Daniel Boone (1950)

[Music] 150 years after the landing of the pilgrims at Plymouth Rock our first bold settlers crossed the natural barrier of the Appalachian Mountains they were led by frontiersmen whose names have become Legend one of these was Daniel Boon Daniel Boon's father was an English Quaker who settled in the Pennsylvania county of OI and Daniel his sixth son was born in 1734 friend Boon it has come to the attention of the meeting that the continue to see certain of thy family who have violated precepts of our order indeed thee did even open thy house to them quite true sir I am well aware that the Society of Friends has disowned not only my daughter Sarah but now my son Israel because they chose to marry nonone Quakers worldlings thee might wish to call them I still call them children is it the sense of the meeting that I shut the door of my house on them it is by Heaven I shall not then friend Boon we Face expulsion from the Society of friends then I shall leave o and seek a community less easily scandalized found their looms and land most profitable think of thy other children what say the Danel do he hear his words there are more looms and more lands I doubt if there are more Sarah and israels this land's Fair tired out anyway thus the Boon family moved to the western part of North Carolina on the yedin river to the frontier settlements known as The Back Country here the land was cheap and bountiful and the symbol of a man's ownership was a gay in this country he learned to clear the land and make it grow he learned to hunt in it with the friend he knew best his rifle old ticklicker Boon learned to defend the land too for to all settlers the bommy days following a cold snap meant the return of the Cherokee for one set of winter that was Indian summer when Daniel was 21 and the French and Indian war broke out he was one of the first volunteers to join major Do's North Carolina troops his work consisted of hauling supplies when General Brock's Army was ambushed at Turtle Creek Daniel escaped by cutting the traces from his horses and Galloping out of danger that night he met another Wagoner who had saved his skin a Traer called John Finley boy kenty is The Delectable land miles of Timber and grass land you don't even have to clear it's just lying there in back of the mountains nobody doing nothing with it how's the hunting no such thing as hunting there a man just sticks out his foot and Bam six deer and 14 Buffalo trip right over it the land do a land grow plant in the morning by afternoon you got your supper ready and shade trees to boot anybody settle there yet nope I think I might take a look at a land like that with the war over Daniel Boon returned to the yadin valley and tried to settle down ventured closer to the high wall of the alagan as if drawn by the magic word Kentucky but there was one thing which kept drawing him back to the Adin that was a girl Rebecca Brian Rebecca I never seen you tan hides I can Daniel very well grind corn yes T the fields you can't mold bullets why not just ask my brothers did you ever shoot a turkey uhhuh all women are scared of Indians I'm not if I have a [Music] gun and why did you do that Daniel oh just thought I'd find out if you were good natured they got married Daniel Boone managed to settle down and began to raise a family but the dream of Kentucky never left him he even went so far as to penetrate its borders yet the aftermath of every trip was the mockery of work a day [Music] tasks might you know of any Backcountry folk in need of needles pens ceiling wax or Linens John Finley I've been waiting to see you I sure could have used you last year that can ucky was nothing like what you told me you must have followed the wrong river Dan KY is the beautiful land son milk and honey and we'll talk about that later right now you look as if you could stand something to eat right here Dan right through this Gap Cumberland Gap yeah that's the pass all right enough but can I find it you can if I go with you you must have followed the Holston too far south D and the next time we'll take a little walk along French River I wouldn't be a bit surprised if it didn't come across the old Warriors Path maybe a few Warriors too maybe the Buffalo traces you'll stay out the window with us John judge Henderson might lend me another stake he's got western land fever too and then come may come May Daniel Boone and John Finley left for Kentucky Daniel's brother-in-law John Stewart Joseph Holden James Mooney and William cool accompanied them Kentucky was everything Finley had promised then Buffalo are near here if you want them Daniel oh we better be getting back to Station Camp with what we got I never seen such a place in 7even months I wager we got enough pelts to make us all rich feels good to be out of debt ah it's a funny place though in seven months never a sign of an Indian it's uh no man's land them they keep it for hunting and making War we'll see them yet there's more than just game down here I guarantee let's get going we got company [Music] John my name Captain bill you call wide mouth by my people you great hunter you sh sh white men save this land for to hunt white man not come you show us camp we take skins horses leave you food to go back in peace the shaes took everything and all but Boone and Stewart became discouraged and set out for home suddenly John Stewart disappeared for more than a year only an occasional visit from his brother Squire Boon broke Daniel's Solitude in March of 1771 Squire and he started home to the yedin moded down with pelts hello Daniel glad to see you how are you judge you've got yourself a man now Daniel and Jamie grew right up didn't he judge what's on your mind the Cherokee surprised Squire and me at Cumberland Gap a whole two years catch gone so about that money I owe you no don't mention it take all the time you need I came to tell you judge I visited the Cherokees again and they say they'll sell if the price is right now's the time judge this is our chance as I've told you before my associates and myself are not at present prepared to underwrite the Venture I'm sorry Daniel it'll wait judge Henderson we Boons are going to sell our farms and everything we can't carry Rebecca's folks the Bryants the five other families are convinced that kyy is a place and I'm going to take them there and you say it'll wait PA and me can take care of a lot of Indians PA and me and old tick licker you mean you wouldn't put your money on a young Boon judge my paw brought me to a better land when I was Jaime's age I aim to do as much for my boy the boons are too impatient and perhaps too brave and maybe too hungry you're too slow for my boy judge there'll be one White Settlement in Kentucky before you get ready James Boon's going to make it in September 1773 the small party began its move engines Master boom it was engines Master James didn't know we were so close to your Camp little Before Dawn they fired into us I run down to the river H and watch they take Master James to torture him with knives till he die Dan we can't go on son they murdered him they're on the war path we all be scouting our sleep let's go home Dan get a linen sheet send it to WAP his body in we couldn't defend ourselves now listen all you folk who want land takes more than walking and putting down a claim to get it it takes some fighting dying that was my son was killed but it won't bring him back to turn tail and run he wanted some of that Kentucky and I aim to get him [Music] some I'm saying we're for Kentucky I'm sorry Dan I'm for turning back agreed [Music] yes neither tragedy nor War Could Turn Back Daniel Boone he finally convinced judge Henderson to meet with the chiefs of the Cherokee Nation and to discuss the purchase of 20 million acres of land and the Transylvania company proposes to pay 10,000 pound in Goods to the Cherokee Nation for that country which lies between the Kentucky and Cumberland Rivers and the lands nearby watered by the Cumberland River and its tributaries henison you want by death I wish to buy the land its miseries and all my brother we give you a fine land but you will have much trouble in the living of it thus the Transylvania company purchased Kentucky Daniel Boon sted out the site of Boonsboro near a Salt Lake South of the Kentucky River here you got a par of land here Dan last August the company voted me 2,000 acres and I'm planning to claim myself a heap more I think I'll be buying some of this land if it ain't too expensive oh even since we've doubled the price it's cheap for the kind of land it is double the price why if the Colonials March again the English they're going to send black fish's boys right down on your neck double the price my company bought and paid for Transylvania we make the laws and set the prices who you think you are the king why you calling this place Transylvania still free Wilderness to me and I ain't paying no no taxes for it I paid for this land the law stands if it stays Transylvania Boon's prediction came true and when General Washington LED his Continental Army against the Red Coats Transylvania once more became Kentucky it was a strange war on the frontier not a red coat showed up just the shae who was paid to keep the settlers in constant trouble Colonel Daniel Boone led the defense of one the frontier's major outposts wboro under his leadership the small courageous band of settlers with stod the siege of April 1777 driving off the shauny Warriors of Chief Blackfish two Winters later however Boon and 27 other men were captured by the shaune Blackfish respected Boon greatly and adopted him for a son but when spring came and Boon learned of the Shaun's plan to march on Boonsboro he knew he had to escape there were 160 long miles to the fort he ran a race with time his feet burning body aching his stomach ringing Hollow he had to get to Boonsboro to warn them of Blackfish it took him 4 days to reach the stade Daniel Boon took command and rapidly prepared the small group of settlers for The Siege he new must come and Blackfish came with 400 Warriors The Siege went on for 9 days the longest sieg in Border [Music] [Applause] history Blackfish tried everything dug a tunnel Set Fire to the Fort victory was almost in his GR when the rains came put out the fire washed out the tunnel and Boonsboro was saved with the victory of Daniel Boone Kentucky had passed one of its gravest crises you mean none of this ground is ours Danel I guess I didn't understand the laws file our claim right we're in debt for the clothes on our back well where do now Dan figuring Ono someplace I heard you talking about the a the other day don't try to fool me that's great hunting country Rebecca a man could earn enough there to pay off his debts in 1799 at the age of 65 he moved to what is now Missouri the Spanish authorities gave him land and appointed him magistrate of the district late in Daniel Boon's life many important people came to see him at the home of his son Nathan and when he was 85 Chester Harding came to paint the portrait of the almost legendary old Colonel I had to talk myself blue in the face to get my Louisiana lands back some Congressman stood up and called me the man who' opened a way for millions and then they voted it back to me what they didn't know was while I was opening the way I was really trying to get away from them now hold still PA Mr Harding will never finish if you don't hold still Mr Harding what do you think of a bunch of sons that won't let their Old Pa go to California Colonel boom there's one thing I always wondered when you went on those long hunts and you didn't take a compass didn't you ever get lost I can't say as ever I was lost I sure was bewildered once for three days Daniel Boone was 86 years old when he died he was the wedge that opened the way a New Frontiers for America making it possible for others to follow