BOONE, DANIEL ( 1735-1820). A famous backwoodsman and pioneer. lie was born in Bucks County, Pa. About 1752 his family moved to Holman's Ford. on the Yadkin, in North Carolina. where Daniel Boone became re markably proficient as a hunter and trapper, and for a time. attended school. lie soon became res tive under the restraints of civilized society, and. fired by the tales of John Finley. a trapper who had visited the Kentucky River in 1752. entered the wilderness with five companions and spent two years (1769-71) roaming through the unknown forests. His companions were soon captured or killed by the Indians and he himself. together with a brother who had joined him in January, 1770, had many narrow escapes. ln 1773 he started for eastern Kentucky with five families besides his own, but was forced to turn back by an Indian attack, and in 1774 served on the frontier during Lord Dunmore's War. In 1775, as agent of a North Carolina company, he built a fort on the site of the present Boonesboro. Ky., whither, soon afterwards, he brought his family. This fort was twice attacked, in 1777, by a large force of Indians, who, however, failed to capture it. Early in 1778 Boone led a party -of 30 to the Lower Blue Licks on the Licking River to secure a supply of salt. Here. February 7, he was captured by a band of Indians, who, after taking him to Detroit. finally adopted him and allowed him such freedom that he managed to escape (June 16), and reached the fort at Boonesboro five days later, in time to help defend it (August S) against an Indian attack. (See
BOONESBORO.) He then went to North Carolina. but in 1780 returned, and in 1782 took a promi nent part in the 'Battle of Blue Licks.' He lost his Kentucky land through defective titles and moved, about 1790, to the Kanawha River. near Point Pleasant. Va.. where he lived until 1795, when he again moved, this time to the Femme Osage settlement, in Spanish territory. about 45 miles west of Saint Louis. From 1800 to 1804, under a commission from the Spanish authorities• he was commandant of the Femme Osage District. After the purchase of Louisiana by the United States he was again involved in litigation, and ultimately lost nearly all his Missouri land. Ile died, and was buried in Missouri, but in 1845 his remains were re interred near Frankfort, Ky. Boone has come to be regarded as the typical pioneer. He was bold and venturesome, insensible to fear, re markably skilled in woodcraft, a fine marksman, and a successful trapper. Personally, he was mild-mannered, quiet, and unassuming. An ac count of his life, based on his own relation, was written by Filson in 1784. The latest and best biography of Boone is that by R. G. Thwaites (New York, 1902). Consult also !Sparks's American Biography (New York, 1s56).