The Conquest of the Old Southwest; the romantic story of the early pioneers into Virginia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Kentucky, 1740-1790Henderson, Archibald
History
The Conquest of the Old Southwest; the romantic story of the early pioneers into Virginia, the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Kentucky, 1740-1790
Henderson, Archibald
Frontier and pioneer life -- Southwest, Old; Kentucky -- History -- To 1792; Southwest, Old -- History; Tennessee -- History
Chagrined particularly by the loss of the horses, Boone and Stewart for
two days pursued the Indians in hot haste. Finally approaching the
Indians' camp by stealth in the dead of night, they secured two of the
horses, upon which they fled at top speed. In turn they were immediately
pursued by a detachment of the Indians, mounted upon their fleetest
horses; and suffered the humiliation of recapture two days later.
Indulging in wild hilarity over the capture of the crestfallen whites,
the Indians took a bell from one of the horses and, fastening it about
Boone's neck, compelled him under the threat of brandished tomahawks to
caper about and jingle the bell, jeering at him the while with the
derisive query, uttered in broken English: "Steal horse, eh?" With as
good grace as they could summon--wry smiles at best--Boone and Stewart
patiently endured these humiliations, following the Indians as captives.
Some days later (about January 4, 1770), while the vigilance of the
Indians was momentarily relaxed, the captives suddenly plunged into a
dense cane-brake and in the subsequent confusion succeeded in effecting
their escape. Finding their camp deserted upon their return, Boone and
Stewart hastened on and finally overtook their companions. Here Boone
was both surprised and delighted to encounter his brother Squire, loaded
down with supplies. Having heard nothing from Boone, the partners of the
land company had surmised that he and his party must have run short of
ammunition, flour, salt, and other things sorely needed in the
wilderness; and because of their desire that the party should remain, in
order to make an exhaustive exploration of the country, Squire Boone had
been sent to him with supplies. [100] Findlay, Holden, Mooney, and
Cooley returned to the settlements; but Stewart, Squire Boone, and
Alexander Neely, who had accompanied Squire, threw in their lot with the
intrepid Daniel, and fared forth once more to the stirring and bracing
adventures of the Kentucky wilderness. In Daniel Boone's own words, he
expected "from the furs and peltries they had an opportunity of taking
... to recruit his shattered circumstances; discharge the debts he had
contracted by the adventure; and shortly return under better auspices,
to settle the newly discovered country." [101]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account