fire, lay down to rest. The party
whose duty it was to watch, were weary and negligent, and about
midnight, Boone, who had not closed an eye, ascertained from the deep
breathing all around him, that the whole party, including Stuart, was
in a deep sleep.

Gently and gradually extricating himself from the Indians who lay around
him, he walked cautiously to the spot where Stuart lay, and having
succeeded in awakening him, without alarming the rest, he briefly
informed him of his determination, and exhorted him to arise, make no
noise, and follow him. Stuart, although ignorant of the design, and
suddenly roused from sleep, fortunately obeyed with equal silence and
celerity, and within a few minutes they were beyond hearing.

Rapidly traversing the forest, by the light of the stars and the bark
of the trees, they ascertained the direction in which the camp lay, but
upon reaching it on the next day, to their great grief, they found it
plundered and deserted, with nothing remaining to show the fate of their
companions: and even to the day of his death, Boone knew not whether
they had been killed or taken, or had voluntarily abandoned their cabin
and returned.[15]

Indeed it has never been ascertained what became of Finley and the rest
of Boone's party of hunters. If Finley himself had returned to Carolina,
so remarkable a person would undoubtedly have left some trace of himself
in the history of his time; but no trace exists of any of the party who
were left at the old camp by Boone and Stuart. Boone and Stuart resumed
their hunting, although their ammunition was running low, and they were
compelled, by the now well-known danger of Indian hostilities, to seek
for more secret and secure hiding-places at night than their old
encampment in the ravine.

The only kind of firearms used by the backwoods hunter is the rifle.
In the use of this weapon Boone was exceedingly skillful. The following
anecdote, related by the celebrated naturalist, Audubon,[16] shows that
he retained his wonderful precision of aim till a late period of his
life.

"Barking off squirrels is delightful sport, and, in my opinion,
requires a greater degree of accuracy than any other. I first witnessed
this manner of procuring squirrels whilst near the town of Frankfort.
The performer was the celebrated Daniel Boone. We walked out together,
and followed the rocky margins of the Kentucky River, until we reached
a piece of flat land thickly covered with bla