Famous frontiersmen, pioneers and scouts

Front matter

Class.

Book..

GQESRIGHT DEPOSED

Preface

To indulge in eloquent flights of fancy, profound soundings in historical philosophy, or even to paint beautiful word-pictures, would have been destructive of the more practical effect for which this work has been written. Hence, the only merit claimed lies in accurateness of detail and perspicuity of style — a true sketch, in pure Anglo Saxon, of worthy men.

The author desires to acknowledge the kindly suggestions and assistance of Mr. C. B. Holding in the preparation of the work.

Asking for the present volume no more commendation than its contents justify, after an honest perusal, it is respectfully submitted by the author.

The Father of Kentucky.

COL WM. CRAWFORD,

The Martyr to Indian Revenge,

SIMON GIRTY,

The White Savage.

MOLLY FINNEY,

The Beautiful Canadian Captive.

MAJORS SAMUEL and JOHN McCULLOUGH.

Patriots and Frontiersmen.

The Indian Killer.

SIMON KENTON,

The Intrepid Pioneer.

The Heroic Conqueror. 5

CAPT BRADY,

The Great I?idian Fighter.

DAVY CROCKETT,

The Hero of Alamo.

GEN. SAM. HOUSTON,

The Liberator of the Lone Star State

The Celebrated Plainsman and Explorer.

GEN, CUSTER,

The Hero of Little Big Horn.

The Tireless Rider, Hunter and Scout.

The Lightning Marksman

CALIFORNIA JOE,

The Scout.

The Government Scout and Hunter.

CAPT JACK,

The Poet Scout.

GEN, CROOK,

The Conqueror of the Apaches.

PAGE

Indians Attacking an Emigrant Train, {Frontispiece)

Boone and Stuart Trapping Beaver, 21

Boone's Encounter with Indians, 24

Indian Attack, 27

Boone Defending his Son's Body, 33

View on the Ohio, 38

Indian Weapons, 50

Indian War Dance, 58

Early Pioneers, 66

Crawford's Attack on the Indians, 68

Indian Ambuscade, - 74

Indians Torturing a Captive, - 81

Scene of the Wyoming Massacre, 88

Kenton and Girty, 91

Indian Bag, Drum, etc. IO o

Canadian Trapper, 102

Scene on Casco Bay, 108

Scene on the St. Lawrence, 116

Blockhouse, 128

Indian Dance, 148

Trading with Indians, - - - 155

A Perilous Adventure, 162

Kenton Shooting Indians, 170

Kenton Saving Boone, 181

Kenton and His Deliverer, 195

Deer-Hunting in the Northwest, - 204

Exploring Western River, 213

Squaws Ascending River with Provisions, 229

A Wounded Trapper, 234

Scalp Drying, 241

!?AGE.

Captives Escape from Indians, 245

Davy Crockett, - . 258

A Death Struggle, - - - - 265

Crockett Shooting Bears, - - „ 287

A Fallen Monarch, - -- -- 295

Gen. Houston, - 306

Buffalo Hunting, - - - - - 317

First Steamboat on the Rio Grande, 329

Gen. Houston Fighting Indians, 337

Indian Warrior, ---- - 34.1

Sun Worship by Southern Indians, ------- 346

Kit Carson Hunting Buffalo, - -. 353

Kit Carson Killing Indians, 357

Carson's Indian Daughter, - 362

Carson's Indian Bride, ------ 363

Carson's Duel with a Frenchman, - 371

Kit Carson and his Blind Horse, 379

Squaw and Pappoose, 389

Gen. Custer, - 398

A Crow Chief, - - - 407

Indian Chief Forbidding Passage of Train, 415

Custer's Last Fight, - 427

A Fortunate Shot, - 436

Indians' First View of a Train, 445

Indians in Town, - 450

Shooting Deer at Long Range, - 456

Crystal Lake, California, 462

Indian Medicine Man, - 474

Black Nell, 483

Struggle for Life, - 487

Indian Ambuscade, - 490

California Joe, - - 492

Captain Jack, - 510

Gen. Crook, 516

Apache Indians Scalping, 527

LIFE OF DANIEL BOONE.

Origin— Early Characteristics — Surroundings in Youth — Kills a Panther in Boyhood — A Student of Nature — His Ambition — Connection with North Carolina — Marriage and Domestic Life — Political Interest — Kentucky, " The Promised Land " — Capture by Indians — Plan of Escape — Massacre of Companions 17—29.

Chapter II

Boone and Stuart — Experience with Hostile Indians — Brother and Friend Arrive with Supplies — Stuart a Victim to Indian Cruelty — Mysterious Disappearance — Uncomfortable Surroundings — Boone Alone — Return of Squire Boone — Journey to Atlantic States — Emigration to Kentucky — Boone's Son Killed — Treaty with Cherokees — Boonesborough Settled — Capture of Girls by Savages — Rescue 30 — 40.

Chapter III

War with England — Boonesborough Besieged by Indians — Expedition to Blue Lick — Boone Again Taken Prisoner — Surrenders Entire Party of Men — Court-Martialed, but Acquitted, and Promoted to Rank of Major — Indians Present Ten Prisoners to British at Detroit — Boone Compelled to Return to Chillicothe — Ceremony of Adoption by Indian Tribe— Experiences During Captivity — Escape — Duquesne Commands Indians in a Second Attack on Boonesborough — Successful Defence 41 — 49-

Chapter IV

Boone as Lieut.-Col. — Siege of Bryant's Station — Indian Ambuscade — Sixty- Four Kentuckians Killed — Col. Logan — Land Purchases — Reward for Military Services — Narrow Escape — Loss of Property — In Exile. . . .50 — 56

Chapter V

Hunters on the Missouri — Boone Welcomed by the Governor — Land Granted — The Great Naturalist, Audubon, Visits Boone — Anecdote Related by Audubon — Audubon's Description of Boone — A Victim of Law — Kenlucky Acknowledges the Justice of Boone's Claim — Death of Boone's Wife — Boone's Last Days — Kentucky Honors Her Illustrious Dead 57 — 65.

X

Contents

LIFE OF COL. WILLIAM CRAWFORD,

SOLDIER, PATRIOT, AND MARTYR.

Friendship with Washington — Youthful Pastimes — Commissioned Lieut, for Bravery — Promoted to Captain — Seeks a Home — Enters the Colonial Army — Campaigns Against the Indians — The Battle — Retreat — Crawford Missing 69 — 78.

Chapter I

Her Remarkable Beauty — Fireside Conversation — Attempt to Remove Fears — Startled — Indians Effect an Entrance — Kill Mr. Means and Child — Capture Miss Finney — Indians Flee — Burial — Remainder Seek Block-

House 103— in.

Chapter II

Retreat of Indians — Nurse — Arrival at Quebec — Sale of Molly Lemoine — Purchaser — Her Work in Captivity — Capt. M'Lellan Arrives at Quebec — Inquiries for Captive — Landlord's Instructions 112 — 118.

Chapter III

Miss Finney under Guard — M'Lellan's Visit — Note — Reply— Appointed Mid-

CONTENTS.

xi night Meeting — Preparations for Flight, with Novel Experiences — Thanksgiving for Restoration — Capt. M'Lellan at Flying Point — The Wedding 119 — 126.

LIFE OF SAMUEL AND JOHN McCULLOUGH.

Samuel McCullough — From Private to Major in Revolutionary War — Heroism — Perilous Leap for Life — Well Earned Shout of Victory — Patriotism of the True Type — The Last Ride — Indians Desecrate McCullough's Remains — Burial by Friends 129 — 134.

CHAPTER II.

Captivity of the McCulloughs — Immersion, an Indian Rite — Brothers Separated — Sickness and Intense Suffering — Surgical Operation Performed by Savages — Recovery 135 — 140.

CHAPTER III.

John McCullough, Concluded — Barely Escapes Drowning — Indian Method of Resuscitation — Horrible Punishment — Indian Doctrines — Compelled to Quit His Indian Life — Relatives for a Time Forgotten — Returns to Friends and Civilization — Enters Army — Promoted to Major. . . .141 — 147.

LIFE OF LEWIS WETZEL.

Character Developed by Frontier Life — Cause of Eternal Hatred — Lewis and Jacob Prisoners — Their Escape — Preparation for Dealing Vengeance — Running Encounter with Braves — Company Organized for Revenge — Large Numbers of Red Men — Remains Alone — Returns Victorious 149—157-

CHAPTER II.

His Resolve — A Cold- Blooded Slaughter — Peace Treaty — Braves Called to a Conference — Sport at the Red Man's Expense — Attempt to Punish the Offenders — Seizure — Imprisonment— Flight — Reward for His Capture — "Recapture — Trial — Release — His Last Days 158 — 168

LIFE OF GEN. SIMON KENTON,

[alias butler.]

Birthplace — Cause of Wild Life — Joins Band of Rovers — Down the Ohio — Seeks an "Eldorado" — Returns to Salt Lick — Trapping and Hunting — Surprised by Indians — Kenton and Yager Reach the Ohio 171 — 176.

CONTENTS,

CHAPTER II.

Southward with Traders — Shortest Route to Virginia — Alone in the Wilderness — Enters His Country's Service — Search for the " Hunter's Paradise" — Surprised by Friends — Return — Indian Signs — The Camp Abandoned 177—182.

CHAPTER III.

Welcomed at Boonesborough — Attack upon Indian Towns — As Spy — Narrow Escape — Reconnoitering Expedition — Indian Horses as Booty — Captured — Doomed to the Stake — Runs the Gauntlet 183— 191.

Chapter IV

Taken to Wappatomica — Resolves to Escape — March — Flight — Recapture — His Sufferings — Girty's Plea — Kenton's Release — Summoned to the Council House — Twice Doomed to the Stake — His Deliverance — Prisoner at Detroit — Escape — Brigadier-General — Death 192 — 202.

GEN. GEORGE R. CLARK.

203—232.

Chapter I

Literary Tastes — Studies Surveying — Seeks Fame — Allured to Kentucky — Founder of Government — Co-operation of Virginia — Eminence as a Leader — Peer of Washington — Capture of British Stronghold at Kaskaskia — Catholic Devotions 205 — 215

Chapter II

Vincennes Surrenders — Escapes Kidnapping — Grand Council Called — Famous Speech — Indians Offer Two of Their Tribe as an Atonement — Submit Themselves a Willing Sacrifice — Made Chiefs — Reconciliation — Pipe of Peace 216—221.

Chapter III

The British Governor, Hamilton, Before Vincennes — Vanquished — Clark Fears Capture— Marches Men to Conquer the Enemy — Terrible Hardships — Unparalleled Heroism — The Foe in View— Successful Strategy — Vincennes Surrenders — Brigadier-General 222 — 232.

LIFE OF CAPT. SAMUEL BRADY.

Irish-American Origin — Born Amid Perils — Surrounded by Hardships — Father and Brother Killed by " Lo " — Revenge — A Soldier in the Revolution — Pinned to a Fence by a British Bayonet — Incidents in the Indian Country 235—241.

CHAPTER II.

Weary of Rest — Adventures for Pleasure — Brady and a Dutchman Capture an

CONTENTS.

xiii

Indian Camp—" The Times that Tried Men's Souls "—Hostility to the Hostiles — Brady's Part in the Excursion — Narrow Escape — Three Birds with one Stone — Surprising an Indian Camp 242 — 251.

CHAPTER III.

End of the War for Independence — Continuation of the Three Hundred Years' War Against the Indians — Brady Rescues a Family — Marries Miss Swearingen — Dies a Natural Death 252 — 256.

LIFE OF DAVY CROCKETT.

Early Life — School Experiences — Flees the Paternal Rod — Visits Gerardstown — Wanders to Baltimore — Learns the Hatter's Trade — The Truant Returns — Courtship and Marriage 259 — 269.

CHAPTER II.

Distinguishes Himself in War — Famine and Mutiny in the Army — Termination of War — The Hero Enjoys Rustic Life — Marries Again — Moves to Another Country — Political Career Begun — Justice of Peace — Colonel — Representative 269 — 280.

CHAPTER III.

Makes a New Home — Persistence and Bravery — A Second Time Candidate for the Legislature in Opposition to Jackson — Is Himself Defeated — Two Years in Speculation — Bear Hunting — Takes His Seat in Congress — -Tour

Through the North 281 — 291.

CHAPTER IV. v

Feted at Boston and Lowell — Returns to the National Halls — Receives Costly Rifle from Whigs at Philadelphia — Is Welcomed Home — Amusing Incidents in Political Life — Opposes Andrew Jackson 292 — 298.

Chapter V

Departure for Texas — Strange Adventures — Shows True Courage and Nobility — Resists Santa Anna — Fighting Against Great Odds — Hand to Hand Conflict—Dies in the Cause of Liberty at Alamo ,299 — 304.

LIFE OF GEN. SAMUEL HOUSTON.

SOLDIER, LAWYER, AND STATESMAN. 30S—34S.

Chapter I

Taste for the Classics— Academy Life — Among the Red Men — Seeks the Maternal Roof — Engages in Teaching — Answers the Call of His Country — Sterling Characteristics of the Mother — Distinguishes Himself at Horseshoe Battle-— Lieutenant in Regular Army — Nashville and the Law — Is Rewarded with Public Oflices 307 — 315.

xiv

CONTENTS.

Chapter II

As Major General — Twice Sent to Congress — Appointed Governor of Tennessee — Marries — Clouds on the Horizon of Domestic Life— Departure of the Bride — Political Discord — Resigns the Gubernatorial Office— Repairs to His Indian Friends — Recalled to Public Duty — Personal Combat — Victorious — An Honorable Acquittal 316 — 325.

Chapter III

Commander-in-Chief of the Texan Forces — Fort Alamo Taken, and Inmates Massacred — Leads Texan Army Against the Mexicans — Destroys the Entire Force under Santa Anna — Obtains Large Spoils — Values Honor Alone 326— 335.

Chapter IV

Results of the Battle of San Jacinto — Visit to New Orleans — Health Restored — Elected President of the Texan Republic — Releases Santa Anna — A Leader in Congress — Re-elected to Presidency — Represents Texas at Washington — Peculiarities 336 — 345.

LIFE OF KIT CARSON.

Educational Advantages — Apprenticed — Joins an Expedition for Santa Fe — Accompanies Col. Farwell as Interpreter — Enters upon His Favorite Pursuit of Trapping and Trading — Improves Every Opportunity to Gain a Knowledge of the Country — Social Nature Displayed— " Monarch of the Plains" 349—358-

CHAPTER II.

At the Head Waters of the Missouri — Wounded in an Indian Encounter — Abandons His Profession — As Hunter to the Fort — Feasted and Honored at St. Louis — Guide of the Expedition to Explore the Unknown West 3S9—367.

CHAPTER III. -

On the Loftiest Peak of the Rocky Mountains — Return to Fort Laramie — Accompanies Fremont on an Exploring Expedition to Great Salt Lake — First Experiences on the " Inland Sea " , . .368 — 376.

CHAPTER IV.

Courage Fails Eleven of the Party — The Remainder Bravely Endure the Perils — Return — Crossing the Mountains — Effect of Exposure upon the Company — Arrival at Sutter's Fort — Third Expedition — Carson as Patriot. .377 — 385.

Chapter V

To the Rescue of the Official from Washington — Warriors A ttack the Slumbering Party — Conquest of California — Carson Bears Dispatch of Their Achievements to Washington — Examples of Fidelity and Bravery • Brevet Brigadier- General— Death . . 3 386 — 396.

CONTEN'TS,

XV

LIFE OF MAJ.-GEN. GEORGE A. CUSTER.

School Days— Love for Sport— Makes Firm Friends—As a Pedagogue- Admitted to West Point— Life as a Cadet— Receives Expulsion— Is Re-admitted— Graduates ... , 39 8 — 4°5-

CHAPTER II.

Interview with Gen. Scott— With McDowell, as Lieutenant, at Bull Run- Ready for Emergencies— Under the Command of Brig.-Gen. Kearney- Invited to a Position on Gen. McClellan's Staff— In Hancock's Division- Distinguishes Himself in "The Seven Days' Fight"— Wins Glory under Gen. Kilpatrick — Made Brigadier-General 406 — 417

CHAPTER III.

Custer at Gettysburg — The Battle of the Wilderness — Winchester and Richmond — Courtship and Marriage — Life on the Western Plains — At the Trial of Belknap— Makes Enemies — Grant Removes Him from His Command —Fights the Indians under Sitting Bull — Gives His Life in Protection of the Frontier 418 — 430

LIFE OF BUFFALO BILL.

Birth — Family Connections — Trapping — Horsemanship — Use of the Lasso- Cody's Father Attacked — Member of Legislature at Lawrence — Schoolboy Fight— The Father Dies— Bill Offers Family Support— Kills His First Indian at Twelve Years 433 — 442

CHAPTER II.

Fort Lawrence and Salt Lake City — Meets Wild Bill — Gen. Custer Describes " Wild Bill " — Robbed by Mormons — Indian Attack — Disabled — Twenty- Nine Days Alone — Indians Take Provisions and Fire- Arms — Friendly Chief — Threatened by Wolves — Rescued — Death of Dave, Friend and Preserver 443— 452

CHAPTER III.

Bear Hunting — Encounter with Thieves — Pony Express Rider — With Col. C. Clark's Expedition Against Indians — His Mother's Death — A Soldier — Marriage — As Pilot to Custer — Anticipated Millions — Championship in Buffalo Hunting „ 453 — 465

CHAPTER IV.

Scout and Guide — Fort Leavenworth and Gen. Hazen — Hazen — Indians Thwarted — Gen. Sheridan and Fort Hays — Chief of Scouts — Guide to Grand Duke Alexis — Entertainment at Chicago and New York — Members of Legislature in Nebraska — Acquires Celebrity and Means as an Actor — Takes Part in Sioux War — Settles on Farm in Nebraska. ...... .466 — 473 xvi

CONTENTS.

LIFE OF WILD BILL.

474—489.

Frontier Settlements — Scouts in General — Description of Wild Bill — Characteristics — Associations — Black Nell Introduced — Trial of Skill as a Marksman — Rescues a Child — Incident of Scout Life in Connection with Civil War — Later Experiences — Death 477 — 489

LIFE OF CALIFORNIA JOE.

491—496.

His Early Life a Mystery — Fights Indians Successfully — Receives Recognition from the Military — Obtains Notoriety in California — Enters Service of Union Army — Chief of Scouts — Death at the Hands of an Assassin 493—496

LIFE OF TEXAS JACK.

Thirst for Adventure — Preparation for Pioneer Life — Ambition for Cattle- Raising — Incidents of Travel — Arrives in Texas — As a "Cow-boy" — Hunter to Government Fort — Scout and Guide — Owner of a Ranch — Connection with Theatrical Life — Resumes Life in the West — Dies in Colorado 499 — 508

LIFE OF CAPTAIN JACK.

509—514.

Poet — Border Ranger — Goes to Black Hills — Metes out Justice — Companion of Buffalo Bill and California Joe — Indian Fighter and Scout — Personal Appearance — Incidents 511 — 514

LIFE OF GEN. GEO. CROOK.

Unexpected Arrival at Tucson — Reception and Banquet — Speeches and Toasts — Opinions of Army Representatives — Sentiments of the People — Experiences During Recent Campaign — Captives Held by Indians Released — A Vexed Question Settled 1 515 —

CHAPTER II.

Birth — Life at West Point — Rise in Regular Army — Comes to the Front on the Pacific Coast — Wins Distinction as an Indian Fighter — His Civil War Record — Major-General U. S. Volunteers — Second Career in Regular Army — Assignment to Military Department in Arizona — First Victory over the Apaches — Policy with the Indians — Transferred to Army of the Platte — Marches against Sitting Bull — Another Brilliant Victory — Causes of Return to Arizona

DANIEL BOONE.

LIFE OF DANIEL BOONE.

Chapter I. Origin — Early Characteristics Surroundings In Youth

KILLS A PANTHER IN BOYHOOD A STUDENT OF NATURE

HIS AMBITION CONNECTION WITH NORTH CAROLINA MAR- RIAGE AND DOMESTIC LIFE POLITICAL INTEREST KEN- TUCKY, "THE PROMISED LAND " CAPTURE BY INDIANS

PLAN OF ESCAPE MASSACRE OF COMPANIONS.

Daniel Boone was born in Exeter township, Bucks county, Penn., February n, 1735. This date is believed to be correct, though some writers have placed his birth one year earlier. Best authorities, however, agree on the date given above. Daniel was the fourth of seven sons. He had four sisters. His father, Squire Boone, was son of George Boone, who came from Bradwinch, ahout eight miles from Exeter, England. The family of George Boone arrived at Philadelphia, October 10, 171 7.

He was a man of considerable wealth, as is evidenced by the fact that immediately upon his arrival in Pennsylvania he purchased a large tract of land in what is now Bucks county.

He purchased also several tracts of land in Maryland and Virginia, and tradition says he once owned the land on which Georgetown, District of Columbia, now stands, and that he laid out and named that town. The fact that the Boone family owned land in

l 9

Virginia, may have led to the error made by some writers in naming that State as the place of Daniel's nativity. Daniel's mother was Sarah Morgan, but of her ancestry the records are silent. It is a matter of interest and worthy of note that Daniel's ancestors were Christians, having been members of the English Church in England. Arriving in this country they permitted themselves to be considered Quakers, but subsequent events proved conclusively that Daniel was not taught Quaker maxims ; or, if he was, that he, at an early age, departed therefrom. But of what religious persuasion he or his ancestors were, does not form an important part of his history ; though the fact of his abiding faith in the wisdom and power of an overruling Providence enables us to comprehend his matchless courage and indomitable will displayed from boyhood to old age.

Exeter, his native place, can be easily imagined when the undeveloped condition of the nation in that period is remembered. There were no magnificent cities then; no railways, nor any of the great inventions and conveniences of the day. Exeter, when Daniel Boone was born, was only a frontier settlement, consisting of a few log huts, entirely surrounded by dense forests. In these woods was abundance of game, and there roamed at will the panther, the bear, the lynx, the wild cat, and other ferocious animals. There lived also the Indian, more fierce and more to be dreaded than any of the wild beasts. The most harm the beasts would do the settlers was to attack their domestic animals at night; or, when at bay, hard pressed by the hunters, turn and rend their pursuers. The Indians would plan their attack with wisdom, fall upon unsuspecting settlers, destroy property, murder helpless children, and carry the women into captivity, — a fate more dreadful than death. These surroundings need to be remembered that an idea may be obtained of the character of the mould in which Daniel Boone was cast. With him to load and fire a rifle was second nature; to roam the wild wood alone, or in company with youthful companions, was pastime; to track the bear, or pursue the panther, was exhilarating sport. Many incidents of those days have come down to us, exhibiting in bright and favorable light the coolness and courage of Boone.

At one time, after a day's ramble in the woods, when the sun was down and darkness creeping on, Daniel and several companions were returning home, when some of the boys cried : « A panther! A panther!" and started on a run for home. Not so Daniel. He stopped, and discovered the whereabouts of the animal just as he was crouching to spring upon him. Quick as a flash his rifle was at his shoulder, and the next moment the panther lay at his feet, pierced through by the bullet from his gun.

His love for adventure, and his ambitious nature, are fully illustrated by his leaving home' and wandering several miles away into the forest, at night resting under a hastily built shelter of poles and brush, and during the day hunting at will through the woods. His parents became alarmed at his prolonged absence, and instituted a search which resulted in finding him three miles from home, living alone in a cabin, a structure of his own making. They found him in possession of a good supply of skins of wild animals, which his own hands had captured.

As might be supposed, his educational advantages were limited. There were few schoolhouses in those days on the frontier, and fewer teachers. Occasionally a man would come to a neighborhood, and for a few weeks or months teach school. Generally these wandering pedagogues were themselves poorly prepared to impart instruction to the children, knowing but little more than reading, writing and spelling, and how to " cipher to the rule of three," as simple proportion as now taught, was called. There is no very full or definite account extant of Daniel's experiences at school. Some one of his numerous biographers have related that while at school

DANIEL BOONE.

he was fond of playing practical jokes upon the teacher. At one time he discovered, hidden in the brush, a flask from which the Irish schoolmaster was in the habit of refreshing himself at frequent intervals each day. Into the whiske}' he put a quantity of an emetic. The result can better be imagined than described. We need only to say that there was a vacation the resc of the day. The master finally discovered the guilty culprit, and Daniel's attendance at that school terminated abruptly. But what he lacked in knowledge that might have been gained from books, he more than made up by a close study of nature. His subsequent career proves that he did not fail to read the pages spread out before him day by day, with studious carefulness.

When Daniel was about eighteen years of age his father removed with his family from Pennsylvania to North Carolina, locating near Holman's Ford, on the Yadkin River, not far from Wilkesboro. This removal occurred in 1752. The people now living in that region recall with pleasure the sojourn of the great backwoodsman in their country. The capital of Watauga county, founded in 1849, * s nam ed Boone in his honor. John H. Wheeler in his "Historical Sketches of North Carolina," says of him: "His fame is part of her property."

When about twenty-one years of age Daniel Boone was married to Miss Rebecca Bryan, while yet living on the Yadkin.

The children by this marriage were nine in number, the sons being James, Israel, Jesse, Daniel, and Nathan; the daughters, Susan, Jemima, Lavinia, and Rebecca. Two of the boys, James and Israel, were killed in battle with the Indians. In 1846 Nathan was captain in the United States army. All trace of the other members of the family has been lost from history.

Many accounts of the marriage of Boone to Miss Bryan have contained a narrative, very romantic in its details, of how Daniel one night mistook the bright shining of her eyes for those of a

—

BOONE'S FIGHT WITH TWO INDIANS.

2 4

DANIEL BOONE.

deer, and barely missed firing upon her with his accustomed success as a marksman. This is, however, a myth. So experienced a hunter as Daniel, even at that age, would not make such a mistake. Doubtless there was much of romance about their courtship and marriage, which would have been of interest if recorded; but in those days there were sterner things than love-making to engage the attention and pen of historians. A nation was being builded, and Boone and his compatriots were builders upon that now mighty and beautiful structure.

Daniel seems to have taken kindly to the new relations established by marriage, and at once ceased his roaming and settled down to the quiet and prosperity of a farmer's life, which continued for the next five years. It is presumable that the rest of his days would have passed in a similar manner, but for the disturbed condition of the country politically. The colonists were at that time beginning to grow restive under the cruel treatment of the power across the sea. Boone was no doubt an interested observer of the signs of the times. He disliked discord and political commotion, and longed for the quiet of the woods, the " far West " of those days. There were probably other motives that prompted his excursions into the fastnesses of the unbroken and unknown territory now known as Kentucky. There were men of wealth and of political influence, shrewd men, who looked over the Apalachian range of mountains with an intense longing for a new State in which they should figure as founders and leaders of thought and political action. There are grounds for believing such men as these employed Boone, on account of his eminent fitness for the work, to make tours of inspection throughout the great West.

As early as 1760 he began to visit those regions, and there is positive proof that about that time he hunted along the Watauga River. As early as 1748 Dr. Thomas Walker, of Virginia, accompanied by several men of rank in the volunteer army, made an exploring tour among the then western wilds. It was this company that discovered and named the "Cumberland Mountains," "Cumberland Gap," and "Cumberland River," all of which were named in honor of the Duke of Cumberland, then Prime Minister of England. In 1760 Dr. Walker made another tour of exploration. About the same time a number of hunters, among whom were Wallen, Scaggs, Blevins, and Cox, of Virginia, also went West and penetrated the region now known as Kentucky. The recorder of their travels says, " This year came Daniel Boone, from the Yadkin, in North Carolina, and traveled with them as far as the place where Abingdon now stands, and there left them."

This seems to be good evidence that Boone commenced his westward movements about 1760.

Ramsay, in his "Annals of Tennessee," says, in his day there was to be seen upon a beech tree, standing in sight, and east of the stage road from Jonesboro to Blountsville, in the valley of Boone's Creek, a tributary to Watauga River, the following inscription: "D. Boon CillED a bar on ThE tres in yEAR 1760." Taking these evidences as authority, Ramsay concludes that Boone visited Tennessee about ten years before its permanent settlement.

In 1767 John Finley led a party of hunters from North Carolina into Kentucky. On his return he visited Boone and gave him a most glowing account of the richness of the country he had just left. Boone at once determined to accompany Finley upon his next hunting excursion. Soon afterward a party was made up to revisit the land that Finley had described as teeming with deer, turkeys, buffaloes, and smaller game. The intention was to make a thorough investigation of the country, and a long absence was expected. The preparations to be made to leave the families comfortable, were many, so it was not until May 1, 1769, that the party were ready to start on their pilgrimage to the " promised land." After a tramp lasting more than a month they reached the Canaan to which they

DANIEL BOONE.

were bound. Up the mountain side they had toiled all day. At last they reached the summit and from that height took in at a glance a most entrancing scene. The sun was just above the western hills. The air was cool and balmy. Rich valleys stretched out below and before them. All nature was in bright array. Herds of buffalo grazed quietly. Flocks of turkey appeared in view. Deer were plentiful. The tales told by Finley were confirmed.