Catawbas. Boone, as we have seen, knew that Christopher
Gist, who had formerly lived near him on the upper Yadkin, had
found some passage through the lofty mountain defiles; but he had
never been able to discover the passage. Findlay's renewed
descriptions of the immense herds of buffaloes he had seen in
Kentucky, the great salt-licks where they congregated, the
abundance of bears, deer, and elk with which the country teemed,
the innumerable flocks of wild turkeys, geese, and ducks, aroused
in Boone the hunter's passion for the chase; while the beauty of
the lands, as mirrored in the vivid fancy of the Irishman,
inspired him with a new longing to explore the famous country
which had, as John Filson records, "greatly engaged Mr. Findlay's
attention."

In the comprehensive designs of Henderson, now a judge, for
securing a "graphic report of the trans-Alleghany region in
behalf of his land company", Boone divined the means of securing
the financial backing for an expedition of considerable size and
ample equipment. In numerous suits for debt, aggregating hundreds
of dollars, which had been instituted against Boone by some of
the leading citizens of Rowan, Williams and Henderson had acted
as Boone's attorneys. In order to collect their legal fees, they
likewise brought suit against Boone; but not wishing to press the
action against the kindly scout who had hitherto acted as their
agent in western exploration, they continued the litigation from
court to court, in lieu of certain "conditions performed" on
behalf of Boone, during his unbroken absence, by his attorney in
this suit, Alexander Martin. Summoned to appear in 1769 at the
March term of court at Salisbury, Boone seized upon the occasion
to lay before Judge Henderson the designs for a renewed and
extended exploration of Kentucky suggested by the golden
opportunity of securing the services of Findlay as guide. Shortly
after March 6th, when Judge Henderson reached Salisbury, the
conference, doubtless attended by John Stewart, Boone's
brother-in-law, John Findlay, and Boone, who were all present at
this term of court, must have been held, for the purpose of
devising ways and means for the expedition. Peck, the only
reliable contemporary biographer of the pioneer, who derived many
facts from Boone himself and his intimate acquaintances, draws
the conclusion (1847): "Daniel Boone was engaged as the master
spirit of this exploration, because in his judgment and fidelity