Life of Daniel Boone, the Great Western Hunter and Pioneer Part 1

Life & Times of Col. Daniel Boone.

by Cecil B. Hartley, et al.

PREFACE

The subject of the following biography, the celebrated Colonel Daniel Boone, is one of the most remarkable men which this country has produced.

His character is marked with originality, and his actions were important and influential in one of the most interesting periods of our history--that of the early settlement of Kentucky. Boone is generally acknowledged as the founder of that State. His having explored it alone to a considerable extent; his leading the earliest bands of settlers; his founding Boonesborough, the nucleus of the future State; his having defended this and other stations successfully against the attacks of the Indians; and the prominent part which he took in military affairs at this period of distress and peril, certainly render his claims to the distinguished honor of founding Kentucky very strong.

But Boone, personally, reaped very little benefit from his patriotic and disinterested exertions. The lands which he had first cultivated and defended, were taken from him by the chicanery of the law; other lands granted to him by the Spanish government were lost by his inattention to legal forms; and in his old age he was without an acre of land which he could call his own. A few years before his death a small tract, such as any other settler in Missouri was ent.i.tled to, was granted him by Congress. But he has left to his numerous posterity a n.o.bler inheritance--that of an imperishable fame in the annals of his country!

LIFE AND TIMES OF COLONEL DANIEL BOONE.

CHAPTER I.

The family of Daniel Boone--His grandfather emigrates to America, and settles in Bucks County, Pennsylvania--Family of Daniel Boone's father--Account of Exeter, the birth-place of Boone--Birth of Daniel Boone--Religion of his family--Boone's boyhood--Goes to School--Anecdote--Summary termination of his schooling.

The immediate ancestors and near relations of the American Boone family, resided at Bradwinch about eight miles from Exeter, England. George Boone the grandfather of Daniel, emigrated to America and arrived, with Mary his wife, at Philadelphia, on the 10th of October, 1717. They brought with them eleven children, two daughters and nine sons. The names of three of the sons have come down to us, John, James, and Squire. The last of these, Squire Boone, was the father of Daniel.

George Boone, immediately after his arrival in America, purchased a large tract of land in what is now Bucks County, which he settled, and called it Exeter, after the city near which he was born. The records distinguish it only as the towns.h.i.+p of Exeter, without any county. He purchased also various other tracts in Maryland and Virginia; and our tradition says, among others, the ground on which Georgetown, District of Columbia, now stands, and that he laid the town out, and gave it his own name. His sons John and James lived and died on the Exeter purchase.[1]

Daniel Boone's father, Squire Boone, had seven sons and four daughters, viz.: James,[2] Samuel, Jonathan, Daniel, George, Squire, Edward, Sarah, Elizabeth, Mary, and Hannah.

Exeter Towns.h.i.+p is situated in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and now has a population of over two thousand. Here Daniel Boone was born, on the 11th of February, 1735.[3]

The maiden name of Boone's mother was Sarah Morgan. Some dispute has arisen respecting the religious persuasion of the Boone family. It would appear, on a review of the whole controversy, that before their removal to this country, the Boones were Episcopalians; but during their residence in Pennsylvania they permitted themselves to be considered Quakers. What sort of a Quaker Daniel Boone himself was, will be apparent in the course of our narrative.

Exeter, the native place of Daniel Boone, was at this period a small frontier settlement, consisting of log-houses, surrounded with woods, which abounded with game of various kinds and were occasionally infested with hostile Indians. It is not surprising that Daniel, pa.s.sing the period of his boyhood in such a place, should have acquired at an early age the accomplishments of a hunter and woodsman. From a mere child it was his chief delight to roam in the woods, to observe the wild haunts of Nature, and to pursue the wild animals which were then so abundant.

Of the boyhood of Daniel Boone, one of his biographers gives the following account. Speaking of the residence of the family at Exeter, he says:[4]

"Here they lived for ten years; and it was during this time that their son Daniel began to show his pa.s.sion for hunting. He was scarcely able to carry a gun when he was shooting all the squirrels, racc.o.o.ns, and even wild-cats (it is said), that he could find in that region. As he grew older, his courage increased, and then we find him amusing himself with higher game. Other lads in the neighborhood were soon taught by him the use of the rifle, and were then able to join him in his adventures.

On one occasion, they all started out for a hunt, and, after amusing themselves till it was almost dark, were returning homeward, when suddenly a wild cry was heard in the woods. The boys screamed out, 'A panther! A panther!' and ran off as fast as they could. Boone stood firmly, looking around for the animal. It was a panther indeed. His eye lighted upon him just in the act of springing toward him: in an instant he leveled his rifle, and shot him through the heart."

"But this sort of sport was not enough for him. He seemed resolved to go away from men, and live in the forests with these animals. One morning he started off as usual, with his rifle and dog. Night came on, but Daniel did not return to his home. Another day and night pa.s.sed away, and still the boy did not make his appearance. His parents were now greatly alarmed. The neighbors joined them in making search for the lad.

After wandering about a great while, they at length saw smoke rising from a cabin in the distance. Upon reaching it, they found the boy. The floor of the cabin was covered with the skins of such animals as he had slain, and pieces of meat were roasting before the fire for his supper.

Here, at a distance of three miles from any settlement, he had built his cabin of sods and branches, and sheltered himself in the wilderness."

"It was while his father was living on the head-waters of the Schuylkill that young Boone received so far as we know, all his education. Short indeed were his schoolboy days. It happened that an Irish schoolmaster strolled into the settlement, and, by the advice of Mr. Boone and other parents, opened a school in the neighborhood. It was not then as it is now. Good school-houses were not scattered over the land; nor were schoolmasters always able to teach their pupils. The school-house where the boys of this settlement went was a log-cabin, built in the midst of the woods. The schoolmaster was a strange man; sometimes good-humored, and then indulging the lads; sometimes surly and ill-natured, and then beating them severely. It was his usual custom, after hearing the first lessons of the morning, to allow the children to be out for a half hour at play, during which time he strolled off to refresh himself from his labors. He always walked in the same direction, and the boys thought that after his return, when they were called in, he was generally more cruel than ever. They were whipped more severely, and oftentimes without any cause. They observed this, but did not know the meaning of it One morning young Boone asked that he might go out, and had scarcely left the school-room when he saw a squirrel running over the trunk of a fallen tree. True to his nature, he instantly gave chase, until at last the squirrel darted into a bower of vines and branches.

Boone thrust his hand in, and, to his surprise, laid hold of a bottle of whiskey. This was in the direction of his master's morning walks, and he thought now that he understood the secret of much of his ill-nature. He returned to the school-room; but, when they were dismissed for that day, he told some of the larger boys of his discovery. Their plan was soon arranged. Early the next morning a bottle of whiskey, having tartar emetic in it, was placed in the bower, and the other bottle thrown away.

At the usual hour, the lads were sent out to play, and the master started on his walk. But their play was to come afterward; they longed for the master to return. At length they were called in, and in a little time saw the success of their experiment. The master began to look pale and sick, yet still went on with his work. Several boys were called up, one after the other, to recite lessons, and all whipped soundly, whether right or wrong. At last young Boone was called out to answer questions in arithmetic. He came forward with his slate and pencil, and the master began: 'If you subtract six from nine, what remains?' said he. 'Three, sir,' said Boone. 'Very good,' said the master; 'now let us come to fractions. If you take three-quarters from a whole number, what remains?' 'The whole, sir,' answered Boone. 'You blockhead!' cried the master, beating him; 'you stupid little fool, how can you show that?'

'If I take one bottle of whiskey,' said Boone, 'and put in its place another in which I have mixed an emetic, the whole will remain if n.o.body drinks it!' The Irishman, dreadfully sick, was now doubly enraged.

He seized Boone, and commenced beating him; the children shouted and roared; the scuffle continued until Boone knocked the master down upon the floor, and rushed out of the room. It was a day of freedom now for the lads. The story soon ran through the neighborhood; Boone was rebuked by his parents, but the schoolmaster was dismissed, and thus ended the boy's education."

"Thus freed from school, he now returned more ardently than ever to his favorite pursuit. His dog and rifle were his constant companions, and day after day he started from home, only to roam through the forests.

Hunting seemed to be the only business of his life; and he was never so happy as when at night he came home laden with game. He was an untiring wanderer."

Perhaps it was not a very serious misfortune for Daniel Boone that his school instruction was so scanty, for, "in another kind of education,"

says Mr. Peck,[5] "not unfrequent in the wilds of the West, he was an adept. No Indian could poise the rifle, find his way through the pathless forest, or search out the retreats of game, more readily than Daniel Boone. In all that related to Indian sagacity, border life, or the tactics of the skillful hunter, he excelled. The successful training of a hunter, or woodsman, is a kind of education of mental discipline, differing from that of the school-room, but not less effective in giving vigor to the mind, quickness of apprehension, and habits of close observation. Boone was regularly trained in all that made him a successful backwoodsman. Indolence and imbecility never produced a Simon Kenton, a Tec.u.mthe, or a Daniel Boone. To gain the skill of an accomplished hunter requires talents, patience, perseverance, sagacity, and habits of thinking. Amongst other qualifications, knowledge of human nature, and especially of Indian character is indispensable to the pioneer of a wilderness. Add to these, self-possession, self-control, and promptness in execution. Persons who are unaccustomed to a frontier residence know not how much, in the preservation of life, and in obtaining subsistence, depends on such characteristics!"

In the woods surrounding the little settlement of Exeter, Boone had ample opportunity for perfecting himself in this species of mental discipline, and of gaining that physical training of the limbs and muscles so necessary in the pursuits of the active hunter and pioneer.

We have no record of his ever having encountered the Indians during his residence in Pennsylvania. His knowledge of their peculiar modes of hunting and war was to be attained not less thoroughly at a somewhat later period of life.

[Footnote 1: "Pittsburg Gazette," quoted by Peck.]

[Footnote 2: The eldest, James, was killed by the Indians in 1773, and his son Israel was killed at the battle of Blue Licks, August 19th, 1782.]

[Footnote 3: Bogant gives 11th of February, 1735. Peck, February, 1735.

Another account gives 1746 as the year of his birth, and Bucks County as his birth-place. The family record, in the hand writing of Daniel Boone's uncle, James, who was a school master, gives the 14th of July, 1732.]

[Footnote 4: "Adventures of Daniel Boone, the Kentucky Rifleman." By the author of "Uncle Philip's Conversations."]

[Footnote 5: "Life of Daniel Boone" By John M. Peck.]

CHAPTER II.

Removal of Boone's father and family to North Carolina--Location on the Yadkin River--Character of the country and the people--Byron's description of the backwoodsman--Daniel Boone marries Rebecca Bryan--His farmer life in North Carolina--State of the country--Political troubles foreshadowed--Illegal fees and taxes--Probable effect of this state of things on Boone's mind--Signs of movement.

When Daniel Boone was still a youth, his father emigrated to North Carolina. The precise date of this removal of the family residence is not known. Mr. Peck, an excellent authority, says it took place when Daniel was about eighteen years old. This would make it about the year 1752.

The new residence of Squire Boone, Daniel's father, was near Holman's Ford, on the Yadkin River, about eight miles from Wilkesboro'. The fact of the great backwoodsman having pa.s.sed many years of his life there is still remembered with pride by the inhabitants of that region. The capital of Watauga County, which was formed in 1849, is named Boone, in honor of Daniel Boone. The historian of North Carolina[6] is disposed to claim him as a son of the State. He says: "In North Carolina Daniel Boone was reared. Here his youthful days were spent; and here that bold spirit was trained, which so fearlessly encountered the perils through which he pa.s.sed in after life. His fame is part of her property, and she has inscribed his name on a town in the region where his youth was spent."

"The character of Boone is so peculiar," says Mr. Wheeler, "that it marks the age in which he lived; and his name is celebrated in the verses of the immortal Byron:"

"Of all men-- Who pa.s.ses for in life and death most lucky, Of the great names which in our faces stare, Is Daniel Boone, backwoodsman of Kentucky."

"Crime came not near him--she is not the child Of Solitude. Health shrank not from him, for Her home is in the rarely-trodden wild."

"And tall and strong and swift of foot are they, Beyond the dwarfing city's pale abortions, Because their thoughts had never been the prey Of care or gain; the green woods were their portions: No sinking spirits told them they grew gray, No fas.h.i.+ons made them apes of her distortions.

Simple they were, not savage; and their rifles, Though very true, were not yet used for trifles."

"Motion was in their days, rest in their slumbers, And cheerfulness the handmaid of their toil.

Nor yet too many nor too few their numbers; Corruption could not make their hearts her soil; The l.u.s.t which stings, the splendor which enc.u.mbers, With the free foresters divide no spoil; Serene, not sullen, were the solitudes Of this unsighing people of the woods.'"

We quote these beautiful lines, because they so aptly and forcibly describe the peculiar character of Boone; and to a certain extent, as Mr. Wheeler intimates, his character was that of his times and of his a.s.sociates.