Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1894-04-19

looked at as with Il telescope reversed. Aft
er a tine, II long, long time usually, the
instrument happens to come mp cnd 70:
end. and that which before appeared TO be
4 dwarf takes on the true stature OF Il
ant. The greatness of the west makes It
self felt rs generations roll on, and the pi-
nl'e"rs who redeemed it from saVages who
fought the first rude. bloody, decisive hat-
ties for the survival of society in the Wi
G"ruess, slowly come into the honor the
d"s,yo. Every time the improved lens is
brought to bear upon the llcustons, the
lrochetts and the Boone2 new virtues are
disclosed which provoke wonder Mt the
blindness of the past Then. as il wers,
countless cities claim old heroes. deal
Through which the living heroes begged for
bread.
Boone's own generation and the one sue
cccIing either lavehly idoli1ed or heartily
ucepscd him as hackwoods rover, pat
tenn Misunderstanding for Cooper's pen.
Log cabin story tellers were his portrait
painters. The straight laced gentry who
fashioned manners and thought after the
Revolution could find neither the grace of
Washington nor the fine sentences Of JET
,,l>on nor the spell binding clouucnce
OF Patrick Henry in the rude kentucky
h0"dcrrr. and SO. between his witleSs
though well meaning pancgyriSts and the
cold and partial critics who wrote history.
Boone Jared i'll. The episode commend
lutud in sculpture at the national CAPT
tul rests upon doubtful tradition and at
best pictures him as an Indian slayer, In
tuth, the great l[entucbiau was path
finder, developer. a statemaker, and
military and civil leader of men. 1t was
Boone who broke through the mountain
barriers between Virginia and kentucky
and with all his companions killed but
enc built cabin hundreds Of miles be
yond civilization. That companion, his
brother. he dispatched home for supplies
and recruits. remaining behind alone
"Without bread or without the com
pauy of fellow creatures or even of Il horse
or dog" He felt that he was ian instru-
.nent ordained to settle the Wilderness
and accepted the commission as from on
high, with all the fervor OF Il Constantine,
y Columbus or a Luther. He was then 80
years old, neither a boyish dreamer nor
hermit recluse, but IA lusty, vigorous. sound
hearted man
1t was then 1870. For three months
Daniel lived alone, playing hide and seek
with the Indians, and the next year took
out his family. After passing the Cum
berland the Indians massacred six young
men of the party, one of them Boone old
est son. Unnamed by the tears Of the
women, the others turned back in spite of
Boonc's protest. He followed, but in INA
bis reports Of what lay beyond the noun
tains stirred up Lord Dunmorc, IA military
grantee, to organize an expedition to sur
vey and settle central kentucky, and
Boone WAS engaged to lead it. Over the
Old trail Tor 500 miles the party marched,
past the graves Of the six martyrs of 1711, ,
into the heart Of the wilderness. Old trap
pers and tenderfoot settlers hailed Boone
~ the patriarch of the wild dominion. The
Indians recognized him. too, and saw the
hand Of fate working through Ibis modest,
gentle man who braved-n despised, but
braved-eyery hardship and danger to full