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diff --git a/old/66720-0.txt b/old/66720-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 0664c29..0000000 --- a/old/66720-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,3919 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of In Kentucky with Daniel Boone, by John -T. McIntyre - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: In Kentucky with Daniel Boone - -Author: John T. McIntyre - -Illustrators: Ralph L. Boyer - A. Edwin Kromer - -Release Date: November 12, 2021 [eBook #66720] - -Language: English - -Produced by: D A Alexander, David E. Brown, and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was - made using scans of public domain works put online by - Harvard University Library's Open Collections Program.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN KENTUCKY WITH DANIEL -BOONE *** - - - -[Illustration: HIS SWIFT EYES SEARCHED IT FOR THE SIGN] - - - - - IN KENTUCKY - WITH - DANIEL BOONE - - _By_ - - JOHN T. McINTYRE - - _Illustrations by_ - - Ralph L. Boyer and A. Edwin Kromer - - [Illustration] - - THE PENN PUBLISHING - COMPANY PHILADELPHIA - 1913 - - - - - COPYRIGHT - 1913 BY - THE PENN - PUBLISHING - COMPANY - -[Illustration] - - - - -Contents - - - I. THE GRAY LIZARD SPEAKS 7 - - II. A COMING STRUGGLE 18 - - III. DANIEL BOONE, MARKSMAN 33 - - IV. IN THE WILDERNESS 61 - - V. CAPTURED BY THE SHAWNEES 70 - - VI. BOONE IN THE WILDERNESS 93 - - VII. ATTACKED! 105 - - VIII. THE THREE BOYS RIDE ON A MISSION 114 - - IX. DEFENDING A LOG CABIN 125 - - X. A NIGHT EXPERIENCE 139 - - XI. THE BATTLE OF POINT PLEASANT 147 - - XII. THE FORT AT BOONESBOROUGH 164 - - XIII. CONCLUSION 174 - - XIV. SKETCH OF BOONE’S LIFE 185 - - - - -Illustrations - - - HIS SWIFT EYES SEARCHED IT FOR THE SIGN _Frontispiece_ - - CLOSELY BOONE STUDIED THE TRAIL 75 - - THE RIFLES SPOKE THROUGH THE PORT-HOLES 136 - - HE INCREASED HIS SPEED 159 - - - - -In Kentucky With Daniel Boone - - - - -CHAPTER I - -THE GRAY LIZARD SPEAKS - - -Along the trail which wound along the banks of the Yadkin, in North -Carolina, rode a tall, sinewy man; he had a bronzed, resolute face, -wore the hunting shirt, leggins and moccasins of the backwoods, and -had hanging from one shoulder a long flint-locked rifle. A small buck, -which this unerring weapon of the hunter had lately brought down, lay -across his saddle bow. - -Away along the trail, at a place where the river bent sharply, a cloud -of dust arose in the trail; and as the hunter rode forward he kept his -keen eyes upon this. - -“Horsemen,” he told himself. “Two of them, I reckon, judging from the -dust.” - -Nearer and nearer rolled the cloud; at length the riders within it -could be seen. One was a middle-aged man who rode a powerful black -horse; the other was a boy of perhaps thirteen whose mount was a -long-legged young horse, with a wild eye and ears that were never still. - -Catching sight of the hunter, the man on the big black drew rein. - -“What, Daniel!” cried he. “Well met!” - -“How are you, Colonel Henderson?” replied the backwoodsman. “I didn’t -calculate on seeing you to-day.” - -“I rode over for the express purpose of having a talk with you,” said -Colonel Henderson. “I was at your house, but they told me you’d gone -away early this morning to try for some game.” - -The hunter glanced down at the buck across his saddle. There was a -discontented frown upon his brow. - -“Yes, gone since early morning,” he said. “And this is all I got. The -hunting ain’t so good in the Yadkin country as it was once. As a boy -I’ve stood in the door of my father’s cabin and brought down deer big -enough to be this one’s granddaddy.” - -The boy on the long-legged horse bounced up and down in his saddle at -this; the nag felt his excitement and began to rear and plunge. - -“Steady, boy, steady,” said Colonel Henderson. “Hold him in.” - -“It’s all right, uncle,” replied the lad. “He don’t mean anything by -it.” Then to the hunter, as his mount became quiet: “That was good -shooting, Mr. Boone, wasn’t it? And,” pointing to the carcass of the -buck, “so was that. Right behind the left shoulder; and it left hardly -a mark on him.” - -Daniel Boone smiled. - -“I always treat my old rifle well,” said he, humorously. “And she never -goes back on me.” - -“Some time ago I had a talk with John Finley,” said Colonel Henderson. -“He told me wonderful tales of the hunting country beyond the Laurel -Ridge.”[1] - -Daniel Boone’s eyes went toward the northwest where the great mountain -chain reared its peaks toward the sky until they were enveloped in a -blue mist. - -“Beyond the Laurel Ridge,” said he, “there is a country such as no man -has ever seen before. Such hills and valleys, such forests and streams -and plains can only be in one place in the world. And there are deer -and bear and fur animals; and buffalo cover the plains. Also,” and a -grim look came into his face, “there are redskins!” - -There was a short silence; Colonel Henderson looked at the backwoodsman -very thoughtfully. - -“For some time,” said he, “it has seemed to me that these settlements -are not what they should be. The laws enforced by the British governor -Tryon, have sown discontent among the people. New emigrants go to other -places where there are better laws and less taxes.” - -Daniel Boone nodded. - -“Tax gatherers, magistrates, lawyers and such like live like -aristocrats,” said he, “and the farmers and other settlers are asked to -support them. We are here in the settlements, it seems, for no other -purpose than to give these fellows a soft living. And they take our -money and treat us like servants. A peddler who hucksters among the -Indians is thought a better man than the one who has cut a form out of -the wilderness with his axe.” - -There was a bitterness in the man’s tone which seemed to please the -other. - -“There are a great many who feel just as you do about it,” said he. -“And it was this very thing that I rode over to speak about.” - -Daniel Boone shook his head. - -“Signing writings and sending them to Tryon will do no good,” said -he. “He’s a tyrant and understands nothing but oppression.” Then in a -longing tone, his eyes on the distant hills, “I wish I were away from -the Yadkin for good and all. No man can be free here as long as we have -public officers who think of nothing but plunder.” - -“As I said before,” said Colonel Henderson, in a satisfied tone, “there -are a great many others who are of the same way of thinking as you. But -they have nowhere to go; if a new country was opened for them, they -would sell their farms, pack their goods upon their horses’ backs and -be gone.” - -There was something in the speaker’s tone that took the attention of -the backwoodsman. His keen eyes studied Colonel Henderson’s face; but -he said nothing. - -“Ever since I heard Finley talk of the country beyond the ridge,” said -the colonel, resuming after a moment, “I’ve felt that such a rare -region should be opened up for settlement.” - -“Right!” cried Daniel Boone and his eyes began to glow. - -“But,” said the colonel, “I’ve also felt that it should not be done -until the country was explored further--until it had been penetrated -to its interior, until its streams were worked out on a chart, a trail -made for the passage of emigrants and the most promising places fixed -upon for settlements.” - -“Right again,” said Daniel Boone. “I’ve been in the country and so have -Finley and some others; but none of us has studied it. To do that would -take a year or more; and to live a year so far from the settlements a -man would have to make up his mind to troubles from the Indians.” - -“The Shawnees claim it,” said the colonel. “If it is what I want, I -will buy it from them.” - -“It’s a hunting-ground for Cherokees, Shawnees and Chickasaws,” said -Boone, and he shook his head as he spoke. “So far as I could see, it -belonged to all of them. And it’s a fighting place; when two hunting -parties meet, the hatchet, knife and arrow begin their work.” - -Once more the colonel regarded the backwoodsman attentively. - -“I never knew the prospect of danger or hard work to hold you back in -anything you wanted to do,” he said. - -Boone laughed. - -“I’ve always tried not to let them, I reckon,” said he. - -“This fall,” and the colonel spoke slowly, “I am going to send an -exploring party into the northwest country; and later, if it’s what I -think it is, I’ll want a party of trail makers and a man to treat with -the Shawnees. How would you like to take charge of this matter for me?” - -For a moment Boone sat his horse, staring at the speaker. - -“You mean it?” he said, at last. - -“I do.” - -The backwoodsman held out a strong brown hand; Colonel Henderson -gripped it. - -“I’m with you,” said Boone, in a tone of deep satisfaction. “It’s a -thing I’ve been sort of dreaming of for years. That great region, -now given over to the Indian hunters and wild beasts, is calling the -white man. I heard its voice as I stood among the lonely hills, in -the forests, and upon the banks of its rivers. Once there with their -families, their plows and their horses, their cabins built, the settler -will meet----” - -“Death!” said a strange voice; and, startled, both Boone and Colonel -Henderson turned their eyes in the direction from which it came. - -An Indian stood there--an ancient savage, clad in skins upon which -were painted queer symbols. Strings of amulets, bears’ claws and the -teeth of foxes and wolves hung about him; his face was lined with the -deep wrinkles of great age, his eyes were small, black, and glittered -coldly like those of a snake. - -“What, Gray Lizard!” said Boone, in surprise. “Are you here?” - -The old Indian advanced a step or two, supporting himself by a long -staff. Keenly the serpent eyes gazed at the three whites. - -“Death will meet the paleface,” said he. “He will never build his lodge -in the country beyond the mountains. Let him once pass the great gap, -and he is no more.” - -Boone laughed. - -“I’ve been through the gap, Gray Lizard,” he said, good-naturedly; “and -so have other white men. And we still live.” - -The cold eyes fixed themselves upon the resolute face; one skinny -finger was lifted until it pointed at Boone’s breast. - -“You have,” said Gray Lizard. “You have, and you are marked. Let your -rifle once more break the silence of the hills or ring over the waters -of the red man’s rivers, and your death song is sung.” - -Then he turned to Colonel Henderson, and continued: - -“And you, white chief, take care! The Gray Lizard has known these -many moons of what you mean to do, and now he warns you. If you love -your friends, do not send them beyond the Laurel Ridge. For in the -wilderness their fate awaits them at the hands of the Shawnees.” - -He turned and was about to go; then he paused, and added: - -“The Gray Lizard is old. He has seen many things. He knew the Yadkin -when the white man was a stranger on its banks. Take warning by his -words: do not venture beyond the blue hills.” - -Then, his long staff ringing on the stones, he went limping down the -trail. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -A COMING STRUGGLE - - -As the strange figure of the old Cherokee went halting along the river -trail, the eyes of Boone and his companions followed curiously. - -“A queer sort of customer,” commented Colonel Henderson. “I don’t -recall ever having seen him before.” - -“He’s a wonder worker and medicine man,” said Boone. “And he spends a -good bit of his time on the fringe of the settlements. Sometimes,” and -here a frown came upon his brow, “I’ve thought him more of a spy than -anything else.” - -“At any rate he knows how to creep up on one secretly,” said the -colonel, with a laugh. And then, more soberly: “And he seemed rather -earnest in his sayings.” - -Daniel Boone nodded his head. - -“All these old redskins are crafty,” said he. “They spend their days -and nights finding out ways of imposing on their fellow savages. And -managing to do this without trouble they think they can impose in the -same way upon the white man.” - -“I see,” said Colonel Henderson. - -“If they can put fear in the hearts of the whites,” continued Boone, -“the whites will not venture into the wilderness. A settler killed now -and then is the common way; but there are others, and I’ve heard a -warning spoken by a prophet hung with totems before to-day.” - -The boy who had been staring after the figure of Gray Lizard now spoke. - -“I’ve been wondering where I saw him before, and now I’ve remembered, -Uncle Dick,” said he. “Yesterday I rode up the river to visit the camp -of the young braves who are to take part in the games. It was there I -saw him; among the lodges.” - -“Ah!” said Boone; “and so the braves have come in for the games, eh?” - -“More than a score of them,” replied the lad. “And a fine looking lot -they are, sir,” with admiration. - -The backwoodsman nodded. - -“They are sure to be,” said he, grimly. “The redskins seldom send any -but the pick of their villages.” - -“It’s been three days since they pitched their camp,” said the lad. -“And they’ve been hard at work ever since, practicing with their bows -and rifles, and throwing their hatchets at marks. There’s a good runner -or two among them,” added the boy; “and they have some fine horses.” - -“I’ve always been against these games,” said Daniel Boone, as he shook -his head. - -Colonel Henderson looked at him in surprise. - -“Why,” said he, “how is that? Athletic games always seemed to me to be -good for the youngsters.” - -“So they are,” agreed Boone. “Mighty good. But these of ours are a -mistake, because the lads don’t put enough heart in ’em. They don’t -take ’em serious enough.” - -The colonel smiled. - -“It’s all in the spirit of fun,” said he. - -But Boone shook his head. - -“That’s where you’re wrong, colonel,” said he, “and that’s where the -boys are also wrong. There ain’t many of us whites on this border; but -over beyond the Laurel Ridge the Indians lie in clouds. And that they -haven’t blotted us out long since is because away down in their hearts -they’ve thought we’re better’n they are, for we’ve always showed we -could give them odds and beat them at anything they cared to do.” - -“And now, you think----” - -“Our young men are letting them pull out ahead too often; and that’s -not a good thing to have happen. Once let the red man get the notion -that he’s better than the white, and this border’ll be turned into a -wilderness--there won’t be a settlement but won’t feel the tomahawk and -the torch. The white man will be turned back from the west for twenty -years to come.” - -“I see.” Colonel Henderson looked thoughtful. “I never thought of that, -Daniel; and now that you put it before me I can see that you are right.” - -The boy had listened to what the backwoodsman had to say with much -attention. Now he spoke. - -“Eph Taylor was along when I rode up to the Shawnee camp yesterday,” -said he. “And as we went he told me how the young braves crowed over -them last fall, and how they promised to beat them even worse this -year. And when we got to the camp all the young warriors grinned at us -and talked a lot among themselves. Eph knows some of their language and -said it was all about us, and about the games and how they were going -to run away from us in everything we tried.” - -Boone looked at Henderson and nodded, grimly. - -“Do you see?” said he. “That’s how it will begin. Five years from now -these same young redskins will have a voice in the councils of their -tribe. Let them carry this feeling of being better than us into those -councils, and nothing will hold them back from a bloody war.” - -“Well, Noll,” said Colonel Henderson to his nephew, “you see what -you’ve got before you.” - -The tone was half laughing; but when Oliver Barclay made reply it was -with all the seriousness in the world. - -“Eph and I talked about it as we rode back home,” said he. “And we made -up our minds to give them a hard fight for each match as it came along. -Eph and I are to arrange everything to-day; that’s why I am riding over -to see him.” - -“Well,” said Colonel Henderson, “I suppose you may as well go on if -that’s what you are about. I have some business to talk over with -Mr. Boone, and will ride back to his farm with him. Will you be home -to-night?” - -Noll shook his head. - -“I don’t think so,” he replied. Then with a laugh: “When I get down to -plotting with Eph Taylor there’s no telling when I’ll get through.” - -He shook the rein, and the long-legged young horse brandished its heels -in most exuberant fashion. The boy waved his hand to the two men. - -“Good-bye,” said he. Then to Boone, “Going to be at the games -to-morrow, Mr. Boone?” - -“Maybe,” said the backwoodsman. - -“Come along,” suggested Noll. “Maybe something’ll happen that’ll please -you.” - -Boone looked at the strong young figure sitting the fiery horse so -easily, the clear eyes, the confident smile. And his bronzed face -wrinkled in a laugh of pleasure. - -“Well, Noll,” said he, “I’ll go. But mind you this: I’ll expect -something more than I saw a year ago.” - -“I can promise you that, anyhow,” said the boy. “And maybe there’ll be -more. Good-bye.” - -And with that he rode forward along the river trail, while Daniel -Boone and Colonel Henderson turned their horses’ heads in the opposite -direction. A mile further on Noll overtook Gray Lizard plodding on with -the help of his long staff. The magician gave the boy a sidelong glance -as he passed; but Noll did not check the lope of his horse, pushing on -until he reached a place where a second trail branched away from the -river, winding among the huge forest trees and losing itself in the -billowing ocean of foliage. - -He struck into this, and after an hour’s riding came in sight of a -well-built log house, surrounded by broad fields, from which the crops -had lately been harvested. - -Before the cabin door sat a tall, lank boy in a hunting shirt, busily -engaged in cleaning a long flint-locked rifle. At the sound of the -rapid hoof-beats he looked up. Recognizing Oliver, who was still some -distance off, he waved his hand in greeting; then he turned his head -and spoke to some one within the cabin. - -Drawing rein before the door, young Barclay threw himself from the -saddle. - -“Well, Eph,” said he, as he tied his mount to a post, “I suppose you -all but gave up hope of me.” - -Eph Taylor had a long, droll looking face, and as he shook his head he -twisted his countenance into an expression of comic denial. - -“No,” said he. “I reckoned you’d be along some time soon. This thing of -ours was too important to let go by.” - -He rammed a greased cloth down the barrel of the rifle, and twisting it -about, withdrew it once more. - -“I saw Sandy,” added he. - -At this Noll Barclay was all eagerness. - -“Did you!” exclaimed he. “And what did he say?” - -“Suppose I let him speak for himself,” said Eph, with the same comical -twist to his long face. “He came over this afternoon to talk things -over with us. Ho! Sandy! Can you come here for a little?” - -A short, tow-haired youth appeared at the door of the cabin; he carried -a halter in one hand and a brad-awl in the other. He nodded to Oliver -good-humoredly. - -“Glad to see you again,” said he. “How are you?” - -His accent was broadly Scotch, and there was a round-bodied heartiness -to him which at once inspired good will. - -“I’m in right good health,” said Oliver. “And I’m glad enough to see -you, Sandy.” - -Sandy Campbell laughed. He placed a strap of the halter against the -door frame and punctured it with the awl. - -“I was mighty taken with your notion,” stated he. “And when I got done -with my work, I rode over to hear more about it.” - -Oliver Barclay sat down upon a rough settle which stood beneath a -cottonwood; he looked at the other two boys with earnest eyes. - -“What we talked over yesterday, Eph,” said he, “seemed good reason -enough for us to make an attempt to get the best of the Cherokees. But -what I heard this afternoon puts a different face on it altogether.” - -Eph Taylor looked up from his rifle in surprise. - -“You don’t mean to say that you have changed your mind!” said he. - -Oliver shook his head. - -“Not a bit of it,” answered he. “Indeed, I’m firmer about it than ever. -But to just make an attempt to best the Indians won’t do now; we must -beat them!” - -Both Eph and Sandy looked at him inquiringly. - -“You say you heard something,” said Sandy Campbell. “What was it?” - -“As I rode down the trail with my uncle,” said Noll, “we met Mr. Boone.” - -The face of Eph Taylor took on an expression of interest. - -“Oh, it was something he said, was it? Well, then, I allow it was worth -listening to, for Dan’l Boone always talks as the crow flies--in a -straight line.” - -And then, while his two friends listened with great attention, Oliver -repeated the words of the backwoodsman. When he had finished, Sandy -nodded his head. - -“It sounds much like the truth of the matter,” said he. - -“It is the truth!” declared Eph, emphatically. “If we give these -redskins a chance to crow over us in little things, they’ll think they -can do it in big things. To-morrow we must take ’em in hand and give -them a good thrashing--a regular good one that they’ll not forget in a -hurry.” - -“I’m all ready for my part of it,” grinned Sandy. “Or, at least I will -be as soon as this halter’s finished. That old Soldier horse couldn’t -have been better for the work if he’d been picked out of a hundred. -He’s got a back as wide as a floor; and I’ve been practicing with him -all summer, never thinking I’d have any use for it.” - -“It’s lucky you did,” spoke Eph. “And I reckon the things you do’ll -make the redskins open their eyes. As for me,” and he fondled the long -rifle lovingly, “I got old Jerusha here; and when she begins to talk I -allow there won’t be many Shawnees that’ll use better language.” - -Oliver smiled and nodded. To strangers there would have been a boastful -note in the words of young Taylor; but not to those who knew him. The -boy was a wonderful shot at all distances, but it never occurred to him -to take any personal credit for this. Oddly enough he gave it all to -his rifle. - -“Nobody with half an eye could miss with her,” he’d frequently -declare. “She’s the greatest old shooting iron ever made.” - -Oliver sat smiling and nodding at Eph’s faith in his piece, and while -he did so his eyes went to the spot where the long-legged young horse -was tied. Sandy noticed the look and his glance also went in the same -direction. - -“The Hawk will do his share,” said he with an air of expert judgment. -“He has speed and bottom and in a long race he’ll break the hearts of -those Indian nags.” - -“Just like his master’ll break the hearts of the Shawnees that’ll run -against _him_,” spoke Eph Taylor, with confidence. - -“I’m not so sure of that,” said Oliver; and as he spoke a sound from -across the fields toward the line of forest took their attention. The -sinking sun glanced from the lithe bronze body of a young Indian who -was running swiftly and low, like a hound. “There’s the fellow I’m to -fight it out against,” added the white boy. “And any one who comes in -ahead of him will have speed, indeed.” - -Eph Taylor nodded. - -“He’s good,” admitted he. “But I count on him, Injun like, only to use -his legs in the race. To beat him, all you’ve got to do is to use your -head as well.” - - -CHAPTER III - -DANIEL BOONE, MARKSMAN - - -Mounted upon his powerful bay horse, Daniel Boone the following day -rode toward Holman’s Ford. This point was some eight miles from -Hillsboro, and it was here that the young men of the settlement met -each fall for their hardy frontier games. - -Keen-sighted youths, bearing long barrelled flint-locks, eagerly -awaited this, the test of their skill; sturdy wrestlers burned to match -their thews against each other; and the runners, both horse and man, -were equally anxious to show their quality. - -The sun had reached high noon when the backwoodsman reached the ford, -dismounted and tied his nag to a tree. A long line of wagons, the -horses tied to the wheels, stood on the river bank; the settlers and -their families were gathered beneath the trees. Apart from these were -the athletes of farm and forest, well-grown boys and brawny young men; -they stood about in knots and discussed the probabilities of each -event. A smaller knot than any of the others stood at the foot of a -huge cottonwood; a hail went up from this as Boone went by; and he -paused as he recognized Oliver Barclay, Eph Taylor and Sandy Campbell. - -“Well, youngsters,” said the pioneer, “how is it going?” - -Eph Taylor grinned. - -“There ain’t been much done yet, Mr. Boone,” said he. “And even with -the little we’ve gone through, we’ve had trouble with the redskins.” - -The eyes of Boone went to a cleared space among the trees where a -number of lodges had been erected; upon some skins, thrown upon the -ground, lay a half score of keen-looking Shawnees. To the trees near -by were fastened a number of rangy-looking horses. - -“What’s wrong?” asked the backwoodsman. - -“We’ve had the jumps,” said Eph, “and none of the Indians entered for -them. So Eben Clarke won ’em all. Then there was the throwing of the -stone and big Sam Dutton put it further than any one else, by a good -bit. The first thing the Shawnees took any interest in was the swim. It -was across the river and back, to start at the word and all together. A -slippery little redskin entered for that; he got into the water like a -streak; and he was a real good swimmer. George Collins was off in the -front and the little Shawnee went by him like a fish. Then George began -to stretch out and grab the water in armfuls and pull himself after -him. But he never caught him till they got to the middle of the stream -on the way back. Sandy here was in the race,” and Eph grinned. “He -thinks he’s a swimmer, but he was still on the way over when George and -the redskin were coming back. Just as George caught the Indian they -both ran afoul of Sandy. And because George went ahead from that on and -won the race the Shawnees say the whole consarned thing was a put up -job to beat them out of the race.” - -“And it’s not so,” said Sandy, with indignation. “If I interfered with -anybody it was with George Collins. I dived to get out of the Indian’s -way when I saw him coming and I went straight into George.” - -“There’s only one of them who understands any English, beside old Gray -Lizard,” said Oliver, “and that’s the tall fellow covered with the -bearskin. We took the trouble to explain the matter to them; but they -just shake their heads and candidly think the worst of us.” - -“Injuns,” stated Boone, “can never be got to quite believe the white -man. Maybe it’s because they’ve been beaten so often and in so many -ways that they’ve come to think that he _can’t_ have played fair with -him.” - -The wrestling was now going forward, and big Sam Dutton, he of -the “stone throw,” was disposing of opponent after opponent with -ease. There being little interest manifested in this because of its -one-sidedness, the master of ceremonies, a stout, humorous-looking man, -called out: - -“I reckon we’ll now have the fancy riders out getting ready.” Then in a -lower tone to those near him, “This is a thing the Injuns always win, -and our boys ought to be ashamed of themselves for letting ’em. Trick -riding ought to be as easy for a white as a redskin.” - -This complaint was greeted by a laugh from those at whom it was aimed; -and the laugh was still echoing when a young Shawnee ran out and across -the green. To a tree some distance away he affixed a mark of painted -bark, then he paced off a score of yards, turned, drew a tomahawk and -waved it as though in challenge. Then the sinewy, bronzed arm went back -and the hatchet whizzed through the air; true and fair it struck the -mark, burying itself an inch or more in the tree. - -A yell went up from the young braves at this; there were challenging -glances thrown right and left; but as none of the whites appeared -disposed to accept, a fresh mark was put up. Another Shawnee stepped -forward and drew out a heavy-bladed knife. For an instant he balanced -it in his hand, then launched it forward like a lightning flash, -straight to the heart of the mark. - -Another whoop arose, and again the triumphant challenging glances went -around from the young savages. - -“They reckon there ain’t none of you got it in you to do a thing like -that,” stated the master of ceremonies. - -“Just you wait till the shooting,” answered a voice, and a murmur went -up from among the whites. “We’ll show ’em then.” - -“Well, you ought to,” answered the stout man. “You’ve lived all your -lives with rifles in your hands, and it’s not much to your credit that -you can shoot. But,” and he waved one pudgy finger at them, “don’t be -too sure of the shooting, even at that. Maybe you ain’t heard that Long -Panther is here to-day! And anybody that’s acquainted with that young -redskin knows a Shawnee with a good eye and a steady hand.” - -Here those horsemen entered for the fancy riding galloped out into the -open space. To a man they were Indians, in all the bravery of paint and -plumes. - -“Not a single one of you!” exclaimed the fat master of ceremonies, -reproachfully, his gaze going from the array of confident savages to -the circle of lolling young whites. “Not a single one; not a thing do -you know about riding but to get into the saddle and sit there like an -old dame in a rocking-chair. Not a single----” - -But there he paused, for just then there rode into the open space a -round-bodied youth with a cheerful, good-natured face, and mounted upon -an ambling white horse, as fat and unlike the fiery brutes bestridden -by the Shawnees as could well be imagined. A roar went up at sight -of this unexpected entry; even the stoical savages grinned in ironic -enjoyment of the situation. - -Gravely the master of ceremonies shook the newcomer’s hand. - -“Young man,” said he, gratefully, “you may not have much chance, but -you have got pluck. What’s your name and the name of that young animal -you’re a-riding?” - -“I’m Sandy Campbell,” replied that good-natured youth, “and this,” -patting the fat white horse on the neck, “is Soldier, a plow horse, -fifteen years old, belonging to the man I work for.” - -Another shout went up from the by-standers; but the master of -ceremonies held up his hand. - -“It’s not your turn to laugh,” stated he. “He’s making a try; and -that’s something more than any of you have the enterprise to do.” - -The word was given; one after another the young braves set their horses -into a gallop; when at full speed they leaped from the backs of their -mounts and, clinging to the streaming manes, ran a dozen or more yards -by their sides; then with agile swings they were astride them once -more. Then with a rush they approached the starting point, bringing -up sharply and in picturesque fashion, the front hoofs of the horses -pawing the air. - -All eyes now turned upon Sandy Campbell and the sleek sided Soldier. -Quietly Sandy gave the white horse the word and calmly the placid -beast obeyed. At a stoical gallop he began circling the clearing; -his movements were as regular as those of a rocking-horse; and Sandy -sat him in total unconcern while shouts and laughter greeted them on -every hand. Then Sandy threw his right leg across the horse’s broad -back, sitting him sideways; it looked like an uncouth beginning of the -feat performed by the Shawnees and a titter of expectancy began. This -changed to a roar of derision as the fat boy slid from his perch to the -ground. - -But if they had watched keenly, they would have perceived that he -alighted with a soft, practiced accuracy; also that the long comic -bounds which followed at the side of the calmly galloping Soldier were -really as light as those of a rubber ball. Then with one higher than -the others, and never putting a hand upon his horse, he was upon its -back once more; and Soldier drew up, switching his tail and regarding -the green distance with sleepy eyes. - -Without waiting for the surprised applause of the settlers to grow to -the height it naturally would have reached, one of the young Shawnees -shook his rein; his nimble steed darted away like the wind, an arrow -flew ahead, performed a graceful arch and stack in the ground. Racing -at full speed the horse swooped down upon it; clinging with one foot -and one hand the brave stooped, caught the feathered shaft, and -recovering, waved it above him triumphantly. - -Soldier was at once put into motion; when he had attained his best -speed, Sandy’s hat flew ahead to one side, and a long hunting knife -followed, falling to the other side, but a dozen or more yards further -along. Heading his galloping horse between these, Sandy stooped and -caught the hat; then recovering like a flash, he threw himself to the -opposite side, gripping the shaft of the knife as he sped by. - -The shout which greeted this made the echo from across the Yadkin ring -lustily; the settlers now awoke to the fact that the round-faced youth -and his fat plow horse knew what they were about. And so they eagerly -acclaimed and urged them to do their best. - -Trick after trick of horsemanship was performed by the Indians, and -all with the ease of experts and the dash of perfect confidence. But -their feats showed little imagination, and in this those of the white -boy were vastly superior. Each time they displayed something new he -duplicated it with an added touch, leaving them open-mouthed and aghast. - -At last one of them, and their finest rider by far, broke from the -line and called something to Sandy, a something which was evidently a -defiance. Putting his horse to gallop, he, with much effort, swaying -and uncertainty, got upon his feet and there remained until he had -completed the circle, when he leaped to the ground. While the yells -of the Indians were still greeting this bit of daring, Sandy started -Soldier once more. With perfect ease, and greatly helped by the beast’s -broad back and its rocking-horse motion, the boy got upon his feet; -after making a complete round, he leaped up, turned a somersault, -alighted expertly upon the platform-like back, and once more stood -erect; then standing upon one foot and with the other twiddling in the -air, he galloped around once more. - -This was the last straw. The Shawnees could not hope to outdo this, and -so retired. While the whites gathered about Sandy and his steed, Boone -turned to Oliver and Eph. - -“I reckon your friend didn’t learn them things in Carolina,” said he. - -Oliver laughed, delighted. - -“No,” he replied. “At home, in Scotland, he was a rider in a circus; -and he’s been practicing and training the white horse for some time.” - -“Friends!” called the master of ceremonies, “the time is drawing on, -and as there are three contests still to be decided, we’d best get at -them. The race for horses is next; riders will line across the trail.” - -At this summons, Oliver Barclay sprang from Hawk, his long-legged young -horse, untied and mounted him; and as it happened as he rode to the end -of the forming line, he found himself next the tall young Shawnee whom -they had pointed out to Boone as being able to talk English. - -“Umph!” said this personage, his swift eyes running over the points of -the horse. “You ride?” - -Oliver nodded. The young brave bestrode a bony, long barreled horse -with small ears and a wicked head. Its bared teeth gleamed as it -snapped viciously at the horses within reach. - -“Maybe you run,” ventured the Shawnee. Again Oliver nodded; and a glint -of satisfaction came into the keen black eyes of the brave. - -“Heap good!” said he. “Long Panther will beat you in both.” - -Oliver smiled. - -“The Long Panther is a good rider,” said he. “We have seen him many -times break the wild horse, and manage the swift one. And he can run. -Only yesterday I saw him flying along the trail like a wolf in the -track of an antelope. But,” and the boy shook his head, “to win to-day, -even Long Panther must do his best.” - -“White boy shoot?” asked Long Panther; but Oliver shook his head. - -“Not enough to match myself against experts,” said he. “But there are a -few who will handle the rifle to-day, Long Panther, whom it will not be -easy to draw away from.” - -The Shawnee lifted his head proudly. - -“The red man will win,” said he. “His eye is like the eagle’s, his hand -as steady as the head of a rattlesnake before it strikes.” - -The glance of the master of ceremonies ran along the line of horsemen. -Then he pointed to a lone tree far down the river trail from which a -flag was flying. - -“You ride to that, around it, and back,” said he. “And now, when I drop -my hat, you start.” - -Once more the glance went along the line to assure him that all was -still as it should be. Then the hat fell. - -With a rush the horses shot forward along the trail; a cloud of dust -overhung them and it was hard to tell who led or who trailed in the -rear. Then little by little the compactness of the mass was lost; the -runners began to stretch out, the swift going to the front, and the -others falling back. At the flag the dust ascended in a great column; -then the riders were seen plunging through it on the way to the finish. - -“Long Panther in the lead!” cried Eph Taylor, straining his eyes to -make out the contestants. “And he’s riding like as if he was part of -the horse.” - -“I don’t see anything of young Noll,” said Boone. - -Sandy Campbell was trying to keep the sun out of his eyes by holding -his outspread hands over them; he searched the dusty cloud as it rolled -toward them. - -“I see him!” he shouted, in high excitement. “I see him!” - -“Where?” demanded Eph, eagerly. - -“He’s about the sixth rider--far back in the dust.” - -“Sixth!” cried Eph, and his voice was husky with disappointment. - -“But he’s coming along swiftly,” said Sandy. “The Hawk is stretching -over the ground like a rabbit.” - -“I see him now!” shouted Eph. “I see him! But he’s not sixth--he’s -fourth!” - -“He’s passed two of them since I spoke,” said Sandy, and then with a -whoop, “There goes another to the rear!” - -“And still another!” cried Eph, dropping his beloved Jerusha and waving -his long arms. “He’s second!” - -“Do you see Long Panther look over his shoulder?” called Sandy. “See -how his teeth show--even at that distance! He looks as vicious as that -ugly brute of a horse of his.” - -Whirling out of the dust came the bony steed ridden by the Shawnee; -its sweeping stride covered the ground with astonishing speed, its -rider was bent low over its neck, his eagle plumes mingling with the -steed’s flying mane. But if the stride of the Indian’s steed ate up -the distance, the long legs of Hawk devoured it. The eyes of the young -animal fairly flowed with excitement; his wide nostrils showed red; his -flying hoofs made dazzling play as they flashed and reflashed, in and -out, up and down; his sleek hide was flecked with foam. - -“One hundred yards to go!” cried Sandy. - -“And the Hawk’s nose is at the Injun’s knee!” shouted Eph Taylor, arms -still waving madly. - -Lower and still lower bent Long Panther, whiter and whiter gleamed -his teeth; faster and still faster flew the thundering hoofs of the -wicked looking steed. But nothing on four feet could have outstepped -the rush of the flame-eyed Hawk; no one who ever sat in a saddle could -have outdone in determination the boy who bestrode him. In a half dozen -mighty bounds the Hawk was nose and nose with the horse of the Indian; -and then he was ahead, daylight showing between them true and fair; -when he flashed by the finish he was a winner by a good half dozen -yards. - -White boy and red slipped from their horses almost side by side as the -roar of applause went up from the crowd. Leaning against the heaving -side of his mount, the Long Panther stood for a moment staring into -the face of Oliver Barclay. Then, without a word, he turned, leaving -his horse standing in the trail and strode toward the lodges among the -trees. - -Amid the tumult of shouting the stout master of ceremonies was not -idle. The next event was the shooting at all distances--and with all -weapons; and the targets and marks were set up with all possible speed. - -“Yes, friends,” cried the stout man at the top of his voice, addressing -a throng gathered about Oliver and the Hawk, “I know how you feel, for -I feel just that way myself. It’s a good boy and a good colt. But let’s -get ahead with things. Now we have the shooting on our hands--shooting -with rifles or with bows and arrows, the white man and his red brother -to have the use of his favorite weapon. If a white wants to use a bow, -let him do so and the fates prosper him; if a red prefers a rifle, let -him take it by all means and use it to the best of his courage and -eyesight.” - -As the riflemen came forward, each with his long weapon in his grip, -the throng followed and formed a sort of half circle behind them. -Several of the Indians also advanced, their long bows tautly strung, -their quivers full of arrows. - -One by one the rifles cracked, and the bowstrings sang; mark after -mark was shot away, and marksman after marksman fell back defeated. -Eph Taylor advanced time after time, Jerusha in his hand; fondly he’d -cuddle the smooth stock against his cheek, and when the old weapon’s -sharp voice rang out, it was to announce the planting of a bullet in -the heart of the target. - -After three-quarters of an hour the last Shawnee was eliminated; and -the struggle seemed between Eph Taylor and a gray-haired, keen-eyed -hunter from the region toward the ridge. It was nip and tuck between -this pair; neither seemed able to perform a feat which the other could -not duplicate. The ringing of the shots, the spatting of the ball, -the fall of wand or coin, or the snuffing out of candles went on with -monotonous regularity; but at length this was broken by the appearance -of the magician, Gray Lizard. With his amulets of skulls and claws, and -pouches filled with potent charms hanging from him, his staff in his -hand and his ratty old eyes filled with contempt, he advanced to the -place where the riflemen were standing. - -“What child’s work!” cried he. “What pastime for the papooses of the -village! Again and again do you repeat what you have done before. And -nothing comes of it. The Shawnee is about to go! but before he goes he -would like to show his white brother what he thinks is a real test of -skill.” Then to the master of ceremonies, “Is it the white man’s will?” - -The stout official scratched his head. - -“It’s against all the rules that I ever heard tell of,” he announced. -“But I’m for letting them do it. What do you say, lads?” - -A shout of assent went up from the settlers; for all were eager to see -what the redskin marksman would do. - -The Gray Lizard turned and held up one hand toward the little knot of -savages who stood in a gloomy array at one side. - -“Long Panther, by jickety!” said Eph, who had been looking toward the -Indians, curiously. - -“I thought he was so tarnal mad at being licked in the hoss race that -he didn’t mean to shoot at all,” said the old hunter who had been -pressing Eph close. “But here he comes, as proud as a she wolf with -seven pups, and a-meaning to outshoot all creation if it can be done -any way at all.” - -Long Panther advanced with erect head and a face like bronze, so -utterly devoid of expression was it; but his keen swift eyes were full -of fire and insolent challenge. His manner was that of one who felt -himself master of the situation. - -“The Gray Lizard spoke well,” said he. “To shoot at sticks and lights -is work for the papoose, and not for the warrior. I ask but one shot; -and then let any of you do as well, and I am content to say the white -man is better than the Shawnee.” - -As he spoke his swift eyes went about among the trees; upon a huge dead -limb of an oak, near to the trunk, sat a gray squirrel, his bushy tail -held erect, his deft forepaws stroking his moustache. - -“A live mark!” said Long Panther, as he fitted an arrow to his string. -“I will take it through the skin at the back of its neck and pin it to -the tree.” - -Almost before he ceased to speak, the arrow flew upon its mission; and -the next instant the squirrel, pinned exactly as the Shawnee marksman -had said, was struggling for release. - -A hush fell upon the crowd; and as a boy nimbly ascended the oak and -liberated the squirrel, the master of ceremonies spoke. - -“Men, it was a good shot. And, now, speak up. Can any of you do the -like?” - -Eph and the old hunter were shaking their heads when Daniel Boone -stepped forward. - -“The brave,” said Boone, slowly, “has made a good shot. No one will -gainsay that. But it was a trick.” - -All eyes were upon him; Long Panther gave him a look of fierce disdain. - -“The shot,” said the young warrior, “was fair, and was seen by all.” - -Boone nodded. - -“But for all that it was a trick,” said he. “It was a shot that can -be made only with an arrow. A marksman can’t pin a squirrel to a tree -trunk with a rifle bullet, Long Panther, as you know very well.” - -A murmur went up from the whites; there was an eager assent to this way -of looking at the matter. - -“But,” continued Boone, coolly, “you said that if any of us could do as -well, you’d admit yourself beaten.” He balanced his heavy rifle in his -strong hands, a smile upon his bronzed face. “Very well. To equal your -trick shot which cannot be done with a rifle, I will do one which can’t -be done with an arrow.” - -A huge gum tree reared its mighty head upon the river bank; upon a limb -part way up lay a red squirrel, blinking at the assemblage with his -shrewd little eyes. The heavy rifle began to lift toward this mark. - -“Long Panther,” said Boone, quietly, his eyes never leaving the tiny -ball of red fur so high in the air, “if I bring down the little beast, -dead, and with never a mark of the bullet on him, will you admit it as -good a shot as your own?” - -“I will!” cried the Shawnee, promptly. - -The long rifle cracked, a shower of particles of bark flew up from the -limb directly under the squirrel; the concussion threw the little -animal whirling into the air; it fell to the ground at the foot of the -gum tree--dead.[2] - -In an instant it was in the hands of Long Panther; his swift eyes -searched it for the sign that would give him victory. - -“Well?” asked Boone, after a moment. - -The young warrior lifted his face. - -“It is without a mark,” said he. Then as he turned away, he added in a -voice of wonder, “The white man is indeed a mighty hunter.” - -And when the foot-racers took their places a few moments later to -decide the question of speed and endurance, Oliver Barclay was one of -them. But there were no Indians among them. Curiously, the boy cast -his eyes about, the words of the Gray Lizard occurring to him. Sure -enough, there were the redskins mounted, their camp equipment upon -the backs of the packhorses. With no thought of triumphing over a -beaten foe, but filled with disappointment at not having the chance -to try himself against the famed runner, Oliver stepped aside to Long -Panther’s horse. - -“What! are you going before the race is run?” asked he, astonished. - -The young warrior looked down into the face of the white boy long and -intently; then he spoke. - -“It may be,” he said, “that the time will come when you and I will -run a race. And if it should, see to it that you are as swift as the -antelope of the plains; for it may be that you will have much at stake.” - -And with that Long Panther rode off along the trail after his fellow -braves. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -IN THE WILDERNESS - - -That Boone had in mind an adventure beyond the Laurel Ridge was soon -noised abroad. - -“Going on a big hunt,” said one of the settlers to another. “Taking -John Finley, who some years ago led a party to the Louisa River[3] -region, and some others.” - -“Means to stay for some time, too, I hear,” said the other. - -The first speaker nodded. - -“Dan’l’s boys are big enough to look after things now,” said he. “And -I guess they have money enough to last a while. And besides the fun of -the hunt, Boone’ll bring back rich furs, for they say the country he’s -going into just swarms with game.” - -But that Boone had any thought other than hunting was not known to -the settlements; that Colonel Henderson contemplated having the -backwoodsman inspect the wilderness as a preliminary to planting -colonies therein was kept a close secret. - -It was one fine day in May in the year 1769 that the little party -assembled for the start. Besides Boone and Finley, there were James -Moncey, John Stuart, William Cool and Joseph Holden, hardy woodsmen, -dead shots and men who could be depended upon in any emergency. - -Besides the sinewy, deep-winded horses which they rode, they had -a number of pack animals laden with blankets, ammunition and camp -equipment and provisions. - -“We need not take much food,” said Boone, and Finley had agreed with -him. “A little meal and salt and such like, that’s all. For the -country into which we’re going, boys, is a paradise for riflemen. The -streams have never been fished except by the wandering Injuns; the -herds of deer and buffalo are endless; the small game, both furred and -feathered, are not to be counted.” - -Each of the adventurers had slung across his back the very long, -flint-lock rifle made famous by their breed and generation; they also -carried keen, heavy knives and hatchets; only a few pistols were to be -seen among them. They wore deerskin hunting shirts and tanned leggins -of the same material; their powder-horns and bullet-pouches swung from -their shoulders. - -Boone and the others had said good-bye to their families and now sat -their horses in the trail along the Yadkin, having a last word with -Colonel Henderson, who had ridden from Hillsboro to see them off. Noll -Barclay had borne him company, and Eph Taylor, eager and curious, had -journeyed from the forest-encircled farm to hear the latest word. - -“I suppose,” Oliver said to his uncle, “that you have reasons, but I -can’t see why Eph and I could not ride with Mr. Boone on this adventure -as well as not.” - -“You are too young,” spoke the colonel, after the fashion of a man who -had heard the suggestion in many forms before. - -Boone looked at the straight, slight form of the lad, and then at the -lanky Eph. He nodded his agreement with the other. - -“Too young,” said he. “There are times, lads, when years count, and -this is one of them. It’s not only your being short of endurance but of -judgment that makes it impossible to take you along this time. You look -at this thing as a bit of fun, and that is just what it is not. In a -year or two, though,” he added, “you’ll both have picked up years and -experience.” - -“But in a year or two,” objected Noll, “there may be no trips into the -wilderness.” - -Both Boone and Colonel Henderson laughed. - -“The wilderness will be there for many years to come,” spoke the -colonel. - -“And this, I think, is not the last trip into it by many,” said Daniel -Boone. - -Young Barclay had talked over the adventure of the wilderness with both -Eph and Sandy, and while none of them hoped to be taken along on the -expedition, they, like every lad for miles around, longed to have fate -play an unexpected prank in their behalf. - -“I don’t expect anything to happen,” Oliver had said, fervently. “But -you can never tell.” - -However, it did not happen, and the two boys watched the hardy band -ride along the trail for the river, leading their pack animals, and -plunge into the budding green sea of the forest. - -Now began the long hardship of the journey across the mountains. For -some days the going was not so difficult, because ways had been hewn -in the forests by settlers tilling the land round about; but in a -little while they penetrated beyond the settled district and were -voyaging in the trackless wilderness where the foot of the white man -had seldom fallen. They now followed the winding paths made by buffalo -and other large animals as being attended with less labor than pushing -their way through the dense undergrowth and interlacing vines. Through -deep ravines, down roaring mountain streams, descending into wonderful -valleys, fording deep rivers, they held their way across the mountain -ridge which streaked so blue across the sky-line; and at length they -found themselves on the verge of that far country of which they had -been in search. - -Here and there in the journey they had come across the tracks of -redskins; once across the tree tops they had seen tall, pale columns of -smoke lifting, which told of a camp of some size. And having no desire -to become better acquainted with the wandering tribesmen, they had -always changed their course and brought into play all those wiles known -to the students of woodcraft to throw off their trail any one who might -stumble upon it. - -“It’s always best to be careful,” said Boone, during one of these -sudden shifts in their course. “As far as I know there’s no big party -in this region, because it belongs to no one tribe and is visited only -by the hunters. But never take a chance that can be avoided--that’s the -safe course to follow.” - -However, as Daniel Boone had said to Colonel Henderson, the beautiful -land of Kentucky was used, from time to time, as something more than a -hunting-ground. Bands of Chickasaws, Shawnees and Cherokees frequently -met in the heart of the wild, and when they did, savage fighting -followed. So desperate were these conflicts that the region became -known by an Indian name signifying “dark and bloody ground.” - -Before the band of white men, as they stood upon an eminence of the -ridge on the day they first sighted Kentucky, was a vast rolling -country, roamed by herds of horned beasts, splendid streams and valleys -which promised a rich yield to the hand which drove the plow through it. - -But after a space given to wonder and admiration, Boone noted that the -sun was slipping little by little behind the green rim of the forest. - -“I think, boys,” suggested he, “we’d better look for a likely place to -camp for the night. To-morrow we’ll plunge into the new country and -have a close-at-hand look at everything.” - -In the mountain-side was a small gorge across which a cottonwood had -fallen and hidden by a dense growth of thicket. Limbs were cut by -hatchet and knife and placed against the fallen tree in such a manner -as to form a sort of roof. Bark was pulled from those trees which gave -it readily, and fitted over the limbs; soft balsam boughs were placed -in the bottom of the gorge for beds; and here the adventurers made a -home in the wilds which they kept until the winter came with its snow -and rigors. - -A turkey was roasted above the coals, impaled upon a ramrod; flap-jacks -were baked upon heated stones, and full of the spirit of the thing and -gifted with wonderful appetites the adventurers fell to and made a -hearty meal. - -Then, afterward, they stretched out upon the soft boughs and watched -the moon drift across the sky while they talked of what was to come. -All was peace; save for the cry of some night bird, or the stirring of -the breeze among the trees, there was no sound. - -Then, without a word of warning, there was a sudden crash from the -black looming forest, and the ring of a rifle-shot went echoing and -reëchoing from level to level until it died away in the stillness. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -CAPTURED BY THE SHAWNEES - - -As the ring of the rifle died away, the little band in the hut reached -for their fire-arms; with pieces cocked and ready, they stole out and -crouched close to the ground, silently waiting. But nothing followed; -whoever fired the shot was a long distance away and the firing of the -shot had nothing to do with them. - -“It may have been a signal,” said Boone, as he arose on one knee, -his keen eyes searching the great shafts of gray moonlight which lay -trailing on the mountain-side. “But it’s not likely. If we’ve enemies -hereabouts they’d not take that way of getting news of us to each -other. For one thing, we’d hear it; for another, powder is a hard thing -for a redskin to get, at best, and I reckon they’re not in a hurry to -waste any of it.” - -“Must have been a shot by some red hunter to stop a catamount that had -come to his camp,” said Finley. “This looks to be a likely country for -critters of that kind.” - -The shot, so surprising and unexpected, formed a subject for -conversation during the remainder of the evening; then, posting a guard -outside the hut, the explorers rolled themselves in their blankets and -went quietly to sleep. - -After a breakfast of broiled squirrel next morning, Boone, Finley and -Stuart started out, their muskets across their shoulders, to examine -the aspect of the surrounding country. If what they had come through -in crossing the ridge had seemed trackless, this was infinitely more -so; there were myriads of small animals and birds; the deer seemed -merely wondering and possessed no fear of them. Near by was one of the -northern branches of the Louisa, and this they followed for miles; each -day was given to a venture, during the entire summer and the ensuing -fall. Always some of the party remained at the hut in the gorge, while -the others took the buffalo paths in search of new discoveries. - -November came with its chilly nights; then fell December with its -sudden frosts, its flurries of snow and its long nights; and it was in -that same month of December that the first mishap befell them. - -It was but a few days before Christmas that Boone and Stuart started -off in a direction seldom taken on former occasions. There was a -light snow upon the ground--not enough to impede their progress--but -sufficient to plainly show the tracks of anything that had passed -that way. The timber wolves had grown especially numerous since the -winter had set in, and their prints were scattered all about in the -cane-brakes and through the woods. Once they came upon the clear trace -of a catamount, and nothing would have pleased them better than to have -followed the beast and tried their rifles upon it; however, they were -in the wilderness for more important things than mere hunting, so they -passed the tempting trail and pushed on, intent upon the lay of the -ground, the quality of the soil, the timber and the natural drainage. - -They had gone on for some hours in this way when Stuart heard Boone, -who was some yards in advance, give an exclamation of surprise. The -backwoodsman had paused and was bending over, studying something -intently. - -“What is it?” asked Stuart, as he hastened forward. - -Silently Boone pointed at the snow; there, distinctly printed, was the -trail of many moccasined feet. - -“Injuns!” said Stuart, astonished. - -Strange as it might seem, the little band of adventurers had not -caught sight of a red man since they had started out in the previous -spring; and this had, somehow, caused the idea to grow among them that -this particular region was being avoided by the Indian hunting parties, -at any rate for the time being. - -Closely Boone studied the trail; some peculiarity of the moccasin -imprints struck him. - -“They are Shawnees,” said he; “and as far as I can make out, there must -be a score of them.” - -“That many, at least,” spoke Stuart, his eyes also examining the trail. -“A hunting party pushing toward the river; maybe in search of fur.” - -Boone nodded, but somewhat dubiously. The sudden appearance of a large -band of savages at that precise time disquieted him; he felt in it the -promise of future danger. - -[Illustration: CLOSELY BOONE STUDIED THE TRAIL] - -“They’ve found meat scarce, I suppose,” suggested Stuart, as they went -on through the forest, “and so they had to go farther away from home.” - -“It would have pleased me just as well if they’d taken another -direction, then,” said Boone. “We’re getting on too well with our work -to be disturbed just now.” - -Ahead was a dense clump of dark, gloomy pine woods, on the edge of -which was a fringe of dwarf oaks. A heavy growth of bush and climbing -thorns had sprung up among these last; and as the two whites came to -this, their long rifles in the hollow of their arms, there came a -sudden rush, a fierce yell of exultation, and they found themselves -borne to the ground, disarmed and bound with leather thongs. - -With their rifles, hatchets and hunting knives in the possession of -their captors, and their hands firmly secured behind their backs, they -were permitted to rise, and found themselves looking into a circle of -grim, copper-colored faces, and being examined by narrow, threatening -eyes. - -It was a party of Shawnees, and evidently the same whose tracks they -had come across a short time before. The braves were in their full -panoply of war; they carried bows and scalping knives, quivers of -arrows were on their backs, tomahawks were in their belts; a few -ancient looking rifles were the only fire-arms to be seen among them, -however, and the powder-horns and bullet-pouches were fewer still. - -A powerful looking savage, evidently a chief, and the leader of the -band, now spoke. - -“The white faces hunt in the hunting-grounds of the Shawnee,” said he, -in very bad English. - -But Boone looked at him with cool, humorous eye. - -“The great chief is mistaken,” said he. “The white man would not so -wrong his red brother.” - -The Shawnee chief said something to his followers, no doubt -interpreting the saying of the backwoodsman; there came a series of -grunts and ejaculations from them; their copper-colored faces grew -grimmer still, their eyes even more threatening than before. - -“Yesterday we heard the rifle of the white face,” spoke the Shawnee -leader, turning again to Boone; “to-day we have heard it. We have seen -the remains of deer and buffalo which he has killed; we have seen his -beaver traps in the streams.” There was a moment’s pause, then the -savage added: “What has the white face to say?” - -“You might have heard our rifles speak for many days, if you had been -here,” replied Boone. “And that you have seen the carcasses of deer and -other animals which we have killed is quite likely. But what of that? -The country is open to hunters, is it not? Do not the Chickasaws and -the Cherokees hunt their meat and fur in these woods and mountains? -Why, then, do the Shawnees claim it as their own?” - -“The Chickasaws and the Cherokees are thieves!” pronounced the Shawnee -chief. “We have taken the war-path against them; we will make a wailing -in their lodges, an emptiness in their villages.” - -“You treat your white brother with injustice when you ambush him -and take away his arms. You have suffered no wrong at his hands,” -maintained Boone. - -Again the chief translated to his braves, and again came the grunts and -ejaculations. But in spite of the threatening looks and the tightening -of the savage circle, the backwoodsman proceeded fearlessly. - -“If any one hunts in this region without right, it is the red man,” -declared he. “The whole of the country below the great river belongs to -the white face. Many moons ago, at the great council at Fort Stanwix, -the league of the Iroquois turned over this land to the colonists. Does -the red brother deny this? Does he not mean to keep faith?” - -What Boone said was true, and the Shawnee knew it, but in the southern -tribes the right of the league to cede the territory had always been -denied. So the chief regarded Boone with fierce-eyed anger. - -“The white face is as cunning as the snake,” said he, “and his tongue -is as crooked.” - -Then turning away from them he gave a signal; the band at once started -off, the two captives in their midst, guarded by a half dozen lean, -hawk-like braves. Some miles away among the hills was the Shawnee camp, -a dozen or more deerskin lodges erected in a sheltered place. Fires -were burning outside the tepees; several young men were cooking strips -of meat upon pointed sticks. - -The whites were bound to heavy stakes driven firmly into the ground; -then the band gathered about the fires, and when the meat was cooked -began to eat it in silence. - -“Well,” said Stuart, who had said very little since their capture, “it -has a bad look.” - -“It might be worse,” replied Boone, coolly, his calm eyes studying the -Shawnees at the camp-fires. “There is a good chance for us yet.” - -“To escape?” - -Boone nodded. - -“But how?” - -The calm eyes twinkled as they turned upon the speaker. - -“Don’t offer me any puzzles to answer,” said Boone. “I have no more -notion ‘how’ than you have. But the chance will come in some way; and -it will be for us to be ready to take hold of it.” - -Though Boone had never been taken captive by the Indians before, he -knew, from talks with those who had, and from his knowledge of savage -ceremony, that in cases like their own, a certain form was always gone -through before torture and death were resorted to. - -“They’ll keep us,” he told Stuart, “and try to get us to come into the -tribe. It’s a strange kink in their natures that though they hate the -white, they seldom fail to try to make him one of them by adoption if -they have the chance.” - -“You think they’ll try and make Shawnees of us?” - -“It’s like as not,” answered Boone. - -“Before I’ll be a renegade, I’ll die,” said Stuart, stoutly. - -Boone nodded. - -“I don’t know as I blame you in that,” spoke he. “A renegade is as mean -a critter as walks the earth. But it’d be just as well if we kept our -feelings on that point from the Shawnees.” - -“You mean----” - -“That if we’re asked to join the tribe, we’d better not refuse. It’s -life if we can deceive them, and death by horrible torture if we -refuse.” - -“I don’t like the notion of even seeming to be an Injun,” spoke Stuart, -who was a brave man and stubborn in his courage. “But whatever you -think best, that I will do.” - -That night they were given a couple of bearskins to lie upon, and -their bonds were looked to with much care. They slept fairly well but -were awake at dawn when the savages began to stir about the camp. Some -meat and a sort of porridge made of Indian corn, crushed between two -smooth stones, was given to them; and after they had eaten, the Shawnee -chief approached, followed by the eldest of his warriors. Silently -they sat before their prisoners, seeming to study them with the utmost -attention. After a space the chief spoke. - -“The white faces are prisoners; they were taken in war by Black Wolf -and his braves; they are without arms, they are helpless.” - -Neither Stuart nor Boone made any reply to this; but the warriors, upon -the words of Black Wolf being interpreted to them, expressed their -approval by nods and throaty murmurs. - -“Far away, toward the rising sun, are the friends of the white face, -far away where the morning first touches the forest are his lodges. -Neither friends nor lodges will he ever see again.” - -There was another pause; Black Wolf studied the expressions of their -faces intently. But still they made no reply. The chief then resumed: - -“You have killed in the hunting-grounds of the Shawnees, and for this -your lives belong to Black Wolf and his braves. But the chief would -spare you; he does not wish to see you die. Rather would he see you, -his brothers, living in the wigwams of the Shawnees and taking to the -war-path against his people’s foes.” - -This being repeated in the Shawnee tongue to the elder warriors, was -greeted with a chorus of approving grunts. And then Black Wolf asked: - -“What does the white face say?” - -“The Shawnee chief is a noble hunter and a warrior whose fame runs -beyond the blue ridge,” said Daniel Boone. “And his words are as -straight as the young birch by the waterside. It is true that the -pale-face’s friends are far away, and that his lodge is many days -across the hills; and for both of these his heart is sore. But he would -not lose his life. Other friends he can make; other lodges he can -build; but he has one life only, and when that is gone he cannot call -it back.” - -Black Wolf repeated this to his counselors and again came the chorus of -grunted approval. - -“It is well spoken,” praised the Shawnee chief. “Do you, then, give up -your people and will you go to the villages of the Shawnee and make -them your home?” - -“To save my life--yes.” - -“And you?” asked Black Wolf, his eyes going to Stuart. - -“I say the same,” replied that worthy. - -“It is well,” said the chief. - -He arose, and the elder braves did likewise; turning to them he spoke -briefly and to what he said they apparently agreed with readiness. One -of the warriors took out his knife, approached the captives and severed -the thongs which bound them. - -Black Wolf signed for them to get up. - -“My young men are about to start upon a hunt,” said he. “It were well -if the white brothers went with them.” - -The hunting party was already making ready; and in half an hour or so -it filed out of the camp and along a buffalo track which led toward -the west. The two white men trudged along the track, Boone whistling a -snatch of an old English air, Stuart morose and heavy of brow. - -Finally the latter spoke. - -“Why are we taken out with a hunting party and provided with no -weapons? It hasn’t a reasonable look!” - -Boone stopped his whistling. - -“The whole idea of this party is just a little game of the redskins. -It’s not their purpose to hunt,” said he. - -“Not their purpose to hunt?” echoed the other. - -Boone nodded. - -“Just keep your eye peeled,” spoke he. “Do you see how the varmints go -along--careless and never noticing us? Never a look do they give us, so -far as I can see. But,” and he covertly clutched his companion’s arm in -his strong grip, “they’re noticing us, never fear. They see everything -we do, every look we give away from the track we’re following. This is -not a hunt, comrade; it’s a test of our intentions. They are trying us. -And the trial will go on in different ways for days. Some one will -always be watching us; to try and escape will mean death for us.” - -“A pleasant outlook,” said Stuart, gloomily. - -“But don’t forget,” said Boone, “that this watch upon us will not last -always. Let us make it seem as if we were contented enough. If they lay -little traps for us to fall into, let us step over them. No matter how -good the chance seems for a while, we must not try to get away; for -it will only win us a dozen or so arrows in our backs. After a little -while they’ll grow slack in their watching. If they see us living -quietly as they live, doing the things they do, they’ll come to trust -us more and more. And then our chance will come--and we’ll make the -best of it.” - -Keeping up an intent observation of the savages, Stuart gradually came -to the conclusion that what Boone said was true. Not a moment passed -but they found themselves closely watched by the Shawnees. And so he -came to see that his friend’s plan was the solution of their situation. -The gloomy look vanished and the frowns followed; his manner grew as -care-free as could well be imagined; he also whistled a catch now and -then; and more than once he laughed light-heartedly over some small -incident of the march, a thing which was not thrown away upon their red -brothers. - -That night they spent in a lodge which Black Wolf gave up to them; -as before, they were not bound and apparently were unguarded. But -both knew that the sharp eyes of the bronze warriors were peering -at the lodge, that lurking forms hung silently in the shadows, and -swift-winged arrows were ready to sing their death song should they -make an attempt to escape. - -And so it went one day after another until a full week had passed. -Adventure after adventure did the Shawnees take them upon; at times -they were left apparently alone for hours in the forest; the -temptation was great, but they conquered it; and always were they glad -they had done so, for it was shown afterward that in each case the -savages had been at no great distance, and that the thing had been one -of the traps which Boone had foretold. - -Little by little, in the face of this plainly shown content of the -white brothers for their lot, the Shawnees became lax in their -vigilance, and finally upon the seventh night of their captivity, the -active-minded Boone saw their first real chance of escape. All was -still in the redskin camp; the fires smouldered under coverings of -ash; a pale, wintry moon looked down upon the wilderness. It had been -an active day for the savages; it had been thought that a party of -Cherokees had entered the region, and all the warriors of Black Wolf’s -band had been ranging the woods searching for their trail. And so -these braves, whose duty it was to keep a careful eye upon the adopted -whites, grew heavy eyed as the night wore on; their deep breathing -told the wide-awake Boone that all were asleep. - -Stuart, also, was asleep; carefully Boone awoke him. - -“The time’s come,” he whispered in the ear of the surprised -backwoodsman. “Make no noise; all the critters are as sound as rocks.” - -Softly they crept through the opening in the lodge; like cats they -moved among the other wigwams until they gained the shadows. Then Boone -halted. - -“What now?” asked Stuart, in a whisper. - -“We’ve left our rifles behind. Wait here.” - -“You don’t mean to go back!” Stuart was amazed. - -“I must. Do you realize what it would mean to be away here in the -wilderness without the means of getting game for food? Man, we’d die.” - -Seeing the force of this, Stuart released the hold he had taken upon -Boone’s shoulder. Back into the Indian encampment stole Daniel Boone; -straight to the tepee of Black Wolf he went, and, from his place in the -shadows, Stuart saw the brave pioneer stoop and enter. Then followed -a long pause. The waiting man could hear the heavy throbs of his own -heart. Each moment he expected to hear the war-whoop of the Shawnee, -and to see the camp spring into activity. - -But fortune smiled upon the daring Boone, for after a time he appeared, -the two rifles in his hands, and their powder-horns and bullet-pouches -slung upon his shoulders. Silently he recrossed into the shadows; -quietly he gave Stuart his own piece, his own horn and pouch; then -creeping like wild things of the wilderness, they stole away into the -depths where the night would hide them from all hostile eyes. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -BOONE IN THE WILDERNESS - - -All that night the two adventurers pressed steadily away from the -Indian encampment; they made, as far as they could reckon it, in the -general direction of their camp in the gorge. The pale moon filtered -through the bare branches of the trees, the stars twinkled helpfully; -and when morning came dimly above the higher hills they found that they -had judged their direction with singular accuracy. They were not more -than a mile or two from their own camp. - -“Pretty good, for going it blind,” said Boone, well pleased. “And now -I suppose we’ll give the boys a surprise. Having been missing for all -this time they’ll reckon we’re gone for good.” - -But it was themselves who received the surprise; arriving in sight of -the gorge they saw no friendly morning smoke; hurrying forward they -entered the hut; no one was there; everything of any value was gone. - -“Injuns!” cried Boone. - -“Or they somehow heard about us being taken by the redskins, and have -gone back to the settlements,” said Stuart. - -Just what happened at the camp during the seven days’ captivity of -Boone and Stuart among the Shawnees has never been written. There is no -record in the annals of the time that they returned to civilization; -the confusion of the camp as found by Boone might have meant that it -had been deserted hastily, or that the party therein had been murdered -and robbed. But which was the truth he probably never knew. - -For some time the two hardy adventurers remained staring at the remains -of the shelter which had been their home for more than a half year. - -“Well,” said Boone, “I reckon they’re gone.” - -“Gone they are,” agreed Stuart. “And as we don’t know how or why, it’s -my opinion that this is no safe place for us.” - -Rapidly, but thoroughly, they ransacked the camp for ammunition; but -none was to be found; then they made their way into the cane-brakes, -carefully covering their tracks as they went, and took up their camp in -a secluded place where an enemy could not come upon them without their -having due warning of his approach. - -From that time on the pair shifted their camp with each day; they -lived much like the wild things of the wilderness about them, seldom -making a move in any direction without studying the prospects and -calculating their chances. But in spite of all this, Boone, with his -usual hardihood, continued to make his inspection of the country; -they extended their explorations in many directions; and though they -lived in constant peril of their lives, and their food was reduced to -the meat they could kill, they were not of the sort to cuddle fear to -their breasts and increase their hardships by complaint. Accustomed to -hard living they took their situation calmly enough; never once did it -occur to them that it would be best to leave their work incompleted and -return home. - -“But,” said Boone, one night by their carefully-masked camp-fire, “I’d -like to have powder and ball. There are only a half dozen charges -between us; and every time I let off my rifle I feel that we’re -slipping that much nearer the finish of the whole matter.” - -Some weeks went by in this way; and one morning as they followed a -buffalo path they heard a steady, long “clump-clump-clump” advancing -toward them from the direction in which they had come. - -“Buffalo?” asked Stuart, puzzled. - -Boone listened, then shook his head. - -“Horses,” said he. “And horses that are being ridden.” - -With one accord they left the track; they took up posts behind the -trees, their rifles held ready for anything which might occur. - -In a very little while the hoof-beats became quite close at hand; -then from out of the undergrowth which lined the path rode a couple -of bronzed white men, well armed, and leading a pair of packhorses. -Amazed, Daniel Boone called out: - -“Hello, stranger! Who are you?” - -The riders checked their steeds and turned their heads in the direction -of the hail. - -“Hello!” cried one. “Is that you, Dan’l?” - -“White men and friends,” answered they in the customary manner of the -wilderness. - -“As I live,” cried Boone, starting forward, “I think it’s my brother, -Squire.” - -At this one of the men slid from his horse’s back. - -“Dan’l!” he exclaimed. - -The two clasped hands, their eyes full of pleasure. - -“We came upon your tracks yesterday,” said Squire Boone, who was -Daniel’s junior by some years. “But we had more trouble in following it -than if you’d been a couple of black foxes anxious to save your pelts.” - -Daniel and John Stuart looked at each other. - -“We took a lot of trouble to cover those tracks up from time to time,” -said Stuart, grimly. “And we did it to save our scalps.” - -“Ah!” said Squire. “Injuns?” - -“Shawnees!” answered his brother. - -The companion of Squire Boone now came forward with the packhorses -and was greeted by the two explorers. This man’s name is not known to -history, but he had ventured much in attempting that long journey over -mountains, across rushing rivers and through the vast forests, and so -he will go down as one of the great unknown pioneers of the great -west--a goodly army and a stout-hearted one. - -Just how Squire Boone came to appear so opportunely in the wilderness -at the time he did will perhaps always remain a mystery. Some have -it that he had brooded long over the absence of his brother, finally -concluded that he must be hard put to it across the Laurel Ridge, and -so went to his aid. Others hold the theory that it was all arranged for -at the beginning. If Daniel was not back in the settlements at a given -time, Squire was to set out upon a sort of relief expedition. - -But, however that may be, there he was, and with two packs of necessary -things, the more important of which were powder and ball, and flints -for their gun-locks. - -A new time set in for the hardy adventurers; in their increased -numbers there was less danger of attack; in their possession of plenty -of ammunition they were better able to make a defense in case the -Shawnees should reappear. However, their vigilance did not relax; they -were but four, after all, and they must be as saving of good black -powder as they could, so they made their camps in the thick of the -cane-brakes and masked their fires and covered their tracks. - -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. - -Boone was a natural woodsman. In him the craft of the forest and trail -reached perfection; no other man in the annals of the West possessed -the cunning with which he threw the enemy off the trail and baffled -his pursuit. - -Toward the end of July Squire Boone returned with horses, meal and -ammunition. Then after a time they pressed on toward the Cumberland -River, or what is now so called, and explored the country in that -direction. More and more beautiful the region grew to Daniel; more and -more he determined that it would be his future home. - -“It’s a paradise on earth,” he told Squire. “There never was such a -hunting-ground, such forests or such a chance for farming. If any -man is to find peace anywhere, it is in this country which we have -discovered.” - -And filled with this thought they completed their explorations in the -following spring, and then made their way back to the settlements with -the news. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -ATTACKED! - - -With the return of Daniel Boone and his brother to North Carolina the -news of the beautiful country beyond the ridge began to spread. People -were eager to hear of his adventures and of his discoveries; and from -all the region around about the Yadkin they came to listen to him. - -A great deal of discontent was abroad in North Carolina. The government -was not at all what it should have been. Tryon was a corrupt, -overbearing official, detested by the settlers; and the hardy spirits -who kept the border were not of the sort to submit to tyranny. So when -Boone came back with the beauties of Kentucky upon his tongue, the -richness of her soil, the size of her streams and woods and the promise -she held out to all who were willing to come to her, he set them all -by the ears. - -But the settlements were thin and far between; men were few; conditions -were such that not all could drop their affairs in the north state and -undertake an adventure into the new land. This being so, by the time a -party of settlers was organized to go into and take up homesteads in -Kentucky, several years passed. - -Among the first to enlist in this expedition were Oliver Barclay, Eph -Taylor and Sandy Campbell. Eph’s father meant to move his whole family -into the new region, and the man for whom Sandy worked was about to do -the same. Well grown, broad of shoulder and strong as young oaks, the -three made no mean addition to the band. - -“A few years make a great difference,” said Boone, as he looked -at them. They were gathered before him by the sides of the horses -upon which they had ridden over to his place. His head was nodding -approvingly. “It’s such lads as you that are needed where there’s -forests to be felled and redskins to be fought.” - -The boys listened to his account of his capture with Stuart by -the Shawnees; also to the long months which he spent alone in the -wilderness, enemies ever upon his trail, but persisting in his task in -the face of all. And when, at length, they rode away, their faces were -grave, their eyes shining. - -“That was a fine thing to do,” said Eph, in great admiration. “A very -fine thing. I reckon there’s not another in the settlements that would -have stayed to finish up with all those dangers crowding around him.” - -“I always knew that Mr. Boone was like that,” said Sandy. “I’d watch -the way he’d ride his horse, or hold his rifle, or speak to any one -who’d meet him. He had a way about him that told you he’d be a hard man -to beat.” - -“I think to do what you set out to do is one of the best proofs of -quality in a man,” spoke Oliver. “Sometimes it’s easy, and sometimes -it’s hard to do; but to do it’s the thing, and nothing else will answer -if you mean to be worth anything.” - -It was late in September in the year 1774 that Boone started, with his -family, to take up his home in the country beyond the Laurel Ridge. -Squire Boone was with them, and he helped Daniel and his sons to see to -the packhorses, the cattle and the hogs which were taken to stock the -new farm in the wilderness. - -Near Powell’s Valley, not many miles distant, the Boones were met by -the Taylors, the family of the farmer for whom Sandy worked, and a -number of other prospective homesteaders. As the expedition now stood -there were some forty hardy, courageous men in its column, armed and -ready for the toil of the march. - -Ahead rode Oliver Barclay, Eph Taylor and young Campbell with some of -the younger of the men; in a line came the packhorses and those bearing -the women and children. Boone and the main body of the settlers rode -beside the pack animals, their rifles across their saddle-bows. In the -rear came the cattle in the care of another band of youths who had -undertaken this part of the work under the watchful eye of Boone’s -eldest son. - -For a week this formation was kept; at night they camped at sides of -streams with guards set out to watch for the Indian prowlers who might -have trailed them during the day and who might now be waiting for a -murderous opportunity from the underbrush; also the cattle and hogs -were to be kept from the attacks of those stealthy beasts which prowl -the night. - -They headed for that break in the mountain chain afterward known as -the Cumberland Gap; never a sight of a redskin was had, never a -sign of his trail anywhere. But there he was, nevertheless, for just -eleven days after the journey began, while they were passing through -a particularly difficult place, there came a sudden murderous volley -of bullets and arrows in the rear, a rush of red robbers, and the -scattering of most of the cattle into the woods. And six of the rear -guard, including Boone’s son, were left dead in the trail. - -Instantly, upon the firing of the volley, the column of emigrants -came to a halt; a line of defense was formed and the lightest of the -horsemen began scurrying upon the trail of the savages who fled through -the passes. - -But no blows of consequence were struck, and the riders returned. -That night a grave council was held. The women were frightened by the -murderous attack; some of the men began to see visions of constant -fighting ahead with little time for profitable work; and so they lost -heart in the enterprise. They thought it best that they return. - -But Boone, his brother, and others of the party were for pushing on. - -“Attacks by the Indians are to be expected,” said the pioneer; “they -will always resist the march of the white man. And if we are to settle -the rich country on the other side of the hills, it’s not by weakening -under the first blow they strike. We must press forward; we must strike -back; we must never for a moment show the varmints that we fear them.” - -But the bold counsel of Daniel was not listened to. The shock of the -attack, the loss of the cattle, the six youths slain, all in a moment’s -time, hung heavily over the spirits of the emigrants, clouding them -with gloom. It was agreed among them that they would start at sunrise -and head back for the settlements. - -On that first spiritless day of the return march, Oliver Barclay found -himself by the side of Boone. - -“Heading back for Hillsboro?” he asked. - -Boone shook his head. - -“No; for the Virginia settlements on the Clinch River,” he replied. - -“I’ve been thinking,” said Oliver, whose hopes had received a -shattering blow by the sudden change of front, “that we need not give -the matter up after all.” - -Boone looked at him questioningly. - -“There are a few who are willing to go on across the mountains. -Suppose, after we leave those who feel that they must return at the -Clinch settlements, we turn about and go with the few we can hold -together.” - -Again the backwoodsman shook his head. - -“I reckon you don’t quite see just what your uncle, the colonel, wants -done,” he said. “We didn’t start only for the purpose of getting into -the new country. The idea was to plant a colony. And to do that we -must have people.” - -“But,” persisted Oliver, with boyish ardor, “there’s your family and -the Taylors. And Mr. Miller told Sandy he’d keep to the original -agreement if any one else would.” - -But Boone was fixed in his determination. - -“We must plant a colony of some size if we plant any at all. A few -families would always be in danger where enough to supply a couple of -score of fighting men, if needed, would be fairly safe. For Injuns, -youngster, are a careful lot; they seldom attack when there’s any -danger of loss. Another thing, the first lot of emigrants must be -numerous enough to attract others. Men go where men are; it’s only a -few who have a liking for lonely places.” - -And so the saddened column pushed toward the Clinch River, and Boone’s -first attempt to settle Kentucky was at an end. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -THE THREE BOYS RIDE ON A MISSION - - -However, as it chanced, it was just as well that the first attempt of -Daniel Boone to colonize Kentucky failed. For a little later, the first -muttering of that great Indian uprising, called the Dunmore War, began -to be heard, and along the whole border ran the firebrand, the scalping -knife and the tomahawk. - -But previous to this outbreak of the tribes, Boone was engaged in -another enterprise which tested his quality as a woodsman and explorer. -Dunmore, the governor of Virginia, had some time before sent a number -of surveyors to the country round about the falls of the Ohio; and now -he desired that these men be guided through the wilderness back to -the settlements. Boone and a man named Stoner were engaged for this -work, and set out heavily armed, but carrying little or no baggage. -The surveying party was found and guided to the settlements according -to contract, and without mishap. The whole journey was of some eight -hundred miles and through hard country; but the two woodsmen managed to -do it in the remarkable time of two months. - -Louder and louder grew the muttering of the coming war; closer and -closer pressed the tribes from all points of the compass. Delawares, -Wyandots, Shawnees, Cayugas and Mingos; the forests gave up war parties -in full paint and feathers each day; councils were held, dances were -danced; vengeance was to be had, no matter what the cost, for the wrong -that had been done the great chief Logan by the whites. - -The soldiers were everywhere drilling to meet the expected onslaught -of the Indians; the celebrated fighting chiefs, Red Eagle and -Cornstalk, were upon the border, ripe for the struggle; and Dunmore -knew that if once they gave themselves seriously to the work of -revenge, he’d be hard pressed to beat them back. - -Soon after his return with the surveying party, Daniel Boone was made -a captain by the governor and given charge of three garrisons. And to -these came Oliver Barclay and his friends Eph and Sandy. - -“Do you really think Chief Logan will strike?” asked Oliver, eagerly, -of Boone. - -“It looks like it,” answered the backwoodsman. “Logan has been wronged, -and as he’s a man of spirit, even if he is only an Injun, why, he’s up -and ready to avenge it. In my opinion there’ll be a flare along the -whole line that’ll turn many a night into day.” - -“What of the settlers in the outlying places?” - -“I’ve been passing the word for them to come in. Better lose their -property than their lives.” - -“Are they coming in?” - -“A good many of them are; others are waiting to make sure that the -redskins will rise.” There was a pause and then Boone proceeded: -“There’s one thing that worries me, though, and that’s the case of -those people at the head of that small branch, to the southwest. The -scouts sent out warned everybody all through that region but them; by -a kind of misunderstanding they were not looked after. As it stands, -nobody is sure if they know how things stand with the Indians or not.” - -“You’re going to have them looked after, though,” said Oliver. - -Boone looked worried. - -“It’s got to be done,” said he. “But I can’t go myself, and just now -there is nobody to send.” - -“Eph and I will go,” declared young Barclay, resolutely; “maybe Sandy, -too--it’ll be good sport and some excitement.” - -“And mixed in more than a mite of danger--don’t forget that,” said -Boone. - -“If there was no danger there would be no excitement,” laughed Oliver, -and away he swung to search out Eph and the Scotch boy. - -The latter, in preparation for action of some kind, was whetting the -edge of a huge saber upon a stone which some one had given him. Eph -Taylor sat at his side rubbing carefully at the lock of his much -considered rifle Jerusha. - -“She’s in good working order as she stands,” said Eph, by way of -explanation. “And she always shoots true and fair; but then a little -extra looking after won’t hurt her now, for there’s no telling when -I’ll get the next chance to look after her rightly.” - -“Now, there you spoke the truth,” said Oliver. “It may be, indeed, some -time, for we’re going to take horse in ten minutes and be off to the -head of the south branch.” - -Both Eph and Sandy at once came to their feet. - -“What’s happened?” asked the latter, his round, good-natured face all -aglow. - -“Has Logan begun the war?” asked Eph. - -In a few words Oliver explained the situation; and in a marvelously -short time Eph’s rifle was assembled and loaded; Sandy’s saber was -wiped dry upon a tuft of grass and sheathed; the horses of all three -were saddled and ready to start. - -Boone had followed Oliver, and seeing them ready and determined, was -the last man in the world to prevent their showing the quality that was -in them. - -“Look for the Baldwins, the McAfees and the Curleys,” said he. “Find -the farm of one and you’ll learn from him the location of the others. -And keep your eyes peeled for Injuns. Don’t trust to anything but -the sight of your eyes and the touch of your hands. And if you find -occasion to shoot, shoot swiftly and to kill, for the redskins are in -no humor to be stopped by anything less than death.” - -With a wave of the hand, the three boys were off along the winding -trail which led toward the river; and this they followed all the -remainder of the day. They came to the branch named by Boone toward -nightfall, and went into camp in the midst of a clump of white oaks. - -A turkey cock had fallen a few hours before under the deadly glance of -Jerusha and while Sandy and Oliver were engaged in building a fire, Eph -stripped the once proud bird of his feathers and prepared him for the -spit. Sandy had filled his haversack with hard biscuits which had been -made for the militia, and these, with the meat of the nicely browned -turkey, made a bountiful supper. - -“It seems to me to be a foolish thing for a great chief like Logan -to do--this war,” said Eph, as he picked a turkey bone with much -satisfaction. “A man like him, knowing how little chance the Injuns -have against the troops of the colony, ought to have some horse sense.” - -“They say Dunmore’s soldiers massacred his entire family,” said Oliver. -“Of course, we can’t get the facts just yet, but if any of it is true, -why, Logan, being an Indian, can see nothing else to do.” - -“Many an innocent person will suffer for the doings of the hungry -government and the red robbers,” said Sandy with Scottish foresight. -“And it’s always so, I suppose, for they are the least prepared.” - -They spent the night among the oaks and were stirring at an early hour -in the morning. The sun was not an hour old when they were in the -saddle once more and were riding along the branch in the direction of -the scattered holdings of the detached settlers. - -At noon they halted, allowed their mounts to graze for an hour and ate -a snack themselves. Then into the saddle once more and off again along -the tangled way. The sun was sliding down in the west, growing greater -and redder as it went, and the trees were beginning to cast long -shadows in the bare spaces, when Eph Taylor suddenly drew up his horse. -Holding up a warning hand, he said: - -“Listen!” - -Like graven figures the boys sat their horses, their faces turned in -the direction of the setting sun. - -Sharp and with rending crispness of a sound traveling across a great -silence, there came the unmistakable report of a rifle. A moment later -there came another and still another. A clamor arose above the distant -trees. - -“Rifle shots!” cried Eph. - -“And the Shawnee war cry!” said Oliver. - -As one they inspected the locks of their pieces and their primings. -Again and again came the rifle shots from the westward; and again and -again from above the tree tops came the shrill yells of the redskins. - -“We’ve been quite near one of the settlers’ houses without knowing -it,” spoke Sandy Campbell. “And they are being attacked by Shawnees.” -Looking steadily at his two friends he added: “What shall we do?” - -“There is but one thing we can do,” replied Oliver. - -“And that’s get over there as soon as we can and do our share in -teaching these varmints a lesson,” finished Eph. - -And they shook the reins of their good horses and sprang down the bank -toward the brawling branch. There was a ford at no great distance and -this they crossed with a rush, splashing the water high in the air. -Then up the farther bank they sped and across a clearing which they -perceived behind a thin fringe of trees. Swift and soft thudded the -hoofs of their dying horses upon the ground; through the tops of some -ancient oaks they caught the outline of the chimney of a white man’s -dwelling; and between the thick growing trunks they saw the plumes and -war paint of the savages who encircled it. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -DEFENDING A LOG CABIN - - -A swift glance showed Oliver Barclay that there were perhaps twoscore -Indians in the band. Directly in front were about half this number -fighting from behind stumps, logs and tree trunks. - -“At them at top speed,” said Oliver, “and each pick an important man if -you can see one. After you fire, shout as loud as you can!” - -Like thunderbolts the three lads swept down upon the war party of -Shawnees. Shooting from the saddle, with horse going at top speed, was -one of the tricks of marksmanship cherished and practiced by the youths -at the frontier; and so, as the three long weapons cracked, three -savages sprang into the air with tossing arms and fell dead upon the -ground. Then yelling like demons the lads plunged among the others. - -Taken utterly by surprise the redskins were demoralized. Evidently they -thought, judging by the boldness of the attack, that what they saw was -but a part of a large force of whites; so in the panic of the moment -they turned and fled. - -Never checking the speed of their horses the boys dashed up to the -cabin which was now in full view. Throwing themselves from their horses -they proceeded to wipe and reload their rifles. - -As they were so engaged the door of the cabin was flung open and an old -man with a flowing white beard appeared upon the threshold. He had a -blood-stained bandage about his head, and a rifle was gripped in his -hand. Behind him the boys caught glimpses of a number of anxious faces. - -“Glad to see you, lads,” cried the old settler, welcomingly. “How many -of you are there?” - -“Just the three,” answered Eph, a grin on his face. - -The man with the white beard looked the amazement he felt. - -“Only three, and come a-plunging into the critters that way?” - -A murmur went up from those behind him. - -“I reckon the Shawnees thought we were a regiment, at least, the way -they ran off,” said Oliver, laughing at the recollection. - -“Yes, and by this time they’ve seen their mistake and will come----” - -“Whizz! Thud!” - -The feathered shaft of an arrow quivered from one of the logs just -below Sandy Campbell’s shoulder; a hail of others flew all about them. - -“They’ve found it out!” cried a man from within the house. As he spoke -he sprang out and threw open the heavy door of a building adjoining the -cabin. “Quick,” said he. “Drive your horses in here.” - -The boys led the horses through the doorway; the man followed them -in and threw a heavy oaken bar into place. The sounds from the cabin -showed that the door there had also been made secure, and then the -siege was once more begun. - -There was a doorway leading into the cabin from the building which was -crowded with horses and cattle. Through this came the white-bearded man -and some others. - -“We’re obliged to you, young strangers, for what you tried to do for -us. And we are sorry that you’ve run into this danger.” - -“We rode this way on the word of Captain Boone that some settlers were -perhaps unwarned of the Indian rising,” said Oliver. “Perhaps you are -one of them, sir.” - -“My name,” said the old man, “is Curley.” - -“Do you know anything of the McAfees and Baldwins who live hereabout?” - -“They are all here,” said Mr. Curley. “They grew suspicious of things -yesterday, and rode over, thinking if the worst came we’d all be -together, and so have a better chance for defense.” - -There were at least a dozen grown men gathered in the Curley cabin, and -almost as many boys, some of whom were old enough to take part in the -defense. The wives and daughters of the settlers were, in the main, -courageous and accustomed to the idea of danger; some of them, indeed, -looked capable of taking up a rifle and using it as well as brother -or husband. The heavy timber walls of the house were pierced by small -openings, each of which permitted the barrel of a rifle to be protruded. - -At each of these port-holes was stationed a man; keen eyes watched -the movements of the Shawnees upon the edge of the clearing, and now -and then a shot rang out or an arrow whizzed through the air as a red -marksman sought to drive bullet or barb through an opening. - -While Oliver talked to Mr. Curley and several of the other settlers -and gave them all the information he possessed as to the state of the -border, Eph Taylor selected an unguarded port-hole and protruded the -eager muzzle of the faithful Jerusha. - -“Take care of yourself, youngster,” said a man in buckskins at the next -opening. “Don’t trust too much to your port-hole being narrow; there’s -an Injun there on the edge of the timber who’s doing some almighty good -shooting with the bow; several times he’s put one of his shafts right -on through.” - -Keenly, Eph scoured the timber line; from one place or another a rifle -cracked, or a bowstring sang almost constantly. But he was not long in -locating the marksman of whom the settler had spoken. He lay behind -the uprooted butt of a huge tree which had resisted both axe and fire; -a thick growth of weeds had sprung up about it, and it afforded a -splendid vantage place for a marauder with a quick eye and a steady -hand. - -Twice Eph saw an arrow speed from behind this shelter and bury itself -in the timbers upon the edge of a port-hole. Then a cry told that a -third shot had flown through and found a mark. - -“Through the arm,” said the man who had spoken to Eph. “That varmint -out there has an eye like a hawk.” - -Carefully Eph watched the uprooted stump and studied the method of the -savage sharpshooter behind it. Never once did he catch sight of any -part of the Shawnee; not for an instant did even so much as a tip of -a plume show above his breastwork. Satisfying himself as to this, Eph -took to examining other parts about the tree butt. A stirring in the -growth about its largest end took his eye; the movement was of the -slightest, but the eyes of the boy were fixed upon it with all the -eagerness of a practiced hunter. - -The shadows from the trees had grown enormously; but the great red sun -sent slanting bars of light through the maze of trunks here and there; -and one of these caught a metal point just as it was steadily poised -for a shot from behind the butt, and the glitter attracted the eye of -Eph. The brain of the boy worked like lightning; from the position of -the arrow-head he calculated the position of the arm that held the bow. -The black eye of Jerusha turned grimly upon the spot in which Eph’s -judgment fixed the Shawnee’s arm; then the rifle spoke. A cry of pain -made answer and an arrow flew wild, burying its point in the ground. - -“I reckon that Injun will need some care and considerable rest before -he’s much of a success as a fancy shot in the future,” remarked young -Taylor, with a grin at his neighbor. - -“That was a good shot,” said the man. “I sort of felt that Injun was -behind the stump there; but I couldn’t get any signs of him nohow.” - -Darkness drew on; supper was cooked and eaten in the cabin; part of the -defenders sat down to the meal while a part manned the port-holes; when -the first lot had satisfied their hunger they changed places with the -watchers. But with the coming of the night the attack of the Shawnees -did not abate; the cracking of their rifles went on, the whizzing of -the arrows continued. Finally there came a flare through the darkness; -it was as though a ball of fire had described an arch, and then fallen -with a thud on the roof. - -The faces of the settlers blanched. - -“A fire arrow!” said one. - -“The varmints are trying to burn the house over our heads,” cried -another. - -But old Mr. Curley took the matter coolly enough. - -“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “As it happens, friends, the roof is of -new green wood, cut and put on only this summer; so the arrows won’t -set fire to it in a hurry.” - -Ball after ball of fire, each attached to a cunningly aimed arrow, fell -upon the roof. But the green wood would not take the fire readily, as -the old settler had prophesied. Seeing this the savages ceased throwing -the fire arrows, and there fell a silence over all outdoors as complete -as the darkness. - -“Something is going forward,” spoke Sandy, his eye at a port-hole -endeavoring to pierce the black pall which enveloped everything. “The -villains are not so quiet as that for nothing.” - -There was, indeed, something ominous in the silence; the night seemed -crowded with the grotesque forms of fear; a feeling that there was -something--a dreadful something--pressing toward them, settled upon the -defenders. - -“Ready all!” said the man in the buckskins. “We’ll have them down on us -in a moment.” - -“And remember, lads,” warned old Mr. Curley, “our powder is not too -plentiful. So don’t waste a shot. Be sure of your Injun before you pull -trigger.” - -The prediction of the man in buckskin was, a moment later, fulfilled. -Silent as ghosts the Shawnees had formed a complete circle about the -cabin and crept across the clearing toward it. Now they were close -enough for a rush; the war-whoop, that thing of fear on the border, -rang out; the red braves, dusky and but faintly seen, were under the -log walls. - -“Be sure of your shots!” cried old Mr. Curley; “pick your redskin, -lads, and don’t waste the good black powder!” - -[Illustration: THE RIFLES SPOKE THROUGH THE PORT-HOLES] - -With cold precision the rifles spoke through the port-holes, and in -each case a yell told of a warrior hit. But the Shawnees were not idle. -Unseen, they had borne with them great armfuls of dry brush; under the -fire of the rifles they heaped them against the door of the cabin. -Like cats others scaled the walls and gained the roof. - -The first flare of the fire when the brush was ignited acted badly for -the Shawnees, however. Apparently they had failed to foresee that they -would be thrown into full relief by the glare; at any rate the deadly -rifles of the whites swept a rain of lead among them, and a dozen fell -to the earth. Enraged, the remainder charged the house, brandishing -tomahawks and scalping knives; bowstrings sang and rifles cracked; the -flames about the door mounted higher and higher. - -Calmly the backwoodsmen went about the work of defense; steadily they -loaded and fired; watchfully they peered through the port-holes. - -But up to this time all had failed to hear those savages who had -mounted to the roof. Safe out of the fire of the deadly rifles, a half -score braves were here collected, cunningly planning their next move. - -At one end of the log house there was a wide-mouthed chimney, built -of green wood and thickly lined with mud. The fire over which the -settlers’ supper had been cooked had died down and peering down the -smooth interior of this shaft, the Shawnees grinned with dreadful -satisfaction. - -“That fire outside there is taking hold,” said old Mr. Curley below in -the big room of the cabin. “The timber in the door is heavy, but as dry -as tinder.” - -Anxiously the men looked at each other; the faces of the women were -fearful. And in this tense moment there came a scrambling sound, a -cloud of dust arose from the fireplace together with a shower of dull -sparks. A woman screamed as the tufted head of an Indian appeared in -the great fireplace to be followed an instant later by another and -still another. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -A NIGHT EXPERIENCE - - -Following the scream of the woman, Eph Taylor turned around. He was the -first of the riflemen to catch sight of the intruders. Like a flash the -eye of Jerusha ceased to stare upon the wild scenes going on outside; -it swept inward and the crack of the good rifle spoke the death of a -Shawnee. Oliver’s piece accounted for another; two more fell in the act -of braining a defender with their hatchets. - -Taking warning from the deaths of the more adventurous the Shawnees -upon the roof of the cabin made no more attempts by way of the chimney. -Old Mr. Curley shrewdly judged that the swift fate which had overtaken -their comrades would have this effect, but nevertheless he made sure -there would be no more surprises from that direction. - -“Dick,” said he, to one of his sons, a stalwart youth who had been -firing from one of the port-holes with a pair of horseman’s pistols, -“see to the fireplace. Don’t take your eyes off it, and if you catch -sight of a red hide, fill it full of holes.” - -Just then the most important thing of all was to scatter the fire from -the door before it did serious harm. The brush was blazing furiously -and that the door was also burning they felt sure, judging from the -jets of smoke and flame that shot between the heavy planks. The man in -buckskin, who was a trapper of the region and not connected with the -little settlement on the fork, now ventured a plan. - -“Let one man stand ready to throw open the door, let another have a -pail of water to throw on the outside of it where it is burning, and -two more stand ready to kick away the brush. But before the door is -open we’ll drive the Injuns in front to cover; while they are still -running will be the time to act.” - -As this plan was as good as any, they at once proceeded to put it into -operation. The rifles increased their deadly cracking and the Shawnees, -who had continued their charges in order to keep the fire supplied with -fresh brush, were unable to stand up under it. Helter skelter they -fled for cover; the door was thrown open, the brush kicked away and a -drench of water sent streaming over the burning planks. Then the door -was slammed shut before the infuriated redskins had much idea of what -was taking place, the bar dropped into its sockets, and the whites were -permitted to breathe easier, now that all immediate danger from fire -was past. - -There followed some scattered volleys from the savages; but after a -time a silence fell; and some distance away camp-fires began to sparkle -in the forest. - -“They’ve withdrawn for a while at least,” spoke Mr. Curley. “They -will eat their meat at the fires and the cunning ones among them will -arrange another plan of attack.” - -Oliver and his friends during this lull gathered at one end of the -cabin. - -“It seems to me,” said young Barclay, “that the Indians mean to take -this house one way or another. Even if they can’t capture it by attack -they can starve us out.” - -Eph Taylor nodded his head. - -“Yes,” said he. “That’s what it will end with if help doesn’t come, I’m -afraid.” - -“With a fresh horse and a clear way through the Shawnees, I could make -Captain Boone’s garrison by noon to-morrow,” said Oliver. “So why wait -on the chance that help will come?” - -“Noll!” cried Sandy; “you don’t mean to say that you’ll----” - -“In a case like this,” said Oliver, firmly, “waiting is a mistake. Ill -luck is as likely to befall as good. If they’ll let me, I’m going to -venture it.” - -In a moment he had left them and was eagerly engaged with Mr. Curley, -the Baldwins and the McAfees. The man in buckskins also entered into -the talk. Earnestly Oliver laid his thought before them; soberly they -considered it; gravely they discussed its merits. - -“My horse Hawk is like a cat at night,” said Oliver. “He is absolutely -sure-footed and seems able to see in the dark. If I can win through the -Shawnees he’ll carry me to Boone’s camp like the wind.” - -The white-bearded Mr. Curley laid his hand kindly upon his shoulder. - -“You are a brave lad,” said he; “and it’s with spirits like yours that -success lies. So if you are eager to undertake this thing, I will not -be one to lift my voice against it; for indeed its carrying out may -mean the lives of us all.” - -There was a murmur at this; all seemed to be of the same idea. - -Without delay, Oliver went into the building where the horses were -tied. Hawk lifted his head and rubbed his nose upon his young master’s -shoulder. The young horse had gained in power since the day of his race -with the wicked mount of Long Panther; and his increased years had lost -him his coltish tricks. As he stood now he was a swift, intelligent -horse of the sort which can be depended upon. - -“Now, old fellow,” spoke the boy as he finished with the saddle and -stood patting Hawk’s neck. “This is going to be a very lively night for -both of us. So do your best for me; more depends on your heels to-night -than ever before in your life.” - -Sharply Eph Taylor scoured the clearing before the cabin; other eyes, -equally eager and intent, did the like for the sides and the rear. But -keen as was their vision they could penetrate but a short distance -into the blackness. What was beyond the range of their sight they -could only imagine. - -“As far as I can see,” said Eph, “there’s no one to stop you. But,” and -he stroked his long chin, “that’s not very far.” - -“When I give the word, open the door very softly,” said Oliver. He -then shook hands with those who pressed about him, wishing him a safe -journey through the night; then he spoke quietly to Eph and Sandy. A -moment later the door had opened and closed behind him. - -Cautiously he turned his head from side to side, listening; Hawk stood -as still as a beast of bronze, seeming to understand something of the -danger of which he was a partaker. No sound reached the lad; from off -among the trees he saw the flitting forms of the Indians about the -camp-fires; but none of them seemed nearer. During the time spent at -the port-holes of the Curley cabin, young Barclay had observed the lie -of the land, thinking there might come a time when a dash for liberty -would be their only chance. This served him well now in the darkness; -mounting, he turned his horse’s head in the direction furthest removed -from the Indian camp-fires, and so began his journey. - -There was, as he had observed, an opening in the forest growth in this -direction, and he trusted to the “night sight” and instinct of Hawk to -find it. - -In this his confidence was in every way warranted; in a direct line, -apparently, the good horse made for the opening. But scarcely had he -gained the blacker shadows cast by the trees on either side, than the -horse stopped with a snort. At the same instant a number of forms -leaped from the sides of the path, and Oliver was dragged to the -ground. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -THE BATTLE OF POINT PLEASANT - - -Whether he had received a blow upon the head, or had been stunned by -the force of the fall from his horse, Oliver Barclay did not know. -But, in any event, when he recovered consciousness, he found himself -bound hand and foot and securely fastened to a tree in the heart of the -Shawnee camp. - -Near him sat a young savage whose left hand was swathed in bandages; -and in the flickering firelight which fell upon this brave’s face, -Oliver recognized Long Panther. - -“Well,” said the lad with as much unconcern as he could assume, “you -have me, Long Panther.” - -The coppery face of the Shawnee turned toward the white boy; and the -light of the fire was not more deep than the light in his eyes. But -beyond this he showed nothing but the stoical front of his race. - -“Yes,” said he, “we have you. And I do not think another will mount and -ride for help to-night.” - -“I hope not, if he’s not to have better fortune than I’ve had,” said -Oliver. - -“In two suns we could take the cabin of the white man,” said Long -Panther, his burning eyes turning in the direction of the Curley cabin. -“But the time is short. At dawn we must take the trail. The Mingo -chief, Logan, calls, and we go to him that we may strike a harder blow.” - -Oliver felt a thrill of gladness at the news that the siege upon the -log house was to be lifted, and that the Shawnees were about to abandon -their purpose. - -“If I had only known that,” was his thought, “I might have stayed -comfortably inside and learned in the morning that all danger was past.” - -But, as the venture he had made had seemed the best thing to do under -the circumstances, he did not waste any regrets upon it; instead, -he gave up his thoughts entirely to the situation in which he found -himself, and began studying out a plan of escape. - -“Many things,” said Long Panther, somberly, “I have suffered at the -hands of the white man. And I have desired vengeance. This,” and he -held up his bandaged left hand, “is the last.” - -That Long Panther had been the marksman behind the tree butt now, for -the first time, occurred to Oliver; the bullet from Eph’s rifle had -found a shining mark, indeed. - -“It is the hand with which I hold the bow,” mourned the young savage. -“And in the battles that are to come, I cannot do the work that has -been given me. But the white face will pay,” said he, as he arose to -his feet and stood looking down at Oliver. “The white face will pay.” - -He turned and stalked away; and as the eyes of the white boy followed -him there seemed to be an ominous something in the very way in which he -bore himself--a threat of reprisal that was to come. - -But whatever gloomy fears found a place in young Barclay’s mind, they -were not realized that night at least. He slept where he lay, under -guard of three unwinking redskins. And when morning came he was given -some food, his hands were pinioned behind him, and with a rope tied -about his body, the other end of which was fast to the saddle of a -warrior, he was forced to march in the midst of the band which began -filing through the forest toward the great meeting place of the hostile -tribes. - -On the way they were joined by other war parties of their own nation; -and by nightfall of the following day, young Barclay found himself in -the heart of a vast Indian encampment. Far into the night he saw the -council fires burning and saw the chiefs and head men of the nations -gathered in conference. He heard the celebrated Logan. He heard -Cornstalk and his great son Elenipsico as they stood out before the -leaders of the tribes and poured forth their torrents of eloquence. -That he understood little or nothing of the Indian language made -scarcely any difference in the effect the orations had upon the boy. -The manner of the great chiefs, their expressions as they recounted -their grievances, the fierce passion of their appeal to the silent -circle with its iron faces, sent a chill to his heart. He saw that the -coming struggle was to be no mean one, that the frontier was, indeed, -to be a blaze from end to end. - -But what was to be done in his own case of course naturally interested -him more than anything else. In a time like this, when open war was -declared and the tribes gathered to defy the forces of the colonies, -prisoners were seldom taken, and when they were, it was for the purpose -of putting them to the torture. - -Oliver had heard the grisly tales the old frontiersmen had to tell -of the stake, of the running of the gauntlet, and the various other -barbarities that the savage mind conceived, and visions of these rose -before his eyes. But, for all, he was shrewd enough and clear-sighted -enough to perceive that these things were gone through with at the -Indians’ leisure. - -“Just now,” he told himself, “they have much more important matters -before them; I shall get their attention later; and even at that, much -sooner, perhaps, than I want it.” - -The Virginia Legislature had called into being an army of something -more than a thousand fighting men, and these were now encamped at a -place called Point Pleasant, not more than a few hours’ ride from the -encampment of Logan and his fellow chiefs. - -Oliver drew from his captor’s manner that the day of battle was near; -but that it was to be on the one that was next to break he had no idea -until the dawn brought those preparations which were unmistakable. -Like a great fan the Mingos, the Wyandots, the Cayugas, the Delawares -and the Shawnees spread themselves through the forest; like panthers -stalking their prey they advanced. - -And this knowledge put a great hope in his heart, for on the morning -his guards had not bound his arms with their customary care; in their -hurry to be gone they had slighted this duty; and now Oliver knew that -it required only a slight struggle to give him the use of his hands. -However, he made no sign of this, plodding on in the midst of the -Shawnees, apparently dejected and heavy of mind, but in reality keenly -observant and watching like a hawk for any chance that would give him -liberty. - -Now as it happened, some of the whites desired fresh meat that morning -and a hunting party of two was in pursuit of deer. These hunters, swift -of foot and eager, were following the deer tracks and, for the time, -never dreaming of the enemy; then they plunged upon the main body of -the Indians and for an instant were so struck with surprise that they -stood motionless and staring. A scattering of rifle shots followed; -one of the men dropped to the earth, the other bounded away into the -thicket and made back toward the encampment of the Virginia army. A -few hours later the still advancing Indians encountered several large -bodies of whites drawn up in military array. Under cover of a flight -of arrows the savages drew back; and the voices of Cornstalk and Logan -were lifted, calling on them to be as cunning as foxes and unyielding -as rocks. - -“This day,” said Logan, “shall see the redressing of much wrong, my -children. We shall strike the hand which is lifted over us!” - -“Sons of the forest!” cried the really noble savage, Cornstalk, “stand -fast! The white faces are before you. The sun has lifted upon the day -which is to give you victory!” - -Having reached a ground which would give them an advantage, the Indians -made a stand and began to rain arrows and lead upon the soldiers of the -colony. In almost the first fire the colonels of the two regiments fell -dead. A confusion seized the troops, and as it spread from rank to rank -they began a retreat full of disorder. - -This panic of the whites was seen by Oliver as he stood under guard -among the trees, and the boy’s heart sank at the sight. - -“They run!” said a voice beside him, and turning he recognized Long -Panther. “They run like wolves before a forest fire. And you, my white -brother, thought they would strike hard and save you!” - -Oliver made no reply; and the young Shawnee spoke to the guard in the -Indian tongue. They seemed pleased at his words and called out to some -others who stood by, not taking part in the attack. Like a flash the -message ran along the line of the Indians; and Oliver, though he did -not dream of what was coming, saw their grim looks turned upon him and -caught a savage satisfaction in them. - -“Once,” said Long Panther, “you felt proud of your fleetness; in your -pride you thought you could outrun the Shawnees.” His glowing eyes -fixed themselves upon Oliver, glowing with a deeper fire than ever. -“And I,” went on Long Panther, “told you there might come a day when -the Shawnee’d run you a race. That day has now come.” - -“What do you mean?” asked the white boy. - -“There are your friends,” and Long Panther pointed toward the -retreating regiments. “We give you permission to go to them if--if you -can outrun the arrows which will follow you.” - -Oliver Barclay’s face blanched; but a resolution showed in his -tightening jaw. - -“And if I refuse----” - -“Worse may befall you.” - -For a moment Oliver hesitated; he saw the line of Indians, their -copper-colored faces full of anticipation, the deadly bows in their -hands. But he said, firmly: - -“What chance have I? Your brothers will pierce me before I’ve taken a -dozen steps.” His eyes searched the ground ahead, and then he added: -“Give me a start. Let me reach the boulder yonder before you give the -word, and I will run.” - -“I agree,” said Long Panther, with savage satisfaction. - -He once more spoke to the Shawnees about him and again the word was -passed along the line. And the satisfaction of Long Panther was -reflected in the faces of all. - -“When my white brother is ready,” said the maimed bowman looking at -Oliver, “I will speak the word.” - -Oliver braced himself for the ordeal. - -“I am ready,” said he. - -Long Panther cried out a warning to the warriors; then to Oliver he -said: - -“Run!” - -[Illustration: HE INCREASED HIS SPEED] - -With his hands held behind him by the loosened thongs, Oliver started -to run. To the right the Cayugas, the Mingos and the Wyandots were -still pressing after the whites; but directly ahead all was clear. -With his eyes on the boulder the boy ran slowly. This he thought the -better way, as to show a burst of speed might excite the savages, and -they might loose their arrows before the time agreed. As it was, their -merciless natures quickly manifested themselves; when within a little -distance of the rock an arrow whizzed by the boy’s head. Feeling sure -that this would be instantly followed by more, he increased his -speed; with a headlong plunge he was behind the boulder, and a whirring -as of a hundred pairs of wings was all around him, the arrows knocking -up clouds of dust as they struck the ground. - -A wild yell went up from the Shawnees as the boy disappeared behind -the rock; at once they saw that he had shrewdly calculated upon this -shelter when he asked that they not fire until he reached it. And with -hatchet, knife and spear, they rushed at him. - -Oliver slipped his hands free of the thongs, his quick glance going -about to see what was the next best thing to do. And then as the -savages sped toward him he heard a shout--deep and charged with -victory. A third regiment of whites had advanced to the support of the -panic-stricken ones; their rifle fire was deadly and they came at full -speed. The Mingos, the Wyandots and Cayugas faltered in the face of -this unexpected blow; and they fell back upon the line of Delawares -and Shawnees. - -At sight of the cloud of warriors in full retreat, the Shawnees rushing -upon Oliver paused. Here was graver and more earnest work than the -harrying of a single boy and so they turned and hastened to the support -of their friends. - -Realizing what had happened, the white boy was off like a shot toward -the lines of the advancing frontiersmen; how he gained this over -a field swept by bullets and arrows he never understood, but gain -it he did and a few minutes later with the rifle, powder-horn and -bullet-pouch of a fallen soldier, he was loading and firing in the -ranks with as much coolness and dispatch as the best of them. - -The Indians must have had an advance party on the battle-ground some -time before the main body, for it was now learned that their retreat -was to a line of fortification made of logs, earth and brush. Behind -this they stood firm. The Indians showed that they were possessed of -many rifles and a good store of powder; for hours there was a blaze -of fire from across the breastwork; and the barbed arrows drove like -messengers of death among the whites. Fully fifteen hundred fighting -men were behind the fortification and continually the voices of Red -Eagle, of Cornstalk or Logan could be heard urging them to fight on. - -Charge after charge was made upon this strong place by the Virginia -army; General Lewis saw his men falling all about him and realized -after a little time that some other method must be pursued if he was to -save his force from annihilation. - -“Try and get a body of troops in their rear,” was a suggestion which -he instantly grasped. As it happened, the bank of the Kanawha River -favored such a movement; three picked companies under three dare-devil -leaders were sent to make the attempt. - -There was a small stream called Crooked Creek which flowed into the -Kanawha. The three companies managed to cross this; its banks were -covered with a rank growth of tall weeds; and through this crept the -whites upon the unsuspecting savages. - -At a word a deadly volley swept into the dense body of Indians; taken -utterly by surprise, they were thrown into complete confusion. No foe -had been expected from that quarter, and, from the fury of the onset, -they thought it must be a heavy body of reinforcements. Completely -disheartened they gave way; as the sun went down they were retreating -across the Ohio River; and at the fall of night were pressing on -through the forest toward their distant villages. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -THE FORT AT BOONESBOROUGH - - -After the battle of Point Pleasant, which was the most severe -engagement with Indians in the history of Virginia, the tribes sent -messengers to make peace with the governor. In this treaty the Shawnees -gave up all claim to the country beyond the ridge. - -As the time for the settlement of this great region was completely -ripe, Colonel Henderson rode to Boone’s place on the Clinch River. - -“The Chickasaws we can’t reach,” said he. “But we can the Cherokees. -I want you to visit the chief of that nation and purchase, for my -company, all their rights in the new country.” - -Promptly Boone started off on this mission. Penetrating to the -Cherokee country he opened negotiations with the chiefs and head men -of that tribe. Success met him on every hand; the result was that -Colonel Henderson later met the Indians in solemn council at Fort -Wataga; the price was paid and the deed was signed; and thereafter -Kentucky was, of right, free of all Indian claims. - -“And now,” said Boone to the colonel, “the next thing to do is to take -possession. And I calculate that the least delay in that, the better -for us.” - -To this advice Colonel Henderson gave willing ear. - -“As all affairs with the Indian nations are settled,” said he, “I -think what you say is the right thing to do. But to tempt emigrants we -must have a way for them to get into the new country without so much -hardship. Enlist a company of men and cut a way through the wilderness -to the place where you think a colony can be planted.” - -This was a tremendous task, but Daniel Boone was the man to undertake -it. The hardy spirits of the border had confidence in his ability, and -when he went among them for volunteers upon this new enterprise, they -responded readily enough. Oliver Barclay was to go with the party in -the interest of his uncle, and Eph and Sandy, full of the desire for -the wilderness, were among the first to offer themselves. - -Mounted upon Hawk, for the good horse had escaped the Indians upon the -night of his master’s capture and wandered back to the Curleys’ cabin, -Oliver rode along with Boone over the same trail they had traveled upon -the previous attempt to get beyond the mountains. - -“This time,” said Oliver, “we’ll reach the new country. For I suppose -the Indians are fairly well satisfied by the terms they made.” - -Boone shook his head; there was a tightening about his mouth, and his -eyes held a look of unbelief. - -“The Injuns are queer varmints,” spoke he. “And they don’t regard their -word very highly. Now Cornstalk, Logan and their kind mean what they -say; but the rank and file never give it a second thought if a good -chance comes to them to use their hatchets and scalping knives.” - -“Then,” said Eph Taylor, “there may be trouble even now.” - -“In this country and for years to come you can surely expect trouble,” -said Boone. “White and red will never live at peace for very long at a -time. There will always be something to stir up a war.” - -The band gathered by Boone were good riders, accustomed all their lives -to living in the open; sturdy axemen, men full of the vim and that -perseverance which was so marked in their leader. - -The path by which they traveled was well indicated; those who came -after would have no difficulty in following it. The month of March was -drawing toward its close when one day they halted at a small stream -to drink; they had dismounted and for the moment their attention was -relaxed. Suddenly, without a moment’s warning, a volley rang out from a -dense thicket, two of the party fell to the earth--dead--and two others -were wounded. - -This attack was much like that on the previous expedition; never for a -moment did the whites suspect that the redskins were near. But there -the similarity ended. This time the pioneers had no women and children -to think of; also they were, in the main, well-trained, crafty Indian -fighters, and not a band of careless boys engaged in driving cattle. - -The reports of the Indian rifles had hardly died away when each of the -adventurers had gained a cover, tree, stump or rock; short and sharp -spoke their unerring pieces and the ensuing yells told of braves who -had paid for the attack with their lives. - -Seeing that the white men were in no wise daunted by the onslaught and -were determined to make a grim resistance, the Indians, who had little -stomach for this sort of battle, withdrew. - -“They are gone,” spoke young Barclay, as he mounted a hillock and saw -the band skirting the forest, almost a mile away. - -“For the time,” answered Boone. “They don’t care for a stand-up fight; -but they’ll always be ready for the rifle-shot from ambush. Always -expect them, lads; that’s the only way to get through in safety.” - -Warily the pioneers proceeded along the track which afterward became -known as “Boone’s Way”; but in spite of all this caution the guile of -the red man over-matched them; three days after the first ambush, they -fell into another; two more of the party fell dead, and three were -wounded. - -But grimly they fought the savages back; resolutely they pressed -forward on their way toward the river. - -“Stand by me, lads,” said Boone, “and all the Injuns in the region -won’t drive us back.” - -Early in April they reached the Kentucky River; on the south side of -this was a fairly clear space, near a salt lick much used by the forest -creatures. With an eye to all that was needed for a place of defense, -Boone selected this place and at once the work of erecting a fort began. - -Scattered through the forest were a number of riflemen whose business -it was to warn the workers of the approach of an enemy; the axemen made -the hills and woods ring with their strokes; the trees came crashing -down to be lopped of their limbs, cut into lengths and fitted into -place. Log upon log the famous fort of Boonesborough, so famous in the -annals of Kentucky and the West, arose in sturdy strength. - -“We’ll make her bullet-proof and high enough to keep the redskins -outside,” said Boone, as he labored with his men in their work of -construction. - -The fort was two hundred and sixty feet in length and one hundred and -fifty in breadth and was made up of a series of cabins, each of heavy -logs and connected by a high fence of logs, pointed at the top as a -sort of stockade. There was a cabin at each corner of the fort; all the -cabin doors and windows opened inside the stockade. The only egress -was by way of a heavy gate opening toward the river and another which -opened upon the opposite side. - -During the months of April and May and partly into June of the year -1774, the adventurers hewed and wrought upon their defense; in this -time one man was killed by the hostiles; after that, however, there -was no sight or sound of the enemy. In the middle of June all was -finished. - -Colonel Henderson and some members of the company which had purchased -the rights of the Cherokees arrived shortly after this; and with them -came twoscore settlers, a train of packhorses and many things which -made life easier for the pioneers. - -It was Colonel Henderson who gave the stronghold the name of -Boonesborough, in honor of the brave woodsman who had dared so much -for the founding of the new commonwealth; and much elated over the -recognition given his service, Boone started back toward the Clinch -River with a few companions. - -“We have plenty of men,” said he, “but it will never be a recognized -settlement without families. So I’m going to set an example to others -by bringing out mine.” - -It was in October that Daniel Boone turned his back finally upon the -eastern settlements; and with some other hardy adventurers and their -families, he set out once more through the Cumberland Gap and into the -wilderness which they were to make bloom as a garden. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -CONCLUSION - - -For a time the little settlement on the Kentucky grew and prospered -without much notice from the Indians; but it was not long before the -first rumblings of the Revolution were heard in that far-off place; it -was learned, with alarm, that the colonies were rising in arms against -England. - -When the clash came and the colonists began to strike determinedly for -their rights, the English agents in the northwest began operations -which once more lighted the fires of border warfare. They bribed the -savages with gifts, they supplied them with guns and ammunition and bid -them wipe out the little settlements which courage and toil had built -up in the wilderness. - -Along the borders of the north and the west the terrible war-whoop once -more rang out, and the tomahawk and scalping knife resumed their deadly -work. But Boonesborough remained calm and unruffled; its settlers -hunted and fished, cleared the land and planted scanty crops of corn. - -In the winter of 1776 a man was killed by a swift-moving war party; not -until the summer, about the very time when the Congress at Philadelphia -was giving to the world its first great message of liberty, did the -great war cast its first ominous shadow upon Boonesborough. - -The July sun shone upon the bright waters of the Kentucky; the breeze -stirred among the trees. A bark canoe, propelled by the handsome Betsey -Collaway, daughter of a settler, her younger sister Frances, and a -young daughter of Daniel Boone, was darting here and there like a bird. -The girls had decked the little craft with wild flowers, gathered along -the banks, and the ring of their laughter floated across the river in -happy chorus. - -Any one listening might have noticed that the joyous sound suddenly -died away. For the canoe, as it drifted under a high bank, shoved its -nose into the mud; and as the girls were about to push it off, they -saw the bushes part almost beside them and a number of Indians, their -fingers upon their lips calling for silence, step to the water’s edge. - -Sheer fright kept the girls mute for an instant; and in the next it was -too late to cry out, for the savages had entered the canoe, and were -threatening them with their hatchets. - -When they saw them huddled, overcome with terror, at one end of the -canoe, they seized the paddles and drove the craft out into the river; -night was falling and the passage was not noticed from the fort; and so -the Indians gained the other shore. The girls were forced out of the -boat and with the weapons of their merciless captors ever threatening -them they were led away through the forest. - -The girls were first missed by the women of their families; a search -showed that they were not within the stockade. Instantly the news -spread; men dropped their tasks and became alert and active. - -Questions flew about; and Sandy Campbell, coming from a runlet where he -had been fishing, caught the sense of them. - -“Girls!” said he. “Why, I saw them up the river a little way, in a -canoe.” - -A half dozen bark crafts were in a very few moments being driven up -and across the stream. The twilight was long and the July day still -persisted, but nothing of the missing ones was to be seen. Long and -loud the men in the canoes shouted; but no sound came in answer. Eph -Taylor, from the craft in which were also Sandy and Oliver, spied -something under a bank. - -“A canoe!” he cried. - -In a few moments the other searchers were at their sides; all made for -the bank. It was the canoe used by the girls! - -“Take care!” warned Boone. “Don’t anybody get ashore!” - -From his own canoe the backwoodsman scanned the bank. The daylight was -still strong enough for him to see the imprint of the moccasined feet -in the soft ooze. - -“Injuns!” said Boone. - -A murmur went up from the settlers; the import of the signs was plain. - -“They have made off into the woods!” cried one of the men, excitedly. -“We must not waste a minute; we must take the trail at once!” - -Boone pointed grimly at the sun, which was now well down upon the -horizon line. - -“In a quarter of an hour it will be dark,” he said. “And no trailer -that ever stepped can follow an Injun track by torch-light. We’ll have -to wait for morning.” - -The night was spent in seeing to rifles and pistols and getting some -snatches of sleep. At the first faint sign of dawn the trailing party, -in which was Boone, Oliver and his two friends, took up the signs at -the river brink and followed them off into the woods. - -As cunning as foxes the Indians, knowing that they would be swiftly -hunted by the whites, took pains to hide their trail from the very -start. And the methods used threw off the trackers for a short time. -Into a dense cane-brake led the tracks, and then they seemed to -disappear. Keenly, eagerly the hunters sought here and there, but the -wile of the savage baffled them. - -“Lads,” said Boone, finally, wiping his brow, and leaning upon his long -rifle, “there’s no use in wasting time. As soon as the varmints got -into the cane they separated and slipped through it like ghosts. And we -might hunt for hours and never pick up the trail.” - -“Well?” asked one of the men. “What shall we do?” - -Boone led the way to the point at which the footprints ceased. - -“Here’s where they separate,” said he, “but the separation is not for -good; they keep the same general direction. And that shows that they -intend to meet somewhere further on when they think we’ve been thrown -off the track completely.” - -The woodsmen looked at the tracks once more and nodded their -appreciation. - -“Suppose we work on that,” proceeded Boone. “This bit of cane is a big -one; let’s skirt it and run the chance of coming on the trail at the -other side.” - -At once this was decided on by the party; with the long, swinging -stride of the hunter they journeyed around the cane; this forced them -to cover some thirty miles, but at the end they found that Boone’s -reasoning had been correct; the Indians had come together somewhere in -the tangle and there lay their trail, plainly read by all. - -Trained woodsmen all, with the exception of the three boys, and even -these possessed no mean skill, the settlers looked to Boone for the -word of command. - -“From now on, lads,” said the backwoodsman, “we shall have less -trouble. Look, the trail leads directly to a buffalo path; they think -they’ve thrown us off, and they’ve grown careless.” - -Softly, swiftly the trailers struck into the path; as Boone had said, -the savages had grown careless; their trail was broad and deep and -could have been followed by the least skilful. - -The day was well advanced, and the hardy band had covered a full forty -miles through the tangled wilderness. But they were trained to long -journeys and did not tire. - -“We’re gaining,” said Boone, after an hour or so of steady following on -the heavy track. “They passed here no more than a half hour ago.” - -The caution of the party increased; they knew the savage nature of the -Indians. Let the latter get a whisper of pursuit and the lives of their -captives would be snuffed out. The long shadows began to fall in the -forest; the patches of sky to be seen through the tree tops grew gray. -Suddenly Boone held up his hand. - -“Here they are!” said he. - -Through the dense growth he pointed to a party of Indians; a few of -them were dressing freshly killed game; others were engaged in kindling -a fire. Bound to trees near at hand were the three girls. - -“Now,” said Boone, as he looked to his rifle, “make your shots count; -and above all don’t allow any of them to get near the girls.” - -At the word, the whites rushed forward. At the first crash among the -underbrush the savages grasped their weapons; but the long rifles -cracked before they could act. The conditions under which the “beads” -were drawn made the shots of the trailers difficult; but in spite -of this a number of the Indians were hit; and all fled away into -the woods, leaving the greater part of their arms and all of their -ammunition behind them. - -There was the utmost rejoicing in Boonesborough the next day when the -trailers returned bringing the three girls with them, frightened, but -safe and sound. - -This incident served as a warning to the settlers on the Kentucky; the -war had finally made its way to their lonely fort. Day after day they -found the tracks of scouting parties all about in the forests; hostile -shots began to ring in the distance. And then began the fights and -sieges for which the sturdy stockade built by Boone and his companions -became famous. Encompassed many times by hundreds of savages, with -the arrows and bullets flying thick as hail about it, the fort stood -strong and untaken. And through it all went Oliver and Eph Taylor and -Sandy Campbell, through it all went the heroic Boone, ever leading, -ever daring the wilderness and its crafty savages, always strong under -reverses, always wise in victory. - -And when the great war was done and liberty was achieved by the -colonies, the settlers came in greatly increased numbers, drawn by the -wonder stories of Kentucky and the magic name of Boone. - -And as the commonwealth grows strong, its wilderness falls before -the axe of the pioneer, its broad farms smile where the Shawnee once -roamed, the whistles of steamboats sound upon the streams which knew -only the prow of the bark canoe, the thoughts of its sons and daughters -go back to the old days; and they know that the greatness of Kentucky -is founded upon the bold spirit and the long rifle of Daniel Boone. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -SKETCH OF BOONE’S LIFE - - -Daniel Boone’s ancestors were English, his grandfather, George Boone, -coming to America in 1717. Squire Boone, son of George, was the father -of Daniel. - -The Boones purchased a tract of land in what is now Bucks County, -Pennsylvania. Squire Boone, Daniel’s father, married Sarah Morgan; -they had eleven children, Daniel being the fourth and coming into the -world on July 14, 1732. This date is according to the family record -kept by his father’s brother James, who was a schoolmaster. Some of the -biographies give different dates; but it is likely that James Boone -knew the facts as well as any one. - -The county of Bucks was then to all intents a frontier settlement; the -Boones lived in a log house; all about them were the woods, which were -running with game, and in which hostile savages were often seen. - -Even in his school days, Daniel was known as a hunter; his eye was of -the best and his rifle seldom failed. His passion for the wilderness -was shown in those early times when he’d wander away in the silent -forest and be missing for days. Then they would hunt for him and find -him encamped miles and miles away, perhaps cooking his supper at a -fire of sticks and calmly planning the building of a hut which was to -shelter him for days to come. - -A story is told of him which proves his early skill as a hunter. With -some other lads of his own age, he started off for a day’s hunting of -small game. The shades of late afternoon were deepening in the woods, -and the boys were on their way back to the settlement when suddenly one -of them cried out: “Panther! Panther!” Now of all the beasts of the -forests, the lurking panther was held to be the deadliest; and knowing -him for such, the boys ran for their lives. But not so Boone. Steadily -he held his ground, his eye searching for the animal. Yes, there it -was; a panther sure enough, and a big one. Calmly his long rifle came -to his shoulder and his keen eyes drew the “bead.” And with the ringing -crack of the weapon, down fell the panther, shot through and through. - -Boone was still a boy when his father concluded he’d get on better -if he went to North Carolina. He took up his homestead on the Yadkin -River; and in this section Daniel grew to manhood, married Rebecca -Bryan, and became the father of nine children. - -During the whole of the dreadful Seven Years’ War, the whole frontier -swarmed with hostile redskins; but when this ended, comparative quiet -settled down, and Daniel Boone made the first of his long excursions -into the unknown country beyond the Laurel Ridge or Cumberland -Mountains. - -The government of the colony of North Carolina had long been -oppressive; free spirits like that of Boone could not stand the gall -of oppression, and the thought came to him: “What a wonderful place to -plant a new settlement this new country would be.” - -And so when Colonel Henderson spoke to him, as it is believed he did, -Boone was ready, and went upon his long exploration of the country of -“Cantuck,” as he called it in one of his letters. Then followed the -events related in this story, which runs very close to historical facts. - -After the rescue of the Collaway girls and Boone’s daughter from the -Indians, the savages came in force and attacked the log fort; but they -were driven off. A few months later they returned with two hundred -braves in the band. For two days and nights their attack was continued -and at the end of that time they retreated once more, defeated. - -The impossibility of holding any communication with the large -settlements and the stoppage of supplies caused the hardy band at -Boonesborough some suffering. They ran entirely out of salt; and as -this was a thing which they must have, Boone determined to procure a -supply. - -Taking thirty men, he proceeded cautiously to Blue Licks with the -intention of making salt from the salt water to be found in that -section. While hunting and alone, Boone fell in with a band of several -hundred Indians who were on their way to make another attack upon -Boonesborough. They made him a prisoner, but following their usual -policy they did him no immediate harm; holding him, possibly, for -future torture. - -Craftily Boone began casting about for the best thing to do; the -Indians knew of the presence of his men; to have this huge band fall -upon the thirty might mean death to them all. Boone concluded that to -surrender his command and trust to the future was the best thing to be -done. So the band of whites gave up their arms, and the Indians changed -their plans as to Boonesborough, proceeding instead to their town of -Chillicothe, on the Little Miami. - -From here Boone and some of his men were sent to Detroit, where Boone’s -men were turned over to the British. But the savages had conceived -such a liking for Daniel himself that they refused to surrender him, -determining to adopt him into their tribe. So they took him back to -Chillicothe and made him a son of the Shawnee tribe. - -Here he remained some months, being treated by the Indians as one of -themselves; then a huge war party organized to march upon Boonesborough -and take it by surprise, and Daniel saw that if the fort was to be -saved, he must escape at once. Slipping from the Indian town in -the early morning, Boone began a desperate journey toward the fort, -one hundred and sixty miles away. It took him five days to make the -journey, and when he reached the fort he was hailed as one returned -from the dead. Indeed, so sure were they that he was dead that his -family had returned to North Carolina. - -Boone found the stockade in bad condition, and at once set about -strengthening it. However, the great band did not move against -Boonesborough; the escape of the great backwoodsman must have told them -that the settlers would be awaiting them, and as they had had previous -experiences of this sort they set the attack for a future time. - -In August, no enemy presenting himself, Boone and a small party left -the fort and marched against an Indian village on the Scioto. The -braves belonging to this camp were encountered in full war paint, some -distance from the town, and evidently on the march to join some larger -band. The whites fell upon them and routed them, though outnumbered -two to one. Suspecting that a large movement of the savages was -taking place, Boone sent out a couple of scouts to get news. They -soon returned saying that these suspicions were correct; and the -frontiersmen hurried back toward Boonesborough in all haste. - -On the day after their arrival at the fort, a great band of Indians, -flying the British colors and commanded by a French-Canadian named -Duquesne, made their appearance out of the forest. - -The fort was summoned to surrender, but its defenders refused. They -were sixty and the savages were fully five hundred; but they made up -their minds to fight to the last. - -The Indians, directed by their most famous chiefs, and now having the -advantage of Duquesne’s skilled military direction, began their attack. -Never was the marksmanship of the Kentucky riflemen more brilliant -than it was in that battle. Duquesne soon saw that he was the greatest -sufferer by this, as his Indians were falling all around him; so he set -about mining under the river bank, meaning to blow up the fort. - -However, Boone discovered this and set his men to countermining, -flinging the freshly dug earth over the walls of the fort. The British -leader saw by this that his plan had failed, and abandoning it began an -attack as before. - -This failed because of the unerring aim of the settlers; and then the -attackers became besiegers, sitting down before the fort, out of rifle -range, meaning to starve it into surrender. But in this he also failed; -the defenders had more food than the Indians; and so, there being no -way of feeding so large a band in a protracted siege, Duquesne gave -up the attempt, and marched away, leaving Boonesborough once more -victorious. - -This was the last heavy blow aimed at the historic stockade. In spite -of the war, emigrants poured into the new territory; Boone brought back -his family and set to farming his acres like the others. - -However, all during the affair with England, Kentucky continued to -merit the name of “the dark and bloody ground.” Fierce battles were -frequent, and the farmer tilled his hard won field with his long rifle -always ready at hand. And even after peace had been declared, the -Indians, under their own chiefs and under the renegade, Simon Girty, -ranged the settled places and strove to stem the tide of immigration. -But the whites were not to be denied; they pressed on and on until the -territory was completely won. - -Through a fault in the deeds and grants, the settlements in the new -country were later thrown into disorder. Boone lost all his land, and -moved into Virginia with his family, taking up his home on the Kanawha -near to the place where the great battle was fought in the Dunmore War. -Later he journeyed westward toward Missouri, where he reëstablished -himself. As old age and ill health came on, Boone applied to Congress -to recover his land; a part of it was made over to him. His old age, -and he lived to be well on to ninety, was spent roaming the woods with -his rifle. He died at the home of his son-in-law, Flanders Collaway, -some distance from the city of St. Louis, in September, 1820. - - - Another Book to this Series is: - IN THE ROCKIES WITH KIT CARSON - - - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] Cumberland Mountains. - -[2] This shot is what came to be known later as “barking off.” The -American naturalist, Audubon, in his “Ornithological Biography” speaks -of Boone’s performing the feat a number of times in procuring specimens. - -[3] Afterward called the Kentucky River. - - - - -TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES: - - - Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_. - - Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. - - Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized. - - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN KENTUCKY WITH DANIEL -BOONE *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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