In Kentucky with Daniel Boone

by John T. McIntyre

But in spite of their continued caution, danger crept upon them stealthily. While Boone and Stuart were one day in pursuit of game they came upon an Indian ambuscade. The savages leaped upon them with yells, firing as they came. Stuart fell, shot through and through; but Boone, covering his flight by the deadly cracking of his rifle, sped through the woods and escaped.

That night he rejoined Squire and the other hunter at the place appointed; and when he told his story a gloom fell upon the little camp as dark as the fate of poor Stuart.

But the deadly work of the savages was not yet done. Only a few days after this the man who had accompanied the younger Boone upon the relief expedition disappeared. For days the brothers searched for him. They found the moccasin-made tracks of the Shawnee hunters all about, but no trace of the white man was to be found.

And so Daniel Boone and his brother were left alone in the heart of that savage country, hundreds of miles from all aid and with the fate of their companions weighing heavily upon them. But did this break down their resolution? Did the danger which hemmed them in weaken their stout spirits? Because the wilderness was hostile, because the red warriors were relentless, because death hovered over them, did their hearts misgive them? No! Rather did it add to their purpose. Their stubborn spirits were not of the sort to accept defeat until it was beyond humanity to refuse it. And they felt that it was far from that stage as yet.

So they increased their caution, always held their weapons ready, lived like the wild things of the woods, never trusting to an appearance, never taking a sound for granted. Through the whole of the winter they lived this life of peril. And when spring came, their work not being done and their provisions and ammunition being low, it was determined that Squire go back to the settlements for a fresh supply.

“But, Dan,” said the unselfish younger brother, “I don’t care to leave you here in the midst of danger.”

Daniel placed his hands upon his shoulders, and said, gravely:

“You are doing your share, when all’s said and done. True, there is peril here; but is there more, lad, than you will face as you press back across the mountains alone?”

And so Squire mounted a horse, waved a good-bye and set out. Daniel watched him until the fresh green of the spring growth hid him from view, and then he turned to face the wilderness alone. But, undaunted, he pushed his explorations from day to day throughout the months which followed; more and more complete did his knowledge of the country grow; firmer and firmer became his conviction that in this region there would one day grow a great state, with broad farms and populous cities.

The danger from savages was continuous; apparently the Indians saw in the presence of Boone the first step in the invasion of the white man, and so were eager to check the movement before it could be fairly started. At night the lone hunter would steal through the cane-brake toward his camp; cautiously he would observe it from a distance, and noting that it had been visited during the day, he would steal away as silently as a shadow.