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




Setting out for Boonesborough

Do you suppose we were long in making ready for the journey after father and Colonel Boone told us they had come to take both families into Kentucky? We children worked as we never had worked before in order that no time might be lost. It was about the first of September, 1775, when we set out, driving the cattle and sheep before us as we had done when leaving the Yadkin.

The second day's march ended at Powell's Valley, where we found Hugh McGarry, Richard Hogan, and Thomas Denton, with their wives and children, awaiting our coming that they might go with us over into what we believed to be the Land of Promise. There were thirty men, five women, and many children in the company when, after one day's rest, we pushed onward toward Cumberland Gap.

Now we had a drove of cattle indeed, and it was well for us that we were supplied with moccasins and shoe-packs, for running to and fro in search of the sheep, and striving to keep the cattle in an orderly line, was hard upon the feet.

After crossing Buffalo Creek, we arrived at Flat Lick, where we made a halt of two days that the men might get a larger store of meat before coming to a country where it was believed the savages would be troublesome.