Table of

e way for the settling of Tennessee very much as Boone did for Kentucky. The story of those days shows that he was o

Robe

ent from young George Washington's, for little James was born in a backwoods cabin, and his father and m

od. We can be sure, therefore, that James was the right sort of boy, and that he would have mastered books if he had been given the chance, just as he mast

es that met one's glance squarely. His frank, serious face, his quiet manner, and his coolness and d

ing into the wilderness. He was first of all a pioneer settler who was seeking rich farming lands with near-by spring

-away to the west. With no companion but his horse and no protection but his rifle, he slowly and patiently made his way through the track

ttlers from Virginia, who gave him a kindly welcome. He stayed l

y, he started back home. His faithful horse was his only companion. Some corn in

nts in Kentuck

the mountains became so steep and rough that his horse could not get across. Imagine his

t, and his powder became so wet that it was useless for shooting game. So almost his only f

ey gave him food and asked him to join them. Then, allowing him to take

another journey back through the wilderness. But, as we have said, he was not easily t

ntry he had seen that by spring sixteen families w

BACKWOOD

the people have at most only what they need. There are, of course, some rolls of bedding and clothing, a few cooking utensils, a few packages of salt and seed corn, and a flask or two of medicine. The pack-horse carries also the mother and perhaps a ver

piling it up in heaps ready for burning. The father and the elder sons, who are big enough to wield an axe, lose no

of the Ear

re put here and there; and of course there is a table to eat at. Places are quickly found for the water bucket, used to bring water from the stream, the g

g India

pack a wool blanket, but usually the chief covering on the bed

mostly of game. Instead of the pork and beef which are largely eaten in the e

kernels into meal, while for beating it into hominy they use a crude

n either baked in the ashes and called ash-cake or before the fire on a board and called johnny-cake. Corn-meal is also

ravy of the goose. Instead of coffee, they make a drink of

mily from attack. He must be skilful also in hiding, in moving noiselessly through the forests, and in imitating the notes and cal

etimes he lives for months in the woods with no food but meat and no shelter bu

xciting combat with wolves, panthers, or cougars, while prowling Indians

vider; the mother is the housekeeper, the cook, the weaver, and the tailor. Father and sons work out-of-doors with axe, hoe, and sickl

y barter. So each family collects all the furs it can, and once a year, after the harvest is gathered, loads them on pack-horses, whi

a journey. Sometimes they drive before them the

animal can carry but two bushels, salt is a highly prized article. Since it is so expensive and hard to get, it has to be used sparingly by the mount

he himself for the forest life he leads. And very fine do many stalwart figures appear in the fur cap and moccasins, the loose trousers, or simply leggings

y Pioneer

ettlements. Most boys and girls learn very little except reading and writing and very simple ciphering, or arithme

poor. And he is paid in a way that may seem strange to you. He receives very little in cash, and for the rest of his wages he "boards

, to shoot a rifle, and at twelve the little lad became a foot soldier. He knew from just which loophole he was to shoot if the Indians attacked the fort, and he took pride in becoming a good ma

N A BRAV

son and those who went out with him soon became accustomed. On their arrival at the W

. It had a log veranda in front, several rooms, a loft, and best of all, a huge fireplace made of sticks and stones laid in clay, in which a pile of bl

adership at this settlement, a restless craving for change and adventure stole over him, an

e Cumberland River, where Nashville now stands. Many bold settlers were ready

n. Robertson and eight other men, who made up the party, left the Watauga by the Wilderness Road through Cumberland Gap, crossi

aving three men to keep the buffaloes from eating the

s, dugouts, and canoes, a route supposed to be easier though much the longer of the two. Whether it was easier, we shall see. The other par

ved. Their roundabout route had taken them down the Tennessee River, then up the Ohio, and lastly up the Cumberland. The Indians in ambush on the river banks had at

otten, and with good heart, now that all were toget

of Indian hunters and warriors began to make life wretched for them all. There is no doubt that the red men did not like to have the settlers kill the game, or sc

, hunting game, or getting salt at the licks. They loved to lure on the unwary by imitating t

tlers had to scour the woods for food, living on nuts and game. By the time winter had set in, they

SAVES THE

a hearty welcome in the fort, where all were gathered. There was much to talk about, and they sat up till late into the night. All went to b

eling that enemies might be near. And he was right. For just outside the fort, prowling in the thick underbrush a

re very cautious, for a bright moon lights

rom the dark woods to the wall. There he crouches close, to be out of sight of the inmates of the fort. Anoth

done skilfully enough, but the chain clanks or the hinges creak. The wakeful Robertson springs quickl

the Indians flee through the gate to disappear into the leafy woods. But they have lost one man, whom Robertson has shot, and have killed or wound

ndly, for the English were no longer paying them for scalps. People, therefore, became less timid about crossing the mountains, and a large number

tlements, and for the wisdom and bravery with which he managed them. As a reward for his va

f-reliant, strong and fearless, he cheerfully faced the unending struggle with the hard conditions

ngs to T

tell of Rober

vellers on the way to Kentucky or Tenness

hing, shelter, and other conditions o

d the pioneer boy receiv

settlement at the place

ement from the Indians? Wh

g frequent us