadkin River, where he started his own hunting business.
In , Boone left home on a military expedition that was part of the French and Indian War. He served as a wagoner for Brigadier General Edward Braddock during his army's calamitous defeat at Turtle Creek, near modern-day Pittsburgh. A skilled survivor, Daniel Boone saved his own life by escaping the French and Indian ambush on horseback. In , Boone led his own expedition for the first time. Under Boone's leadership, the team of explorers discovered a trail to the far west through the Cumberland Gap.
The trail would become the means by which settlers would access the frontier. Boone took his discovery a step further in April While working for Richard Henderson's Transylvania Company, he directed colonists to an area in Kentucky he named Boonesborough, where he set up a fort to claim the settlement from the Indians.
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