Wisconsin tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1847-1854, 1853-05-19
THE PIONEERS OF KENTUCKY.
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BY DR.. J. H. ROBINSON
CHAPTER I.
ROsALTHE ALsToN-LE BRAND.

axe The tide of population was flowing
towards that wild and picturesque coun-
try which had been represented by those
who had explored its fertile levels as an
other Eden
A fort nal been erected or tie s1ath.
ern bank Of Kentucky River by Daniel
Boone, that daring aud indomitabe man
whom no danger could appal aud no diff
culties discourage. At the distance of
eight miles from Boone's fort. and one
from the Salt River, Captain John Har-
rod had built second forti6cation, while
Colonel Logan had raised a third at St
Asaph's, in Lincoln County. The few
adventurous settlers that had penetrated
into that country were continually har-
rassed by savage foes, not unfrequently in
cited and led on by Frenchmen and Brit
ish Canadians
Bold men worked in the new clearings
with arms by their side. and became sol
diers from necessity The thrilling scenes
that were of daily occurrence at that pc
riod, eclipse the pen of romance, and i'm
agination is surpassed by startling reality
| The shrill war-whoop grew strangely ia
imiliar to the ears of the pioneers, and the
shafts of destruction, hurled from the ri
fes of ambushed enemies, were continual
Ily striking down friend and neighbor.
The red man beheld the daring ap-
Iproaches of the white settler with alarm
and furious Indignation. Aided by the
British posts at Detroit, Vincennes, and
kaskaskia, the Indians began a war of
determination against the determined tres
Ipassers upon their hunting grounds
Against Boonesborough in particular, was
their hostility directed At the period
when the fury of the savages was at It's
height, and all the arts of Indian warfare
were brought into active operation, our
story commences.
A few rods below the Salt Lick. near
which fort and stockades had been erect
ed by Daniel Boone and his associates.
there was a highly romantic spot, half
shut IN by trees, and in the month of May
(the period at which our romance exhibits
its opening scene,( was an exceedingly
pleasant locality for a great variety of
wild flowers, moses, and Ichens, luxuri-
ated there In agreeable profusion. 4
grassy glade slOped down to the water,
and gentle eminences, and rocks over
grown with verdure, formed very accepta-
BILE seats for those who might feel dispos-
ed to linger there to enjoy the tranquil
beauty Of nature in her spring vestments
We have directed the readers footsteps
to that then quiet and dreamy spot, In or
der to call his attention to another object
fairer and more agreeable to the eve than
the thousand fowery forms of vegetable
life that were trembling and nodding In
the early breezes of the morning.
A young lady, in the summer of
/
place as Imagination most naturally sug-
gests, and would desire her to occupy she
was reclining upon a messy knoll. aud the
waters f the Kentucky (that voiceless
wltaess f So many striking events) was
fnw NJ At her feet She had gathered Vi
Diets and evergreens, aud a wreath of the
latter bound her brovs with a careless
grace. while the former she was leisurely
forming into a boquet with lichens and
the earlier buds aud blossoms of the sea
son Her face was uncommonly attrac-
tive, and her figure, so far as one might
Judge of it, in the attitude which she had
assumed, very symmetrical in it's outlines.
The hand and foot, those useful appenda-
Cas to the human form So much admired
(gLen Of classical mouid) hy conuotsseUrs
in female perfectioas, were faultless so
far as size aud delicacy of proportions were
concerned.
OF the several features of the face. and
the expression of the whole conioined, we
cannot very well speak, for they were so
perfect In all respects that we feel a want
of appropriate terms to do justice to the
subject. That common figure of the blend
ing of the lily and the rose, was perhaps
never more felicitously illustrated than
upon the fair cheeks of Rosalthe Aston
The soft, pensive expression of the eyes.
and the sweet light of intelligence that
streamed from beneath the pencilled lids.
were enough to fix the beholder's attention
in a steadfast and admiring gaze
1t will not be wise for US to dwell long
upon the mere externals of our heroine
therefore we will proceed to those matters.
events, and incidents calculated to deyel-
op and display those internal graces, with
out which physical beauty ceases to be at
tractive
The sound of human footsteps upon the
rivers bank caused Rosalthe to assume a
different attitude, and cast hurried and
alarmed glances around her Cor no doubt
( the consciousness that she had been i'm
prudent in venturing so far from the fort.
was wildly impressed on her mind 1t
was not deemed safe, at that time, for fe-
males to venture out of sight of the stock
ades, and that consideration generally gov
erneG their movements the boldest sell
dom overstepping the specified bounds
Rossithe had, in this instance as on sever
al other occasions. violated, in some de-
gree, the established custom for, from the
spot where she had been reclining. the
stoekades were not visible, although few
stems would rendcr them So