The Katy Trail’s historical bonafides extend beyond the railroad. Frequent placards along the way chart Lewis & Clark’s expedition through here. I appreciated the chance to read about their first aid kit’s contents: “Rush’s thunderclappers (laxative), calomel (fever), laudanum (pain, sleeplessness), tartar emetic (induce vomiting), mercurial ointment (venereal disease), Glauber’s salt (laxative), jalap (laxative), and Peruvian bark (flu, malaria). Big takeaway: L&C needed more fiber!
The Katy also lines up nicely with the Daniel Boone retirement tour, as he spent his last 20 years in Missouri and saw two of his sons do well for themselves. Those two helped to found Boonville, setting up a salt lick business, where I’m spending the night.
Now, I need to pause here to offer a confession: for most of my life, I haven’t been the slightest bit interested in US History. I can’t blame this on my high school teacher; I had a great one and I thoroughly enjoyed the class. Nonetheless, given my own choice, I’ve always been drawn to other parts of the world. This has actually been an asset as a high school teacher; the majority of my colleagues have been Americanists and I’ve definitely worked at schools where US History is viewed as one of the prestige classes. I’m a content (both senses of the word, I suppose) generalist.
As a consequence of those preferences, I sometimes have some potentially embarrassing gaps in knowledge. Take Daniel Boone. I paused at one point on the trail to jot down everything I knew, or thought I knew: coonskin cap, explorer/settler/conqueror, not the Alamo. That was pretty much it. “But he’s an American legend!”, I lightly berated myself, “there must be more!”
So I spent some time reading about Daniel Boone. Here’s what I learned:
- Daniel Boone fought in the French and Indian War, on the side of the British. He participated in a march to attack Fort Duquesne–coincidentally, George Washington did as well–but it went poorly. They never made it to the fort, getting whooped by the French. Boone snagged a horse from his wagon team and bolted
- Boone next became a frontiersman, hunting in and exploring the Appalachian region that became Kentucky. (Important note: Boone didn’t wear a coonskin cap, but rather a beaver hat.) Boone was ultimately captured by the Shawnee and, after a temporary loss of freedom, sent home without a penny
- Boone tried settling Kentucky again in 1775, founding Boonesborough. They suffered frequent attacks and at one point Boone’s young daughter was kidnapped. Later on, Boone was once again captured by the Shawnee and held for four months. Within two decades, Boone would lose all of his land and money again
- Boone was given 850 acres by the Spanish to settle in Missouri in 1799 and relocated there. He became a judge of sorts, issuing decrees beneath a tree that I walked past. Five years later, though, he lost his claim to the land
The State Historical Society of Missouri sums up his legacy this way: “Generations later, people still identify with his restless, wandering spirit, which compelled him to push the boundaries of existence.”
Suddenly, I don’t feel so bad about not knowing too much about Daniel Boone!
