The weekly Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1861, 1854-10-25
WHOLE NUMBER 486.
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Daniel Boone.

THE, Yadkin river, in North Carolina, Daniel
Boone, the illustrious hunter, had heard Fin
ley, trader, so memorable as the pioneer,
describe tract Of land west Of Virginia as
the richest in North America, or in the world.
In May, I769, leaving his wife and offspring,
having Finley as his pilot, and four others
as his companions, the young man Of about
three-andtwenty, wandered through the vii.
derness OF America, in quest of the country
of Kentucky" known to the savages as ''ths
Dark and Bloody Ground, the Middle
Ground" between the subjects of the Five
Nations and the Cherokees. After Z long
and fatiguing journey through the mountain
ranges, the party found themselves, in June,
on the Red river, tributary to the Kentucky,
and from the top of an eminence surveyed
with delight the beautiful plain that stretch
ed to the northwest. Here they buily their
shelter, and began TO reconnoiter and to hunt.
All the kinds of wild beasts that were natu-
raj to America-the stately elk, the timid
deer, the antlered stag, the wildcat, the
bear, the panther, and the wolf-crouched
among the canes, or roamed over the rich
grasses which, even beneath the thickest
shades, sprang luxuriantly out of the gen.
erous soil. The bufaloes cropped fearlessly
the herbuge or browsed on the leaves Of the
reed, and were more frequent than cattle in
the settlements OF Carolina herdsmen.-
Sometimes there were hundreds in drove,
and round the salt-icks their number was
amazing. '''''
The summer in which for the first time
party Of white men enjoyed the brilliancy
of nature near and in the valley of Elkhorn,
passed away in the occupations of exploring
parties and the chase. But, one by one,
Boones companions dropped of, till he was
left alone with John Stewart. They jointly
found unceasng delights in the wonders of
the forest, till one evening, near Kentucky
river, they were taken prisoners by band
of Indians, wanderers like themselves. They
escaped, and were joined by Boone's BROTH
er; so that, when Stewart was soon after
killed by savages, the first victim among the
hecatcmb of white men slain by them in
their desperate battling for the lovely hunt
ing-ground, Boone still had his brother to
share with him the dangers and attractions
of the wilderness, the building and occupy
ing the first cottage in Kentucky. s o..
In the spring Of ITO, that brother re-
turned to the settlements for horses and sup
plies Of ammunition, leaving the renowned
hunter "by himself, without bread, or salt,
or sugar, or even horse or dog" "The
idea of beloved wife," anxious for his safe
ty, tinged his thoughts with sadness; but
otherwise the cheerful, meditative man, care
less Of wealth, knowing the use of the rife,
not the plow, Of strong, robust frame, in
the vigorous health of early manhood, igno-
rant Of books, but versed in the forest and
forest life, ever fond of tracking the deer on
foot, away from men, yet in his disposition
humane, generous, and gentle, was happy in
the uninterrupted succession "of sylvan
pleasures" 1''' ''''1
! Old as creation" n...ta uu.ss-td 90
One calm summers evening, as he climbed
commanding ridge, and looked out upon
the remote venerable mountains" and tho
nearer ample plains, and caught glimpse
in the distance of the Ohio, which bounded
the land of his affections with +, majestic
grandeur, his heart exulted in the region he
had discovered. Gall things were still."-
H Not breeze SO much as shook q. leaf. He
kindled fire near a fountain of sweetwa-
| ter, and feasted on the loin Of a buck. He
: was no more alone than bee among flowers,
bat communed familiarly with the whole
universe of life. Nature was his intimate,
and as the rowing woodsman leaned confi-
dinghy on her bosom, she responded to his
intelligence. =. ..,..s .r..ts-ay t,rsi
For him the rocks and the fountains, the
, leaf and the blades of grass had life; the
1 cooling air, laden with the wild perfume,
; came to him as a friend; the dewy morning
| wrapped him in its embrace; the trees stood
S up gloriously round about him as so many
!, myriads of companions, All forms wore
: the character of desire or peril. But how
e could he. be afraid Triumphing over danr
h ger, he knew no fear. The perpetual how'll
: ing of the wolves by night around his cot
y tage or his bivouac in the brake was diyer-
e sion; and by day he had joy in surveying
t the various species Of animals that surround
e ed him. He loved the solitude better than
: the lowered city or the hum of business. n
= Near the end of July, l770, his faithful
:, brother came back to meet him at the old
S camp. Shortly after, they proceeded togetA-
er to Cumberland river, giving names to the
a different waters; and he then returned to hia
j. wife and children, fixed in his purpose, at the
r risk Of life and fortune, to bring them az
k soon as possible to live in Kentucky, which
n he esteemed a second ParadseraeI & pias
h OF. A life size statute Of Daniel Web
!. [ster, of fine italian marble, sculptnred from
al a daguerreotype likeness Of the great states
;. man taken short time previous 70 his death,
). is to be presented to the Mercantile Libra
!, ny by H. d. Bacons Esq, 81 the tirm Of
! Page and Bacon, Of ST., Louis. The ar-
" :. 4 .