Contents ▼▲
Front Matter At Boonesborough Beginning of the Story Boone on the Yadkin Boone Moves his Family Ready for the Journey What we Wore Driving Cattle and Sheep Camping at Nightfall The Long Halt Jimmy Boone Goes to Clinch Murder of Jimmy Boone A Time of Mourning The Faint-hearted Return A New Home Making Moccasins Tanning Leather Governor Dunmore Our Home on the Clinch Household Duties Attacked by a Wildcat Fighting the Wildcat Boone and Father Return The Wilderness Road Building the Forts Boonesborough Gathering Salt Boonesborough Precautions Our Home in the Fort Ready for Cooking Furnishing the House The Hominy Block The Supply of Water Sports Inside the Fort Wrestling and Running Religion of the Indians Indian Babies Colonel Callaway Arives News from Eastern Colonies Venturing Outside the Fort Dividing the Land Who Owned Kentucky? Ready to Build a Home Billy's Hard Lot Preparing Flax Spinning and Soap Making Broom Making More Indian Murders Indian "Signs" Woodcraft and Hunting Pelts Used as Money Petition of the Settlers Making Sugar Building Fences Capture of the Girls My Willful Thoughts Finding the Trail The Pursuit The Story Told by Jemima Elizabeth's Heroism Rescuing the Girls Alarm Among the Settlers Indians on the Warpath The First Wedding The Wedding Festivities The Brides Home The Housewarming Attacks by the Indians Besieged by the Savages In the Midst of the Fight The Assault by the Indians Failure of the Assault Watchfulness of the Indians The Sortie My Father Wounded Our Wounded

Hannah of Kentucky - James Otis




Billy's Hard Lot

Poor Billy! Day after day, except when he was appointed by Colonel Boone to serve as one of the guards over the cattle, he was forced to go up the creek with father, working hard from early light until so late that often mother would blow the horn loudly, calling them home for fear lest the Indians near would take advantage of the gloaming to creep up on them.

"If I ever build a home for myself," Billy said to me one night when his arms were so stiff from labor that he could hardly raise the journey cake to his mouth, "If I ever build a home for myself it will be in a country where some other has cleared the land, for I have had enough grubbing and chopping and mauling of rails to serve me to the end of my life."

It pleased me when father praised Billy for being an industrious boy and I have heard him tell mother many a time that Billy could cut and split no less than seventy rails a day out of blue-ash wood; but of course when it came to hickory trees, thirty was a good day's stint, especially for so small a boy.

I was puzzled to know why father should keep splitting rails, if he was so eager to have the ground cleared before winter should come, but he said that he intended by the coming summer to have fenced in on his plantation a piece of land that should serve as pasture. It would not only be a saving of labor for us, but do away with the need of our venturing into the forest after the cattle.

[Illustration] from Hannah of Kentucky by James Otis

Twice while father was working upon his plantation Jemima and I went down to help burn the small branches of the trees. It was fine sport to make the big piles and then to see the flames streaming high into

Twice while father was working upon his plantation Jemima and I went down to help burn the small branches of the trees. It was fine sport to make the big piles and then to see the flames streaming high into the air, sending forth clouds of smoke in odd, dancing forms.

It is not to be supposed that while father and Billy were clearing the land, mother and I remained inside the stockade idle. Indeed we .had so much to do that, save when Jemima and I went to burn the brush, I do not believe I had at any time a full hour for pleasure with the other girls in the fort.