Continued Education?
Daniel did not go to college or continue his very limited education in any way. But he did learn many things, mostly from the forest. Some men in Boone's time thought that the natives were unintelligent brutes. But they did not discover any of their hunting methods that Daniel was privy to. Boone probably used the Indian like technique of crawling closer to a deer while it was grazing with its head down and when the prey's head had risen Daniel would freeze. But he would resume again once his target had continued eating. Boone would repeat this process until he was in range of the deer. Then, bang, Daniel would shoot with his renowned accuracy and the deer would fall. Although you could say that Boone was not educated in the traditional means he was well learned in the ways of the forest. Daniel used his knowledge of the forest to gain wealth; he would go on long hunting trips and would return with over 300 pounds of valuable furs to sell!
Boone in the French and Indian war
In 1753 George Washington was sent into the western wilderness of the the colonies with a team of five others to strengthen British claims. He found the French, who had decided the land was theirs. So Washington returned the next year with a small army and they discovered that the French had built a stockade, Fort Duquesne. Washington attacked the French and won a skirmish. George renamed the fort Fort Necessity but the French did not give up. They attacked Washington's army and he was forced to retreat. The British empire then sent one of their best men, General Edward Braddock, to drive the French out of Fort Duquesne and the western border. A force of some 2000 men were gathered at Fort Cumberland in Maryland for Braddock to lead. Maj. Edward Dobbs (son of North Carolina's Governor) lead a company from the western part of that colony. Boone was a member of this company but not part of the fighting force. Daniel had joined as a blacksmith and teamster, which is a wagon driver. On July 9th Daniel and the army had just crossed the Monongahela when French Canadians sprang out in front of them blocking the way and then on either side rifle fire erupted from concealed French marksmen. It was a massacre. Bullets tore into the red and blue uniforms of British and Colonist forces alike. Boone who was in the baggage train at the rear of the host probably did not know what was going on and how bad his comrades were losing but before long Braddock's soldiers were rushing past him with French soldiers hounding behind. So Daniel did the reasonable self-preserving thing; he cut his horses loose and fled.
Quest for Kanta- ke
During the war Daniel met a man named John Findley who told him stories of a paradise like place called Kanta-ke. He described this region to Boone and made it sound like a oasis from the ever enlarging towns and settlements the colonists had created, where game was plentiful and even buffalo roamed these protected lands. When the doomed army scattered Daniel was sure to have yearned for this legendary hunting ground but he was unable to go because of his rising debt. Unlike his father Daniel was not a business man, he could not mange finances and became a debter to many. This is probably a reason Daniel was eager to jump on board when Findley came across Boone and offered to help fund a expedition to the fabled land. So on May 1, 1769, Boone, Findley, John Stewart, James Mooney, Joseph Holder, William Cooley, and about 15 pack horses between them set out on a journey that would fuel westward expansion in the Americas. The company began their voyage and climbed the Appalachian mountain chain by following Elk Creek in western North Carolina and crossed the Blue Ridge. The following days the party crossed Stone Mountain and the Iron Mountain range somewhere near where the Wolf Hills joined the Great Warriors' Path that crossed the southwestern part of Virginia, crossing the Clinch River and then Powell's River. Finally the party came to the last part of their journey; they turned north towards the Cumberland Gap. Named for the Duke of Cumberland this pass would see thousands of setters cross its threshold. The party finally reached the legendary land and in June Boone began his favorite task: hunting. It was said that the game in this area was so plentiful that buffalo, elk, deer, and turkey practically lined up for rifle fire. Daniel stayed in this paradise for two years over the course of which his brother Squire came to visit and resupply Daniel's team, but then left soon thereafter. All the original members of the expedition left except for Boone and John Stewart. John Stewart died, and Boone was robbed of his fortune of furs twice. So when Boone returned home he was poorer than before he had left and he had endured the death and abandonment of his friends.