He was seized and carried to a camp of 120 warriors led by
the French Canadian, Dequindre, and James and George Girty, two
white renegades. Among the Indians were some of those who had
captured him on his first exploring trip through Kentucky and
whom he had twice given the slip. Their hilarity was unbounded.
Boone quickly learned that this band was on its way to surprise
Boonesborough. It was a season when Indian attacks were not
expected; nearly threescore of the men were at the salt spring
and, to make matters worse, the walls of the new fort where the
settlers and their families had gathered were as yet completed on
only three sides. Boonesborough was, in short, well-nigh
defenseless. To turn the Indians from their purpose, Boone
conceived the desperate scheme of offering to lead them to the
salt makers' camp with the assurance that he and his companions
were willing to join the tribe. He understood Indians well enough
to feel sure that once possessed of nearly thirty prisoners, the
Shawanoes would not trouble further about Boonesborough but would
hasten to make a triumphal entry into their own towns. That some,
perhaps all, of the white men would assuredly die, he knew well;
but it was the only way to save the women and children in
Boonesborough. In spite of Dequindre and the Girtys, who were
leading a military expedition for the reduction of a fort, the
Shawanoes fell in with the suggestion.
Pages:
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148