Their purpose in undertaking this formidable journey had been to learn
the fate of Boone and his party, whose safety was nearly despaired of by
his friends in North Carolina, to hunt for themselves, and to convey a
supply of ammunition to Boone. It is difficult to conceive the joy with
which their opportune arrival was welcomed. They informed Boone that
they had just seen the last night's encampment of Stuart and himself,
so that the joyful meeting was not wholly unanticipated by them.

Thus reinforced, the party, now consisting of four skillful hunters,
might reasonably hope for increased security, and a fortunate issue to
their protracted hunting tour. But they hunted in separate parties; and
in one of these Daniel Boone and Stuart fell in with a party of Indians,
who fired upon them. Stuart was shot dead and scalped by the Indians,
but Boone escaped in the forest, and rejoined his brother and the
remaining hunter of the party.

A few days afterward this hunter was lost in the woods, and did not
return as usual to the camp. Daniel and Squire made a long and anxious
search for him; but it was all in vain. Years afterward a skeleton was
discovered in the woods, which was supposed to be that of the lost
hunter.

The two brothers were thus left in the wilderness alone, separated
by several hundred miles from home, surrounded by hostile Indians,
and destitute of every thing but their rifles. After having had such
melancholy experience of the dangers to which they were exposed, we
would naturally suppose that their fortitude would have given way, and
that they would instantly have returned to the settlements. But the most
remarkable feature in Boone's character was a calm and cold equanimity
which rarely rose to enthusiasm and never sunk to despondence.