



Produced by John M. Krafft









THE ADVENTURES OF COL. DANIEL BOON

CONTAINING A NARRATIVE OF THE WARS OF KENTUCKE

From The Discovery and Settlement of Kentucke


By John Filson


Curiosity is natural to the soul of man, and interesting objects have
a powerful influence on our affections. Let these influencing powers
actuate, by the permission or disposal of Providence, from selfish or
social views, yet in time the mysterious will of Heaven is unfolded,
and we behold our conduct, from whatsoever motives excited, operating to
answer the important designs of heaven. Thus we behold Kentucke, lately
an howling wilderness, the habitation of savages and wild beasts, become
a fruitful field; this region, so favourably distinguished by nature,
now become the habitation of civilization, at a period unparalleled in
history, in the midst of a raging war, and under all the disadvantages
of emigration to a country so remote from the inhabited parts of the
continent. Here, where the hand of violence shed the blood of the
innocent; where the horrid yells of savages, and the groans of the
distressed, sounded in our ears, we now hear the praises and adoration
of our Creator; where wretched wigwams stood, the miserable abodes
of savages, we behold the foundations of cities laid, that, in all
probability, will rival the glory of the greatest upon earth. And we
view Kentucke situated on the fertile banks of the great Ohio, rising
from obscurity to shine with splendor, equal to any other of the stars
of the American hemisphere.

The settling of this region well deserves a place in history. Most
of the memorable events I have myself been exercised in; and, for the
satisfaction of the public, will briefly relate the circumstances of my
adventures, and scenes of life, from my first movement to this country
until this day.

It was on the first of May, in the year 1769, that I resigned my
domestic happiness for a time, and left my family and peaceable
habitation on the Yadkin River, in North-Carolina, to wander through the
wilderness of America, in quest of the country of Kentucke, in company
with John Finley, John Stewart, Joseph Holden, James Monay, and William
Cool. We proceeded successfully, and after a long and fatiguing journey
through a mountainous wilderness, in a westward direction, on the
seventh day of June following, we found ourselves on Red-River, where
John Finley had formerly been trading with the Indians, and, from the
top of an eminence, saw with pleasure the beautiful level of Kentucke.
Here let me observe, that for some time we had experienced the most
uncomfortable weather as a prelibation of our future sufferings. At this
place we encamped, and made a shelter to defend us from the inclement
season, and began to hunt and reconnoitre the country. We found every
where abundance of wild beasts of all sorts, through this vast forest.
The buffaloes were more frequent than I have seen cattle in the
settlements, browzing on the leaves of the cane, or croping the herbage
on those extensive plains, fearless, because ignorant, of the violence
of man. Sometimes we saw hundreds in a drove, and the numbers about the
salt springs were amazing. In this forest, the habitation of beasts of
every kind natural to America, we practised hunting with great success
until the twenty-second day of December following.

This day John Stewart and I had a pleasing ramble, but fortune changed
the scene in the close of it. We had passed through a great forest on
which stood myriads of trees, some gay with blossoms, others rich with
fruits. Nature was here a series of wonders, and a fund of delight. Here
she displayed her ingenuity and industry in a variety of flowers
and fruits, beautifully, elegantly shaped, and charmingly
flavoured; and we were diverted with innumerable animals presenting
themselves perpetually to our view.--In the decline of the day, near
Kentucke river, as we ascended the brow of a small hill, a number of
Indians rushed out of a thick cane-brake upon us, and made us prisoners.
The time of our sorrow was now arrived, and the scene fully opened. The
Indians plundered us of what we had, and kept us in confinement
seven days, treating us with common savage usage. During this time
we discovered no uneasiness or desire to escape, which made them
less suspicious of us;