Want to conquer the wilderness? Send a Pennsylvanian.
“Many dark and sleepless nights have I been a companion for owls, separated from the cheerful society of men, scorched by the summer’s sun and pinched by the winter’s cold - an instrument ordained to settle the wilderness. But now the scene is changed: peace crowns the sylvan shade.”
-Daniel Boone
Arguably the greatest frontiersman of any era, Daniel Boone was born in Berks County, PA in 1734. As he died in 1820, he was living for through some of the most crucial moments in the history of the United States. And while the wars would visit him from time to time, Boone was much more content to be hunting the wilds of Appalachia when no one could be found for miles around. In the two-part book, Daniel Boone’s Own Story & The Adventures of Daniel Boone by Boone and, his contemporary, Francis Lister Hawks, you become acquainted with his tale. While Boone’s account covers his specific time taming the wilderness of Kentucky, Hawks recounts a concise overview of Boone’s entire life. At 126 pages, this is the perfect introductory book for getting to know one of the most legendary Pennsylvanians of all time. His Keystone homestead still stands in Berks County for those who want to pay homage. There are plenty of sites in other states as well. Reading the words from Boone’s own hand is important - likewise, with a man like Hawks who lived through the same period. See how a life-long hunter was prepared by the pursuits of his youth to endure all the hardships the wilderness could throw at him.
Boone was molded by the PA wilds to become the rugged adventurer that made him a living legend. Stories of his exploits as a youth show his propensity to not only face danger with a steel resolve, but also that he was destined to be a master hunter. ‘Boone stood firmly, looking around for the animal. It was a panther indeed. His eye lighted upon him just in the act of springing toward him: in an instant he levelled his rifle and shot him through the heart.’ The young Boone would wander away from home with rifle in hand and his dog by his side and not return home until after dark, laden with game. According to Hawks, he was an ‘untiring wanderer.’ These formative years would prove life-saving as Boone matured, started a family, and started wandering into less crowded and more dangerous parts of the country.
After settling in North Carolina for several years, Boone felt cramped by civilization as he had in PA. Ironically, while trying to escape civilization throughout his life, he actually carried it with him wherever he went. He was a true settler; a harbinger of settlements. This would be no easy task as Boone set his sights on The Dark and Bloody Ground, an ominous moniker for Kentucky in those days. The initial scouting trips into the unexplored country would prove to be expansive to Boone’s spirit. He writes of the boundless game – specifically droves of buffalo – that provided a ready food source for the scouting party. But it wouldn’t be long before violence would be visited upon Boone and his companions. While hunting, they were captured and had their goods ransacked by the natives. Though they escaped in the night, it wouldn’t be long before another ambush would take the life of his friend. Boone’s time in Kentucky would be fraught with loss, captivity, and bloodshed. But the hearty conditioning of his youth would carry him through; “Thus I was surrounded by plenty in the midst of want. I was happy in the midst of dangers and inconveniences. In such a diversity, it was impossible I should be disposed to melancholy. No populous city, with all the varieties of commerce and stately structures, could afford so much pleasure to my mind as the beauties of nature I found here.”
Boone’s saga in Kentucky is what made him the epitome of an American icon. Establishing a town? Of course. Stabbing a bear with a knife? You bet. Opposing the British during the Revolution? Naturally. Just one of the many feats that Boone performed during this period would define a normal man’s life. His interactions with the native tribes consisted of close calls, deep respect, and all-out warfare. One episode entailed Boone and some companions being captured, transported to Detroit, and ransomed to the British. Except, by the time the long journey was over, the natives had developed such a deep respect for Boone that they decided to keep him for themselves! From there, he was partly a captive and partly a favorite son of the tribe – not knowing when (or if) he would be released, executed, or adopted for life. In the end, he went on the war path with the tribe and decided to ‘zig’ when the war party ‘zagged’. There would be more showdowns and chances for payback before it was all over. The end was coming for the natives as Boone proved Kentucky to be a viable destination for more settlers to usher in the modern world.
During the Revolutionary War, a handful of British and over 400 of their native allies laid siege to Boonesborough and its 135 settlers – including women and children. The attackers were certain that this would be the final defeat of Boone. They tried peaceful negotiations, devious treachery, and all-out assault. But Boone would not submit. Ultimately, the natives would share the fate of their British overlords and lose the war. Along the way, Hawks describes two other PA natives, one a hero and one a villain. James Harrod from Bedford County, PA would establish towns, fight battles, and even lead a cavalry charge in one. On the other side of the coin was Samuel Girty of Dauphin County, PA. He would be remembered as a notorious turncoat and cut-throat, turning out to be one of the worst pioneer villains of the era. Both men are touched on but this book but hardly described thoroughly. Peace would return to Boone’s life and along with it, his true passion – hunting.
Not only did he survive, Boone thrived and conquered in a way that few men could. But in the end, he had to keep moving west as civilization caught up with him. Hawks sums up the contentedness that Boone experienced in his later years, “He had been harassed by constant struggles ever since he came to Kentucky, and these struggles with the savages had made him a warrior rather than a hunter; but he could now return to his darling passion. While others cultivated the ground, he roamed through the wilderness with his rifle; he was now a hunter indeed, spending weeks and months uninterruptedly in the forests. By day he moved where he pleased, and at night made his camp fearlessly wherever the shades of night overtook him. His life was now happier than ever.”