A Businessman He Wasn't

At the outbreak of the American Revolution, Daniel Boone was instrumental in organizing the defense of Kentucky's scattered settlements.  In 1778, he was captured by a band of Shawnee while
exploring salt at Blue Lick.  He persuaded the Indians to hold him and his men as hostages to postpone their planned raid on Boonesborough, thus saving defenseless women and children.


Boone was adopted into the Shawnee tribe and taken north of the Ohio River.  While pretending enthusiasm for the tribe, he squirreled away guns, ammunition and dried meat.  Waiting for the right moment, he slipped away, arriving in Boonesborough in time to defend it against a large Indian force sent by the British.

By the end of the Revolution, Boone owned title to 10,000 acres.  Much of it was lost to improper registration, the rest went to satisfy claims of creditors.  The legend, you see, was a very poor businessman.

In 1788 he left Kentucky and in 1799 he settled in Missouri where he was appointed district magistrate by the Spanish.  Once again, he was rewarded with a huge chunk of land and once again he lost it when the Louisiana Purchase became part of the US in 1803. 

Boone remained active and hardy, hunting and trapping well into his 80s.  Near the end of his life, he returned to Kentucky to pay off the last of his creditors..  He died in Missouri in 1820.  His body was later returned to Kentucky in 1845 and buried with full honors.

Next time...another Kentucky Legend
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Today in Pioneer History: On September 24, 1789, the Judiciary Act of 1789 is passed by Congress and signed by President George Washington, establishing the Supreme Court of the United States as a tribunal made up of six justices who were to serve on the court until death or retirement.