_Daniel Boone, his Parentage, and early Adventures._
Trials of the Colonists.--George Boone and his home.--Squire Boone.--Birth
and character of Daniel Boone.--His limited education.--A pioneer's
camp.--A log house and furnishings.--Annoyance of Boone on the arrival of
Scotch emigrants.--His longings for adventure.--Camp meetings.--Frontier
life.--Sports.--Squirrel hunting.--Snuffing the candle.
It was but a narrow fringe upon the sea coast of North America, which
was thus far occupied by the European emigrants. Even this edge of the
continent was so vast in its extent, from the southern capes of Florida
to the gulf of St. Lawrence, that these colonial settlements were far
separated from each other. They constituted but little dots in the
interminable forest: the surges of the Atlantic beating upon their
eastern shores, and the majestic wilderness sweeping in its sublime
solitude behind them on the west. Here the painted Indians pursued their
game, while watching anxiously the encroachments of the pale faces. The
cry of the panther, the growling of the bear, and the howling of the
wolf, were music to the settlers compared with the war-hoop of the
savage, which often startled the inmates of the lonely cabins, and
consigned them to that sleep from which there is no earthly waking. The
Indians were generally hostile, and being untutored savages, they were
as merciless as demons in their revenge. The mind recoils from the
contemplation of the tortures to which they often exposed their
captives. And one cannot but wonder that the Almighty Father could have
allowed such agony to be inflicted upon any of His creatures.
Notwithstanding the general desire of the colonial authorities to treat
the Indians with justice and kindness, there were unprincipled
adventurers crowding all the colonies, whose wickedness no laws could
restrain. They robbed the Indians, insulted their families, and
inflicted upon them outrages which goaded the poor savages to
desperation. In their unintelligent vengeance they could make no
distinction between the innocent and the guilty.
On the 10th of October, 1717, a vessel containing a number of emigrants
arrived at Philadelphia, a small but flourishing settlement upon the
banks of the Delaware. Among the passengers there was a man named George
Boone, with his wife and eleven children, nine sons and two daughters.
He had come from Exeter, England, and was lured to the New World by the
cheapness of land. He had sufficient property to enable him to furnish
all his sons with ample farms in America. The Delaware, above
Philadelphia, was at that time a silent stream, flowing sublimely
through the almost unbroken forest. Here and there, a bold settler had
felled the trees, and in the clearing had reared his log hut, upon the
river banks. Occasionally the birch canoe of an Indian hunter was seen
passing rapidly from cove to cove, and occasionally a little cluster of
Indian wigwams graced some picturesque and sunny exposure, for the
Indians manifested much taste in the location of their villages.
George Boone ascended this solitary river about twenty miles above
Philadelphia, where he purchased upon its banks an extensive territory,
consisting of several hundred acres. It was near the present city of
Bristol, in what is now called Buck's County. To this tract,
sufficiently large for a township, he gave the name of Exeter, in memory
of the home he had left in England. Here, aided by the strong arms of
his boys, he reared a commodious log cabin. It must have been an
attractive and a happy home. The climate was delightful, the soil
fertile, supplying him, with but little culture, with an ample supply of
corn, and the most nutritious vegetables. Before his door rolled the
broad expanse of the Delaware, abounding with fish of delicious flavor.
His boys with hook and line could at any time, in a few moments, supply
the table with a nice repast. With the unerring rifle, they could
always procure game in great variety and abundance.
The Indians, won by the humanity of William Penn, were friendly, and
their occasional visits to the cabin contributed to the enjoyment of its
inmates. On the whole a more favored lot in life could not well be
imagined. There was unquestionably far more happiness in this log cabin
of the settler, on the silent waters of the Delaware, than could be
found in any of the castles or palaces of England, France, or Spain.
George Boone had one son on whom he conferred the singular name of
Squire. His son married a young woman in the neighborhood by the name of
Sarah Morgan, and surrounded by his brothers and sisters, he raised his
humble home in the beautiful township which his father had purchased.
Before leaving England the family, religiously inclined, had accepted
the Episcopal form of Christian worship. But in the New World, far
removed from the institutions of the Gospel, and allured by the noble
character and influence of William Penn, they enrolled themselves in the
Society of Friends. In the record of the monthly meetings of this
society, we find it stated that George Boone was received to its
communion on the thirty-first day of tenth month, in the year 1717. It
is also recorded that his son Squire Boone was married to Sarah Morgan,
on the twenty-third day of seventh month, 1720. The records of the
meetings also show the number of their children, and the periods of
their birth.
By this it appears that their son Daniel, the subject of this memoir,
was born on the twenty-second day of eighth month, 1734. It seems that
Squire Boone became involved in difficulties with the Society of
Friends, for allowing one of his sons to marry out of meeting. He was
therefore disowned, and perhaps on this account, he subsequently removed
his residence to North Carolina, as we shall hereafter show. His son
Daniel, from earliest childhood, developed a peculiar and remarkably
interesting character. He was silent, thoughtful, of pensive
temperament, yet far from gloomy, never elated, never depressed. He
exhibited from his earliest years such an insensibility to danger, as to
attract the attention of all who knew him. Though affectionate and
genial in disposition, never morose or moody, he still loved solitude,
and seemed never so happy as when entirely alone. His father remained in
his home upon the Delaware until Daniel was about ten years of age.
Various stories are related of his adventures in these his early years,
which may or may not be entirely authentic. It makes but little
difference. These anecdotes if only founded on facts, show at least the
estimation in which he was regarded, and the impression which his
character produced in these days of childhood. Before he was ten years
old he would take his rifle and plunge boldly into the depths of the
illimitable forest. He seemed, by instinct, possessed of the skill of
the most experienced hunter, so that he never became bewildered, or in
danger of being lost. There were panthers, bears and wolves in those
forests, but of them he seemed not to have the slightest fear. His skill
as a marksman became quite unerring. Not only raccoons, squirrels,
partridges and other such small game were the result of his hunting
expeditions, but occasionally even the fierce panther fell before his
rifle ball. From such frequent expeditions he would return silent and
tranquil, with never a word of boasting in view of exploits of which a
veteran hunter might be proud.
Indeed his love of solitude was so great, that he reared for himself a
little cabin in the wilderness, three miles back from the settlement.
Here he would go all alone without even a dog for companion, his trusty
rifle his only protection. At his camp-fire, on the point of his ramrod,
he would cook the game which he obtained in abundance, and upon his bed
of leaves would sleep in sweetest enjoyment, lulled by the wind through
the tree-tops, and by the cry of the night bird and of the wild beasts
roaming around. In subsequent life, he occasionally spoke of these hours
as seasons of unspeakable joy.
The education of young Boone was necessarily very defective. There were
no schools then established in those remote districts of log cabins. But
it so happened that an Irishman of some little education strolled into
that neighborhood, and Squire Boone engaged him to teach, for a few
months, his children and those of some others of the adjacent settlers.
These hardy emigrants met with their axes in a central point in the
wilderness, and in a few hours constructed a rude hut of logs for a
school-house. Here young Boone was taught to read, and perhaps to write.
This was about all the education he ever received. Probably the
confinement of the school-room was to him unendurable. The forest was
his congenial home, hunting the business of his life.
Though thus uninstructed in the learning of books, there were other
parts of practical education, of infinitely more importance to him, in
which he became an adept. His native strength of mind, keen habits of
observation, and imperturbable tranquility under whatever perils or
reverses, gave him skill in the life upon which he was to enter, which
the teachings of books alone could not confer. No marksman could surpass
him in the dexterity with which with his bullet he would strike the head
of a nail, at the distance of many yards. No Indian hunter or warrior
could with more sagacity trace his steps through the pathless forest,
detect the footsteps of a retreating foe, or search out the hiding place
of the panther or the bear. In these hunting excursions the youthful
frame of Daniel became inured to privation, hardship, endurance. Taught
to rely upon his own resources, he knew not what it was to be lonely,
for an hour. In the darkest night and in the remotest wilderness, when
the storm raged most fiercely, although but a child he felt peaceful,
happy, and entirely at home.
About the year 1748 (the date is somewhat uncertain), Squire Boone, with
his family, emigrated seven hundred miles farther south and west to a
place called Holman's Ford on the Yadkin river, in North Carolina. The
Yadkin is a small stream in the north-west part of the State. A hundred
years ago this was indeed a howling wilderness. It is difficult to
imagine what could have induced the father of a family to abandon the
comparatively safe and prosperous settlements on the banks of the
Delaware, to plunge into the wilderness of these pathless solitudes,
several hundred miles from the Atlantic coast. Daniel was then about
sixteen years of age.
Of the incidents of their long journey through the wood--on foot, with
possibly a few pack horses, for there were no wagon-roads whatever--we
have no record. The journey must probably have occupied several weeks,
occasionally cheered by sunshine, and again drenched by storms. There
were nine children in the family. At the close of the weary pilgrimage
of a day, through such narrow trails as that which the Indian or the
buffalo had made through the forest, or over the prairies, they were
compelled to build a cabin at night, with logs and the bark of trees to
shelter them from the wind and rain, and at the camp-fire to cook the
game which they had shot during the day. We can imagine that this
journey must have been a season of unspeakable delight to Daniel Boone.
Alike at home with the rifle and the hatchet, never for a moment
bewildered, or losing his self-possession, he could, even unaided, at
any hour, rear a sheltering hut for his mother and his sisters, before
which the camp-fire would blaze cheerily, and their hunger would be
appeased by the choicest viands from the game which his rifle had
procured.
The spirit of adventure is so strong in most human hearts which
luxurious indulgence has not enervated, that it is not improbable that
this family enjoyed far more in this romantic excursion through an
unexplored wilderness, than those now enjoy who in a few hours traverse
the same distance in the smooth rolling rail-cars. Indeed fancy can
paint many scenes of picturesque beauty which we know that the reality
must have surpassed.
It is the close of a lovely day. A gentle breeze sweeps through the
tree-tops from the north-west. The trail through the day has led along
the banks of a crystal mountain stream, sparkling with trout. The path
is smooth for the moccasined feet. The limbs, inured to action,
experienced no weariness. The axes of the father and the sons speedily
construct a camp, open to the south and perfectly sheltered on the roof
and on the sides by the bark of trees. The busy fingers of the daughters
have in the meantime spread over the floor a soft and fragrant carpet of
evergreen twigs. The mother is preparing supper, of trout from the
stream, and the fattest of wild turkeys or partridges, or tender cuts of
venison, which the rifles of her husband or sons have procured.
Voracious appetites render the repast far more palatable than the
choicest viands which were ever spread in the banqueting halls of
Versailles or Windsor. Water-fowl of gorgeous plumage sport in the
stream, unintimidated by the approach of man. The plaintive songs of
forest-birds float in the evening air. On the opposite side of the
stream, herds of deer and buffalo crop the rich herbage of the prairie,
which extends far away, till it is lost in the horizon of the south.
Daniel retires from the converse of the cabin to an adjoining eminence,
where silently and rapturously he gazes upon the scene of loveliness
spread out before him.
Such incidents must often have occurred. Even in the dark and
tempestuous night, with the storm surging through the tree tops, and the
rain descending in floods, in their sheltered camp, illumined by the
flames of their night fire, souls capable of appreciating the sublimity
of such scenes must have experienced exquisite delight. It is pleasant
to reflect, that the poor man in his humble cabin may often be the
recipient of much more happiness than the lord finds in his castle, or
the king in his palace.
No details are given respecting the arrival of this family on the banks
of the Yadkin, or of their habits of life while there. We simply know
that they were far away in the untrodden wilderness, in the remotest
frontiers of civilization. Bands of Indians were roving around them, but
even if hostile, so long as they had only bows and arrows, the settler
in his log-hut, which was a fortress, and with his death-dealing rifle,
was comparatively safe.
Here the family dwelt for several years, probably in the enjoyment of
abundance, and with ever-increasing comforts. The virgin soil, even
poorly tilled, furnished them with the corn and the vegetables they
required, while the forests supplied the table with game. Thus the
family, occupying the double position of the farmer and the hunter,
lived in the enjoyment of all the luxuries which both of those callings
could afford. Here Daniel Boone grew up to manhood. His love of solitude
and of nature led him on long hunting excursions, from which he often
returned laden with furs. The silence of the wilderness he brought back
with him to his home. And though his placid features ever bore a smile,
he had but few words to interchange with neighbors or friends. He was a
man of affectionate, but not of passionate nature. It would seem that
other emigrants were lured to the banks of the Yadkin, for here, after a
few years, young Boone fell in love with the daughter of his father's
neighbor, and that daughter, Rebecca Bryan, became his bride. He thus
left his father's home, and, with his axe, speedily erected for himself
and wife a cabin, we may presume at some distance from sight or sound of
any other house. There "from noise and tumult far," Daniel Boone
established himself in the life of solitude, to which he was accustomed
and which he enjoyed. It appears that his marriage took place about the
year 1755. The tide of emigration was still flowing in an uninterrupted
stream towards the west. The population was increasing throughout this
remote region, and the axe of the settler began to be heard on the
streams tributary to the Yadkin.
Daniel Boone became restless. He loved the wilderness and its solitude,
and was annoyed by the approach of human habitations, bringing to him
customs with which he was unacquainted, and exposing him to
embarrassments from which he would gladly escape. The mode of life
practiced by those early settlers in the wilderness is well known. The
log-house usually consisted of but one room, with a fire-place of stones
at the end. These houses were often very warm and comfortable,
presenting in the interior, with a bright fire blazing on the hearth, a
very cheerful aspect. Their construction was usually as follows:
Straight, smooth logs about a foot in diameter, cut of the proper
length, and so notched at the ends as to be held very firmly together,
were thus placed one above the other to the height of about ten feet.
The interstices were filled with clay, which soon hardened, rendering
the walls comparatively smooth, and alike impervious to wind or rain.
Other logs of straight fiber were split into clap-boards, one or two
inches in thickness, with which they covered the roof. If suitable wood
for this purpose could not be found, the bark of trees was used, with an
occasional thatching of the long grass of the prairies. Logs about
eighteen inches in diameter were selected for the floor. These were
easily split in halves, and with the convex side buried in the earth,
and the smooth surface uppermost joined closely together by a slight
trimming with axe or adze, presented a very firm and even attractive
surface for the feet.
In the centre of the room, four augur holes were bored in the logs,
about three inches in diameter. Stakes were driven firmly into these
holes, upon which were placed two pieces of timber, with the upper
surfaces hewn smooth, thus constructing a table. In one corner of the
cabin, four stakes were driven in a similar way, about eighteen inches
high, with forked tops. Upon these two saplings were laid with smooth
pieces of bark stretched across. These were covered with grass or dried
leaves, upon which was placed, with the fur upwards, the well-tanned
skin of the buffalo or the bear. Thus quite a luxurious bed was
constructed, upon which there was often enjoyed as sweet sleep as
perhaps is ever found on beds of down. In another corner, some rude
shelves were placed, upon which appeared a few articles of tin and
ironware. Upon some buck horns over the door was always placed the
rifle, ever loaded and ready for use.
A very intelligent emigrant, Dr. Doddridge, gives the following graphic
account of his experience in such a log-cabin as we have described, in
the remote wilderness. When he was but a child, his father, with a small
family, had penetrated these trackless wilds, and in the midst of their
sublime solitudes had reared his lonely cabin. He writes:
"My father's family was small and he took us all with him. The Indian
meal which he brought was expended six weeks too soon, so that for that
length of time we had to live without bread. The lean venison and the
breast of wild turkeys, we were taught to call bread. I remember how
narrowly we children watched the growth of the potato tops, pumpkin, and
squash vines, hoping from day to day to get something to answer in the
place of bread. How delicious was the taste of the young potatoes, when
we got them! What a jubilee when we were permitted to pull the young
corn for roasting ears! Still more so when it had acquired sufficient
hardness to be made into johnny cake by the aid of a tin grater. The
furniture of the table consisted of a few pewter dishes, plates and
spoons, but mostly of wooden bowls and trenchers and noggins. If these
last were scarce, gourds and hard shell squashes made up the deficiency.
"I well remember the first time I ever saw a tea cup and saucer. My
mother died when I was six or seven years of age. My father then sent me
to Maryland to go to school. At Bedford, the tavern at which my uncle
put up was a stone house, and to make the changes still more complete,
it was plastered on the inside both as to the walls and ceiling. On
going into the dining-room, I was struck with astonishment at the
appearance of the house. I had no idea that there was any house in the
world that was not built of logs. But here I looked around and could
see no logs, and above I could see no joists. Whether such a thing had
been made by the hands of man, or had grown so of itself, I could not
conjecture. I had not the courage to inquire anything about it. When
supper came on, my confusion was worse confounded: A little cup stood in
a bigger one with some brownish-looking stuff in it, which was neither
milk, hominy, nor broth. What to do with these little cups, and the
spoons belonging to them, I could not tell. But I was afraid to ask
anything concerning the use of them."
Daniel Boone could see from the door of his cabin, far away in the west,
the majestic ridge of the Alleghany mountains, many of the peaks rising
six thousand feet into the clouds. This almost impassable wall, which
nature had reared, extended for hundreds of leagues, along the Atlantic
coast, parallel with that coast, and at an average distance of one
hundred and thirty miles from the ocean. It divides the waters which
flow into the Atlantic, from those which run into the Mississippi. The
great chain consists of many spurs, from fifty to two hundred miles in
breadth, and receives in different localities, different names, such as
the Cumberland mountains, the Blue Ridge, etc.
But few white men had ever as yet ascended these summits, to cast a
glance at the vast wilderness beyond. The wildest stories were told
around the cabin fires, of these unexplored realms,--of the Indian
tribes wandering there; of the forests filled with game; of the rivers
alive with fishes; of the fertile plains, the floral beauty, the
abounding fruit, and the almost celestial clime. These stories were
brought to the settlers in the broken language of the Indians, and in
the exaggerated tales of hunters, who professed that in the chase they
had, from some Pisgah's summit, gazed upon the splendors of this Canaan
of the New World.
Thus far, the settlers had rested contented with the sea-board region
east of the Alleghanies. They had made no attempt to climb the summits
of this great barrier, or to penetrate its gloomy defiles. A dense
forest covered alike the mountain cliff and the rocky gorge. Indeed
there were but few points at which even the foot of the hunter could
pass this chain.
While Daniel Boone was residing in the congenial solitude of his hut, on
the banks of the Yadkin; with the grandeur of the wilderness around him
in which his soul delighted; with his table luxuriously spread according
to his tastes--with venison, bear's meat, fat turkeys, chickens from the
prairie, and vegetables from his garden; with comfortable clothing of
deerskin, and such cloths as pedlars occasionally brought to his cabin
door in exchange for furs, he was quite annoyed by the arrival of a
number of Scotch families in his region, bringing with them customs and
fashions which to Daniel Boone were very annoying. They began to cut
down the glorious old forest, to break up the green sward of the
prairies, to rear more ambitious houses than the humble home of the
pioneer; they assumed airs of superiority, introduced more artificial
styles of living, and brought in the hitherto unknown vexation of taxes.
One can easily imagine how restive such a man as Boone must have been
under such innovations. The sheriff made his appearance in the lonely
hut; the collection of the taxes was enforced by suits at law. Even
Daniel Boone's title to his lands was called in question; some of the
new comers claiming that their more legal grants lapped over upon the
boundaries which Boone claimed. Under these circumstances our pioneer
became very anxious to escape from these vexations by an emigration
farther into the wilderness. Day after day he cast wistful glances upon
the vast mountain barrier piercing the clouds in the distant horizon.
Beyond that barrier, neither the sheriff nor the tax-gatherer were to be
encountered. His soul, naturally incapable of fear, experienced no dread
in apprehension of Indian hostilities, or the ferocity of wild beasts.
Even the idea of the journey through these sublime solitudes of an
unexplored region, was far more attractive to him than the tour of
Europe to a sated millionaire.
Two or three horses would convey upon their backs all their household
goods. There were Indian trails and streets, so called, made by the
buffaloes, as in large numbers they had followed each other, selecting
by a wonderful instinct their path from one feeding ground to another,
through cane-brakes, around morasses, and over mountains through the
most accessible defiles. Along these trails or streets, Boone could take
his peaceful route without any danger of mistaking his way. Every mile
would be opening to him new scenes of grandeur and beauty. Should night
come, or a storm set in, a few hours' labor with his axe would rear for
him not only a comfortable, but a cheerful tent with its warm and
sheltered interior, with the camp-fire crackling and blazing before it.
His wife and his children not only afforded him all the society his
peculiar nature craved, but each one was a helper, knowing exactly what
to do in this picnic excursion through the wilderness. Wherever he might
stop for the night or for a few days, his unerring rifle procured for
him viands which might tempt the appetite of the epicure. There are many
even in civilized life who will confess, that for them, such an
excursion would present attractions such as are not to be found in the
banqueting halls at Windsor Castle, or in the gorgeous saloons of
Versailles.
Daniel Boone, in imagination, was incessantly visiting the land beyond
the mountains, and longing to explore its mysteries. Whether he would
find the ocean there or an expanse of lakes and majestic rivers, or
boundless prairies, or the unbroken forest, he knew not. Whether the
region were crowded with Indians, and if so, whether they would be found
friendly or hostile, and whether game roamed there in greater variety
and in larger abundance than on the Atlantic side of the great barrier,
were questions as yet all unsolved. But these questions Daniel Boone
pondered in silence, night and day.
A gentleman who nearly half a century ago visited one of these frontier
dwellings, very romantically situated amidst the mountains of Western
Virginia, has given us a pencil sketch of the habitation which we here
introduce. The account of the visit is also so graphic that we cannot
improve it by giving it in any language but his own. This settler had
passed through the first and was entering upon the second stage of
pioneer life:
"Towards the close of an autumnal day, when traveling through the thinly
settled region of Western Virginia, I came up with a substantial-looking
farmer leaning on the fence by the road side. I accompanied him to his
house to spend the night. It was a log dwelling, and near it stood
another log structure, about twelve feet square,--the weaving shop of
the family. On entering the dwelling I found the numerous household all
clothed in substantial garments of their own manufacture. The floor was
unadorned by a carpet and the room devoid of superfluous furniture; yet
they had all that necessity required for their comfort. One needs but
little experience like this to learn how few are our real wants,--how
easily most luxuries of dress, furniture and equipage can be dispensed
with.
"Soon after my arrival supper was ready. It consisted of fowls, bacon,
hoe-cake and buckwheat cakes. Our beverage was milk and coffee,
sweetened with maple sugar. Soon as it grew dark my hostess took down a
small candle mould for three candles, hanging from the wall on a
frame-work just in front of the fire-place, in company with a rifle,
long strings of dried pumpkins and other articles of household property.
On retiring I was conducted to the room overhead, to which I ascended by
stairs out of doors. My bed-fellow was the county sheriff, a young man
of about my own age. And as we lay together a fine field was had for
astronomical observations through the chinks of the logs.
"The next morning, after rising, I was looking for the washing
apparatus, when he tapped me on the shoulder, as a signal to accompany
him to the brook in the rear of the house, in whose pure crystal waters
we performed our morning ablutions. After breakfast, through the
persuasion of the sheriff, I agreed to go across the country by his
house. He was on horseback; I on foot bearing my knapsack. For six miles
our route lay through a pathless forest; on emerging from which we soon
passed through the 'Court House,' the only village in the county,
consisting of about a dozen log-houses and the court building.
"Soon after we came to a Methodist encampment. This was formed of three
continuous lines, each occupying a side of a square and about one
hundred feet in length. Each row was divided into six or ten cabins with
partitions between. The height of the rows on the inner side of the
enclosed area was about ten feet, on the outer about six, to which the
roofs sloped shed-like. The door of each cabin opened on the inner side
of the area, and at the back of each was a log chimney coming up even
with the roof. At the upper extremity of the inclosure, formed by these
three lines of cabins, was an open shed; a mere roof supported by posts,
say thirty by fifty feet, in which was a coarse pulpit and log seats. A
few tall trees were standing within the area, and many stumps scattered
here and there. The whole establishment was in the depth of a forest,
and wild and rude as can well be imagined.
"In many of these sparsely-inhabited counties there are no settled
clergy, and rarely do the people hear any other than the Methodist
preachers. Here is the itinerating system of Wesley exhibited in its
full usefulness. The circuits are usually of three weeks' duration, in
which the clergymen preach daily. Most of these preachers are energetic,
devoted men; and often they endure great privations.
"After sketching the encampment I came in a few moments to the dwelling
of the sheriff. Close by it was a group of mountain men and women seated
around a log cabin, about twelve feet square, ten high, and open at the
top, into which these neighbors of my companion were casting ears of
corn as fast as they could shuck them. Cheerfully they performed their
task. The men were large and hardy; the damsels plump and rosy, and all
dressed in good warm homespun. The sheriff informed me that he owned
about two thousand acres around his dwelling, and that his farm was
worth about one thousand dollars or fifty cents an acre.
"I entered his log domicile which was one story in height, about twenty
feet square and divided into two small rooms without windows or places
to let in the light except by a front and rear door. I soon partook of
a meal in which we had a variety of luxuries, not omitting _bear's
meat_. A blessing was asked at the table by one of the neighbors. After
supper the bottle, as usual at corn huskings, was circulated. The
sheriff learning that I was a Washingtonian, with the politeness of one
of nature's gentlemen refrained from urging me to participate. The men
drank but moderately; and we all drew around the fire, the light of
which was the only one we had. Hunting stories and kindred topics served
to talk down the hours till bed time.
"On awaking in the morning, I saw two women cooking breakfast in my
bedroom, and three men seated over the fire watching the operation.
After breakfast, I bade my host farewell, buckled on my knapsack and
left. In the course of two hours, I came to a cabin by the wayside.
There being no gate, I sprang over the fence, entered the open door, and
was received with a hearty welcome. It was an humble dwelling, the abode
of poverty. The few articles of furniture were neat and pleasantly
arranged. In the corner stood two beds, one hung with curtains, and both
with coverlets of snowy white, contrasting with the dingy log walls,
rude furniture, and rough boarded floor of this, the only room in the
dwelling. Around a cheerful fire was seated an interesting family
group. In one corner, on the hearth, sat the mother, smoking a pipe.
Next to her was a little girl, in a small chair, holding a young kitten.
In the opposite corner sat a venerable old man, of herculean stature,
robed in a hunting shirt, and with a countenance as majestic and
impressive as that of a Roman senator. In the centre of the group was a
young maiden, modest and retiring, not beautiful, except in that moral
beauty virtue gives. She was reading to them from a little book. She was
the only one of the family who could read, and she could do so but
imperfectly. In that small volume was the whole secret of the neatness
and happiness found in this lonely cot. That little book was the New
Testament."
The institution of camp-meetings, introduced with so much success by the
Methodists, those noble pioneers of Christianity, seem to have been the
necessary result of the attempt to preach to the sparsely settled
population of a new country. The following is said to be the origin of
those camp-meetings which have done incalculable good, socially,
intellectually, and religiously.
In the year 1799, two men by the name of McGee, one a Presbyterian, the
other a Methodist, set out on a missionary tour together, to visit the
log-houses in the wilderness. A meeting was appointed at a little
settlement upon one of the tributaries of the Ohio. The pioneers
flocked to the place from many miles around. There was no church there,
and the meeting was necessarily held in the open air. Many brought their
food with them and camped out. Thus the meeting, with exhortation and
prayer, was continued in the night. Immense bonfires blazed illuminating
the sublimities of the forest, and the assembled congregation, cut off
from all the ordinary privileges of civilized life, listened devoutly to
the story of a Savior's love.
This meeting was so successful in its results that another was appointed
at a small settlement on the banks of a stream called Muddy river. The
tidings spread rapidly through all the stations and farm houses on the
frontier. It afforded these lonely settlers a delightful opportunity of
meeting together. They could listen for hours with unabated interest to
the religious exercises. The people assembled from a distance of forty
or fifty miles around. A vast concourse had met beneath the foliage of
the trees, the skies alone, draped with clouds by day and adorned with
stars by night, the dome of their majestic temple.
The scene, by night, must have been picturesque in the extreme. Men,
women and children were there in homespun garb; and being accustomed to
camp life, they were there in comfort. Strangers met and became friends.
Many wives and mothers obtained rest and refreshment from their
monotonous toils. There is a bond in Christ's discipleship, stronger
than any other, and Christians grasped hands in love, pledging
themselves anew to a holy life. For several days and nights, this
religious festival was continued. Time could not have been better spent.
Dwellers in the forest could not afford to take so long a journey merely
to listen to one half-hour's discourse. These men and women were earnest
and thoughtful. In the solitude of their homes, they had reflected
deeply upon life and its issues. When death occasionally visited their
cabins, it was a far more awful event than when death occurs in the
crowded city, where the hearse is every hour of every day passing
through the streets.
These scenes of worship very deeply impressed the minds of the people.
They were not Gospel hardened. The gloom and silence of the forest,
alike still by night and by day; the memory of the past, with its few
joys and many griefs; the anticipations of the future, with its
unceasing struggles, to terminate only in death; the solemnity which
rested on every countenance; the sweet melody of the hymns; the earnest
tones of the preachers in exhortation and prayer, all combined to
present a scene calculated to produce a very profound impression upon
the human mind. At this meeting, not only professed Christians were
greatly revived, but not less than a hundred persons, it was thought,
became disciples of the Savior.
Another camp-meeting was soon after appointed to meet on Desha's Creek,
a small stream flowing into the Cumberland river. The country was now
becoming more populous, and several thousand were assembled. And thus
the work went on, multitudes being thus reached by the preached Gospel
who could not be reached in any other way.[A]
[Footnote A: Bang's History of Methodism.]
Life on the frontier was by no means devoid of its enjoyments as well as
of its intense excitements. It must have been also an exceedingly busy
life. There were no mills for cutting timber or grinding corn; no
blacksmith shops to repair the farming utensils. There were no
tanneries, no carpenters, shoemakers, weavers. Every family had to do
everything for itself. The corn was pounded with a heavy pestle in a
large mortar made by burning an excavation in a solid block of wood. By
means of these mortars the settlers, in regions where saltpetre could be
obtained, made very respectable gunpowder. In making corn-meal a grater
was sometimes used, consisting of a half-circular piece of tin,
perforated with a punch from the concave side. The ears of corn were
rubbed on the rough edges, and the meal fell through the holes on a
board or cloth placed to receive it. They also sometimes made use of a
handmill, resembling those alluded to in the Bible. These consisted of
two circular stones; the lowest, which was immovable, was called the
bed-stone,--the upper one, the runner. Two persons could grind together
at this mill.
The clothing was all of domestic manufacture. A fabric called
linsey-woolsey was most frequently in use and made the most substantial
and warmest clothing. It was made of flax and wool, the former the warp,
the latter the filling. Every cabin almost had its rude loom, and every
woman was a weaver.
The men tanned their own leather. A large trough was sunk in the ground
to its upper edge. Bark was shaved with an axe and pounded with a
mallet. Ashes were used for lime in removing the hair. In the winter
evenings the men made strong shoes and moccasins, and the women cut out
and made hunting shirts, leggins and drawers.
Hunting was a great source of amusement as well as a very exciting and
profitable employment. The boys were all taught to imitate the call of
every bird and beast in the woods. The skill in imitation which they
thus acquired was wonderful. Hidden in a thicket they would gobble like
a turkey and lure a whole flock of these birds within reach of their
rifles. Bleating like the fawn they would draw the timid dam to her
death. The moping owls would come in flocks attracted by the screech of
the hunter, while packs of wolves, far away in the forest, would howl in
response to the hunter's cry. The boys also rivalled the Indians in the
skill with which they would throw the tomahawk. With a handle of a given
length, and measuring the distance with the eye, they would throw the
weapon with such accuracy that its keen edge would be sure to strike the
object at which it was aimed. Running, jumping, wrestling were pastimes
in which both boys and men engaged. Shooting at a mark was one of the
most favorite diversions. When a boy had attained the age of about
twelve years, a rifle was usually placed in his hands. In the house or
fort where he resided, a port-hole was assigned him, where he was to do
valiant service as a soldier, in case of an attack by the Indians. Every
day he was in the woods hunting squirrels, turkeys and raccoons. Thus he
soon acquired extraordinary expertness with his gun.
The following interesting narrative is taken from Ramsay's Annals of
Tennessee, which State was settled about the same time with Kentucky and
with emigrants from about the same region:
"The settlement of Tennessee was unlike that of the present new country
of the United States. Emigrants from the Atlantic cities, and from most
points in the Western interior, now embark upon steamboats or other
craft, and carrying with them all the conveniences and comforts of
civilized life--indeed many of its luxuries--are, in a few days, without
toil, danger or exposure, transported to their new abodes, and in a few
months are surrounded with the appendages of home, of civilization and
the blessings of law and of society.
"The wilds of Minnesota and Nebraska, by the agency of steam or the
stalwart arms of Western boatmen, are at once transformed into the
settlements of a commercial and civilized people. Independence and Saint
Paul, six months after they are laid off, have their stores and their
workshops, their artisans and their mechanics. The mantua-maker and the
tailor arrive in the same boat with the carpenter and mason. The
professional man and the printer quickly follow. In the succeeding year
the piano, the drawing-room, the restaurant, the billiard table, the
church bell, the village and the city in miniature are all found, while
the neighboring interior is yet a wilderness and a desert.
"The town and comfort, taste and urbanity are first; the clearing, the
farm house, the wagon road and the improved country, second. It was far
different on the frontier of Tennessee. At first a single Indian trail
was the only entrance to the Eastern border of it, and for many years
admitted only the hunter and the pack-horse. It was not till the year
1776 that a wagon was seen in Tennessee. In consequence of the want of
roads--as well as of the great distance from the sources of supply--the
first inhabitants were without tools, and of course without
mechanics--much more without the conveniences of living and the comforts
of housekeeping.
"Luxuries were absolutely unknown. Salt was brought on pack-horses from
Augusta and Richmond and readily commanded ten dollars a bushel. The
salt gourd in every cabin was considered as a treasure. The sugar maple
furnished the only article of luxury on the frontier; coffee and tea
being unknown or beyond the reach of the settlers. Sugar was seldom made
and was used only for the sick, or in the preparation of a sweetened
dram at a wedding, or on the arrival of a new comer.
"The appendages of the kitchen, the cupboard and the table, were scanty
and simple. Iron was brought at great expense from the forges east of
the mountains, on pack-horses, and was sold at an enormous price. Its
use was, for this reason, confined to the construction and repair of
ploughs and other farming utensils. Hinges, nails and fastenings of that
material were seldom seen. The costume of the first settlers
corresponded well with the style of their buildings and the quality of
their furniture: the hunting shirt of the militia man and the hunter was
in general use. The rest of their apparel was in keeping with
it,--plain, substantial and well adapted for comfort, use and economy.
The apparel of the pioneer's family was all home-made; and in a whole
neighborhood there would not be seen, at the first settlement of the
country, a single article of dress of foreign manufacture. Half the
year, in many families, shoes were not worn. Boots, a fur hat and a
coat, with buttons on each side, attracted the gaze of the beholder and
sometimes received censure or rebuke. A stranger from the old States
chose to doff his ruffles, his broad-cloth and his cue rather than
endure the scoff and ridicule of the backwoodsman.
"The dwelling house on every frontier in Tennessee was the log-cabin. A
carpenter and a mason were not needed to build them--much less the
painter, the glazier and the upholsterer. Every settler had, besides his
rifle, no other instrument but an axe or hatchet and a butcher-knife. A
saw, an auger, a file and a broad-axe would supply a whole settlement,
and were used as common property in the erection of the log-cabin.
"The labor and employment of a pioneer family were distributed in
accordance with surrounding circumstances. To the men was assigned the
duty of procuring subsistence and materials for clothing, erecting the
cabin and the station, opening and cultivating the farm, hunting the
wild beasts, and repelling and pursueing the Indians. The women spun the
flax, the cotton and the wool, wove the cloth, made them up, milked,
churned and prepared the food, and did their full share of the duties of
housekeeping.
"Could there be happiness or comfort in such dwellings and such a state
of society? To those who are accustomed to modern refinements the truth
appears like fable. The early occupants of log-cabins were among the
most happy of mankind. Exercise and excitement gave them health. They
were practically equal, common danger made them mutually dependent.
Brilliant hopes of future wealth and distinction led them on. And as
there was ample room for all, and as each new comer increased individual
and general security, there was little room for that envy, jealousy and
hatred which constitute a large portion of human misery in older
societies.
"Never were the story, the joke, the song and the laugh better enjoyed
than upon the hewed blocks or puncheon stools, around the roaring log
fire of the early western settler.
"On the frontier the diet was necessarily plain and homely, but
exceedingly abundant and nutritive. The Goshen of America furnishes the
richest milk and the most savory and delicious meats. In their rude
cabins, with their scanty and inartificial furniture, no people ever
enjoyed, in wholesome food a greater variety, or a superior quality of
the necessaries of life."
A writer of that day describes the sports of these pioneers of Kentucky.
One of them consisted in "driving the nail." A common nail was hammered
into a target for about two thirds of its length. The marksmen then took
their stand at the distance of about forty paces. Each man carefully
cleaned the interior of his gun, and then placed a bullet in his hand,
over which he poured just enough powder to cover it. This was a charge.
A shot which only came close to the nail was considered a very
indifferent shot. Nothing was deemed satisfactory but striking the nail
with the bullet fairly on the head. Generally one out of three shots
would hit the nail. Two nails were frequently needed before each man
could get a shot.
_Barking of Squirrels_ is another sport. "I first witnessed," writes the
one to whom we have above alluded, "this manner of procuring squirrels,
while near the town of Frankfort. The performer was the celebrated
Daniel Boone. We walked out together and followed the rocky margins of
the Kentucky river, until we reached a piece of flat land, thickly
covered with black walnuts, oaks, and hickories. Squirrels were seen
gambolling on every tree around us. My companion Mr. Boone, a stout,
hale, athletic man, dressed in a homespun hunting shirt, bare legged and
moccasined, carried a long and heavy rifle, which, as he was loading it,
he said had proved efficient in all his former undertakings, and which
he hoped would not fail on this occasion, as he felt proud to show me
his skill.
"The gun was wiped, the powder measured, the ball patched with six
hundred thread linen, and a charge sent home with a hickory rod. We
moved not a step from the place, for the squirrels were so thick, that
it was unnecessary to go after them. Boone pointed to one of these
animals, which had observed us and was crouched on a tree, about fifty
paces distant, and bade me mark well where the ball should hit. He
raised his piece gradually, until the head, or sight of the barrel, was
brought to a line with the spot he intended to strike. The whip-like
report resounded through the woods, and along the hills, in repeated
echoes. Judge of my surprise, when I perceived that the ball had hit the
piece of bark immediately underneath the squirrel, and shivered it into
splinters; the concussion produced by which had killed the animal, and
sent it whirling through the air, as if it had been blown up by the
explosion of a powder magazine, Boone kept up his firing, and before
many hours had elapsed, we had procured as many squirrels as we wished.
Since that first interview with the veteran Boone, I have seen many
other individuals perform the same feat.
"The _Snuffing of a Candle_ with a ball, I first had an opportunity of
seeing near the banks of Green River, not far from a large pigeon roost,
to which I had previously made a visit. I had heard many reports of guns
during the early part of a dark night, and knowing them to be rifles, I
went towards the spot to ascertain the cause. On reaching the place, I
was welcomed by a dozen tall, stout men, who told me they were
exercising for the purpose of enabling them to shoot in the night at the
reflected light from the eyes of a deer, or wolf, by torch-light.
"A fire was blazing near, the smoke of which rose curling among the
thick foliage of the trees. At a distance which rendered it scarcely
distinguishable, stood a burning candle, which in reality was only fifty
yards from the spot on which we all stood. One man was within a few
yards of it to watch the effect of the shots, as well as to light the
candle, should it chance to go out, or to replace it should the shot cut
it across. Each marksman shot in his turn. Some never hit neither the
snuff or the candle, and were congratulated with a loud laugh; while
others actually snuffed the candle without putting it out, and were
recompensed for their dexterity with numerous hurrahs. One of them, who
was particularly expert, was very fortunate and snuffed the candle three
times out of seven; while all the other shots either put out the candle
or cut it immediately under the light."