Daniel said nothing. But he thought his mother was mistaken.
"I believe I can think like an Indian," he said to himself. "Except for color, I'm more like an Indian than a white boy."
Moving On
Several years went by. Then Father Boone called the family together. "Pack your things," he told them. "We are leaving here. Boones never stay long in one place. Besides, our farm land is worn out. We can buy rich land cheap to the southwest of here. We will settle there."
Sixteen-year-old Daniel was happy. "I'm glad we are going," he said. "I feel crowded here. There are too many houses and too many people. And the game is getting scarce."
Father Boone made ready for the journey. He got out the big wagon and hitched two horses to it. Mother Boone packed clothes, quilts, dishes, pots, pans, and kettles. She would fix food for the family along the way. Daniel tied a cow behind the wagon.
The family said good-by to the neighbors and to their old home, and started. Mother, the girls, and the little children rode in the wagon. Father and the boys took turns riding the horses. Sometimes all of the Boones walked so that the horses could rest. Father and the boys had guns to kill birds and small animals for food along the way.
The Boones traveled across Pennsylvania. On and on they went toward the new country. Daniel caught many rabbits, which his mother stewed. Once he shot a small black bear. Another time he killed a deer. This gave the Boones food for several days.
At last the family came to the rolling, green Yadkin Valley in North Carolina. There were a few houses there already, but it was much wilder than in Pennsylvania.