people assembled and formed themselves into an
association for _regulating_ public grievances and abuse of power.
Hence the name given to them of Regulators. They resolved "to pay only
such taxes as were agreeable to law and applied to the purpose therein
named, to pay no officer more than his legal fees." The subsequent
proceedings of the Regulators, such as forcible resistance to officers
and acts of personal violence toward them, at length brought on an
actual collision between them and an armed force led by the Royal
Governor, Tryon (May 16 1771,) at Alamanance, in which the Regulators
were defeated; and the grievances continued with scarcely abated force
till the Revolution brought relief.

Under these circumstances, it is not surprising that Daniel Boone and
others were quite willing to migrate to the West, if it were only to
enjoy a quiet life; the dangers of Indian aggression being less dreaded
than the visits of the tax-gather and the sheriff; and the solitude
of the forest and prairie being preferred to the society of insolent
foreigners; flaunting in the luxury and ostentation purchased by the
spoils of fraud and oppression.

Among the hunters and traders who pursued their avocations in the
Western wilds was John Finley, or Findley, who led a party of hunters
in 1767 to the neighborhood of the Louisa River, as the Kentucky River
was then called, and spent the season in hunting and trapping. On his
return, he visited Daniel Boone, and gave him a most glowing description
of the country which he had visited--a country abounding in the richest
and most fertile land, intersected by noble rivers, and teeming with
herds of deer and buffaloes and numerous flocks of wild turkeys, to say
nothing of the smaller game. To these descriptions Boone lent a willing
ear. He resolved to accompany Finley in his next hunting expedition, and
to see this terrestrial paradise with his own eyes, doubtless with the
intention of ultimately seeking a home in that delightful region.

Accordingly, a company of six persons was formed for a new expedition to
the West, and Boone was chosen as leader. The names of the other members
of this party were John Finley, John Stuart, Joseph Holden, James
Moncey, and William Cool.

Much preparation seems to have been required. Boone's wife, who was one
of the best of housekeepers and managers, had to fit out his clothes,
and to make arrangements for house-keeping during his expected long
absence.