His sons were now old enough to assist their mother in the
management of the farm, but, doubtless, they had to be supplied with
money and other necessaries before the father could venture to leave
home; so that it was not till the 1st of May, 1769, that the party were
able to set out, as Boone, in his autobiography, expresses it, "in quest
of the country of Kentucky."

It was more than a month before these adventurers came in sight of the
promised land. We quote from Mr. Peck's excellent work the description
which undoubtedly formed the authority on which the artist has relied
in painting the accompanying engraving of "Daniel Boone's first view of
Kentucky." It is as follows:

"It was on the 7th of June, 1769, that six men, weary and wayworn, were
seen winding their way up the steep side of a rugged mountain in the
wilderness of Kentucky. Their dress was of the description usually worn
at that period by all forest rangers. The outside garment was a hunting
shirt, or loose open frock, made of dressed deer skins. Leggings or
drawers, of the same material, covered the lower extremities, to which
was appended a pair of moccasins for the feet. The cape or collar of
the hunting shirt, and the seams of the leggings, were adorned with
fringes. The under garments were of coarse cotton. A leather belt
encircled the body; on the right side was suspended the tomahawk, to be
used as a hatchet: on the left side was the hunting-knife, powder-horn,
bullet-pouch, and other appendages indispensable for a hunter. Each
person bore his trusty rifle; and, as the party slowly made their
toilsome way amid the shrubs, and over the logs and loose rocks that
accident had thrown into the obscure trail which they were following,
each man kept a sharp look-out, as though danger or a lurking enemy was
near. Their garments were soiled and rent, the unavoidable result of
long traveling and exposure to the heavy rains that had fallen; for the
weather had been stormy and most uncomfortable, and they had traversed
a mountainous wilderness for several hundred miles. The leader of the
party was of full size, with a hardy, robust, sinewy frame, and keen,
piercing, hazel eyes, that glanced with quickness at every object as
they passed on, now cast forward in the direction they were traveling
for signs of an old trail, and in the next moment directed askance
into the dense thicket, or into the deep ravine, as if watching some
concealed enemy. The reader will