Season of repose--Colonel Boone buys land--Builds a log-house and
goes to farming--Kentucky organized on a new basis--The three
Counties united in one district, and Courts established--Colonel
Boone surprised by Indians--Escapes by a bold stratagem--Increase
of emigration--Transportation of goods commences--Primitive manners
and customs of the settlers--Hunting--The autumn hunt--The hunting
camp-Qualifications of a good hunter--Animals hunted--The process
of building and furnishing a cabin--The house-warming.
After the series of Indian hostilities recorded in the chapters
immediately preceding this, Kentucky enjoyed a season of comparative
repose. The cessation of hostilities between the United States and
Great Britain in 1783, and the probable speedy cession of the British
posts on the Northwestern frontier, discouraged the Indians, stopped
their customary incursions on the Kentuckians, and gave them leisure
to acquire and cultivate new tracts of land.
Colonel Boone, notwithstanding the heavy loss of money (which has been
already mentioned) as he was on his journey to North Carolina, was now
able to purchase several locations of land. He had been compensated for
his military services by the Commonwealth of Virginia, to which Kentucky
still belonged. On one of his locations he built a comfortable log-house
and recommenced farming, with his usual industry and perseverance,
varying the pursuits of agriculture with occasional indulgence in his
favorite sport of hunting.
In 1783 Kentucky organized herself on a new basis, Virginia having
united the three counties into one district, having a court of common
law and chancery for the whole territory which now forms the State of
Kentucky. The seat of justice at first was at Harrodsburg; but for want
of convenient accommodations for the sessions of the courts, they were
subsequently removed to Danville, which, in consequence, became for a
season the centre and capital of the State.[50]
A singular and highly characteristic adventure, in which Boone was
engaged about this time, is thus narrated by Mr. Peck:
"Though no hostile attacks from Indians disturbed the settlements, still
there were small parties discovered, or _signs_ seen on the frontier
settlements. On one occasion, about this period, four Indians came to
the farm of Colonel Boone, and nearly succeeded in taking him prisoner.
The particulars are given as they were narrated by Boone himself, at the
wedding of a granddaughter, a few months before his decease, and they
furnish an illustration of his habitual self-possession and tact with
Indians. At a short distance from his cabin he had raised a small patch
of tobacco to supply his neighbors, (for Boone never used the 'filthy
weed' himself,) the amount, perhaps, of one hundred and fifty hills.
"As a shelter for curing it, he had built an enclosure of rails, a dozen
feet in height, and covered it with cane and grass. Stalks of tobacco
are usually split and strung on sticks about four feet in length. The
ends of these are laid on poles, placed across the tobacco house, and in
tiers, one above the other to the roof. Boone had fixed his temporary
shelter in such a manner as to have three tiers. He had covered the
lower tier, and the tobacco had become dry, when he entered the shelter
for the purpose of removing the sticks to the upper tier, preparatory
to gathering the remainder of the crop. He had hoisted up the sticks
from the lower to the second tier, and was standing on the poles that
supported it while raising the sticks to the upper tier, when four stout
Indians, with guns, entered the low door and called him by name. 'Now,
Boone, we got you. You no get away more. We carry you off to Chillicothe
this time. You no cheat us any more.' Boone looked down upon their
up-turned faces, saw their loaded guns pointed at his breast, and
recognizing some of his old friends, the Shawanees, who had made him
prisoner near the Blue Licks in 1778, coolly and pleasantly responded,
'Ah! old friends, glad to see you.' Perceiving that they manifested
impatience to have him come down, he told them he was quite willing to
go with them, and only begged they would wait where they were, and watch
him closely, until he could finish removing his tobacco."
While parleying with them, inquiring after old acquaintances, and
proposing to give them his tobacco when cured, he diverted their
attention from his purpose, until he had collected together a number of
sticks of dry tobacco, and so turned them as to fall between the poles
directly in their faces. At the same instant, he jumped upon them with
as much of the dry tobacco as he could gather in his arms, filling their
mouths and eyes with its pungent dust; and blinding and disabling them
from following him, rushed out and hastened to his cabin, where he had
the means of defense. Notwithstanding the narrow escape, he could not
resist the temptation, after retreating some fifteen or twenty yards, to
look round and see the success of his achievement. The Indians blinded
and nearly suffocated, were stretching out their hands and feeling about
in different directions, calling him by name and cursing him for a
rogue, and themselves for fools. The old man, in telling the story,
imitated their gestures and tones of voice with great glee.
Emigration to Kentucky was now rapidly on the increase, and many
new settlements were formed. The means of establishing comfortable
homesteads increased. Horses, cattle, and swine were rapidly in creasing
in number; and trading in various commodities became more general. From
Philadelphia, merchandise was transported to Pittsburg on pack-horses,
and thence taken down the Ohio River in flat-boats and distributed among
the settlements on its banks. Country stores, land speculators, and
paper money made their appearance, affording a clear augury of the
future activity of the West in commercial industry and enterprise.
[Illustration: BOLD STRATEGEM OF BOONE]
Most of the settlers came from the interior of North Carolina and
Virginia; and brought with them the manners and customs of those
States. These manners and customs were primitive enough. The following
exceedingly graphic description, which we transcribe from "Doddridge's
Notes," will afford the reader a competent idea of rural life in the
times of Daniel Boone.
"HUNTING.--This was an important part of the employment of the early
settlers of this country. For some years the woods supplied them with
the greater amount of their subsistence, and with regard to some
families, at certain times, the whole of it; for it was no uncommon
thing for families to live several months without a mouthful of bread.
It frequently happened that there was no breakfast until it was obtained
from the woods. Fur and peltry were the people's money. They had nothing
else to give in exchange for rifles, salt, and iron, on the other side
of the mountains.
"The fall and early part of the winter was the season for hunting deer,
and the whole of the winter, including part of the spring, for bears and
fur-skinned animals. It was a customary saying that fur is good during
every month in the name of which the letter R occurs.
"The class of hunters with whom I was best acquainted, were those
whose hunting ranges were on the eastern side of the river, and at the
distance of eight or nine miles from it. As soon as the leaves were
pretty well down, and the weather became rainy, accompanied with light
snows, these men, after acting the part of husbandmen, so far as the
state of warfare permitted them to do so, soon began to feel that
they were hunters. They became uneasy at home. Every thing about them
became disagreeable. The house was too warm. The feather-bed too soft,
and even the good wife was not thought, for the time being, a proper
companion. The mind of the hunter was wholly occupied with the camp
and chase.
"I have often seen them get up early in the morning at this season,
walk hastily out, and look anxiously to the woods and snuff the autumnal
winds with the highest rapture, then return into the house and cast a
quick and attentive look at the rifle, which was always suspended to
a joist by a couple of buck horns, or little forks. His hunting dog,
understanding the intentions of his master, would wag his tail, and by
every blandishment in his power express his readiness to accompany him
to the woods.
"A day was soon appointed for the march of the little cavalcade to the
camp. Two or three horses furnished with pack-saddles were loaded with
flour, Indian meal, blankets, and every thing else requisite for the use
of the hunter.
"A hunting camp, or what was called a half-faced cabin, was of the
following form; the back part of it was sometimes a large log; at the
distance of eight or ten feet from this, two stakes were set in the
ground a few inches apart, and at the distance of eight or ten feet
from these, two more, to receive the ends of the poles for the sides of
the camp. The whole slope of the roof, was from the front to the back.
The covering was made of slabs, skins, or blankets, or, if in the spring
of the year, the bark of hickory or ash trees. The front was entirely
open. The fire was built directly before this opening. The cracks
between the logs were filled with moss. Dry leaves served for a bed.
It is thus that a couple of men, in a few hours will construct for
themselves a temporary, but tolerably comfortable defense, from the
inclemencies of the weather. The beaver, otter, muskrat and squirrel are
scarcely their equals in dispatch in fabricating for themselves a covert
from the tempest!
"A little more pains would have made a hunting camp a defense against
the Indians. A cabin ten feet square, bullet proof, and furnished with
port-holes would have enabled two or three hunters to hold twenty
Indians at bay for any length of time. But this precaution I believe was
never attended to; hence the hunters were often surprised and killed in
their camps.
"The site for the camp was selected with all the sagacity of the
woodsman, so as to have it sheltered by the surrounding hills from
every wind, but more especially from those of the north and west.
"An uncle of mine, of the name of Samuel Teter, occupied the same camp
for several years in succession. It was situated on one of the southern
branches of Cross Creek. Although I lived for many years not more than
fifteen miles from the place, it was not till within a very few years
ago that I discovered its situation. It was shown me by a gentleman
living in the neighborhood. Viewing the hills round about it I soon
perceived the sagacity of the hunter in the site for his camp. Not a
wind could touch him; and unless by the report of his gun or the sound
of his axe, it would have been by mere accident if an Indian had
discovered his concealment.
"Hunting was not a mere ramble in pursuit of game, in which there was
nothing of skill and calculation; on the contrary, the hunter, before he
set out in the morning, was informed, by the state of the weather, in
what situation he might reasonably expect to meet with his game; whether
on the bottoms, sides or tops of the hills. In stormy weather, the deer
always seek the most sheltered places, and the leeward side of the
hills. In rainy weather, in which there is not much wind, they keep in
the open woods on the highest ground.
"In every situation it was requisite for the hunter to ascertain the
course of the wind, so as to get the leeward of the game. This he
effected by putting his finger in his mouth, and holding it there until
it became warm, then holding it above his head, the side which first
becomes cold shows which way the wind blows.
"As it was requisite too for the hunter to know the cardinal points,
he had only to observe the trees to ascertain them. The bark of an aged
tree is thicker and much rougher on the north than on the south side.
The same thing may be said of the moss: it is much thicker and stronger
on the north than on the south side of the trees.
"The whole business of the hunter consists of a succession of intrigues.
From morning till night he was on the alert to _gain the_ wind of his
game, and approach them without being discovered. If he succeeded in
killing a deer, he skinned it, and hung it up out of the reach of the
wolves, and immediately resumed the chase till the close of the evening,
when he bent his course toward the camp; when he arrived there he
kindled up his fire, and together with his fellow hunter, cooked his
supper. The supper finished, the adventures of the day furnished the
tales for the evening. The spike buck, the two and three-pronged buck,
the doe and barren doe, figured through their anecdotes with great
advantage. It should seem that after hunting awhile on the same ground,
the hunters became acquainted with nearly all the gangs of deer within
their range, so as to know each flock of them when they saw them. Often
some old buck, by the means of his superior sagacity and watchfulness,
saved his little gang from the hunter's skill, by giving timely notice
of his approach. The cunning of the hunter and that of the old buck were
staked against each other, and it frequently happened that at the
conclusion of the hunting season, the old fellow was left the free
uninjured tenant of his forest; but if his rival succeeded in bringing
him down, the victory, was followed by no small amount of boasting on
the part of the conqueror.
"When the weather was not suitable for hunting, the skins and carcasses
of the game were brought in and disposed of.
"Many of the hunters rested from their labors on the Sabbath day; some
from a motive of piety; others said that whenever they hunted on Sunday,
they were sure to have bad luck on the rest of the week.
"THE HOUSE-WARMING.--I will proceed to state the usual manner of
settling a young couple in the world.
"A spot was selected on a piece of land of one of the parents, for
their habitation. A day was appointed shortly after their marriage, for
commencing the work of building their cabin. The fatigue-party consisted
of choppers, whose business it was to fell the trees and cut them off
at proper lengths. A man with a team for hauling them to the place
and arranging them, properly assorted, at the sides and ends of the
building; a carpenter, if such he might be called, whose business it
was to search the woods for a proper tree for making clapboards for the
roof. The tree for this purpose must be straight-grained, and from three
to four feet in diameter. The boards were split four feet long, with
a large frown, and as wide as the timber would allow. They were used
without planing or shaving Another division were employed in getting
puncheons for the floor of the cabin; this was done by splitting trees,
about eighteen inches in diameter, and hewing the faces of them with a
broad-axe. They were half the length of the floor they were intended
to make. The materials for the cabin were mostly prepared on the first
day, and sometimes the foundation laid in the evening. The second day
was allotted for the raising.
"In the morning of the next day the neighbors collected for the raising.
The first thing to be done was the election of four corner men, whose
business it was to notch and place the logs. The rest of the company
furnished them with the timbers. In the meantime the boards and
puncheons were collecting for the floor and roof, so that by the time
the cabin was a few rounds high, the sleepers and floor began to be
laid. The door was made by sawing or cutting the logs in one side so as
to make an opening about three feet wide. This opening was secured by
upright pieces of timber about three inches thick, through which holes
were bored into the ends of the logs for the purpose of pinning them
fast. A similar opening, but wider, was made at the end for the chimney.
This was built of logs, and made large, to admit of a back and jambs of
stone. At the square, two end logs projected a foot or eighteen inches
beyond the wall, to receive the butting poles, as they were called,
against which the ends of the first row of clapboards was supported.
The roof was formed by making the end logs shorter, until a single log
formed the comb of the roof, on these logs the clapboards were placed,
the ranges of them lapping some distance over those next below them,
and kept in their places by logs, placed at proper distances upon them.
"The roof, and sometimes the floor, were finished on the same day of the
raising. A third day was commonly spent by a few carpenters in leveling
off the floor, making a clapboard door and a table. This last was made
of a split slab, and supported by four round legs set in auger-holes.
Some three-legged stools were made in the same manner. Some pins stuck
in the logs at the back of the house, supported some clapboards which
served for shelves for the table furniture. A single fork, placed with
its lower end in a hole in the floor, and the upper end fastened to a
joist, served for a bedstead, by placing a pole in the fork with one
end through a crack between the logs of the wall. This front pole was
crossed by a shorter one within the fork, with its outer end through
another crack. From the front pole, through a crack between the logs of
the end of the house, the boards were put on which formed the bottom of
the bed. Sometimes other poles were pinned to the fork a little distance
above these, for the purpose of supporting the front and foot of the
bed, while the walls were the supports of its back and head. A few
pegs around the walls for a display of the coats of the women, and
hunting-shirts of the men, and two small forks or buck-horns to a
joist for the rifle and shot-pouch, completed the carpenter work.
"In the mean time masons were at work. With the heart pieces of the
timber of which the clapboards were made, they made billets for chunking
up the cracks between the logs of the cabin and chimney; a large bed of
mortar was made for daubing up these cracks; a few stones formed the
back and jambs of the chimney.
"The cabin being finished, the ceremony of house-warming took place,
before the young couple were permitted to move into it.
"The house-warming was a dance of a whole night's continuance, made up
of the relations of the bride and groom and their neighbors. On the day
following the young couple took possession of their new mansion."
[Footnote 50: Perkins. Peck.]