The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-08-12
A KENTUCKY PIOONER,
EVENTFUL HISTORY OF SIMON
 KENYON,

capes From the Miracle
 of the Pipc md she Burning Glass.
 The greatest novelty to the Indians, been a red-haired man. Red-haired h. dians there are none, and red-haired white man, when taken prisoner, was always a subject of curious regard. They were often loath to dispatch such a captive, preferring, if possible, to keep him as novelty, of which they would be envied the possession by oth- CT tribes.
 The fact that Simon Kenton, the most noted frontiersman of his day, second only to Daniel Boone, had a shock of red hair. had no little to do with the saving of his scalp. Other things are, of course, to be taken into account, such as a cool head under his fiery locks, and a pair of fleet feet under his cool head.
 Kenton. in the prime of life, was six feet one inch high in his moccasins, and straight as a remrod. He walked with his toes directly to the front like an Indian. He had a soft, tremulous voice, slurring the letter ''r'' much as the mountain men of West Virginia and Kentcky do to-day. He had, say those who knew him, laughing gray eye, undimmed by reading fine print, but admirably suited to fine sight along a rifle barrel. He liked fiddling and dancing, and was the hero and leader at log-rollings, but best of all liked hunting Indians through the thick forests of Kentucky and Ohio, Sometimes he found the red; men at other times they found him. He was of fair complexion, good humored, but when in anger ragged like a tornado. His credulty was great, and he was only shrewd when his wits were en- gagged against the red men.
 He was the hero of more remarkable escapes from the Indians than any man of his time or any other. He was eight times exposed orunning the gantlet and three times were the fagots piled to roast him. His escapes were at- tributed by the pioneers to "Kenton's luck but Kenton's vivid thinking and his ready selecting of the least chance for escape should also be taken into the reckoning. EH
 Once, when a captive and held at De- troit, an English officer became inter- ested in him as fine specimen of manhood and untutored son of the for est, He saw that Kenton WAS fond of smoking a pipe, the bowl of which was probably made of corn-cob, and gave him Q burning glass; showing him how he could light tobacco by focusing the suns rays upon it.
 Kenton was delighted with this gift, which amused him as a top amuses a child. When the sun, with this glass he had no need of flint, steel. and tin- der to light his pipe
 Two or three years later Kenton was again a prisoner in the hands of the redmen. Bound hand and foot, he was about to be burned at the stake. As a last request he called for his pipe His hands were loosed, so that he might use the flint, steel and finder He way ed away the savage who was bringing them. Extending his hand toward the sun, he made an incantation. The glass. unseen by the savages was cir cled by his thumb and foref1nger. The tobacco in the bowl began to burn Great clouds of smoke were soon roll ing from Kenton's mouth. The Indians were amazed. Never had they seen a pipe lighted without fire.
 Smoking out the pipe, the willy necro- mancer agin mysteriously lighted it. One of the Indians. bolder than the others, approached for the purpose of making sure of the deer thongs that tied the fleet-footed Kenton. As he bent over the captive to do this the burning glass was focused upon his head. There was a smell of burning hair and flesh The Indian jumped to his feet, rubbing his head. Meanwhile, again using the glass. Kenton set the leaves at his side on fire. He struggled to his feet and backoned to an Indian to unbind his ankles. The frightened savage dared not refuse the request of this wonderful medicine man.
 Kenton approached the heap of fagots prepared for his roasting The Indians quickly got out of his way They hid themselves, shuddering, be- hind the trees to watch this worker of magic.
 Waving his arms above his head. he picked up powder horn that had been dropped by one of the savages. He trailed some of the powder along the ground. Again the burning glass was to work aw onder. Focused on the powder, there came an explosion and the horn was blown to pieces.
 This was too much for the red men Fearing that worse was coming, they gave a wild shriek and fled. Kenton did not tarry to see the course they took He ran through the bushes and took his way unopposed to the white settlements.
 When the Indian wars were over kenton, brave and generous back woodsman that he was, experienced much the same treatment at the hands of his countrymen that was given to Daniel Boone. After the Indians were gone a rapacious set of landgrabbers and spectators came in. Lands which kenton had bought were lost to him through technical flaws of title. He was even imprisoned for debt near the place where he had raised the first cab in, planted the first corn, and where he