Katharine Elliott Wilkie

“ Boone had talked to the Indians about the idea and thought they would sell the land. Many Indian tribes hunted in Kentucky, but the Cherokees were the most important. They had conquered the other tribes and ruled the land. Henderson sent Boone to ask the Cherokees to meet him at Sycamore Shoals in what is now Tennessee.
Twelve hundred Indian men, women, and children came to the meeting place. Henderson had all his trading goods spread out. ”

“ But they did see rich green meadows, which stretched ahead for miles. Silver rivers wound like ribbons through them. In some places there were low rolling hills and in others great towering mountains. ”

“ They met every two weeks. One week Boone's brother-in-law did not return to camp. He never did come back. Five years later a skeleton with a powder horn beside it was found in a hollow tree. Perhaps he was wounded by an Indian. No one really knows what happened to him.
Neeley was scared. He decided to go home alone. But Daniel and Squire stayed on all winter and spring. They hunted and trapped until they had a lot of skins. Then Squire went home to sell the skins and buy more gunpowder and traps.
Daniel stayed on in the wilderness. He did not mind being alone. ”

“ Finley told Boone. "It is a wonderful place. The forests go on and on and on. There are thousands of buffalo in Kentucky. There are deer, bear and small animals, too. It is a great land for hunters."
"I want to go there," Daniel said.
"There are Indians in the wilderness," Finley told Daniel. "They live to the north of Kentucky and to the south of Kentucky. They call the land their hunting ground. They do not like the white men to go there."
"There should be room enough for both Indians and white men," Daniel Boone replied. He thought for a while. "Some day I am going to Kentucky." ”

“ Too many white men were coming west. Indians wanted to keep their hunting grounds for themselves. Daniel Boone and another man went into Kentucky to warn the surveyors who were measuring land there. Nearly all of them escaped safely. For a time, the Indians stopped fighting and Kentucky was peaceful again.
The Wilderness Road
Now a rich man named Richard Henderson had a big idea. He would try to buy Kentucky from the Indians for himself and start another colony. His own company would sell land to settlers. Henderson was Daniel's friend. ”

“ There are too many houses and too many people. And the game is getting scarce."
Father Boone made ready for the journey. He got out the big wagon and hitched two horses to it. Mother Boone packed clothes, quilts, dishes, pots, pans, and kettles. She would fix food for the family along the way. Daniel tied a cow behind the wagon.
The family said good-by to the neighbors and to their old home, and started. Mother, the girls, and the little children rode in the wagon. Father and the boys took turns riding the horses. Sometimes all of the Boones walked so that the horses could rest. ”