Boone, however, was possessed of a temper admirably adapted to the
circumstances in which he was placed. Of a cold and saturnine, rather
than an arden disposition, he was never either so much elevated by
good fortune or depressed by bad, as to lose for an instant the full
possession of all his faculties. He saw that immediate escape was
impossible, but he encouraged his companion, and constrained himself
to accompany the Indians in all their excursions, with so calm and
contented an air, that their vigilance insensibly began to relax.

[Illustration: CAPTURE OF BOONE AND STUART.]

On the seventh evening of their captivity, they encamped in a thick
canebrake, and having built a large fire, lay down to rest. The party
whose duty it was to watch, were weary and negligent, and about
midnight, Boone, who had not closed an eye, ascertained from the deep
breathing all around him, that the whole party, including Stuart, was
in a deep sleep.

Gently and gradually extricating himself from the Indians who lay around
him, he walked cautiously to the spot where Stuart lay, and having
succeeded in awakening him, without alarming the rest, he briefly
informed him of his determination, and exhorted him to arise, make no
noise, and follow him. Stuart, although ignorant of the design, and
suddenly roused from sleep, fortunately obeyed with equal silence and
celerity, and within a few minutes they were beyond hearing.

Rapidly traversing the forest, by the light of the stars and the bark
of the trees, they ascertained the direction in which the camp lay, but
upon reaching it on the next day, to their great grief, they found it