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Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #23798.
John S. C. Abbott’s “Daniel Boone: The Pioneer of Kentucky” is a biographical sketch that situates its subject within the broader sweep of early American history. The opening pages set a tone of corrective admiration, arguing that the legendary frontiersman was “one of the most mild and unboastful of men,” a gentle figure whose courage eclipsed the rough image often ascribed to him. From this perspective the work proceeds through a detailed table of contents, promising chapters that trace the discovery of America, Boone’s lineage, his exploits on the western frontier, and the eventual formation of Kentucky as a state. The narrative is framed as a preservation of a vanishing way of life, aiming to record the “scenes through which our fathers passed” for future readers.
The volume reflects the 19th‑century American literary style of its time, formal, didactic, and steeped in moral appraisal. Abbott’s prose is ornate yet earnest, blending historical overview with anecdotal storytelling. Readers who enjoy thorough, period‑appropriate accounts of frontier heroes, as well as those interested in the cultural and political context of early United States expansion, will find this work engaging.
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DODD & MEAD, No. 762 BROADWAY.
1872.
PREFACE.
The name of Daniel Boone is a conspicuous one in the annals of our country. And yet there are but few who are familiar with the events of his wonderful career, or who have formed a correct estimate of the character of the man. Many suppose that he was a rough, coarse backwoodsman, almost as savage as the bears he pursued in the chase, or the Indians whose terrors he so perseveringly braved. Instead of this, he was one of the most mild and unboastful of men; feminine as a woman in his tastes and his deportment, never uttering a coarse word, never allowing himself in a rude action. He was truly one of nature's gentle men. With all this instinctive refinement and delicacy, there was a boldness of character which seemed absolutely incapable of experiencing the emotion of fear. And surely all the records of chivalry may be searched in vain for a career more full of peril and of wild adventure.
This narrative reveals a state of society and habitudes of life now rapidly passing into oblivion. It is very desirable that the record should be perpetuated, that we may know the scenes through which our fathers passed, in laying the foundations of this majestic Republic. It is probable that as the years roll on the events which occurred in the infancy of our nation will be read with ever-increasing interest.
It is the intention of the publisher of this volume to issue a series of sketches of the prominent men in the early history of our country. The next volume will contain the life and adventures of the renowned Miles Standish, the Puritan Captain.
JOHN S. C. ABBOTT.
Fair Haven, Conn.
CONTENTS.
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