The daring courage of Daniel Boone, the father of
Kentucky, has frequently been eulogized. It was cer-
tainly a great display of hardihood for him to venture
alone in the forests of " the dark and bloody ground,'*
where he was surrounded by swarms of vigilant sa-
vages. It seemed like running into the very jaws of
death? The manner in which he surmounted all perils
and hardships is also worthy of admiration. As bold
as he was, no man was possessed of more caution and
prudence, and had Kentucky pioneers always sub-
mitted to his judicious counsel, many terrible disasters
might have been avoided. But whatever praise we
concede to Boone, we must remember that his wife
and daughters also deserve our eulogy. He was a
bold and skilful Indian fighter, and accustomed to
scenes of danger '&nd death. They belonged to what
is commonly called a " weaker sex," were unaccus-
tomed to the wilderness, and to the constant alarms
of savage warfare ; yet they ventured to accompany
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WIFE AND DAUGHTERS OF DANIEL BOONE, 27

the pioneer far into the forest, hundred of miles from
the settlements, with protectors insigniiScantly weak
in comparison with the vast numhers of savages who
were known to visit the hunting-grounds of Kentucky.
By tho journey aJone, they proved themselves to
possess unusual hardihood.
After his first long hunting expedition in Kentucky,
Daniel Boone returned to North Carolina with the
determination to sell his farm, and remove, with his
family, to the wilderness.
