THE LIFE OF DANIEL BOONE, published by Stackpole Books, 1998, is a unique book about an 18th-century explorer, written by a 19th-century biographer and edited by a 20th-century author. How does it come out? Not bad! In fact, this is probably the most accurate account we will ever see of the renowned frontiersman.

I have a special interest in the subject. Daniel Boone is my great-great-grandfather, great-great-grandfather. No, I won’t bore you with my own genealogy. Suffice it to say that I descended through Jesse Bryan Boone, the eighth son of Daniel, who died the same year as Daniel, 1820.

Including notes and index, THE LIFE OF DANIEL BOONE is a large volume with a total of 596 pages. And those pages are loaded with rather small type, as well as drawings and maps. But don’t let that discourage you from taking a look at this unique work.

For a brief summary of the book, read the Preface. In eighteen pages, Belue assesses the character of Daniel Boone, what he did, and what he thought of his own fame. We found out that Boone was a skilled lumberjack, hunter, trapper, scout, scout, militia commander, judge, and county representative. And he was a natural leader.

In his introduction, Ted Belue describes him as: “charismatic, quiet, even-tempered, and rarely willing to criticize, even those who oppose him. Boone’s amiable ways were the kind that universally attract and respect.” That, coupled with his lack of cunning and sense of honor, earned Daniel Boone a solid reputation.

But what did he think of himself? Belue quotes Boone’s own words: “Many heroic deeds and chivalric adventures are connected with me that exist only in the realms of fantasy. With me the world has taken great liberties, and yet I have been a common man. It is true that I have suffered many hardships and miraculously escaped many dangers, but others of my companions have experienced the same.”

Daniel Boone was modest. He comes across as a good man, one we’d like to have on our side in a crisis.

Next we turn to the chronicler of information about Boone and his time. The self-proclaimed biographer, Dr. Lyman C. Draper, born September 4, 1815, displayed exceptional insight for his time. Nineteenth century storytellers had no qualifications for mixing fantasy with truth. If he animated the story, he even seemed to prefer a good myth to mundane facts.

Faced with this mixture of history and legend was Draper with his great vision of saving the facts from oblivion. While the evidence was still available and the people who remembered the events were still living, he wanted to separate fact from myth, correct misconceptions, and get as close to the truth about the history of the frontier as possible.

In his youth, Draper selected twenty subjects to save from mythology. In addition to Daniel Boone, other subjects worthy of Draper’s attention include George Clark, Anthony Wayne, Daniel Morgan, and Dunmore’s War.

From 1843 to 1852, Draper traveled the trails that Boone had explored, seeking interviews and collecting facts about the frontiersman. But the project never became a book. He died in 1891 regretting not having finished the “Life of Daniel Boone”. Since 1854, Draper’s manuscript has remained in the archives of the Wisconsin State National Society.

In 1990, historian Ted Franklin Belue decided that Draper’s massive manuscript, rich in detail about Boone and life on the frontier, should be made available to the public. This is how the book began.

Belue presents Draper’s work as the biographer left it nearly a century and a half earlier. Belue changes in the Draper transcript were minor. He removed excess commas and made military titles and abbreviations consistent with modern usage.

Belue wrote the introduction and provided us with a series of endnotes for each chapter following Draper’s original notes. The editor concluded his introduction by reminding us that what we hold in our hands has been hidden since 1854. “Read it. Enjoy it. Take time to get to know Lyman Draper, his methods, his point of view, the tenor of his day and his man, Daniel Bonone”.

Good advice. But to that I might add that there are three men in this book who are best understood in the context of their times: Boone, Draper, and Belue. Of the three, Boone is by far the most straightforward. Simply put, he was an adventurer who couldn’t rest until he saw what lay beyond the next hill. His life was a constant search for Eden, an untouched paradise for hunters.

In Kentucky he found much of what he was looking for. But civilization, which he himself helped usher in, quickly ruined what he found most attractive. So he went in search of a new spotless desert.

The real Daniel Boone was a man of courage, skill, and good fortune who nevertheless suffered greatly during his 85 years. It wasn’t Fess Parker. He was not a great man. He killed few Indians and despised those who tried to present him as an intrepid killer of Indians.

From time to time we are surprised by the uniqueness of the times. Sentimentality, not “cool,” was the prevailing mood of the eighteenth century. Here is a good example. When Boone led a group of Boonesborough men, they managed to rescue his own daughter, Jemima, and two other girls from a combined force of Shawanoes and Cherokees.

How did Boone propose to celebrate the event? He said, “Thank Almighty Providence, boys, we’ve got the girls safe, let’s all sit down and weep our hearts out.” And they did! That direct quote was somehow never made on the Daniel Boone TV series.

Now let’s consider the data compiler, Dr. Draper. What should I say about this mother lode of facts and opinions, and what should I leave for you to find out for yourself? I will limit myself to three observations.

Draper’s style is sure to catch your eye. Some Draper pages look quaint and charming. On the other hand, several hundred pages of it are tedious. For modern tastes, it’s too much: too wordy, too flowery, and too sentimental. But wasn’t that typical of the time? Yes, I think it was.

Draper also reflected his time in other ways. The mood of the mid-19th century was positive. They were as sure of themselves, their culture and their values ​​as we are not sure of ours at the beginning of the 21st century.

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Dr. Draper defended Manifest Destiny. The Anglo-Americans were marching west with their civilization in tow. At times, Draper seems to be more of an entertainer than a historian. But, as Belue points out, Draper never had the perspective of a historian. He couldn’t tell the trivial from the significant. So his notes are full of minute details of no particular interest.

For all his faults, Draper retained much of the historical interest that would be lost without his efforts. That is his true contribution. Unfortunately, he never got to explore the later years of Daniel Boone. This entire volume is devoted to the first half of Boone’s life.

Belue, unlike Draper, is a historian. Overall, he displays the objectivity and impartiality that Draper lacked in his manuscript. But it is a great respect Belue reveals that he is also a man of his time.

The term “American Indians” has now been changed to the politically correct term “Native Americans”. Belue is among those who believe that what the Caucasians did to the Native Americans was morally reprehensible. What Belue espouses is, in effect, a moralistic view of history.

Our question to Mr. Belue is: How did these Indian tribes get their land? Well, they acquired them by driving out, killing, or assimilating other tribes that held the land before them, as they in turn had done with those that came before them.

Britain’s history was no different. The Picts lost their land to the Celts, who in turn were driven out by the Anglo-Saxons, who in turn were conquered by the Normans. Larger tribes, more aggressive people displaced others and took over their territory. What the Anglo-Americans did to the Native Americans is what humanity has been doing to each other throughout recorded history, no more and no less.

Draper’s manuscript details deceptions and atrocities committed by both sides, as well as acts of friendship and goodwill offered by both. Here Draper seems to be objective. Belle agrees.

A couple of centuries after the fact, it’s easy for us to hurl criticism at frontier settlers. After all, they won, right? But what were those 18th century settlers really like? What were the 18th century Indians like? This book, the most authoritative document we have for this period, opens our eyes to the seal of the day. Before we condemn the colonists, perhaps we should ask ourselves: if you and I were in constant danger, how altruistic would we be?

THE LIFE OF DANIEL BOONE is a book worth reading. This volume is our passport back to eighteenth-century frontier America. It is a time of great beauty and danger, of incredible opportunities and difficulties, as well as many acts of bravery, savagery and cowardice. It is an exciting period. See for yourself.