Daniel Boone blazes the way west: this backwoodsman became a symbol of America's pioneering spirit. (American History Play).Daniel Boone grew up on America's frontier. Born in a Pennsylvania log cabin log cabin or log house, style of home typical of the American pioneer on the Western frontier of the United States in the great westward expansion after 1765. It was constructed with few tools, usually an axe or an adz and an auger. in 1734, he moved to North Carolina's Yadkin River The Yadkin River is one of the longest rivers in North Carolina. It rises in the northwestern portion of the state near the Blue Ridge Parkway's Thunder Hill overlook. Several parts of the river are impounded by dams for water, power, and flood control. valley as a teen. Boone lived in a world where white and Native American ways mixed. Though he competed and fought with the Indians for land, furs, and game, Boone always respected them. He also learned from the Indians. He spoke several Indian languages and could follow trails, hunt game, and survive in the forest in the Indian style. His hunting skills were legendary. But this larger-than-life frontiersman gained fame for leading settlers west into Kentucky before there was a United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . SCENE 1. Narrator NARRATOR. A pleader who draws narrs serviens narrator, a sergeant at law. Fleta, 1. 2, c. 37. Obsolete. A: In the summer of 1746, Daniel Boone, 11, and his mother take their cows to a pasture several miles from their Pennsylvania home. Daniel goes into the woods with a sharpened staff A Shawnee hunter stops him. Shawnee hunter: Stop! What are you doing? Daniel Boone: Hunting. Shawnee hunter: With a stick? Daniel Boone: Pa says I ain't old enough for a gun. Shawnee hunter: Here's some advice, friend. Walk softly. Be silent. Observe. Narrator A: Daniel stops, looks, throws his stick, and hits a raccoon raccoon, nocturnal New World mammal of the genus Procyon. The common raccoon of North America, Procyon lotor, also called coon, is found from S Canada to South America, except in parts of the Rocky Mts. and in deserts. . Shawnee hunter: Good shot. Daniel Boone: Thanks, mister. Narrator A: That fall, after Daniel and his mother bring the cattle home. Sarah Boone: I've been thinking, Squire. It's time It's Time was a successful political campaign run by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) under Gough Whitlam at the 1972 election in Australia. Campaigning on the perceived need for change after 23 years of conservative (Liberal Party of Australia) government, Labor put forward a to get Daniel a gun. Squire Boone Squire Boone Jr. (October 5 1744 – August 1815) was an American pioneer and brother of Daniel Boone. In 1780, he founded the first settlement in Shelby County, Kentucky. The tenth of twelve children, Squire Boone was born to Squire Boone Sr. : When I was a boy in England, only aristocrats hunted. Sarah Boone: But this isn't England. There's more breathing room here. Squire Boone: Actually, I think Pennsylvania is getting a little crowded. I hear there's good land to be had in North Carolina North Carolina, state in the SE United States. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), South Carolina and Georgia (S), Tennessee (W), and Virginia (N). Facts and Figures Area, 52,586 sq mi (136,198 sq km). Pop. . Narrator A: At age 12, Daniel gets his gun. At 15, he and his family move to the wilderness in North Carolina. SCENE 2 Narrator B: In 1755, Daniel Boone, now 20, is a private fighting in the French and Indian War French and Indian War North American phase of a war between France and Britain to control colonial territory (1754–63). The war's more complex European phase was the Seven Years' War. . He befriends a fellow soldier. John Findley: Kentucky's like heaven. It's so pretty and the woods are full of beaver, deer, and buffalo. Wait till you taste buffalo tongue! Daniel Boone: Sounds like Kentucky is the next frontier! I want to go there. Findley: Let's go Let's Go may refer to: Television
Narrator B: But the men soon part. Boone returns to North Carolina, where he marries Rebecca, a neighbor's daughter. In 1769, a peddler peddler or hawker, itinerant vendor of small goods. In rural America peddlers carried their packs or drove a horse and cart from door to door. stops by. Findley: Sir, would you like to buy-- Daniel Boone: John, is that you? Findley: Daniel! It's been 14 years! Narrator B: Boone invites Findley to stay. They talk about Kentucky. Daniel Boone: You know, I tried to reach Kentucky last fall. But the going was so tough that I finally turned back. Findley: I know an easier way. The Indians have a trail they call the Warriors' Path. It snakes all the way to Kentucky through a mountain gap. Daniel Boone: Let's go! SCENE 3 Narrator C: In May 1769, Boone, Findley, and four other men leave for Kentucky. Following the Indian trail, they cross the mountains at the Cumberland Gap Cumberland Gap, natural passage through the Cumberland Mts., near the point where Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee meet. The gap was formed by the erosive action of a stream that once flowed there. It was explored and named in 1750 by Dr. and enter what is now Kentucky. They find meadows and forests filled with turkeys, deer, and herds of buffalo. But these are Indian hunting lands. After seven months of excellent hunting, the men encounter a Shawnee group. Captain Will: Go home--and stay there. This is our hunting ground, and the animals and furs are ours. If you are so foolish as to come here again, you can be sure that the "wasps" and "yellow jackets" of our people will sting you. Narrator C: The Indians seize all the furs the men have skinned, then leave. Daniel Boone: They think we're stealing their property. Maybe they're right. But hunting's my life. Findley: Mine, too. I'm staying! Narrator C: The men continue to hunt--but the Indians catch them again and take more of their furs. Findley: We've lost months of work! Alexander Neely: I quit! Narrator C: Boone stays two more years. When he returns home, Boone knows Kentucky better than any other white man. SCENE 4 Narrator D: Early in 1775, Boone talks to his wife. Daniel Boone: Rebecca, a lawyer named Richard Henderson Richard Henderson may refer to
Rebecca Boone: And? Daniel Boone: And he wants me to help him buy land from the Cherokee to sell to settlers. He's also asked me to build a road there through the wilderness. He'll give me 2,000 acres in Kentucky--free! What do you say? Rebecca: I've lived all my life on the frontier On the Frontier: A Melodrama in Two Acts, by W. H. Auden and Christopher Isherwood, was the third and last play in the Auden-Isherwood collaboration, first published in 1938. , Daniel. I'll go. Narrator D: In the spring of 1775, Boone and a crew of men use axes to hack out the Wilderness Road Wilderness Road, principal avenue of westward migration for U.S. pioneers from c.1790 to 1840, blazed in 1775 by the American frontiersman Daniel Boone and an advance party of the Transylvania Company. Feeders from the east (Richmond, Va. into Kentucky (map, p. 14). Boone chooses a site by the Kentucky River Kentucky River Tributary of the Ohio River in north-central Kentucky, U.S. It is formed by the confluence of North, Middle, and South forks, which originate in the Cumberland Mountains. It is navigable along its 259-mi (417-km) course by means of locks. to build a fort he calls Boonesborough. That summer, the men take their families there. SCENE 5 Narrator E: In July 1776, Daniel's daughter, Jemima, and her friends Frances and Elizabeth Callaway, go canoeing. The current carries the girls across the Kentucky River, where five Indians capture them. Betsy Callaway: Help! Help! Narrator E: In Boonesborough... Flanders Callaway: Listen! That's Betsy! The Indians have our girls! Daniel Boone: We must save them! Narrator E: For two days, the settlers track the girls. Samuel Henderson Samuel Henderson (November 27, 1764 - November 17, 1841) was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Samuel Henderson was born and attended school in England. He immigrated to the United States in 1782 and settled in Montgomery, Pennsylvania. : Look! Here's another piece of torn cloth! Daniel Boone: Smart girls! They're leaving us clues! Narrator E: That evening, the Indians and their captives rest. Betsy: It's hopeless. Our folks will never find us now. Jemima: Don't worry. My Pa- Narrator E: A noise makes her look up. She sees her father creeping toward their camp. Jemima: Get down, girls! Narrator E: Gunshots ring out. The girls' captors are killed or run away. Daniel Boone: Thank Almighty Providence, we have the girls safe. SCENE 6 Narrator F: In 1776, the U.S. is fighting for independence from Britain, In Kentucky, far from the front lines, tensions grow between the settlers and Indians. The Cherokee and Shawnee back the British, who have promised they can keep their lands. Settlers and Indians attack each other's villages. In 1778, Boone is captured by the Shawnee while leading a group of 26 men in the wilderness. Chief Blackfish: Last fall, Chief Cornstalk corn·stalk also corn stalk n. The stalk or stem of a corn plant. Noun 1. cornstalk - the stalk of a corn plant corn stalk came to talk peace with your people. But you Americans murdered him to settle old scores. Now it's our time for revenge. We will attack Boonesborough. Daniel Boone: You got your revenge last summer when you killed our cattle! Blackfish: That does not avenge the killing of Chief Cornstalk! Daniel Boone: Listen! All of the men with me will surrender--if you will spare Boonesborough. Narrator F: The chief calls off the attack, and Boone and the other captured men make themselves useful. Blackfish admires Boone and adopts him as a son. Chief Blackfish: Your new name is Sheltowee--Big Turtle. Narrator F: Boone stays with the Shawnee until he overhears some disturbing words. Chief Blackfish (to other Shawnee): Now we attack Boonesborough... Boone (to himself): I must escape! Narrator F: Boone sneaks away and arrives home to find Boones-borough unprepared for an attack. Daniel Boone: We must strengthen our defenses--now! Narrator F: The settlers store food, melt metal into bullets, and fortify for·ti·fy v. for·ti·fied, for·ti·fy·ing, for·ti·fies v.tr. To make strong, as: a. To strengthen and secure (a position) with fortifications. b. To reinforce by adding material. the wooden walls. Soon, more than 400 warriors, led by Chief Blackfish, arrive. Blackfish: If your men surrender and fight for the British, we will take your people to safety in a British fort. But you must surrender--or die. Boone: No! We'll fight to the last man. Blackfish: We outnumber you. You'll be sorry! Narrator F: The battle begins. Daniel Boone: Jemima! Were you hit? Jemima: I'll load that musket--ouch! Jemima: Just a flesh wound flesh wound n. A wound that penetrates the flesh but does not damage underlying bones or vital organs. , Pa. Where's the gunpowder? Narrator F: The battle continues. Jemima: We've been shut up here for 10 days. We're almost out of ammunition! How much longer can we hold out? Daniel Boone: We can't quit! Narrator F: The next day, the Indians give up. Boonesborough is saved. EPILOGUE Settlers and Indians fought in Kentucky four more years, until the settlers won. By the end of the 1700s, more than 200,000 people had followed Boone's Wilderness Road to Kentucky. The Indians were not so lucky. Most were forced to move west, far from their homelands. Boone continued to be restless. At age 65, he went off to settle Missouri. Kentucky was getting too crowded for him. As he said before leaving for his last frontier, "I want more elbowroom el·bow·room n. 1. Room to move around or work freely. 2. Ample scope: elbowroom to experiment. See Synonyms at room. !" RELATED ARTICLE: CHARACTERS Daniel Boone, backwoodsman Sarah Boone, Daniel's mother Squire Boone, Daniel's father Rebecca Boone, Daniel's wife John Findley, backwoodsman Alexander Neely, fellow explorer Captain Will, Shawnee hunter Jemima Boone, Daniel's daughter Frances Callaway, Jemima's friend Betsy Callaway, Jemima's friend Flanders Callaway, their mother Samuel Henderson, a settler Chief Blackfish, Shawnee leader *Shawnee hunter Narrators A-E A-E, AE above-elbow; see under amputation. Names in red are leading roles. * Starred character is fictitious. YOUR TURN THINK ABOUT IT 1. How might European Americans and Native Americans have different viewpoints about Daniel Boone's conquests? 2. What other "frontiers" have Americans conquered? |
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