Life of Daniel Boone, the Great Western Hunter and PioneerHartley, Cecil B.
History
Life of Daniel Boone, the Great Western Hunter and Pioneer
Hartley, Cecil B.
Boone, Daniel, 1734-1820; Frontier and pioneer life -- Kentucky; Pioneers -- Kentucky -- Biography
The history of this expedition, like most others of the same nature,
possesses but little interest. The army with all the expedition they
could make, and for which the species of force was peculiarly favorable,
failed to surprise the Indians. These latter opposed no resistance of
importance to the advance of the army. Occasionally, a straggling party
would fire upon the Kentuckians, but never waited to receive a similar
compliment in return. Seven Indians were taken prisoners, and three or
four killed; one of them an old chief, too infirm to fly, was killed
by Major McGary. The towns of the Indians were burnt, and their fields
devastated. The expedition returned to Kentucky with the loss of four
men, two of whom were accidentally killed by their own comrades.
This invasion, though apparently so barren of result, is supposed to
have produced a beneficial effect, by impressing the Indians with the
numbers and courage of the Kentuckians. They appear from this time to
have given up the expectation of reconquering the country, and confined
their hostilities to the rapid incursions of small bands.
During the expedition of Clark, a party of Indians penetrated to the
Crab Orchard settlement. They made an attack upon a single house,
containing only a woman, a negro man, and two or three children. One of
the Indians, who had been sent in advance to reconnoitre, seeing the
weakness of the garrison, thought to get all the glory of the
achievement to himself.
He boldly entered the house and seized the negro, who proving strongest,
threw him on the floor, when the woman dispatched him with an axe. The
other Indians coming up, attempted to force open the door which had been
closed by the children during the scuffle. There was no gun in the
house, but the woman seized an old barrel of one, and thrust the muzzle
through the logs, at which the Indians retreated.
The year 1783 passed away without any disturbance from the Indians, who
were restrained by the desertion of their allies the British. In 1784,
the southern frontier of Kentucky was alarmed by the rumor of an
intended invasion by the Cherokees, and some preparations were made for
an expedition against them, which fell through, however, because there
was no authority to carry it on. The report of the hostility of the
Cherokees proved to be untrue.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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