When the road was finished to the banks of the Kentucky River, Daniel Boone built Fort Boonesboro. The fort was about two hundred sixty feet long, and one hundred fifty feet wide. At each corner of it stood a two-story blockhouse with loopholes, through which the settlers could shoot at Indians. Cabins with loopholes were built along the sides of the fort. Between the cabins a high fence was made by sinking log posts into the ground. Two heavy gates were built on opposite sides of the fort. Every night the horses and cattle were driven inside the fort. [Sidenote: =His family in the "second Paradise"=] =107. Boone Takes His Family to Kentucky.= When the fort was finished Boone brought his family, and several others, over the mountains to his "second Paradise." Other settlers came, and Boonesboro began to grow. Some of the bolder settlers built cabins outside of the fort, where they cut away and burned the trees to raise corn and vegetables. [Sidenote: =Three girl prisoners=] To the Indian all this seemed to threaten his hunting ground. The red men were anxious, therefore, to kill and scalp these brave pioneers. One day Boone's daughter and two girl friends were out late in a boat near the shore opposite the fort when the Indians suddenly seized the girls and hastened away with them. The people heard their screams for help, but too late to risk crossing the river. [Illustration: BOONE AND HIS MEN TRAILING THE INDIANS] [Sidenote: =The chase and the capture=] What sorrow in the fort that night! Had the Indians scalped the girls, or were they hastening to cross the Ohio with them? The next day Boone with eight men seized their guns, found the Indian trail, and marched with all speed. What if the Indians should see the white men first! On the second day Boone's party came upon the Indians building a fire, and fired before they were seen. Two of the Indians fell, and the others ran away, leaving the girls behind, unharmed, but badly frightened. [Sidenote: =Kentucky in the War of the Revolution=] The War of the Revolution was already raging east of the mountains, and the Indians were taking the side of the British. In April, 1777, a small army of Indians crossed the Ohio and attacked Boonesboro. The little fort made a bold fight. The Indians retreated, but returned on the Fourth of July in large numbers, to destroy the fort and scalp the settlers. For two days and nights the battle went on. The fierce war cry of the Indians filled the woods around the fort. The white men took deadly aim. The women aided by melting lead into bullets. The Indians again failed, and finally retreated. [Sidenote: =The prize prisoner=]