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




Driving Cattle and Sheep

Father decided to take with him two cows and five sheep; the other men had more or less live stock, all of which were to be driven in one herd, with us children to look after them. It was pretty hard work to keep the animals together after we came upon the mountains, where the road was just a narrow trail, or trace, as Mr. Boone calls it.

There were nine cows and twenty sheep, and only twelve children to drive them. From morning till night we ran into the thickets, first on this side and then on that, to keep them on the trail, climbing, climbing all the time, until it seemed to me now and then as if I could not take another step even though the whole herd were lost.

[Illustration] from Hannah of Kentucky by James Otis

Sometimes mother got down from the horse, and I took her place in the saddle. But Billy had no such chance to rest his legs nor would he have taken advantage of it no matter how weary, because he wished to show that he was already a hunter and trapper.

Jemima Boone declared that she wouldn't ride a horse while her mother walked, and during the first four days of the journey she followed the cattle until her dress was actually in rags, and she had lost her only sunbonnet into a stream that whirled it away before she had time to cry out.

I noticed that after the sunbonnet had gone she seemed to lose courage, although the trail was no more difficult than might have been expected, but from that time, I think, she rode as often as I did.