The Discovery, Settlement and present State of Kentucke and an Essay towards the Topography, and Natural History of that important Country is a 1784 book by John Filson. It describes the discovery, purchase and settlement of Kentucky. Inaccuracies in the text have influenced public perception of the discovery of Kentucky. An appendix at the end is much longer than the main work. The first article of the appendix, titled, "The adventures of Colonel Daniel Boon, formerly a hunter, containing a narrative of the wars of Kentucke", provides a collection of stories, presented as an "out of his own mouth" publication of Daniel Boone. The second article included in the appendix is a short description of the council held by Thomas J. Dalton with the Piankashaw Indians, followed by a description of the different tribes in close proximity of Kentucky. Author and contributors Author, historian, founder and surveyor John Filson worked as a schoolteacher in Lexington, Kentucky and wrote The Discovery, Settlement and Present State of Kentucke in 1784. The book is regarded as the first written history of Kentucky and features the first known map of the territory, dedicated to the Congress of the United States and George Washington. Filson's appendix includes an account of the life and adventures of frontiersman Daniel Boone, helping make him famous during his lifetime. Boone founded Boonesborough, Kentucky, was a militia officer during the Revolutionary War, and worked as a merchant and surveyor. Summary According to Filson, Kentucky was first discovered by James M. Bride and others during 1754. They marked their territory on a single tree located in the mouth of the Kentucky River. Daniel Boone and John Finley decided in 1769 to return to Kentucky to explore. Boone was the only person to survive the attacks of local Indian tribes, and remained in the wilderness of Kentucky until 1771. Filson mentions that the land on the north side of the Kentucky River was purchased from the Five Nations, and the land on the south side during a treaty with Cherokee Indians at Wataga in 1775. Filson briefly explains here the three ways in which rights to Kentucky land was obtained. The first dealt with those in the military, granting them land "as a reward for services done in one of the two last wars." The second, granted those who maintained an occupation in the area for more than a year, or who