arles county.

Here everything pleased Boone. The country, as you know, was then in the
possession of the French and Spanish, and the old laws by which their
territories were governed were still in force there. They had no
constitution, no king, no legislature, no judges, lawyers, or sheriffs.
An officer called the commandant, and the priests, exercised all the
authority that was needed. The horses, cattle, flocks, and herds of these
people all grazed together upon the same commons; in fact, they were
living here almost in primitive simplicity. Boone's character for honesty
and courage soon became known among them, and he was appointed by the
Spanish commandant the commandant over the district of St. Charles.

Boone now had the satisfaction of settling all his children comfortably
around him, and in the unbroken wilderness his hunting and trapping was
unmolested. In his office of commandant he gave great satisfaction to
every one, and continued to occupy it until Missouri was purchased by our
government from the French. When that purchase was made, American
enterprise soon came upon him again--he was once more crowded by his
fellow-men. His old office of commandant was soon merged in the new order
of things--his hunting-grounds were invaded by others. Nothing remained
for him now, but to submit to his fate; he was too old to move again, nor
indeed did he know where to go. He continued his old habits, as well he
might. He would start out with his rifle, now marked with a paper sight
to guide his dim eye, and be absent from his home for weeks. Nearly
eighty years had passed over him, yet he would lie in wait near the
salt-licks, and bring down his buffalo or his deer, and as bravely and
cheerily as in his younger days, would he cut down bee-trees. As the
light-hearted Frenchmen swept up the river in their fleets of periogues
on their hunting excursions, Boone would cheer them as they passed, and
sigh for his younger days that he might join their parties. He was a
complete Nimrod, now almost worn out.

It was while he was living here, I think, that he was met by that very
interesting man, Mr. Audubon, the natural historian of our continent. He
was struck with the man, and has given the story of his interview with
Boone. It is so illustrative of the character of the hunter, that I give
it to you in Mr. Audubon's words.

"Daniel Boone, or as he was usually called in the western country,
Colonel Boone, happened to spend a