Daniel Boone:The life of a frontiersman

By Julian Freedman

Family His grandfather came from England to

America in 1717. His father was a weaver and blacksmith and

he raised livestock in the country near Reading, Pennsylvania.

Birth Daniel was born on November 2nd ,1734

He was Sarah & Squire Boone's sixth child

Childhood He had little formal education But he learned the skills of a woodsman at a

early age By the age of 12 he was an expert marksman

and provided fresh game for his family.

Marriage In 1756 Boone married Rebecca Bryan, a

pioneer woman with great courage and patience.

He spent most of the next ten years hunting and farming to feed his family.

His First Journey In 1769 a trader and old friend, John Findley

visited Boone's cabin.

John was looking for an overland route to Kentucky and needed a skilled woodsman and rifle man to guide him.

So he picked Daniel Boone to lead him.

His First Journey Cont.

Boone, Findley and five men traveled along wilderness trails and through the Cumberland gap in the Appalachian

mountains into Kentucky.

His First Journey Cont. Boone vowed to return with his family one

day.

They found a "hunter's paradise" filled with buffalo, deer, wild turkey and meadows ideal for farming.

The Second Journey In 1775 Boone and 30 other woodsmen were

hired to improve the trails between the Carolinas and the west.

The resulting route reached into the center of Kentucky and became known as the "Wilderness Road."

The Second Journey cont. That same year Boone built a fort and village

called Boonesborough in Kentucky he moved his family over the Wilderness Trail to their “new home”

Native American Encounters Boone had many encounters with the Native

Americans living in Kentucky during the Revolutionary War.

In 1776 Shawnee warriors kidnapped his daughter and two other girls.

Native American Encounters cont. 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.

Living with the Indians Boone learned that the tribe was planning an

attack on Boonesborough while being kept prisoner by Chief Blackfish

He then made 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

The Attack He escaped when he learned the Shawnee and

the British, were planning another attach on Boonesborough.

The settlement was reinforced in preparation for the assault.

The Attack cont. When British soldiers and the Indians

attacked, Boonesborough withstood a ten-day siege.

Chief Blackfish and the British finally withdrew

“I have never been lost, but I will admit to being confused for several weeks.”

-Daniel Boone

Objective What state did Daniel Boone make a

fort/town in?

A. Kentucky

B. Kansas

C. Mexico

D. Jamaica