Near Ewing in Lee County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Abundance of Wild Beasts

Courtesy of Thomas P. Martin, March 14, 2016

1. Abundance of Wild Beasts Marker

Inscription.

Abundance of Wild Beasts. . The abundance of game animals across Cumberland Gap attracted hunters to the region. Leaving home for months and sometimes years, long hunters such as Daniel Boone harvested deer, beaver, bear, elk, and other animals for their profitable pelts., As the supply of game animals decreased, competition for game meat and pelts between the American Indian tribes and the long hunters increased. Friction between the groups grew, especially as more colonists entered the territory with an eye to settling on it., One such colonist was Colonel Richard Henderson, a land speculator and leader of the Transylvania Company that intended to settle in Kentucky. In the treaty made at Sycamore Shoals in 1775, he exchanged weapons, tools, and other goods with the Cherokee Indians for 20 million acres, including the right of way through Cumberland Gap. Henderson hired Daniel Boone to blaze a trail through the wilderness to Kentucky. It became known to thousands of pioneers as the Wilderness Trail., Daniel Boone describes his first journey to what is now Kentucky. ,

On the 7th of June [1769] after traveling through a mountainous wilderness, in a western direction, we found ourselves on Red River, where John Finley had formerly been trading with the Indians, and from the top on an immense … saw with pleasure the beautiful land of Kentucke … We found abundnace of wild beast in their vast forest. , Daniel Boone, 1769

One long hunter remembered the particulars of the hunt: ,

The long hunters usually set out the first of October, each man carried two horses, maps, a large supply of powder and led, and a small hand vise and bellow, files and screw plate for the purpose of fixing the guns if any of them should get out of fix, they returned about the last of March or first of April. , John Redd, long hunter, in 1775

Dragging Canoe, son of the Cherokee Chief Attakullaculla, protested the treaty his father had made with Colonel Henderson at Sycamore Shoals. ,

Whole nations have melted away like balls of snow before the sun. The whites have passed the mountains and settled upon Cherokees lands … When the whites are unable to point out any farther retreat for the miserable Cherokee, they will proclaim the extinction of the whole race. , Interpretation of Dragging Canoe speech, 1775

The abundance of game animals across Cumberland Gap attracted hunters to the region. Leaving home for months and sometimes years, long hunters such as Daniel Boone harvested deer, beaver, bear, elk, and other animals for their profitable pelts.

As the supply of game animals decreased, competition for game meat and pelts between the American Indian tribes and the long hunters increased. Friction between the groups grew, especially as more colonists entered the territory with an eye to settling on it.

One such colonist was Colonel Richard Henderson, a land speculator and leader of the Transylvania Company that intended to settle in Kentucky. In the treaty made at Sycamore Shoals in 1775, he exchanged weapons, tools, and other goods with the Cherokee Indians for 20 million acres, including the right of way through Cumberland Gap. Henderson hired Daniel Boone to blaze a trail through the wilderness to Kentucky. It became known to thousands of pioneers as the Wilderness Trail.

Daniel Boone describes his first journey to what is now Kentucky.

On the 7th of June [1769] after traveling through a mountainous wilderness, in a western direction, we found ourselves on Red River, where John Finley had formerly been trading with the Indians, and from the top on an immense … saw with pleasure
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the beautiful land of Kentucke … We found abundnace of wild beast in their vast forest. — Daniel Boone, 1769

One long hunter remembered the particulars of the hunt:

The long hunters usually set out the first of October, each man carried two horses, maps, a large supply of powder & led, and a small hand vise and bellow, files & screw plate for the purpose of fixing the guns if any of them should get out of fix, they returned about the last of March or first of April. — John Redd, long hunter, in 1775

Dragging Canoe, son of the Cherokee Chief Attakullaculla, protested the treaty his father had made with Colonel Henderson at Sycamore Shoals.

Whole nations have melted away like balls of snow before the sun. The whites have passed the mountains and settled upon Cherokees lands … When the whites are unable to point out any farther retreat for the miserable Cherokee, they will proclaim the extinction of the whole race. — Interpretation of Dragging Canoe speech, 1775

Erected by National Park Service.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Animals • Exploration • Native Americans • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1775.

Location. 36° 36.119′

Courtesy of Thomas P. Martin, March 14, 2016

2. Abundance of Wild Beasts Marker

N, 83° 39.601′ W. Marker is near Ewing, Virginia, in Lee County. Marker can be reached from State Road 872, 0.2 miles north of U.S. 58, on the right when traveling north. Marker is at Cumberland Gap National Historical Park's Daniel Boone Visitor Information Center. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Ewing VA 24248, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Warriors and Traders (here, next to this marker); In Search of Food (here, next to this marker); Daniel Boone Wilderness Trail (within shouting distance of this marker); Fulfilling the Dream (about 800 feet away, measured in a direct line); Lee County / Tennessee (approx. ¼ mile away); Harrow School (approx. 0.3 miles away in Tennessee); Boone Trail Highway Marker (approx. 0.3 miles away in Tennessee); Cumberland Gap Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.3 miles away in Tennessee). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Ewing.

Credits. This page was last revised on December 17, 2021. It was originally submitted on December 17, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 134 times since then and 21 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on December 17, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.