Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-04-10
.MWA buME

war. of what avail was the expulsion
of the French from North America If the
lands beyond the mountains were to be
left to the Indian?
chiefs of the Six Nations, the head meI
of the tribes of the north. and from these
chiefs the agent got a release of their
claims to the dark and bloody ground
The Indians got presents in exchange for
their shadowy title to the land, but they
probably were actuated as much in max
ing the deal by their vanity and their de-
sire to injure their southern foes as they
were by the gifts showered upon them.
1t fattered them nightly to have the
whites recognize them as the holders of
the buffer territory. Pride plays a large
part in the mind Of the Indian.
However much. the secretary for the
colonies may have disliked to do so, he
recognized the deal between the Fir-
ginians and the Six Nations. Ofhcially 1t
is known as the treaty of Fort Stanwix
(Rome, n. Y, and was signed in 1I6S.
But for that treaty and the impetus 1t
gave to the movement toward Kentucky
the world might never have heard OF
Daniel Boone.
About eight miles from where now Is
the city of Reading, Pa, Boone was born
November 2, 1874. His parents were
Quakers. His father was weaver ana
a blacksmith. The boy, too, became
hood he was a hunter. He loved the
woods and solitude. He knew animals
and their habits like naturalist. Before
he was able to handle gun he was so
expert in throwing a sapnng "nicii ne
had fashioned into sort Of javelin that
he could kill birds or small animals WIN
ease.
when he was twelve years old he got
his first gun. Thereafter he spent most
of his time in the woods. Upon him the
family relied for their meat supply, ana
the beaver, deer and other skins he sent
to Philadelphia helped materially toward
the support of his fathers big house
hold. The wife Of one of his older
brothers taught him the three Rs. His
smelling was weird, but he wrote a good
hand and in the backwoods. where pooA
learning was at a discount, he was con-
sidered scholar. He learned enough
about surveying to pass muster in that
branch Of activity. Before he was rully
grown the family moved to the upper
fork Of the Yadkin river in North caro-
lima That was great journey In those
DAYS the distance being nearly oOo miles.
He found more profit in the woods than
in tilling the soil. and for months at a
time he was away hunting beaver, otter,
bear deer, wolves and wildcats. Garoeo
in hunting shirt OF deerskin, with lesgihs
and moccasins OF the same material. ana
with powder horn, bullet pouch, scafplng
knife and tomahawk, the world AFFORDED
him plenty. The bare ground or the
bushes furnished him bed, and the SKY
was his canopy. His skill with gun
or in throwing a tomahawk was marvel
Gus. OF Indian fighting he had enough
to satisfy.
The Cherokees. outraged at the en-
croachments of whites and encouraged
bv the French, who deemed the English
as intruders into lands they had discoV-
cred, made intermittent raids on the SET
tiers The Indian, cruel, bloodthirsty and
no respecter Of age or sex 1ougnt n'.e
country fought the same way. The scalp
ing knife was used not alone by the In
dian. In the Yadkin valley Indian scares
were numerous, and at times the settiers
combined and carried the war into the
Indian country, destroying the villages
and crops of their enemies and paying OFF
old scores. Boone was leader in all
these expeditions. He served, too. In
KEGS, which ultimately brought short
peace. But when Indian raids stopped
in the Yadkin country new trouble de-
veloped for Boone. Settlers came In
such numbers that game became scarce
Boone needed a wide range. Ne1ghDors
he did not fancy, unless they were four
footed ones. He began to think OF
kentucky. In the autumn of 1851 he and
a few companions crossed the mountains
and hunted in the valleys OF the Hol-
ston. the Clinch and the Big Sandy. They
spent a year on this hunt, and had a
great store of skins when their camp
was surrounded by band OF Shawnees
and the hunters captured. The Indians
took their years accumulation OF skins
and then released the prisoners.
Boone and one companion. enraged at
the loss. followed the Indians for two
DAYS, and then, at night, managed to
seize FIVE horses Of the Indians. In