Daniel Boone

Daniel Boone Paper

By Madison Nef

Some people hate change. They are terrified of not fitting in because of doing something weird that THEY want to do. George Boone was not a person like this. Life was an open book to him. He and his wife and their nine children crossed the dangerous waters of the Atlantic to go to America. They were Quakers, and they had heard about free life in Pennsylvania. Quakers were frowned upon in England for their beliefs. Pennsylvania was their chance to live freely.

The Boone family settled down 50 miles from Pennsylvania and built a little cabin. George Boone was highly respected among the Quakers in the area, as were his children, particularly his middle son, Squire. Soon, Squire moved on to have his own children with his wife Sarah. His sixth child was Daniel Boone. Daniel was a wild-child. He could never stay in one place for longer than 5 minutes. He was walking, even running before he was even one year old.

Daniel being so free was not a problem at home, as there was plenty of roaming space in the cornfields and farm fields. The only time Young Daniel was trouble was when his family attended the meetings at the meetinghouse. The gatherings would go on for hours, and poor Daniel could not let go of his mother’s hand lest he wander away and not find his way back.

But direction was something that Daniel also had at a very young age. No matter if he went deep into the woods, he would always come out in time for dinner. He never once lost his way. He always had the gift of direction. Once, his older brother quoted “Daniel is like a wisp of chimney smoke on a windy day- even as you watch it, it disappears.”

As his father was a blacksmith, Daniel learned about metal at a young age. At 7 years old he was already making 50-60 nails a day alongside his father. Daniel never minded work that took him outside. The outdoors was his one and only school. But still, Daniel was a child. He enjoyed having fun with his friends too. They would go out in the woods together with their slingshots and bow and arrow, and have shooting contests in clearings.

Daniel was very strong. He learned a lot about pioneering that would guide him as he got older and went adventuring and hunting. He learned to plant and hunt, and he never disappointed his family in bringing back meat. He always managed to have enough for everyone to have their fill. He was known as one of the best hunters in his town, even at his young age.

One of Daniels secrets to success was he had made friends with the Indians when he was very young. They liked Daniel, because he treated them with respect as so many others did not. He frequently asked them questions, and they were happy to teach him how to stalk animals without being seen, heard, or smelled.  Daniel caught many animals just by using common sense and hanging around near water and salt.

When Daniel was 13, his family bought a plot of land 4 miles away for raising cows. The cows would stay there and grow fat, and give milk to make cheese and butter. The only problem was the 4 miles. How were the cows supposed to be fat if they had to walk 8 miles a day? The only choice was to send Daniel and his mother out in a small shack to live near the cows and make cheese and butter.

Every day, Daniel would bring the cows out to graze. He would then milk them and his mother would make cheese and butter. He would then take the goods to a cold natural spring and put them in it to keep cold. One day, Daniel brought back the cows but never returned himself. For 4 days he was missing.

Finally, his father found him out in the woods in a small bark shack like that of the Indians with a large bearskin. He explained that he was tracking a bear with his rifle and wanted to take him home for his family. The bear kept going, and he kept going too. The family had a pig out night on bear meat.

When Daniel was about 15, his family decided that it was time to move away from Pennsylvania. There were so many families crowding in, and it was starting to get unbearable. The family sold everything that wouldn’t fit in a wooden traveling wagon, and set off for Virginia. When the family reached Virginia, Daniel said his farewells and left to become a hunter and trapper.

Boone served the British in the French and Indian war. After sad defeat, he returned home. A few years later, he married Rebecca Bryan. Initially they lived in a cabin on his father’s farm land. They eventually had 10 children. Some Indians started getting out of hand, and Daniel soon left his wife and joined the militia again. His stealth helped him hunt in Cherokee land. The Cherokee Uprising kept him away from his home and the ones he loved for close to 2 years.

His chosen profession also kept him far from home. As a market hunter, he spent weeks, sometimes months at a time out in the wilderness hunting, with just a few men with him. Rebecca raised the children and took care of the farm almost all on her own. Frontiersmen often carved their initials on trees, and one of the most famous carvings’ of Boone’s was: “D. Boon Cilled a. Bar on this tree in year 1760.” A carving turned up later that was almost the same, and because Boone always spelled his name with an E, the carvings were thought to be fakes.

In 1776, Boone moved his family to Kentucky. They had a happy life there, until the American Revolutionary War brought violence to Kentucky. Boone went off to war again. His daughter and two other teenage girls were captured in July. Boone and a group of soldiers went after the Indians and attacked them as they stopped to eat. They rescued the girls and became local heroes, Boone already being well-known for his excellent hunting and pioneering.

After the Revolution was through, Boone settled back in Limestone, Kentucky, a successful Ohio River post at the time. He kept a little tavern and was a horse trader. He was elected to the Virginia state assembly not long after.

Soon, people in Limestone began booing at Boone for not being sophisticated. He soon lost his tavern and the small business he had. Sick of legal troubles, he moved to Missouri. He died at his house in Femme Osage Creek of natural causes just before his 86^th birthday. His last words were short and simple: “I’m going now, my time has come.” He was buried next to his wife, who had died 7 years earlier. Boone may have seemed like your average pioneer, but he died a hero, both of war and of hunting.