Historic Tales: The Romance of Reality. Vol. 01 (of 15), American (1)Morris, Charles
History
Historic Tales: The Romance of Reality. Vol. 01 (of 15), American (1)
Morris, Charles
United States -- History
At length, thoroughly discouraged, the enemy raised the
siege and departed, having succeeded only in killing two and
wounding four of the garrison, while their dead numbered
thirty-seven, and their wounded a large number. One of these
dead was a negro, who had deserted from the fort and joined
the Indians, and whom Boone brought down with a bullet from
the remarkable distance, for the rifles of that day, of five
hundred and twenty-five feet. After the enemy had gone there
were "picked up," says Boone, "one hundred and twenty-five
pounds' weight of bullets, besides what stuck in the logs of
the fort, which certainly is a great proof of their
industry," whatever may be said of their marksmanship.
The remainder of Daniel Boone's life we can give but in
outline. After the repulse of the enemy he returned to the
Yadkin for his family, and brought them again to his chosen
land. He came back to find an Indian war raging along the
whole frontier, in which he was called to play an active
part, and on more than one occasion owed his life to his
strength, endurance, and sagacity. This warfare continued
for a number of years, the Indians being generally
successful, and large numbers of soldiers falling before
their savage onsets. At length the conduct of the war was
intrusted to "Mad Anthony" Wayne, whose skill, rapidity, and
decision soon brought it to an end, and forced the tribes to
conclude a treaty of peace.
Thenceforward Kentucky was undisturbed by Indian forays, and
its settlement went forward with rapidity. The intrepid
Boone had by no means passed through the fire of war
unharmed. He tells us, "Two darling sons and a brother have
I lost by savage hands, which have also taken from me forty
valuable horses and abundance of cattle. Many dark and
sleepless nights have I been a companion for owls, separated
from the cheerful society of men, scorched by the summers'
sun, and pinched by the winter's cold, an instrument
ordained to settle the wilderness."
One wilderness settled, the hardy veteran pined for more.
Population in Kentucky was getting far too thick for his
ideas of comfort. His spirit craved the solitude of the
unsettled forest, and in 1802 he again pulled up stakes and
plunged into the depths of the Western woods. "Too much
crowded," he declared; "too much crowded. I want more
elbow-room."
His first abiding place was on the Great Kanawha, where he
remained for several years. Then, as the vanguard of the
army of immigrants pressed upon his chosen home, he struck
camp again, and started westward with wife and children,
driving his cattle before him, in search of a "promised
land" of few men and abundant game. He settled now beyond
the Mississippi, about fifty miles west of St. Louis. Here
he dwelt for years, hunting, trapping, and enjoying life in
his own wild way.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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