Daniel Boone: The Pioneer of Kentucky
The discomfited Indians had become thoroughly disheartened, and sent
couriers to Lord Dunmore imploring peace. Comstock, their chief, seems
to have been a man not only of strong native powers of mind, but of
unusual intelligence. With quite a brilliant retinue of his warriors, he
met Lord Dunmore in council at a point in the valley of the Scioto,
about four miles south of the present city of Circleville. Comstock
himself opened the deliberations with a speech of great dignity and
argumentative power. In a loud voice, which was heard, as he intended,
by all in the camp, he portrayed the former prosperous condition of the
Indian tribes, powerful in numbers and abounding in wealth, in the
enjoyment of their rich corn-fields, and their forests filled with game.
With this he contrasted very forcibly their present wretched condition,
with diminished numbers, and with the loss of their hunting grounds. He
reproached the whites with the violation of their treaty obligations,
and declared that the Indians had been forbearing in the extreme under
the wrongs which had been inflicted upon them.
"We know," said he, "perfectly well, our weakness when compared with the
English. The Indians desire only justice. The war was not sought by us,
but was forced upon us. It was commenced by the whites. We should have
merited the contempt of every white man could we have tamely submitted
to the murders which have been inflicted upon our unoffending people at
the hands of the white men."
The power was with Lord Dunmore. In the treaty of peace he exacted terms
which, though very hard for the Indians, were perhaps not more than he
had a right to require. The Indians surrendered four of their principal
warriors as hostages for the faithful observance of the treaty. They
relinquished all claims whatever to the vast hunting grounds which
their bands from time immemorial had ranged south of the Ohio river.
This was an immense concession. Lord Dunmore returned across the
mountains well satisfied with his campaign, though his soldiers were
excited almost to mutiny in not being permitted to wreak their vengeance
upon the unhappy savages.
And here let it be remarked, that deeply wronged as these Indians
unquestionably were, there was not a little excuse for the exasperation
of the whites. Fiends incarnate could not have invented more terrible
tortures than they often inflicted upon their captives. We have no heart
to describe these scenes. They are too awful to be contemplated. In view
of the horrid barbarity thus practised, it is not strange that the
English should have wished to shoot down the whole race, men, women, and
children, as they would exterminate wolves or bears.
This campaign being thus successfully terminated, Daniel Boone returned
to his humble cabin on the Clinch River. Here he had a small and fertile
farm, which his energetic family had successfully cultivated during the
summer, and he spent the winter months in his favorite occupation of
hunting in the forests around. His thoughtful mind, during these long
and solitary rambles, was undoubtedly occupied with plans for the
future. Emigration to his beautiful Kentucky was still his engrossing
thought.
It is not wonderful that a man of such fearless temperament, and a
natural turn of mind so poetic and imaginative, should have been charmed
beyond expression by a realm whose attractions he had so fully
experienced. That the glowing descriptions of Boone and Finley were not
exaggerated, is manifest from the equally rapturous account of others
who now began to explore this favored land. Imlay writes of that region:
"Everything here assumes a dignity and splendor I have never seen in any
other part of the world. You ascend a considerable distance from the
shores of the Ohio, and when you would suppose you had arrived at the
summit of a mountain, you find yourself upon an extensive level. Here an
eternal verdure reigns, and the brilliant sun of latitude 39 degrees,
piercing through the azure heavens, produces in this prolific soil an
early maturity which is truly astonishing. Flowers full and perfect, as
if they had been cultivated by the hand of a florist, with all their
captivating odors, and with all the variegated charms which color and
nature can produce, here in the lap of elegance and beauty, decorate the
smiling groves. Soft zephyrs gently breathe on sweets, and the inhaled
air gives a glow of health and vigor that seems to ravish the
intoxicated senses."
The Virginian government now resolved to pour a tide of emigration into
these as yet unexplored realms, south of the Ohio. Four hundred acres of
land were offered to every individual who would build a cabin, clear a
lot of land, and raise a crop of corn. This was called a settlement
right. It was not stated how large the clearing should be, or how
extensive the corn-field. Several settlements were thus begun in
Kentucky, when there was a new and extraordinary movement which
attracted universal attention.
A very remarkable man, named Richard Henderson, appeared in North
Carolina. Emerging from the humblest walks of life, and unable even to
read until he had obtained maturity, he developed powers of
conversational eloquence and administrative ability of the highest
order.
The Cherokee Indians claimed the whole country bounded by the Kentucky,
the Ohio, and the Cumberland rivers, and we know not how much more
territory extending indefinitely to the South and West. Colonel
Henderson formed an association of gentlemen, which he called the
Transylvania Company. Making a secret journey to the Cherokee country,
he met twelve hundred chiefs in council, and purchased of them the whole
territory, equal to some European kingdoms, bounded by the above
mentioned rivers. For this realm, above a hundred miles square, he paid
the insignificant sum of ten wagon loads of cheap goods, with a few
fire-arms and some spirituous liquors.
Mr. Henderson, to whom the rest of the company seemed to have delegated
all their powers, now assumed the position of proprietor, governor, and
legislator of his magnificent domain, which he called Transylvania. It
seems that Boone accompanied Colonel Henderson to the council of the
Cherokee chieftains which was held at Wataga, the southern branch of the
Holston River. Boone had explored nearly the whole of this region, and
it was upon his testimony that the company relied in endeavoring to
purchase these rich and fertile lands. Indeed, as we have before
intimated, it has been said that Boone in his wonderful and perilous
explorations was the agent of this secret company.
No treaties with the Indians were sure of general acquiescence. There
were always discontented chieftains; there were almost always
conflicting claims of hostile tribes; there were always wandering tribes
of hunters and of warriors, who, exasperated by the treatment which they
had received from vagabond white men, were ever ready to wreak their
vengeance upon any band of emigrants they might encounter.
Colonel Henderson's treaty was made in the month of March, 1775. With
characteristic vigor, he immediately made preparations for the
settlement of the kingdom of which he was the proud monarch. The first
thing to be done was to mark out a feasible path through which emigrants
might pass, without losing their way, over the mountains and through
the wilderness, to the heart of this new Eden. Of all the men in the
world, Daniel Boone was the one to map out this route of five hundred
miles. He took with him a company of road-makers, and in a few months
opened a path which could be traversed by pack-horses, and even by
wagons to a place called Boonesville on the Kentucky river, within about
thirty miles of the present site of Lexington.
The Indian hunters and warriors, notwithstanding the treaties into which
the chieftains of the North and the South had entered, watched the
construction of this road with great solicitude. They knew full well
that it would ere long secure their expulsion from their ancient hunting
grounds. Though no general warfare was organized by the tribes, it was
necessary to be constantly on the watch against lawless bands, who were
determined to harass the pioneers in every possible way. In the
following letter Boone communicated to Colonel Henderson the hostility
which they had, perhaps unexpectedly, encountered. It was dated the
first of April, and was sent back by a courier through the woods:
"Dear Colonel,--
"After my compliments to you, I shall acquaint you with my
misfortunes. On March the Twenty-fifth, a party of Indians fired
on my company about half an hour before day, and killed Mr. Twitty
and his negro, and wounded Mr. Walker very deeply; but I hope he
will recover. On March the Twenty-eighth, as we were hunting for
provisions, we found Samuel Tale's son who gave us an account that
the Indians fired on their camp on the twenty-seventh day. My
brother and I went down and found two men killed and scalped,
Thomas McDowell and Jeremiah McPeters. I have sent a man down to
all the lower companies, in order to gather them all to the mouth
of the Otter Creek. My advice to you, sir, is to come or send as
soon as possible. Your company is desired greatly, for the people
are very uneasy, but are willing to stay and venture their lives
with you. And now is the time to frustrate their (the Indians)
intentions, and keep the country while we are in it. If we give way
to them now, it will ever be the case. This day we start from the
battle ground to the mouth of Otter Creek, where we shall
immediately erect a fort, which will be done before you can come or
send. Then we can send ten men to meet you, if you send for them.
"I am, Sir, your most obedient servant,
"DANIEL BOONE."
Boone immediately commenced upon the left bank of the Kentucky river,
which here ran in a westerly direction, the erection of a fort. Their
position was full of peril, for the road-makers were but few in number,
and Indian warriors to the number of many hundreds might at any time
encircle them. Many of these Indians had also obtained muskets from the
French in Canada, and had become practiced marksmen. Nearly three months
were busily occupied in the construction of this important fort.
Fortunately we have a minute description of its structure, and a sketch
of its appearance, either from the pencil of Colonel Henderson, or of
some one in his employ.
The fort or fortress consisted of a series of strong log huts, enclosing
a large interior or square. The parallelogram was about two hundred and
sixty feet in length and one hundred and fifty in breadth. These cabins,
built of logs, were bullet-proof. The intervals between them were filled
with stout pieces of timber, about twelve feet high, planted firmly in
the ground, in close contact with each other, and sharpened at the top.
The fort was built close to the river, with one of its angles almost
overhanging the water, so that an abundant supply could be obtained
without peril. Each of the corner houses projected a little, so that
from the port-holes any Indian could be shot who should approach the
walls with ladder or hatchet. This really artistic structure was not
completed until the fourteenth day of June. The Indians from a distance
watched its progress with dismay. They made one attack, but were easily
repelled, though they succeeded in shooting one of the emigrants.
Daniel Boone contemplated the fortress on its completion with much
satisfaction. He was fully assured that behind its walls and palisades
bold hearts, with an ample supply of ammunition, could repel any