The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1857-11-19


In his peaceful hahitation on the banks ot
the Yadkin river, in North Carolina, Daniel
Boon. the illustrious hunter, had heard Finley.
trader, so memorable as the pioneer, des-
cribed'a a tract Of land west Of Virginia as the
richest In North America or in the world In
May, 1916, leaving his wife and offspring,
having Finley as kispilot and four other as his
companions, the young man of about three
twenty, wandered forth through the wilder
ness of America, ''in quest of the country OF
of kentucky," known to the savages as sstLs
Dark and Bloody Groundn "the Middle
Ground, "between the subjects of the Five Ma
tiohs and the Cherokees. After long and
fatigueing journey through mountain ranges,
the party found themselves, in June, on the
Red Bank, tributary to the Kentucky, and
from the top of an eminsnce surveyed with
delight the beautiful plain that stretched to
the northwest. Here they butt their shell
ter, and began to reconnoitre and to hunt. All
the kinds of wild beasts that were natural to
Amerca-the stately elk, the timid deer, the
antlered stag, the wildcat, the bear, the pam
ther, and the wolf-crouched among the canes.
or roamed over the rich grasses, which. even
beneath the thickest shades, sprang luxuriant
ly out of the generous soil. The buffaloes
cropped fearlessly the herbage or browsed on
the leaves of the reed, and were more frequent
than cattle in a settlement Of Carolina herds
men. Sometimes there were hundreds in
drove, and round the salt licks their number
was amazing.
| The summer in which for the first time A
party of white men enjoys .he brllliancy Of
nature hear and in the valley the Elkhorn.
passed away in the occupations exploring
parties and the chase. But one by one Boone,s
companions dropped off, till he was left alone
With. Stewart. They jointly found unceasing
delight in the wonders of the forest, till one
evening near the Kentucky river, they were
taken prisoners by band of Indians, wan
derers like themselves. They escaped and were
joined by Boone's brother; so that when Stew
art was soon after killed by savages, the first
victim among the hecatomb of white men slain
by them in their desperate battIeing for the
lovely hunting ground. Boone still had his bro
ther to share with him the dangers and attrac-
tions of the wilderness. they building and oc-
cupying the first cottage in Kentucky. SIS
In the spring of ITO that brother returned
to The settlement for horses and supplies of
ammunition, leaving the renowned hunter "by
himself, without bread, or salt, or sugar, or even
horse or tog." S'The idea of beloved wire,o
anxious for his safety, tinged his thoughts with
sadness; but otherwise the cheerful medltatiye
man. careless of wealth. knowing the use of
the rifle, not the plow, of strong, robust frame,
in the vigorous health of early manhood, igno-
rant of books, but versed in the forest and for
est life, even fond of tracing the deer on foot
away from men, yet in his disposition, humane,
generous and gentle, was happy in the unnter-
rupted succession ofs'sylvan pleasure"
One calm summers evening, as he climbed
a commanding ridge, and looking upon the re-.
mote "venerable mountains" End the nearer
ample plains, caught a glimpse in the distance
of the Ohio, which bounded the land of his
affections with magic grandeur, his heart ex-
uited in the region he had discovered. seAll
things were STILL" Not a breeze so much as
shook aeaf. He kindled fire near foun-
tain ofsweet water, and feasted on the loin OF
a buck. He was no more alone than bee
among flowers, but commined familiarly with
the whole universe of life. Nature was his
intimate, and as tho rowing woodsman leaned
confidingly on her bosom, she responded to his
intelligence. ee
! Fer him the rocks and fountains: the leaf
and the blades of grass had life; the cooling
air laden with the wild perfume, came to him
as friend; the dewy morning wrapped him in
its embrace; the trees stood mp gloriously round
about him as so many myriads Of companions.
All wore the character of design or peril
But how could he be afraid. Triumph over
danger, he knew no fear. The perpetual how
ling of the wolves bv nightround his cottage
or his bivouac in the brake was his diversion:
and by day he had joy in surveying the vari-
our species of animals that surrounded him.
He loved the solitude better than the lowered
city or the hum OF business ss
Near the end of July, ITO, his faithful bro-
thsr came back to meet him at the old camp.
Shortly after, they proceeded to Cumberland
river, giving names to the different waters and
he then returned to mis- wife and children. fixed
in his purpose at the risk of his life and fortune
to bring them as soon as possible to live in
Kentucky, which he esteemed second Para
dise.-[ Bancroft's History.