ied the saying of an old
Indian who signed Colonel Henderson's deed. Taking me by the hand, at the
delivery thereof--"Brother," said he, "we have given you a fine land, but
I believe you will have much trouble in settling it." My footsteps have
often been marked with blood, and therefore I can truly subscribe to its
original name. Two darling sons and a brother have I lost by savage
hands, which have also taken from me forty valuable horses, and abundance
of cattle. Many dark and sleepless nights have I been a companion for
owls, separated from the cheerful society of men, scorched by the
summer's sun, and pinched by the winter's cold--an instrument ordained to
settle the wilderness. But now the scene is changed: peace crowns the
sylvan shade.
What thanks, what ardent and ceaseless thanks are due to that
all-superintending Providence which has turned a cruel war into peace,
brought order out of confusion, made the fierce savages placid, and
turned away their hostile weapons from our country! May the same Almighty
Goodness banish the accursed monster, war, from all lands, with her
hated associates, rapine and insatiable ambition! Let peace, descending
from her native heaven, bid her olives spring amid the joyful nations;
and plenty, in league with commerce, scatter blessings from her copious
hand!
This account of my adventures will inform the reader of the most
remarkable events of this country. I now live in peace and safety,
enjoying the sweets of liberty, and the bounties of Providence, with my
once fellow-sufferers, in this delightful country, which I have seen
purchased with a vast expense of blood and treasure: delighting in the
prospect of its being, in a short time, one of the most opulent and
powerful states on the continent of North America; which, with the love
and gratitude of my countrymen, I esteem a sufficient reward for all my
toil and dangers.
DANIEL BOONE.
_Fayette County_, KENTUCKY.
THE END.
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Adventures of Daniel Boone: the
Kentucky rifleman, by Uncle Philip
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