Boone: A Biography (67 page)

The shape of his head, the pale yellow and white of his hair and beard, the immeasurable meaning of his black eyes, the richness and breadth of his manners
,

These I used to go and visit him to see, he was wise also
,

He was six feet tall, he was over eighty years old, his sons were massive, clean, bearded, tan-faced, handsome
,

They and his daughters loved him, all who saw him loved him
,

They did not love him by allowance, they loved him with personal love
,

He drank water only, the blood show’d like scarlet through the clear-brown skin of his face
,

He was a frequent gunner and fisher, he sail’d his boat himself, he had a fine one presented to him by a shipjoiner, he had fowling-pieces presented to him by men that loved him

When he went with his five sons and many grand-sons to hunt or fish, you would pick him out as the most beautiful and vigorous of the gang
.

You would wish long and long to be with him, you would wish to sit by him in the boat that you might touch each other
.

Whitman had absorbed, either directly or indirectly, the portrait of Boone as an old man presented by Peck in 1847 in
Life of Daniel Boone
, surrounded by his admiring and affectionate family, hunting with his sons and grandsons and friends, still hunting and taking excursions in his boat.

The metaphor in Whitman’s poetry that resonates most colorfully with the Boone legend is that of the open road. In “Song of the Open Road,” published in the 1856 second edition of
Leaves of Grass
, Whitman evokes an image of freedom and wandering as a way of life as thrilling as Thoreau’s metaphor of walking. The open road is the way of beauty and freedom, a life of discovery and wonder, a path to the shining future, the Edenic west of brotherhood.

From this hour I ordain myself loos’d
of limits and imaginary lines
,

Going where I list, my own master total and absolute
,

Listening to others, considering well what they say
,

Pausing, searching, receiving, contemplating
,

Gently, but with undeniable will, divesting myself of the holds that would hold me
.

I inhale great draughts of space
.

The east and the west are mine, and the north and the south are mine
.

I am larger, better than I thought
,

I did not know I held so much goodness
.

It is interesting that Boone and Bartram and Whitman came from Quaker families. The spirit of patience and peacefulness of the Friends seems to have informed the lives and vision of all three. An essential part of Whitman’s message is patience.

The earth never tires
,

The earth is rude, silent, incomprehensible at first, Nature is rude and incomprehensible at first
,

Be not discouraged, keep on, there are divine things well envelop’d
,

I swear to you there are divine things more beautiful than words can tell
.

Later critics would point out the dangers of romantic illusions about self and country. Critics in the twentieth century would blame many failures and compromises in American culture on the extravagant visions of triumph and destiny that writers such as Whitman, and the heroic legends such as that of Daniel Boone, had inspired. The exuberance of Emerson and Whitman would do nothing to deflect the cataclysm of the Civil War. The cherished solitude of Boone and Thoreau in the natural world could not prevent the ruin of rivers and erosion of land, however glorious the aspirations and the individual insights and integrity.

In the Whitman of the 1850s we hear someone putting into words and lines the awe and reckless freedom Boone must have felt alone in the strange expanse of Kentucky in 1770. The awe and wonder have spread into the collective memory of the culture and been distilled as art decades later by Walt Whitman.

Allons! the road is before us
!

It is safe—I have tried it—my own feet have tried it well—be not detained!

As poet and prophet, Whitman appeals to the reader in the role of guide or scout. He will lead us on the open road through the wilderness to the West, the land of wonder. He is the poet of that assurance, the American ideal, a Daniel Boone, blazing a path to the sunset, over gaps and through swamps and meadows and canebrakes, to the possibilities of our future. He is the definitive American poet of the nineteenth century because he expresses that essence of America’s myth of itself, the epitome of its aspirations, embodied almost a century before in the life and legend of Daniel Boone.

F
IRST I MUST
express my indebtedness to my friends in Kentucky. Neal O. Hammon served as guide at many sites, including Boonesborough, Bryan’s Station, Boone’s Station, and Big Bone Lick. From the beginning he shared both his erudition and his considerable collection of documents about Boone and the history of Kentucky. Richard Taylor lent me books from his personal library, gave me a tour of historic Frankfort, and provided me with hours of informative conversation. It was Richard who started me thinking of writing about Boone on a tour of the Kentucky River almost thirty years ago. Nancy O’Malley also gave me the benefit of her expertise in conversations at such sites as Boone’s Station, Marble Creek, Brushy Creek, and Maysville. Julian Campbell helped fill in some of the gaps in my knowledge of the historical ecology of the Bluegrass region. George Brosi offered advice and encouragement at a crucial time. Jonathan Greene and Dobree Adams always welcomed me to Frankfort and Riverbend Farm and provided introductions to Kentucky history and historians.

My friend Loyal Jones of Berea introduced me to several themes in Kentucky history and pointed me in the direction I would need to go. Jay Buckner and Tim Jordan of Berea College Public Relations Office provided me with a copy of the Boone portrait in the Boone Tavern. Bill Cooke of the Kentucky Horse Park informed me of the prevalence of the quarter horse in early Kentucky history, and Dr. Phil
Sponenburg explained the importance of Spanish and Indian horses in the period of settlement.

Kathryn Weiss shared her passion and scholarship about the Bryan family history with me and prevented me from making a number of mistakes about Rebecca Boone’s ancestors. Ken Kamper of the Boone Society guided me through Nathan’s house on Femme Osage Creek and gave me a wealth of information about Boone’s life in Missouri.

I have been especially fortunate in the help I have received from archivists and librarians. Robert Anthony and his staff at the North Carolina Collection of the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from the beginning of this project found relevant documents, opened the Henderson Papers for my inspection, and provided copies whenever I needed them. William Marshall of the University of Kentucky library archives came to my rescue when I was looking for a particular letter, as did Vaughn Stanley and Lisa McCown of the Leyburn Library at Washington and Lee University. James J. Holmberg and his staff at the Filson Historical Society welcomed me to their collection and found the files I needed to consult. Mary Winters, Lynn Hollingsworth, Bill Morris, and Jim Kastner of the Kentucky Historical Society in Frankfort again and again offered me their help in locating documents in the Boone Family biographical files. The staff of the Kentucky State Archives in Frankfort found files of the
Kentucky Gazette
for me to explore. Mrs. Jane Brown of the Montgomery County Museum in Christiansburg, Virginia, provided a copy of the original arrest warrant for Daniel Boone issued there. The staff of the Wilderness Road Museum in Newbern, Virginia, gave me a tour of their historic buildings and provided much information about that section of the Great Wagon Road.

At Cornell University Peter Hirtle of Olin Library ordered a copy of the Spraker Boone Family Genealogy for my use. Robin Messing and the staff of the microfilm library again and again came to my rescue as I inched my way through films of the Draper Manuscripts. The staff of the Kroch Rare Books Room found volume after volume I needed
to consult. The Olin Interlibrary Loan staff borrowed books and microfilms many times for my use. I would like to especially thank Sarah Thomas, former Cornell University librarian, for helping to make so many materials available to me, and Nicole Margirier for locating an elusive illustration.

I also owe a debt of gratitude to the staff of the Missouri Historical Society in St. Louis and to my daughter Laurel and her husband, Kevin Riebs, for showing me around the Boone sites in St. Charles County, Missouri. Daniel Meyer, Julia Gardner, and the staff of Special Collections of the Regenstein Library at the University of Chicago were unstintingly gracious and helpful in guiding me through the Durrett Collection there. I have also greatly benefited from the services of the Furman University library, the Duke University library, and the East Carolina University library. I would also like to thank Larry Odzack and the staff of the North Carolina State Archives in Raleigh for helping me locate court records from colonial Rowan County.

Many individuals have been of special help in providing information and encouragement throughout this project: Joseph Flora, my first professor of English at UNC–Chapel Hill; Cece Conway of Appalachian State University; John and Suzanne Canfield of Winnetka, Illinois; Park Lochlair; Pat and Resa Bizarro; Josh Beckworth at Appalachian State University; former chancellor Frank Borkowski of Appalachian State University; Sandra Ballard of Appalachian State University; and Tense Banks of Linville Falls. Randell Jones, author of
In the Footsteps of Daniel Boone
, provided much crucial information and enthusiasm for this biography. Ted Franklin Belue gave me the benefit of his considerable scholarship concerning Kentucky and Native American cultures.

At Cornell University my colleagues Jonathan Culler, Molly Hite, Marianne Marsh, and Laura Brown provided travel funds that enabled me to visit a number of archives and historical sites. Robin Doxtater helped sort out those accounts as well as my eccentric recordkeeping.

The staff at the Boone Birthplace in Oley, Pennsylvania, shared
their expertise on a cold rainy day in October. I would also like to thank those who have generously read portions or all of the manuscript and helped me correct many mistakes: Neal O. Hammon, Nancy O’Malley, Ted Franklin Belue, and Stephen Aron. Any mistakes remaining are, of course, my own responsibility. Ted Arnold of the Cornell Store again and again located and acquired the books I needed, both old and new.

I owe a great debt to my agent, Liz Darhansoff, for encouraging and making this project possible, to my outstanding editor Shannon Ravenel for guiding me through the long process of writing and editing, and Elisabeth Scharlatt and her staff at Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill for ensuring that this study of Boone would reach the reading public. I would like to thank Anne Winslow for her memorable work as a designer, and Brunson Hoole, managing editor of Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, for an exemplary job of coordinating all the editorial efforts involved in the project. I am fortunate indeed to have been led through the editorial maze by Jude Grant.

My son, Benjamin, generously provided digital copies of several illustrations and photographed the Squire and Sarah Boone tombstone in Mocksville, North Carolina. I owe much gratitude to my wife, Nancy, for her sharp editorial eye, advice, and patience throughout a long and challenging project.

Throughout the notes, DM refers to the Draper Manuscripts, State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison.

Introduction

 xi
“
He never delighted in shedding human blood
” John Mason Peck,
Life of Daniel Boone
, 189.

 xi
“
All history resolves itself very easily
” Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Self-Reliance,” in
Emerson’s Prose and Poetry
, 126.

 xii
“
For me, the most striking
” Nelson L. Dawson, “Introduction,” 6.

xiii
Only recently have we
Maurice Manning,
A Companion for Owls
, 127–28.

xiii
“
Such productions ought to be left
” Lyman Copeland Draper interview with Joseph Scholl, 1868, DM24S218.

xiii
“
My eyesight is too far gone
” Peck, 4.

xiv
Flint is supposed to have answered
John Mack Faragher,
Daniel Boone
, 323.

xiv
“
more elbow room
” Timothy Flint,
Biographical Memoir of Daniel Boone
, 178.

xiv
“
No one will say, when I am gone
” Peck, 174.

 xv
“
I am a small bit of a fellow
” Draper to William Martin c. 1842, quoted in William B. Hesseltine,
Pioneer Mission
, 41.

xix
“
I am no Statesman
” John Bakeless,
Daniel Boone
, 349.

 xx
“
They may say what they please
” Lyman Copeland Draper,
The Life of Daniel Boone
, 524.

One: The Mother World of the Forest

3
“
I am constrained to make mention
” John James Van Noppen and Ina Woestemeyer Van Noppen,
Daniel Boone Backwoodsman
, 36.

5
“
the roughest and rudest of all
” Quoted in Wynford Vaughn-Thomas,
A History of Wales
, 22.

5
Morgan, had called himself Pelagius
Margaret Drabble, ed.,
The Oxford Companion to English Literature
, 750.

6
certificate “of his orderly and good conversation
” Hazel Atterbury Spraker,
The Boone Family
, 590.

6
“
forwardship in giving his consent
” Spraker, 591.