A History of the Daniel Boone National Forest 1770 - 1970

Leaving the others to complete the task of establishing the base camp, Boone immediately started exploring the surrounding country. He reached the summit of Big Hill on the divide between the Rockcastle and Kentucky rivers and, looking out across the rich, level, game-filled, beautiful land of the outer Bluegrass, he knew that this was the land he had come so far to find. John Findley was sure that they had reached the general area of Es-kip-pa-kith-i-ki where he had formerly traded. He now set off alone for a more intensive reconnaissance of the country to pick up familiar landmarks. He soon returned with the news that he had located the Shawnee Indian village, unoccupied and the huts burned, but with the stockade and gateposts still intact. Findley was now sure of his location. Pleased with the news, Boone and Stewart returned with Findley to the village of which they had heard so much. Boone and Findley then left Station Camp on a wider tour of exploration. Findley became ill, but since the illness appeared temporary, Boone left him with food and shelter and pushed on into the country north of the Kentucky River, again viewing the outer Bluegrass from a high hill near the Red River, probably Pilot Knob. He was well pleased with the country, the abundant game, the many clear streams and the continued absence of Indians.

Some years later, he described this situation to Filson, "We found every where abundance of wild beasts of all sorts, through this vast forest. The buffalo were more frequent than I have seen cattle in settlements, browsing on the leaves of the cane or cropping 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."

On Boone's return to where he had left Findley, he found him recovered sufficiently to travel and, together, they explored the Elkhorn Valley before returning to Station Camp. By this time Boone was probably convinced that this was the country suitable for Judge Henderson's plan of colonization.

Following this tour of exploration, the shelters and other facilities of the base camp being well established, the entire party began the work of hunting and trapping in earnest and bringing their furs and skins to Station Camp periodically for storage. During this period it is not unlikely that Boone or members of his party encountered members of the John Swift silver mine Party working out of their base camp on the Red River (the Boone Hut). As yet, there was still no Indian "sign," although this hunting party had been careless enough to establish their permanent camp in close proximity to the Warrior's Path on which Indian war parties or hunting groups passing through the country would be certain to travel. Future events proved this to be the case.

On December 22, 1769, Boone and Stewart were following a buffalo trace through a cane break and, when crossing a low hill near the Kentucky River, they were suddenly surrounded by a mounted party of Shawnees returning from a hunting trip in the Green River country to their home north of the Ohio. As the Indians came bursting out of the cane break, the two hunters were taken wholly by surprise and were seized without a chance to resist. They were ordered to guide the Indians to their various camps, tomahawks suggestively raised emphasized what would happen if the hunters failed to comply.

At the first camp visited, one of the camp keepers was almost surprised, but Boone contrived a warning and he escaped into the woods while the Indians were busy gathering up their plunder. Warned by this camp keeper, the others managed to conceal themselves so effectively that the Shawnees never realized how many white men there were in the party. Since the stores of fur and skins in the outlying camps were small, Boone and Stewart hoped that the camp keepers and Findley would have the main store of skins at Station Camp as well as the horses and equipment removed and well concealed before Boone and the Indians arrived there. To the dismay of Boone and Stewart, when the Indians arrived at Station Camp the entire store of skins and furs which the six men had worked seven months to accumulate were still there, as well as all of the horses, camp equipment and other gear.

In relating this story to John Filson several years later, Boone remarked, "The time of our sorrow was now arrived." He and his group had staked everything they had in the world on this trip. To see all the profits and property vanishing in the hands of these Shawnee was almost beyond human endurance.

When the Indians had appropriated everything of value at Station Camp, including horses, rifles and ammunition, they continued on their trip toward the Ohio taking their two captives with them. The attitude of the Indians in this affair was that this was their land and that the game belonged to them. Therefore, they considered the skins and furs accumulated by these intruders as their property, and the horses and equipment of the white men "fair game" as a penalty for intruding on the Indians' lands. John Bakeless, in his book, Daniel Boone, tells us that, "A sociologically inclined Shawnee later explained to a white friend that the game was the Indians' cattle, and killing it was downright theft." After a few days, Boone and Stewart were released unhurt. They were even provided with moccasins, a doeskin for patch leather, a small "trading gun," and enough powder and shot to kill food for themselves on the way to the settlements. They were told that they might go this time but, if they again tried to hunt in Kentucky, they might expect the worst. The Indians had dealt with Boone and Stewart as they usually dealt with poachers on their hunting grounds when they desired to be lenient. These Indians wished to impress upon these two white men that they wanted them to get out of Kentucky and to stay out. The two hunters shook hands with the Indians and departed.

Boone and Stewart, who were furious at the Shawnee because of their losses, had no intention of giving up. Following the Shawnee until they had made camp, they were successful in recovering four or five of their horses and getting away undiscovered. The two rode all night, putting many miles between themselves and the Indians. At daylight, feeling that they had made good their escape, they paused to rest and feed the horses. Almost without warning, they were surrounded. Surprisingly enough, the Indians did not appear resentful over the theft of the horses. In fact, they seemed to be amused. They tied one of the horse bells around Boone's neck and forced him to scamper about in imitation of a horse for the entertainment of all, mean while grunting, "Steal hoss, ha?"

The Indians again started off to the north toward the Ohio River, again taking both white men with them, but informing them that they would release them as soon as the band had crossed the Ohio River and the horses would be safe from further attempts at recapture.

Boone and Stewart appeared to agree with the decision of the chief, and appeared to willingly accompany the Indians north towards the Ohio River. As the Indians were making camp near a large area of thick cane, Boone and Stewart escaped into the cane and lay quiet. Although the Indians searched the cane without finding them, they finally gave up and continued their camp chores. During the night, Boone and Stewart crawled quietly out of the cane, and hurried back in the direction of Station Camp. Arriving there, they found it had been abandoned by Findley and the three camp helpers who had given Boone and Stewart up for lost and started on the way back toward the settlements. Traveling as rapidly as they could on foot, Boone and Stewart soon overtook them. In the discussion that followed, it was clear that Findley and the three helpers had had enough of Kentucky. They were determined to return to the settlements. Boone and Stewart, alone and without food or arms, decided that they would stay in Kentucky on the chance that they could link up with Daniel's brother, Squire, who had agreed to follow them about this time of year. After shaking hands all around, Findley led the three helpers back down the trail to the settlements, and here he leaves the pages of history to be heard from no more. Whether he was killed by Indians or whether he traveled other parts of the country on his trading venture, no one appears to know.

A few days after the departure of Findley and the camp helpers, Boone and Stewart made contact with Boone's brother, Squire, who had agreed the previous spring to join the party that fall. He brought with him Alexander Neeley, as well as horses, traps and ammunition. The Kentucky exploration party was in business again.

Deciding that Station Camp was too close to the Warrior's Path, they moved their base camp to a location near the junction of the Red River with the Kentucky on a small stream which they later named the Lulbegrud Creek. The naming of this creek came about in this manner. Among the items brought from the settlement by Squire Boone was a copy of the book, Gulliver's Travels. After establishing camp on this small creek near the mouth of the Red River, one of the party was reading aloud about the inhabitants of some mythical land whose town was known as Lulbegrud. At this point, Indians were observed approaching, and the hunters took to cover driving them off. As they settled down again around the campfire, Neeley remarked, "We have disposed of the Lulbegruds." This remark seemed to strike the fancy of the other two hunters, and it was agreed that this creek on which they were camped would be named Lulbegrud Creek, and was so posted on their map. This creek, which runs under the Mountain Parkway a few miles east of Winchester, Kentucky, is still known as Lulbegurd Creek.

As winter advanced, the three frontiersmen settled down to the business of trapping. Initially, they worked in pairs for safety's sake; but, as no more Indians were encountered, they decided to work singly in order to cover more of the trapping territory. It had been normal practice for Boone and Stewart to work together, but they had decided to separate meeting every two weeks at one of the outlying camps. Stewart crossed to the south side of the Kentucky River in a small canoe that they had built. He was never seen again. For awhile, his failure to return did not alarm the other three, particularly since the river was high with the recent rain and the crossing was difficult. But when the water subsided and Stewart, who was normally most punctual in fulfilling agreements with Boone, still failed to return, Boone went in search for him. He ranged the country over a wide territory, during which he found signs of Stewart's trail, he found a recent fire, and he found Stewart's initials carved in a tree, but he could not find Stewart. Five years later, when Daniel Boone was supervising the cutting and marking of the Boone Trace from Cumberland Gap to Fort Boonesborough, one of his men found a skeleton in a hollow sycamore tree where the Trace crossed the Rockcastle River many miles from the territory where signs of Stewart were last seen. There was no sign of a rifle, but the powderhorn which lay with the skeleton had a brass band with Stewart's initials; and, by this, Boone recognized the remains of his hunting companion. The left arm of the skeleton was broken, and the bones still bore the discoloration of a bullet, but the skull showed no signs of a scalping knife, and the skeleton no traces of other injuries. What happened to Stewart, no one will ever know. Was it Indians? Was it an accident of some kind? There was no indication of the cause of death. Stewart may have been mortally wounded by the Shawnees and dragged himself to cover in the hollow sycamore where he died silently and alone. Stewart had been an experienced and skilled woodsman. Had the wound only broken an arm, he would probably have been able to reach the Kentucky River where Boone and his companions could have found him. Many years after the skeleton was found, a hunter found an abandoned trap line in the woods. Was it Stewart's? No one will ever know.

The loss of Stewart in this great wilderness had a sobering effect on the remaining three. Alexander Neeley had had enough. Although violent death was common, the mysterious disappearance of a member of the little party struck home. Neeley announced he was going home and immediately started for the settlement, leaving the Boones entirely alone. After the disappearance of Stewart and the departure of Neeley, the Boones took added precautions. They did their cooking at night in a sheltered place so that the flame could not be seen, and the smoke would not indicate their location. Upon returning to their various camps, they approached them carefully, from a different direction each time, wading part of the distance in a stream, where possible, to conceal their tracks, and walking on rock outcrops or fallen tree trunks to leave no trace of their trail. At their outlying campsites, Daniel told a friend many years later, it was a common practice to cook their evening meal at the edge of a large patch of cane. As darkness approached, they would take their blankets back into the dense cane a considerable distance to spend the night. Here, it would be difficult for the Indians to find them, and they would be able to hear any Indians searching for them long before they were found. Here, in the wilderness, life was perilous, but the unlimited freedom in the seemingly endless forest and meadowland of Kentucky more than compensated these two brothers for the dangers which they faced.

By May of 1770, approximately a year since Daniel Boone and his companions set off from the Boone cabin on the Yadkin in North Carolina, Squire and Daniel had accumulated a full load of hides and furs for their pack horses. In addition, their ammunition was running low and it was decided that Squire would return to the settlements with the loaded pack horses, sell their skins and return with more horses and a new store of supplies, ammunition and traps. Daniel decided he would remain in Kentucky until Squire returned.

As Squire Boone moved off down the trail, he left behind him his brother, Daniel, alone in the silence of the vast forest, with only his rifle and a limited supply of ammunition. As Boone later told John Filson, he was left by himself, "Without bread, salt or sugar, and without the company of even a horse or a dog. I confess, I never before was under greater necessity of exercising philosophy and fortitude."

The fact that Daniel Boone elected to remain in Kentucky alone for the extended period required for Squire to reach the settlement and return further strengthens the theory that Boone came to Kentucky with the primary mission of wide exploration of the country, to determine its suitability for the scheme of Judge Henderson.

With the departure of Squire, Daniel set off immediately on his tour of exploration. He traveled as far north as the Ohio River and as far west as the Falls of the Ohio, where the city of Louisville, Kentucky, is now located. He became thoroughly acquainted with the valleys of the Licking and the Kentucky. This was the life Boone had always dreamed of. The unlimited forest, abundant game, freedom from the restraints of family and the settlements, freedom from taxes and from undesirable neighbors. Here, the world was his.

During his travels through extensive limestone country, Boone located many caves of which he made mental note for future use. In time of storm or heat of summer, he frequently took shelter in one of them. He is reported to have lived in one cave in Mercer County and nearby he left his characteristic mark, the initials "D. B. — 1770." Using this cave as a base camp, he explored Dick's River.

By the time he met his brother Squire by appointment on July 27, 1770 at their old base camp, Daniel Boone knew a large portion of the eastern half of Kentucky better than any white man. It is interesting to note that much of the area explored by him during this period is now included within the Daniel Boone National Forest.

Squire Boone had traveled to the settlements, sold their pelts, paid off their debts, provided for both families, and brought back fresh horses and supplies. The two hunters moved down the Kentucky River settling initially in a cave near the mouth of Marble Creek, later moving to another cave on Hickman Creek, both within what is now Jessamine County, directly south of the present site of the city of Lexington, Kentucky. It was at this camp that they encountered difficulty with wolves. At one time a wolf, raiding their camp, carried away Daniel's hat. Despite the common impression that all frontiersmen wore coonskin caps, it is well documented that Daniel Boone disliked the coonskin cap, and always insisted on wearing a hat when one was available. Not only was the coonskin cap hot in summer, but it provided no shade for the eyes in bright sunlight or protection for the face in a rainstorm. Apparently, Daniel Boone felt that a coonskin cap was adequate only when a good felt hat was not available. In this case, it is quite probable that Daniel did not carry a spare hat with him, and the loss of his hat would be a great inconvenience. However, in this case, a hasty but well placed shot from his trusty tick-licker killed the wolf and saved the treasured hat. There has always been much speculation as the the basis of the name, tick-licker, which Daniel gave his favorite rifle. One version is that a frontiersman asked Daniel if his rifle was accurate. Daniel replied that with it he could, "Kill a deer quicker than a bear could lick a tick." From that time on, that particular rifle was known throughout the frontier as old tick licker.

As fall approached, Squire Boone again took the store of skins and furs on his pack horses and delivered them to the settlement, Daniel electing to stay in Kentucky and continue his explorations alone. On Squire's return, the two moved southward to the valley of the Green and the Cumberland rivers. While this move may have been motivated by the desire to secure fresh hunting territory, the abundance of game would hardly make this logical. Again, it appears that Daniel Boone was extending his explorations of various parts of Kentucky in preparation for his report to Judge Henderson when he returned to North Carolina.

During this period, Boone appears to have been most happy and contented, despite his long separation from his family and from the settlements. A famous legend told of Boone relates that another party of Long Hunters reached the Green River at the same time. One day they were alarmed by a strange sound in the forest near them. Even though they were veteran woodsmen, they admitted that they had never heard anything that remotely resembled such a sound. Grasping their long rifles and moving as silently as possible, they moved to investigate this sound which came steadily from a single location. Believing this might be some kind of Indian decoy, they moved with extreme caution. Moving silently from the cover of one tree to another, they came upon Daniel Boone lying flat on his back on a deer skin and singing cheerfully to himself at the top of his voice.

Daniel and Squire continued their hunting and their exploration through the fall of 1770; and, by March 1771, their store of pelts and skins had reached the limit that their pack horses could carry. In that month, they started for the settlements and their homes on the Yadkin.

By May they had passed through Cumberland Gap and had reached Powells Valley and the first settlement. At Powells Valley, they met their former companion, Alexander Neeley, who had made his way safely to the settlement. Coming out with another hunting party, he had become lost in the woods. He was without food or ammunition. After caring for Neeley, the three proceeded toward the settlements. As they camped for the night, they were suddenly surrounded by a band of Indians who took from them their skins, their horses, their rifles, and all their equipment. When the hunters remonstrated, the Indians threatened them with tomahawks and moved off. Hurrying to the nearest settlement, they secured arms and aid and gave chase; but, as they followed the trail of the robbers, they noted the trail of other Indian bands joining them, until they had been reinforced in far greater numbers than the pursuers. Despite this difference in numbers, the settlers continued to follow the trail of the Indians until one thoughtless settler impulsively fired his rifle at a deer, thus warning the Indians of the pursuit. The settlers immediately turned back, and it was fortunate that they did, for they learned later that an overwhelming force of Indians had been lying in wait for them only a short distance ahead, and the incautious shot at the deer had saved them from running into an ambush and probably a bloody massacre.

Daniel and Squire Boone returned to their homes on the Yadkin, arriving there a little over two years after that famous start for the wilderness of Kentucky on May 1, 1769. They arrived home with little other than the rifles and clothes on their backs and the two loads of skins Squire had brought back to show for two years of work in the wilderness.

At last, Daniel Boone had realized his life's ambition. He had explored Kentucky, he had seen the land of which he had dreamed so long, and he liked it. Here was a land where a man could live free of the trappings of civilization. It is a certainty that, at this point, he definitely planned to return to Kentucky, someway, someday.