Life of Daniel Boone, The Great Western Hunter and Pioneer | Page 4

sort of a Quaker Daniel Boone himself was,
will be apparent in the course of our narrative.
Exeter, the native place of Daniel Boone, was at this period a small
frontier settlement, consisting of log-houses, surrounded with woods,
which abounded with game of various kinds and were occasionally
infested with hostile Indians. It is not surprising that Daniel, passing the
period of his boyhood in such a place, should have acquired at an early
age the accomplishments of a hunter and woodsman. From a mere child
it was his chief delight to roam in the woods, to observe the wild haunts
of Nature, and to pursue the wild animals which were then so abundant.
Of the boyhood of Daniel Boone, one of his biographers gives the
following account. Speaking of the residence of the family at Exeter, he
says:[4]
"Here they lived for ten years; and it was during this time that their son
Daniel began to show his passion for hunting. He was scarcely able to
carry a gun when he was shooting all the squirrels, raccoons, and even
wild-cats (it is said), that he could find in that region. As he grew older,
his courage increased, and then we find him amusing himself with
higher game. Other lads in the neighborhood were soon taught by him
the use of the rifle, and were then able to join him in his adventures. On
one occasion, they all started out for a hunt, and, after amusing
themselves till it was almost dark, were returning homeward, when
suddenly a wild cry was heard in the woods. The boys screamed out, 'A
panther! A panther!' and ran off as fast as they could. Boone stood

firmly, looking around for the animal. It was a panther indeed. His eye
lighted upon him just in the act of springing toward him: in an instant
he leveled his rifle, and shot him through the heart."
"But this sort of sport was not enough for him. He seemed resolved to
go away from men, and live in the forests with these animals. One
morning he started off as usual, with his rifle and dog. Night came on,
but Daniel did not return to his home. Another day and night passed
away, and still the boy did not make his appearance. His parents were
now greatly alarmed. The neighbors joined them in making search for
the lad. After wandering about a great while, they at length saw smoke
rising from a cabin in the distance. Upon reaching it, they found the
boy. The floor of the cabin was covered with the skins of such animals
as he had slain, and pieces of meat were roasting before the fire for his
supper. Here, at a distance of three miles from any settlement, he had
built his cabin of sods and branches, and sheltered himself in the
wilderness."
"It was while his father was living on the head-waters of the Schuylkill
that young Boone received so far as we know, all his education. Short
indeed were his schoolboy days. It happened that an Irish schoolmaster
strolled into the settlement, and, by the advice of Mr. Boone and other
parents, opened a school in the neighborhood. It was not then as it is
now. Good school-houses were not scattered over the land; nor were
schoolmasters always able to teach their pupils. The school-house
where the boys of this settlement went was a log-cabin, built in the
midst of the woods. The schoolmaster was a strange man; sometimes
good-humored, and then indulging the lads; sometimes surly and
ill-natured, and then beating them severely. It was his usual custom,
after hearing the first lessons of the morning, to allow the children to be
out for a half hour at play, during which time he strolled off to refresh
himself from his labors. He always walked in the same direction, and
the boys thought that after his return, when they were called in, he was
generally more cruel than ever. They were whipped more severely, and
oftentimes without any cause. They observed this, but did not know the
meaning of it One morning young Boone asked that he might go out,
and had scarcely left the school-room when he saw a squirrel running

over the trunk of a fallen tree. True to his nature, he instantly gave
chase, until at last the squirrel darted into a bower of vines and
branches. Boone thrust his hand in, and, to his surprise, laid hold of a
bottle of whiskey. This was in the direction of his master's morning
walks, and he thought now that he understood the secret of much of his
ill-nature. He returned to the school-room; but, when they were
dismissed for that day, he told some of the larger boys of his discovery.
Their