Daniel Boone: Daniel Boone * “Many heroic exploits and chivalrous adventures are related to me which exist only in the regions of fancy. With me the world has taken great liberties, and yet I have been but a common man. It is true that I have suffered many hard ships and miraculously escaped many perils, but others of my companions have experienced the same.”


Childhood: Childhood Daniel Boone was born November 2, 1734 in a log cabin in Berks County, near present-day Reading, Pennsylvania. In early life Daniel learned the skills of a woodsmen, for he had little formal education. By age twelve his sharp hunter’s eye and skill with a rifle helped keep his family well provided with wild game.


Marriage: Marriage Daniel Boone married Rebecca Bryan, daughter of Joseph Sr. and Alee Bryan, on 14 of August 1756 in Rowan County, North Carolina. Rebecca had dark eyes that made an immediate impression on those who met her. They met at William Bryan and Mary Boone wedding. Daniel and Rebecca were married in a triple wedding ceremony with two other couples. For a while the young couple lived in a house on the property of Squire Boone, before moving to a place of their own. James Bryan, one of Rebecca’s uncles, wife died having their sixth kid. So Daniel and Rebecca took all six kids and raised them in their home. David and Nathan were two of the kids. Rebecca finally died in 1813 having been very sick for nearly two weeks. She was buried on the farm David Bryan own and built his lob cabin.


Old Age: Old Age Daniel volunteered for duty in the War of 1812 but was turned down because of his age. He was 78 years old at the time but he was insulted by the rejection. He continued to explore and hunt as long as he lived, never content to sit or stay in one place too long. He hunted and trapped all over Missouri and west even into Nebraska, although he readily acknowledged that in his last 10 years his eyesight had been too poor for hunting. He used to say that he was “as naturally inclined each fall to go hunting and trapping as the farmer is in spring to set about putting in his crops.” As his age advanced he suffered from rheumatism and arthritis. There were times when he was unable to leave a warm fire and the comforts of home. He hated those times and when he was able he was always going off looking for beaver sign or deer track. This caused his family to worry about him so they assigned a young black boy to go with him and watch over him wherever he wandered. Daniel resented this but eventually gave into it. In the Fall of 1808 on a long trapping venture near Lexington, Missouri, the weather turned bad, wet and cold, and Daniel became ill. He gave his young traveling companion complete instructions on what he was to do in case he died. He pointed out a spot where he was to be buried between two trees and told him to be sure to cover the grave with lots of rocks and logs to keep the grave from being disturbed boy wild animals. This was something that had concerned him ever since his son, James, was killed by Indians and buried in the Kentucky wilderness near Cumberland Gap. He told the boy exactly what to take and what to leave behind, and that he was to return home and let the family know exactly where he was buried.


Revolutionary War: Revolutionary War Boone had numerous encounters with the native people of Kentucky during the Revolutionary War. In 1776, Shawnee warriors kidnapped his daughter and two other girls. Two days later Boone caught up with the Indians and through surprise attack rescued the girls. In 1778, he was captured by another band of Shawnee. Boone learned that the tribe was planning an attack on Boones borough. He negotiated a settlement with Chief Blackfish of the Shawnee, preventing the attack. The Indians admired their captive for his skill as a hunter and woodsman and adopted him into their tribe as a son of Blackfish. He escaped when he learned the Shawnee, at the instigation of the British, were planning another attach on Boones borough. The settlement was reinforced and provisioned in preparation for the assault. When British soldiers and the Indians attacked, Boones borough withstood a ten-day siege and Chief Blackfish and the British finally withdrew.


Respect for Indians: Respect for Indians *”I never delighted In shedding human blood.” and added that he “avoided it whenever I could.” * About killing Indians he said “I am very sorry to say that I have ever killed any, for they have always been kinder to me than the whites.”


Death of Daniel Boone: Death of Daniel Boone