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- 1 Name
- 2 Appearance
- 3 Personality
- 4 Origins
- 5 History
- 6 Abilities
- 7 Filmography
- 8 Video Games
- 9 Comics
- 10 Gallery
- 11 Roar
- 12 In Other Languages
- 13 Trivia
- 14 References
- 15 Comments
Kumonga's name comes from kumo (クモ?), which is the Japanese word for "spider."
Kumonga's name in the English dubs of Son of Godzilla and Destroy All Monsters is "Spiga" or "Spiega," which comes from "spider."
- Main articles: ShodaiKumo and FinalKumo.
Kumonga's designs are very consistent throughout its appearances. Its body is black with yellow stripes. It has cold-color eyes, an arachnid mouth, and eight legs.
In Son of Godzilla, Kumonga is a vicious predator that attacks anything it sees. Kumonga is not averse to attacking humans, as it spends a good deal of time trying to capture Saeko and Goro and later attacking them and the team of scientists in a cave. By Destroy All Monsters, Kumonga is shown to live peacefully with the other monsters on Monsterland, and assists them in the final battle against King Ghidorah.
In the main Godzilla comics published by IDW Publishing, Kumonga appears to simply be a rampaging monster at first, but by the final arc of Godzilla: Ongoing becomes a loyal ally to the other Earth monsters and Kiryu against the invading space monsters. Kumonga even hitches a ride on Kiryu's back from Monster Island to New York to help Mothra battle Monster X. In Godzilla: Rulers of Earth, Kumonga takes part in the final battle in Los Angeles against the Trilopods alongside the other Earth monsters.
According to the research of Dr. Matsumiya, Kumonga is a gigantic spider native to Solgell Island, which while not active and hunting hibernates for years at a time under a valley. It is unknown if Kumonga was affected at all by the radiation storms on the island that mutated the native giant praying mantises into Kamacuras, or if it was simply always 45 meters tall.
Showa Series
Son of GodzillaSaeko Matsumiya from a Kamacuras, Minilla accidentally knocked a boulder into Kumonga's valley, awakening the giant spider from its sleep. Kumonga attacked Saeko and Goro Maki when they tried to escape to Saeko's cave, but they escaped. Kumonga followed them to the cave and tried to break in, trapping them and the scientists there. Eventually Kumonga left and trapped the Kamacuras and Minilla in its web. Kumonga killed the Kamacuras with its poison, but Godzilla arrived before it could do the same to Minilla. Kumonga and Godzilla battled, with Kumonga damaging Godzilla's eye and trapping him in webbing. Minilla came to his father's aid, and eventually Godzilla and his son were able to defeat Kumonga by blasting it at the same time with their atomic breath, setting the giant spider ablaze.
Destroy All Monsters1999, Kumonga was living on Monsterland alongside the other monsters of Earth. One day, the Kilaaks attacked the island and took control of the monsters, sending them to attack various cities across the world. After the humans severed the Kilaaks' control over the monsters, Kumonga and the other monsters prepared to assault the aliens' base under Mount Fuji. The Kilaaks responded by sending King Ghidorah to attack the Earth monsters. Kumonga and Mothra assisted in the battle by encasing King Ghidorah in webbing.
Millennium Series
Godzilla: Final WarsXiliens, who claimed to want to save Earth. However, the Xiliens' true motives were revealed, and their leader X unleashed all of the monsters to resume their destruction of the planet's major cities. In response, the Earth Defense Force freed Godzilla from Area G and had him defeat the Xiliens' monsters. X unleashed Kumonga in New Guinea to battle Godzilla. Kumonga was able to use its jumping ability to avoid Godzilla's attacks while trapping him in webbing, but Godzilla grabbed one of Kumonga's web strands and swung it through the air before letting go, sending Kumonga sailing over the horizon.
Kumonga can shoot a thick webbing and a stinger from his mandibles. Kumonga has prehensile pedipalps that can be used to grab small prey. The Showa version was able to survive multiple hits from Godzilla's atomic ray. The Millennium Kumonga's web was able to expand on contact with air from a single thread into a net for incapacitating foes. It also has long legs ending in sharp points which can be used to skewer opponents or crush through materials like in a scene in the movie Godzilla: Final Wars. It also appears to have jumping abilities. The Showa version also had a venomous stinger that instantly killed Kamacuras. In Godzilla: Rulers of Earth, Kumonga appeared to regenerate a severed leg it had suffered in a battle with Gigan.
- Son of Godzilla
- Destroy All Monsters
- All Monsters Attack (Stock Footage)
- Godzilla vs. Gigan (Stock Footage)
- Godzilla: Final Wars
Video Games
- Godzilla vs. 3 Giant Monsters
- Gojira-kun
- Godzilla: Heart-Pounding Monster Island!!
- Godzilla Movie Studio Tour
- Godzilla: Trading Battle
- Godzilla Generations
- Godzilla: Kaiju Collection
- Bandai Namco's Godzilla (Kaiju Guide)
Bandai Namco's Godzilla
- Main article: Godzilla (2014 video game)/Kaiju Guide#Kumonga.
Kumonga in Godzilla vs. 3 Giant Monsters
Kumonga in Godzilla: Kaiju Collection
Godzilla: Legends
Kumonga appears in Godzilla: Legends #5. While Godzilla is moving across rural Mongolia, he falls into a quicksand trap that Kumonga set for him. Kumonga then proceeds to wrap Godzilla in webbing, saving his meal for another day. However, Godzilla bursts from the webbing using his radioactive pulse and starts fighting Kumonga. Kumonga bites Godzilla on the lower neck, and Godzilla counters by ripping off one of Kumonga's legs and beating him with it. As Kumonga tries to run away, Godzilla bats him away with his tail, sending Kumonga bouncing across the ground and knocking him unconscious.
Godzilla: Ongoing
Kumonga appears in the first issue of Godzilla: Ongoing, where he attacks during a wedding and kills the friends and family of a man named Urv, an old friend of Boxer. Boxer's "Kaiju Kill Crew" eventually subdues Kumonga and takes him to the Monster Island facility. Later, Kiryu frees the captured monsters from the island so that they can fight off the space monsters. Kumonga hitches a ride on Kiryu's back and accompanies him to New York to fight Monster X. Monster X defeats both monsters, but Godzilla arrives before he can destroy them.
Godzilla: The Half-Century War
Kumonga is one of the many monsters seen battling in Ghana in 1975 in The Half-Century War #3.
Kumonga in Godzilla: The Half-Century War #3
Godzilla: Rulers of EarthGodzilla: Rulers of Earth #1 in a spiderweb system it created at the bottom of the Grand Canyon in Arizona. When Gigan, blinded from his earlier battle with Anguirus and Rodan, wandered into Kumonga's web, Kumonga attacked him. The fight ended with one of Kumonga's legs severed and its web system being set ablaze, after which Gigan escaped. After its fight with Gigan, Kumonga was transported to the Monster Islands, where it lived among the other captured kaiju. When the Trilopods invaded, Kumonga was one of the first to fall to them, having its DNA copied by the alien arthropod. Kumonga was contained within the Trilopod hive while the Trilopod that copied it attacked Godzilla. Kumonga was later freed from the hive by a rampaging King Caesar. It took part in the fight against the Trilopods and Magita alongside the other Earth monsters. After Godzilla beat the massive alien beast, Kumonga followed him into the ocean.
Kumonga's image was also seen in Godzilla: Rulers of Earth #9 on the massive cave painting on Infant Island as part of the land section.
- Main article: Kumonga/Gallery.
In both of its appearances, Kumonga makes a variety of chirping noises. However, in Godzilla: Final Wars, it also make a series of bird-like calls.
In Other Languages
- German: Spiega
- Serbian and Russian: Кумонга
- Chinese: 库蒙加 (Kù méng jiā)
- According to the German release of Son of Godzilla, Kumonga was possibly created by Dr. Frankenstein.
- Unlike many normal spiders, Kumonga can fire its webbing from its mandibles similar to the Spitting spider.
- Of all the monsters who appeared in Godzilla: Final Wars, Kumonga does the least amount of damage, and also destroys the least amount of objects in the film, when excluding Hedorah's cut scene.
This is a list of references for Kumonga. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
Showing 5 comments. Remember to follow the civility guidelines when commenting.


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You are harvesting souls. Lure people here with promises of the best mod ever made. One by one they fell under the thraldom of the mod they once anticipated. Cursed and forced to haunt this subforum they seek for it but too often they beheld only the phantoms and delusions.
Indeed, dreadful is their damnation.
If you really need a woman just remember that there's no bond like Stockholm syndrome. Ah, certainty...
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:Easy, put that mace down. I'm joking.
Edit: And now they are all gone? By the way, how did I make that stealthy post (Roach's post is shown as the last on the main subforum page)?
This is really haunted subforum!
I plugged in the @FourthAgeMods twitter feed into http://www.moddb.com/mods/the-fourth-age-total-war in early December. Wonder if that's got anything to do with this spike in visits...

subset: commoncrawl


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We are proud to feature literacy support programs, full day K1 early childhood programs, full-time instructors in science, computers, the arts and physical education, and we have state-of-the-art computer labs available for student use. We also believe in family and parent engagement and offer workshops co-facilitated by teachers and the community members for our families.
Also at the Russell, our students participate in Discovering Justice, which teaches students about civic responsibility and the power of their own voice.
We hope you will visit our school and see our new outdoor learning center and schoolyard!


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ef – a tale of melodies 03
Himura and Yuuko:
- The smoking sensei is officially revealed as Yuuko's adopted brother to Himura.
- Himura notices certain signs in Yuuko, and finds out that she is being bullied thanks to Kuze and Nagi's help.
- Nagi really loves being naked in school, doesn't she?
- Himura suddenly gets protective and wants to square off with the bullies, but Yuuko stops him, as she doesn't mind this "little pranks".
Hints begin to emerge more that point to the conclusion that Yuuko has suffered quite a bit in her 10 years away from Himura. When she commented about how the bullying was just "medium level", I can't shake off the feeling that she's actually used to even more worse things. Plus the fact that the "brother" feels really shifty contributes to my pessimistic views a bit too.
That said, Himura seriously needs to be a bit more truthful to his feelings, but I guess he still has the trauma in his head and the lack of courage to go further. The way I see it, the fact that he's still concerned about Yuuko while telling her to stay away is just going to hurt her a lot.
Kuze and Mizuki:
- Mizuki finds herself given the cold shoulder by Kuze.
- Walking around town, she meets Himura who gives her the same warning as he did to Renji back in memories.
- Mizuki bumps in to Chihiro at the train station (\o/) and promptly
molests… engages in some skinship.
- Mizuki finds out from Chihiro and Renji about Kuze's condition, it's cardiomyopathy. He collapsed in the middle of concert half a year ago.
- Kuze decides to "make a conclusion"
- Chihiro passes a message from Himura to Mizuki, telling her to go to the beach if she wants to hear Kuze's final performance.
- Mizuki rushes to the beach and catches Kuze just in time to see him play his violin one final time before he burns it.
- Panicking, Mizuki attempts to put out the fire with her hands and successfully kicks it in to the ocean before any major damage is done (it seems).
- Kuze and Mizuki share a tender moment together.
On this side, the Kuze-Mizuki relationship has probably just started for real, as Kuze faces a deadly heart disease just as Mizuki starts to realize her emotions for him. I'd say the development's a bit too fast, and I would've liked to see it being developed a bit more before it reaches this stage, but I guess there's still a lot more story left to tell.
It's also good to meet back Chihiro again and it sure is a weird feeling to see her playing a side role. Nevertheless, nice hug there by Mizuki, and I lol'ed when she commented that she was about to get a nosebleed, haha.


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Run Norwich
A road race through Norwich city centre
Run Norwich is a 10-kilometre road race based in the heart of Norwich's beautiful and historic city centre.
The route passes some of the city's most iconic landmarks, including Norwich Castle, The Forum, Norwich Cathedral, and many more.
The race is organised by the Community Sports Foundation and a consortium including The Forum, Visit Norfolk, Active Norfolk, Norwich City FC, Norwich BID and Norwich City Council.
After a successful second event in 2016, Run Norwich will return to the city centre on Sunday 6th August 2017.
Visit www.runnorwich.co.uk to enter and find out more.
Read More:
City out in force for first Run Norwich
Thousands run in second Run Norwich 10k
When entries open, you can choose to enter Run Norwich 2017 for FREE and commit to raising a minimum of £100 for the Community Sports Foundation.
To find out more about CSF Run Norwich charity places, please contact Emma Fletcher (email: email@example.com, 01603 761 122).


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Toddler in pursuit of stuffed Sponge Bob gets stuck in vending machine
(10/24/06 - ANTIGO, WI) - Three-year-old Robert Moore went fishing for a stuffed replica of Sponge Bob and ended up trapped in a vending machine. The toddler's adventure began with a Saturday evening shopping trip with his grandmother, Fredricka Bierdemann, and three siblings.
Bierdemann ended the trip by giving each child a dollar and telling them to have fun in a retailer's game room.
A stuffed Sponge Bob in a vending machine's bin caught Robert's eye. He tried without success to fish it out with a plastic crane.
"I told him I could get it for him," his grandmother said. "He's a character. He said, 'Oh no, I can get it.'"
When she turned her back to get another dollar for a second try, Robert took off his coat and squeezed through an opening in the machine. He landed in the stuffed animal cube.
"I turned around and looked for him, and he said, 'Oma, I'm in here," Bierdemann said. "I thought I would have a heart attack."
Store employees couldn't find a key to the machine, so Robert waited while the Antigo Fire Department was called.
"He was having a ball in there, hugging all the stuffed animals," Bierdemann said. "He was so good-natured, but I was shaking like a leaf."
Firefighters broke one lock but then spotted two latches inside the plastic cube. They passed a screwdriver to Robert.
"He stacked up all the stuffed animals and used that screwdriver to open the latch," his grandmother said. "You should have seen him go."
Eventually, Robert freed himself. But his mother, Marie Moore, and grandmother said they were lucky that he remained calm when another child might not have. He went home safe -- but without a stuffed Sponge Bob.
Ain't no telling. The news gets details wrong all the time. I've had incidents I was involved in make the news when I worked loss prevention years ago, and I have seen 1st hand how it comes up wrong in the paper.


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Notice: This page is obsolete and will not be updated.
Please visit the new and updated FAQ pages at our new website.
Having issues with Photo Locker or Video Locker? Try these solutions below.Note: We are not able to provide support for devices running on custom ROMs.
Updated to the new version 1.2.0/1.2.1? Encounter force close issues?
1. Restart your device, then re-launch the app
2. If issue continues, email your app name, device model, Android version and app version to us at www.handyappsforife.com/contact. Include as much information as possible (eg screenshot, description of the error).
- Do not tap 'Clear Data' and 'Clear Cache' in phone settings.
- Do not uninstall/reinstall the app unless instructed to do so.
- Failure to include any of the above information will result in delays in processing of your enquiry. If you are unsure for any of the above, simply indicate "not sure".
1. Unable to unlock the app, cannot access media, correct PIN but not accepted
Some possible reasons that the app does not launch even when you enter the PIN:
1.1.If you have removed or changed your SD card recently, try to insert it back again. The app data is saved in a hidden folder and thus you cannot unlock the app if the folder is not detected in your device. Kindly check that you have the latest version available on the app store as well. It is important that you do not uninstall the app.
If the app still cannot be launched, your device may have been using a custom ROM, had an upgrade in Android version or have been factory reset. Note that if your device do not have any external storage, a factory reset will delete all your data in your device including those media hidden in Photo Locker or Video Locker.
1.2. If you have moved the app from phone memory to the external SD card, please move it back. The app will not work when moved to the SD card.
1.3. If you have cleared the app data under Phone Settings->Apps->App Name, the app will likely be reset as mentioned in the delete confirmation warning. If you do not see any option to recover data upon launching the app, your data has then been cleared and cannot be restored. If you tried restoring with your PIN but are not able to, the app data file has then been cleared.
1.4. If you have deleted a .PL or .VL folder, please manually restore that folder yourself. Those folders contain the hidden media saved in the app. Once deleted, the app will not launch. We cannot provide any assistance for folder restoration as we do not have any access to your data at all.
For other assistance, email us at www.handyappsforlife.com/contact with the app name as the subject and detailed description of the issue.
2. Changed device but PIN not accepted
Our Locker apps are offline independent apps and do not sync with any cloud server. All your data are saved either within your device' storage or the SD card itself. You need to move the data from your old device by unhiding your media files in the old device and then rehide them again in the new device.
The recovery email address is not an username to restore data. It is only used to retrieve your PIN in the event that you have forgotten it.
Important note: the same Google account must be used to reinstall the app or else your PIN will not be accepted.
3. How to move photos/videos to new device
Photo Locker/Video Locker is an offline independent app and does not sync with any online server. All your data are saved either within your device' storage or the SD card itself. There is no backup anywhere else.
You need to move the data from your old device by 1. copying the .PL/.VL folder or 2. unhiding your media then move and rehide them again in the new device. The second method is more straightforward and recommended.
For the first method, the .PL/.VL folder can be found in either your device's internal memory or the SD card. If not found at first, change the setting to enable 'show hidden files' or reboot your device. Make a copy of the .PL folder and then save it to the internal storage of your new device.
For the second method, simply launch the app in your old device, unhide the media by tap and hold on individual album and select 'Unhide'. Pick a file location you know. Then make sure you copy the folder to the new device, and rehide them there.
Reinstallation in the new device must be done with the same Gmail account that first installed it. The recovery email address is not an username but only used to retrieve your PIN in the event that you have forgotten it. When you launch the app, you will be prompted to recover data or create new installation. Choose to recover and key in your PIN.
4. Uninstalled app but photos/videos are missing
All your hidden data are stored in the device's storage only and will remain hidden until you unhide them. They can be retrieved if you have not performed any data clearing from phone's settings or via third party apps, nor factory reset your device.
Reinstall the app first and launch it. You will be asked to recover or delete your data. Select 'Recover' and key in your PIN to access your data again.
Tip: You can tap and hold on the album and choose to unhide the entire album.
Note: This does not apply for cases of non working PIN. Refer to section 1 above instead.
5. Video cannot be played in Video Locker
Video Locker does not have any video playing capability. It only hides and encrypts the videos. When you choose to play a video in Video Locker, the app will search for existing video playing app in your device and then automatically play it. Make sure you are using the latest version of Video Locker as well.
Sometimes, the video playing app selected may be unable to play the format you mentioned. In this case, you may need to download a separate video playing app such as MX Player first. After it is installed, return to Video Locker, play a video, and choose MX Player.
If you still encounter issues playing the video, kindly email us with the following info with the subject title "Video Locker".
1. Device model and
2. Android version
3. App version (Check under device's settings->Manage Apps)
4. Detailed description of the issue
5. If there is an error, attach a screenshot of the error
6. How to restore deleted videos or photos
Sorry but there is no method to retrieve deleted media as your hidden files are only saved in your device's device, not to any cloud storage. Hence there is no backup copy nor do we have access to your data.
If you have previously installed any 3rd party recycle bin app such as Dumpster, you can attempt to recover the .pl (Photo Locker) or .vl (Video Locker) folders, then restore using the respective apps.
7. Change language in Photo Locker or Video Locker
This is only available from version 1.1.0 and above. To change the app language, go to settings and tap on 'Language' under the Others section.


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What's the Best Bee for Me?
By Kim Flottum
Before we can answer that question for you, you have to answer some simple questions for yourself.
First, where do you live? Second, what kind of beekeeper are you? And finally, what do you do with your bees?
Let's start with where do you live, because the absolute fact of life is that all beekeeping is local. So, up north, down south or somewhere in the middle? Are you in a crowded city with questionable food supplies or out in the country with abundant resources? Do you have long hard winters with lots of snow and cold, or is winter simply a cooler summer? It is hot and dry like Arizona or this year's Texas, or is summer more like it should be, with moderate rain, wind and temperatures? Does fall come fast and early every year it seems, and are there predictable summer dearths in July or so? Is spring late every year, or does it go from winter to summer with no spring at all? Do you have lots of neighbors or none at all? And what about kids, pets, birdbaths, swimming pools and picnics? And generally, what are the weather extremes wherever you live? Do you have a handle on the whole season?
Once you are comfortable with where you are and the environment you are bringing bees into, you can move on to the next question.
What kind of beekeeper are you? Were you a two colony beginner last year, or have been a backyarder for a couple of decades? Are bees in the middle of almost everything you do, or just something out back you like to fool with once in awhile? Are you handy with tools, look forward to spring starting in October, or kind of get around to stuff by May? Is swarm control the hottest item on your to-do list, or do they swarm every year because you are always a month or more behind?
Do you keep really good records every year, or start strong and by June don't know where that record book is? Do you have all the equipment you'll need next season ready now, or are you waiting for the new catalogs? Or, what catalog? Do you harvest several times a year so you have several varietal crops to sell, or is last year's crop still out there? I think you see where this is going. When you evaluate your beekeeping habits be honest and thorough. Basically, are you a beekeeper, or a beehaver? Don't get me wrong, both are fine, just understand yourself and your habits so when you make the choice of what bee is best, you make the decision based on your skills, intensity and goals, which brings us to the last question, what do you do with your bees?
Are you serious about making a honey crop every year? Is honey why you keep bees, to sell and make money to pay for not only the bees, but kids, bills, school, as a necessary second income? Do you raise queens for yourself or to sell to make money? Maybe you are, or want to make nucs to sell—either spring splits or over wintered nucs from this summer for next year, with your queens or queens from somewhere else.
Do you pollinate, or want to start? Is the crop early like almonds, later like cukes, or late like pumpkins? Or do you have all kinds and need strong colonies all summer? And what about that honey crop? Can you juggle both a crop and a contract? Or will one or both suffer because of the way you keep bees, or because of the bees you keep? Figure that out first.
Some beekeepers focus not on honey or pollinating, but on harvesting pollen, maybe even honey bee venom, and propolis is a commonly collected and profitable crop. And, what about 'natural' beekeeping? Are you looking for bees with mite and disease resistance or tolerance? Are you a NO chemical, NO feeding, and NO interference beekeeper?
OK, now, if you are honest about your answers to all of these questions, making the right choice about what kind of bee you should be raising will be easy. You can fine tune your operation by making a good choice. Keeping bees will be easier, more fun, more profitable, safer, and just plain more of what you got into bees for in the first place if you choose the right bee for you. Think of it like this,you don't use an 18 wheeler to move a beehive a couple of miles, and you won't use a pickup to haul 500 colonies to California. There's a right truck for the job, and a right bee for your style of beekeeping.
Your assignment this month, should you choose to accept it, is to go through one or two beekeeping magazines and note how many kinds of bees there are for sale. Note all kinds and styles and breeds and names and attributes and claims and types. Write them down and have your list ready for next time—the last time I looked I easily came up with over 20 on my list—which one is best for you?
Next month: Italians, Carniolans, Caucasians, Russians, Hygienic, Natural, Resistant, All American, 3 Banded Italian, Russian Hybrid, New World, Mixed, Big Island, VSH, Cordovan, Survivor, Fresh, Old World Carniolan, Instrumentally Inseminated, Gentle, Buckfast, Malka, and more. Which bee is right for you?


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Anita Campbell of Small Business Trends is behind one of my big marketing crushes of 2013 and that is BizSugar. I'm thrilled to have her on this week's Solo Smarts to learn more about what she's doing with BizSugar and other online projects that solopreneurs are going to be interested in. Listen in to learn how BizSugar rewards you for 'good social media citizenship'.
Be sure to check out the Small Business Book Awards site. (Solopreneurs are Smarts IS nominated!) You can nominate your favorite recently published small business book anytime before March 3rd.
Also Mentioned this Week:
Contentaire just released! This is the first new product from Jimmy D. Brown in over a year. It was a year ago this month that I finally met Jimmy in person at NAMS7. I'm digging into Contentaire right now and can already tell what a blessing it is going to be to me and my content creation processes. There is a 204 page manual, a 330+ page book of templates and tools and a whole copywriting manual to boot. As usual, Jimmy is wowing me!
Check out the new special upgrade offer on Smart Podcasting Skills – sign up early and enjoy lower pricing on the Triple Play Workshop that will only be offered once in 2013.
I held a webinar to report on some of what I got from NAMS9. Be sure to catch up on the webinar replay here.
Important Pricing Notice: I was given a great gift at NAMS9 and that came in the form of a firm 'buttkicking' from friends and contemporaries. I've decided to take their advice very seriously and that means that prices are going UP here at Solo Smarts. Listen in for all of the details!


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I worked for years as a mining engineer and as a result had to have regular chest x-rays to screen for TB – I had 12 of them in total. I am now 30 and worry that all that radiation has increased my risk of breast cancer – my mother died from it. Is this a reasonable concern?
Please dispel your worries about yourself – my trusted radiologist tells me that the radiation from a chest x-ray is equivalent to less than three days of the natural radiation you receive from an average environment: the radiation you've been exposed to from those 12 x-rays is less than the amount you would be exposed to on a one-way flight from Britain to the Canary Islands, or on a two-week holiday in Cornwall, where radon is a natural constituent of the rock – and the Cornish live just as long as everyone else in Britain. So if you are willing to undertake such holidays, you needn't worry about your past exposure to radiation. What's more, you would need to have all of 150 chest x-rays to pile up the radiation you would receive from a single CAT scan. So, despite the number of times you have been exposed to x-rays, you have not significantly increased your risk of any form of cancer.
I have arthritis in the base of both my thumb joints. I have had therapy and have splints to wear, but the next step is to be a cortisone injection directly into the joint. I have heard that this is very painful and doesn't always work. Surgery is the final option, but this can't be carried out unless I have had the injection. What should I do?
Cortisone injections done under local anaesthetic shouldn't hurt much, and they often don't hurt at all. The idea is that they will ease the inflammation in the joints, so they're used in what we call inflammatory arthritis (such as rheumatoid disease) rather than with degenerative arthritis such as osteoarthritis. If you have been advised that you need a steroid injection, then go for it, with the proviso that you shouldn't need more than one. Don't be afraid of the surgery, if that is what you eventually need: it is very successful these days.


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Age 18-24 + Nose Surgery Q&A
Why Do I Always Feel a Heavy Pressure at my Nose Bridge?
Most of the days I would always have this heavy pressure on my nose bridge. The strong pressure is where my nose bump is. I had this nose bump 16-17... READ MORE
22, Nose bone increase. What do I do? (Photo)
I am 22 years old male.My left nose hole has been blocked reason of bone increase. I having breath problem. My 1 operation was done in 17 years age... READ MORE
I Am 18 Years of Age and I Have a Sort of a Big Nose. Will Get Bigger?
My Dad has a big nose and I am afraid mine will reach that big, but the good thing is my mom has a really small nose. My nose is the same shape has my... READ MORE
I Broke my Nose About a Month Ago, Will OHIP Cover the Surgery Needed to Fix It?
Hi, I am 19 years old, male and live in Ontario, Canada. About a month ago, I broke my nose playing baseball. My nose is now crooked and is causing... READ MORE
A Wide Hole in the Nasal Septum?
Hello there, I am a 22 years old male. I had this problem since I was little. I've consulted with the best plastic surgeons here in Riyadh, Saudi... READ MORE
Does the Nose Continue to Produce Oil and Grow After Age 20?
Hi I have thick skin on my nose , i see black dots on my nose , so I think I have oily skin , my nose and nose tip is large , I want to know does my... READ MORE
Is Alarplasty Alone the Answer to my Nose? (photo)
I'm a 19 year old male asian. My questions are. How much is alarplasty worth and if It depends on the doctor, will the price range affect how the... READ MORE
Does the hump/bump on your nose all of a sudden grow larger and larger?
I'm 23 years old, and I noticed that the bump of my nose is kind of white on the side. Knowing me, it's possible I've always had it and just never... READ MORE
Large Bridge from Childhood Injury. What Should I Do About my Nose?
When I was 2, I had broken my nose due to an accident when I was at a fair. Or so I am told. Anyway, year after year I watched the bridge of my nose... READ MORE
Dorsum and Columella Built from Costal Cartilage: Can't Breath, What Should I do?
I am now 56. I have relived the following story in my mind thousands of times. When I was 20, I went to an ENT about getting a deviated septum... READ MORE
Why is my Nose Getting a Hump/bone at Age of 18?
I always had a perfect straight nose till i woke up one morning and saw a really ugly hump on my nose. I don't remember hitting on something or... READ MORE
Surgery on Nose/nostrils? Make Nose Appear Slimmer? - 19 Years Old (photo)
I would like to have something done on my nostrils. I find they are big, flare & make my nose appear odd. + my right nostril is slightly... READ MORE
I'm Training in Boxing but I Have Nasal Deviation and Sinusitis and Doctor Recommends Me to Have a Surgery. What Should I Do?
Hello all. I am 22 years old Male from Mongolia. I can not breath by nose freely longer than 2 minutes but I can breathe through mouth with no... READ MORE
I am 18 and until 17 my nose was normal 100%. Now the dorsal hump won't STOP growing and it has changed drastically. Why????
When I Was 3-4 Years Old I Have Broken my Nose Now I Am 20 Years Old and I Want to Make the Operation?
But i don't know what operation doing :an open or close rhinoplasty is bettr for me READ MORE
I Am a 18 Year Old Boy. My Nose is Droopy and Large in Size. Will It Increase More As my Age Passes?
I just need to control the growth of my nose. READ MORE
What type of surgery is recommend for my breathing issue? (Photo)
I have difficulty breathing, specially when I am sleeping. I've noticed that I am only able to breath threw one nostril. My left nostril is the one... READ MORE
Can picking nose cause permanent damage to nose shape?
I am 24 year old who used to pick her nose up to 19 years of age. This has caused my left nostril to become flared. The right side is sharp, the way... READ MORE
Sunken Sides of Nose Using Medpor Implant? (photo)
About 6 months ago I had a "I" shaped medpor implant inserted in my nose. I'm an asian female, 20 year old. After 6 months, the sides of my nose look... READ MORE


text:
INDEPENDENCE: Around the league, players refer to them as an "80 ball." They are max contracts worth about $80 million over five years. John Wall has one now. Kyrie Irving might be next.
The Cavaliers can offer Irving a contract extension next summer, and provided he remains relatively healthy this season, they intend on making him a max offer. Now the market has been set by Wall, who was drafted No. 1 overall the year before Irving. Wall last month became the fifth point guard to sign a max contract, joining Derrick Rose, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook and Deron Williams.
Irving would be No. 6. He has an All-Star appearance – Wall does not – and Irving is generally regarded around the league as the better player. But he wasn't interested in discussing his future Saturday at his basketball skills camp at Independence High School.
Asked directly if he would sign the full five-year extension with the Cavs next summer, Irving said, "I'm not really worried about that right now. Right now I'm focusing on the year ahead, my third year, then I'll worry about that in the summer time."
Irving's future in Cleveland has been a topic of conversation since a New York radio host insisted on Twitter that Irving wouldn't remain in Cleveland for long. Irving dismissed the report during a Team USA minicamp last month in Las Vegas, saying he was excited about the moves the organization made this summer and that "I'm a Cavalier right now. I'm happy to be a Cavalier." Irving was asked Saturday why he qualified that with "right now."
"Right now I'm a Cavalier. This is where I am. All that future stuff, I'm not really worried about," Irving said. "I'm living in the moment right now and I'm just trying to get better with the teammates I have now and make the playoffs for Cleveland. That's the only thing I can do right now is give it my all as it stands right now and that future stuff, I'm not really worried about it."
The Cavs control Irving's rights for three more seasons, and it's worth noting no player has ever turned down a max contract coming off his rookie deal.
Irving will depart again early this week for Los Angeles and he is planning on inviting a number of his teammates to work out with him, similar to what he did in Las Vegas last month prior to summer league. He is expecting to hold similar workouts in September as well.
"I'm pulling everyone where I am," Irving said. "So they better be there."
While he avoided the topic of his contract with reporters, Irving did address the campers and their parents Saturday.
"I'll be here awhile," he said unprovoked after taking the microphone, "so everybody get used to my face."


text:
Foxnews.com, Fox News Channel, KLIF (Fox backed talk radio station in Dallas), Newsmax.com, Washingtonpost.com, sometimes dallasnews.com (Dallas Morning News), CNN and MSNBC when I want a good laugh. I also listen to Glenn Beck and Bill O'Riley on KLIF as well as Dave Ramsey. Sometimes I'll catch Glenn Beck on HNN and O'Riley on FNC.
I try to listen to Rush but he is more of an entertainer now and always been big on himself. Also I'll attempt to listen to Savage, but I can only take someone yelling at me for so long before I get irate myself.


text:
Thank you so much for Sauces. I'm a culinary student and last year I was in Soups, Stocks and Sauces class without a textbook (none required). I went to the library found your book, bought it immediately and sold a good portion of my classmates on it because there was no better way to organize and describe the 5 and their variations/derivatives. What do you see as the new and exciting region(s) in the world based on the region's sauces and their combination of flavors?
4/17/09 at 7:26pm


text:
Trey Songz Catches A Break!
Singer Trey Songz catches a big break in a recent assault case. Last summer it was repported that Trey Songz hit a woman in the face with money in a New York strip club for an album release party. It's was never stated whether the woman was a stripper or waitress for the club but officals investigating the case say there's not enough evidence for the case. The Queen's D.A. office says even if Trey did throw money at the woman's face "There would be no clear case of misconduct. There was just no high level of recklessness."


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Related Publications
- Related by Author
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Related Links
Weaning: A Torah Tale for a Brave New Year
Jewish Family & Life (JFL Media), September 2005
Topic: Narrative, Jewish Text, Holidays
Name of Publication: Sh'ma: A Journal of Jewish Ideas
Editor: Berrin, Susan
Volume/Issue: Vol.36/no.623
Page Number(s): 4
Genre: Article
Coverage: United States
Language: English
Copyright Holder: Publisher
Copyright Information: Download for personal use, freely distribute link
Bibliographic Information:
Lau-Lavie, Amichai. Weaning: A Torah Tale for a Brave New Year. Sh'ma: A Journal of Jewish Ideas. Jewish Family & Life (JFL Media). September 2005: 4. http://www.bjpa.org/Publications/details.cfm?PublicationID=7140
» View Publication
(PDF, 104 Kb)


text:
German Shepherd Dog Forums (http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/)
- Basic Care (http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/basic-care/)
- - heartgard before test (http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/basic-care/439881-heartgard-before-test.html)
heartgard before test
I took Heidi to the vet for her annual exam/heartworm test, but have not taken my two labs yet. My vet said to go ahead and start the labs on the Heartgard, even though they haven't had the test yet. He had me do that last year too, since I am sometimes a little late bringing them in. My question is if that's ok, then why do we have to have/pay for the test at all? I think our vet is confident that our dogs are on the Heartgard all during heartworm season and that I am diligent (anal) about this.
Because prevention is not 100% and testing is recommended. Resistant strains to all the avermectins are developing in the Mississippi Valley and spreading out.
If you only use HW preventative seasonally (instead of year round), you are at greater risk of a positive dog -- thus the increased need for annual testing. I know people who ended up with HW(+) dogs this way. I actually test every 6 months with dogs that come into rescue with unknown histories-- and recommend our adopters do it too, since it takes 6 months for a HW baby worm that slips through the prevention to mature to a larval stage that the test can pick up. I'm in an area with confirmed resistance to ivermectin though, and a HW epidemic, so we take it pretty seriously.
The American HW Society now recommends year-round prevention, even where winters are cold:
American Heartworm Society | FAQs (see the question about Minnesota)
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DEAR BRUCE: My wife is in college. We receive approximately $11,000 annually from a Stafford loan capped at 8 1/2 percent. We have about $7,000 left over that we have been investing in several mutual funds.
We own our home free and clear, but we have a $24,000 balance on our home equity loan at 5 percent. My wife and I are in our early 20s and our income is $36,000. Are we doing the right thing? — Reader, via email
DEAR READER: Let me disabuse you immediately of the circumstance. You don't own the home free and clear. You have a $24,000 mortgage, which is what a home equity loan is. It sounds like you are doing very well, but don't kid yourself. You don't own your home.
With your income of $36,000, it sounds like you are living well within your means.
Whether you should be investing in mutual funds or directly in the stock market is another question.
It is my opinion that, particularly with today's relatively poor performance of mutual funds, that you might shift your investments into reasonably large companies that are paying 2 percent to 4 percent dividends. If you wish to take more risk, which you certainly can afford to do in your early 20s, you might lean toward companies that are paying dividends and are rapidly increasing in value.
DEAR BRUCE: My husband recently passed away. I now face our financial obligations alone. He has an outstanding balance of $15,000 on a credit card in his name alone. Is this my responsibility? — Reader, via email
DEAR READER: The likelihood is that you will be obliged to pay the $15,000. Even though the credit card was in his name alone, the $15,000 was credit that was granted to him during your marriage.
There are some circumstances where this would not be your responsibility, but unless you have more information that you didn't share, I think you are going to find that you will have to pay this.
That being said, you should consult a CPA or an attorney who specializes in matters of this kind to be certain that what I am telling you is correct.
Send questions to firstname.lastname@example.com. Questions of general interest will be answered in future columns.
Owing to the volume of mail, personal replies cannot be provided. The Bruce Williams Radio Show can now be heard 24/7 via iTunes and at www.taeradio.com. It is also available at www.brucewilliams.com.


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Click for "Microbes After Hours" videos
Unable to embed Rapid1Pixelout audio player. Please double check that: 1)You have the latest version of Adobe Flash Player. 2)This web page does not have any fatal Javascript errors. 3)The audio-player.js file of Rapid1Pixelout has been included.
Vincent, Dick, Alan, and Cliff answer questions from listeners on swine influenza origins, transmission, virulence, and vaccines, HIV and AIDS, and more.
Host links: Vincent Racaniello, Dick Despommier, Alan Dove, and Cliff Mintz
Links for this episode:
Dick 27" iMac and Powers of Ten by Philip Morrison and Phyllis Morrison
Alan ImageMagick
Cliff ePatient Connections 2009
Vincent Cell size and scale
TWiV #56 (57 MB .mp3, 82 minutes)
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RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif. — Rescuers who plucked a young woman on Thursday from a steep, rocky canyon wall said she was exhausted, had trouble breathing and likely could not have survived much longer than another day in the rugged Southern California wilderness.
Kyndall Jack, 18, was rescued from a near-vertical wall in Falls Canyon in Cleveland National Forest, five days after she got lost on a day hike with a friend.
"She was kind of clinging to the ledge on the cliff side, kind of going in and out of consciousness," said Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy Jim Moss, a paramedic who treated her. "We climbed up to her and could see she was in a lot of pain, obviously completely dehydrated and very weak.
"She wouldn't have made it much longer. She's really lucky," he told The Associated Press in an interview shortly after the rescue.
Barely able…
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text:
porcelain tiles
I got installed new porcelain tiles on the floor.
Now when i mop the floor it's so hard to mop the floor properly because i barely put any water on the mop and still I get the water stain left on the tiles. Also my tiles got some stains on it from doing the cabinets in the kitchen.
I wanted to know if their's any products that somebody could recommend me to mop the porcelain tile so i dont get the water stain left after, also a product to remove some stain from the tile.
Thanks your time
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Emporio Armani Pack of three black cotton boxer briefs
Item No.0910108551
Item No.0910108551
This pack from Emporio Armani comes with three pairs of boxer briefs, all of which have elasticated waistbands with woven logo detailing.
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text:
Do I need new axles for my modifications?
I have a 2 inch spacer suspension lift kit on and I want to take those out to put a 6 inch long arm kit in, I will also be adding a 1 inch body lift and 36" tires... Will I need new axles? I know I need an SYE and driveshaft but not sure about the axles. I'm running a 4.0l '98 sport edition wrangler and have stock axles. If I need new axles with 36s can I just go with 35s to prevent having to buy new axles? Thanks
Assuming you have a D30 front and D35 rear - If you put cromoly axleshafts in your front D30 it might survive with 35s or 36s - depending on how you drive. However if you have the D35 rear it will be a ticking time bomb with tires that big - even with a super 35 kit I would think. Lockers will make it even more vulnerable to grenading. Some will say it is do-able, but most would advise you to at least upgrade the rear to a D44 with cromoly shafts. Ideally with 36" tires, front D44 and rear D60 would be the choice I would go for. If money permitted.
Oh - and you will also need bigger brakes.
Oh - and upgraded HD steering.
And probably some other things I'll think of later.
You do not NEED them but you will want them. The D35 rear is a major weak point. I think you can keep the front and upgrade as stated above, but the rear should be a D44...however, if you will only be doing fire roads and street driving, you may be able to make the rear axle last a little while, it all depends how you drive. I have seen a D35 break with only 32 inch tires.
How can I find out what axles I have on there right now? And thanks for the replies and helpful input.
1 Attachment(s)
You have a D30 front for sure. If the rear looks like the pic, you have a D35 rear. If it has a different shape and a metal fill plug instead of rubber, you have a D44 rear. Also in the pic inset you can see where it is stamped "35".
5 Attachment(s)
Here are a few pics of my rear axle. see what you guys can make out of it.. I have no idea which axle this is
You've got a Dana 35 rear. You're going to want new axles if you're going to be running 35 or 36 inch tires. If it's going to be a mall crawler, you MIGHT be able to get by, but if you plan on using this Jeep and not being a poser, you're going to want a better rearend. And I wouldn't run 36" tires on the front, even with a chromoly axle kit. So you're probably going to want a new frontend as well.
so I would need a D44 front and D60 rear for 35" tires and a 6" suspension lift and a 1" body lift? how much would these axles cost me? I've already got the other stuff I need except the axles
Okay, 1st a few questions, why do ya want 36 tires? what kind of wheeling do you do? As for custom axles you could spend thousands.
You could get by with front and rear D44s from a Rubicon.....IF you can find them. Another option is to do a Ford 8.8 rear swap from a late model Ford Explorer. You don't need a D60 for 36" tires. A D60 typically has a HUGE pumpkin, necessitating BIG tires to gain ground clearance. An 8.8 swap would cost ABOUT the same as a D44 once you've purchased it and had the new mounts welded to it. It's NOT a direct bolt-in, but they're in EVERY junkyard out there and they're stronger than the average D44. Any good 4x4 shop has probably done a bunch of 8.8 swaps, so they'd be able to quote you a price. As for a frontend, you COULD probably get by with a later model HP D30 from a Jeep Cherokee (XJ). They run reverse-cut gears and are reportedly about 35% stonger than our TJ LP D30s. Just some more options for you. Currie, Solid, Genuine Gear, and others sell ready-to-install diffs as well.
so I should basically just go to a local 4x4 shop and ask them? everything needed for this conversion is: D44 or ford 8.8 in rear, D30 from an XJ or D44 in front, 6" lift kit, 1" body lift kit, 5 35" tires, SYE, Driveshaft... am I missing anything?
new tie rod
drag link
gears front and rear
Labor for gear install about $700-$900
New Brake pads all around
new rims cant use ur stock ones (unless u get spacers)
if ur getting all 5 tires...new rear bumper w/tire carrier
what 6" kit are you going with?
I was thinking Black Diamond's kit is the one that appealed to me the most. Just the basic 6" lift from them. However, seeing all of this stuff I need to install with the lift kit and tires, it may be over my budget. I might need to reconsider and try to go with a 4 or 5" lift with 33s and a 1" body lift. If I used a 5" kit with a 1" body lift and 33 inch tires, I wouldn't need to swap out my axles would I?
6" of lift with 33s!??! go for the Rubicon Express 3.5" superflex kit (its actually 4-4.5") lift with 33's with ease and if you wanna fit 35's down the road get a JKS 1.25" body and you'll be fine.
RE7003 - TJ/LJ 3.5" SUPER-FLEX SYSTEM - Rubicon Express
Is that in quadratec? And that sounds reasonable.
Also, would I need an SYE and driveshaft for a 4 inch kit and 33s? Would my stock axles be fine as well?
I'm going the Ford 8.8 route, and I spent $200 for a axle with 4.10 gearing and a LSD from a member on here. $425 for the entire installation kit. $100 to have it welded. $100 for the brake rebuild. The rest of the work is being performed by myself and a friend who knows gearing. I'm leaving it at 4.10 with 33s for the time being, but eventually I'll be setting up to 4.88.
For a setup Dana 44, you'll spend at least $500 more and it's a weaker axle.
if you wanna do it right the first time than this is this is your best bet
Its the RE 3.5" Super-flex kit (with the upper arms also to adjust your pinion angles after the sye install), w/sye and driveshaft, and shocks all as one big kit. people have given 95% great reviews about this kit. its everything you need + more.
Rubicon Express RE7000-3 3.5 Super-Flex Kit & SYE Combo and Shoc
every jeep is different some need a sye at 3" lift some can get away with it until 5" with a TC drop and MML it all depends on the jeep.
and just like burton said above me go for an 8.8 if ya have the cash after the lift, sye, and tires. if not the d35 will hold up just fine with 33's only if you dont lock the d35.
To the OP, you are a bit all over the place.
- How are you going to use your Jeep? Are you really using it off-road (and to what extent) or is this more for street and looks?
- What is you budget and how much work can/are you going to do yourself?
- Now that you are down from 36/35" tires to 33's, to fit 33's you do not need that big a lift. 2-2.5 spring lift + 1.25" BL is all you need. (on the street, you can get by with less)
yo, you should be fine if you do like a 4 or 5 inch lift with 33 inch tires. thats what i got and i have the d35 rearend. ive done some serious shit with mine and so far no brakage. the black diamond suspension is really good offroad by the way, just on the highway you can feel every little pebble. and its hell on a gravel road.
Yeah I'm new to this stuff but everyone starts somewhere right? I've been a Jeep owner for two months, give me a break.. anyways.. I went to a shop today, the mechanic said I should be fine with the axles I have with 33s. He said I should get a 3" BL because he can make modifications to hide the showing of the framework and that if I wanted to do the 3.5-4" suspension lift later I could with no problems.. I just don't know how 7" of lift would look with 33" tires.. at the moment I have a 2" spacer suspension lift and 31s
Run away as fast as you can from any shop trying to convince you that a 3" BL is the way to go. They don't know Jeeps well enough evidently.
WOW im confused are we doing 33s, 35s, 36s. according to my wife my opinions don't count for much but I think a lot of the questions have to do with what the jeep will be used for and what kind of budget are we looking at.. if that's endless danatrack Dana 60s and and an ls1 for me please
To give you an idea - here's me on a pretty challenging rocky section of trail - running 33s on roughly 2" of lift and a 1.25" BL - front and rear TruTrac limited slip diffs - and the lifesaver here was my engine skid, control arm skids, rocker guards, and gas tank skid - which I dented and have since upgraded to 3/16" steel.
I think I wanna do the 1 inch BL for now, then when these tires wear down I'm gonna add the 3.5/4 inch lift and 33s at the same time. I think this sounds like a good starting place, like I said I have only had it for about 2 months now and have done nothing except minor mods on the interior to this jeep. So I will keep my decisions updated, and thanks for all of yalls input, it's amazing what just being a part of an online jeep community can do for you.
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Product code: 18066
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Great fun for kids to encourage them to drink water regularly.
This fold flat water bottle is reuseable, folds flat when empty and stands up when full.
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- Home
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2008 Season
Robert Morgan is the author of the New York Times bestseller Gap Creek, as well as seven other novels and eleven books of poetry. A recent winner of the American Academy of Arts & Letters Award for Literature, he lives in Ithaca, New York, and teaches at Cornell University.
The Blue Valleys
The Mountains Won't Remember Us
The Hinterlands
The Truest Pleasure
The Balm of Gilead Tree
Gap Creek
This Rock
Brave Enemies
Zirconia Poems
Red Owl
Land Diving
Trunk & Thicket
Bronze Age
At the Edge of the Orchard Country
Green River: New and Selected Poems
Wild Peavines
Topsoil Road
The Strange Attractor: New and Selected Poems
Boone: A Biography
Good Measures: Essays, Interviews, and Notes on Poetry
Boone: A Biography
Chapter One - The Mother World of the Forest
The Quakers of Devonshire lived as farmers and weavers in hamlets and mountain valleys. They had broken away from the official church and been punished by fines and ostracism, sometimes by prison and whippings. As Quakers they could not hold office or vote. As pacifists it was against their faith to serve in the army or navy. They could not attend school or train for the learned professions. As followers of George Fox, they called themselves Friends, and they did not have a hierarchy of clergy or ritualized service. They met in silence and spoke only as the spirit stirred them. The ties of neighbors and among the Friends were very close. Though often persecuted and exploited, they attempted to live lives of calm goodwill and honest work, farming and weaving linen and wool, blacksmithing and helping one another.
The Boones were Quakers from Devonshire in the extreme southwest of England. Devonshire is one of the most beautiful counties of Great Britain, a place of highlands and moors covered with heather and bracken, high rocky hills, long pleasant valleys running down to the sea. The river Exe rises out of a bog in the north and runs through Brampton, Tiverton, Stoke Canon, Exeter. The Boone family had been settled in this area for at least two hundred years, living primarily around Exeter, an ancient town with buildings dating from Roman,
Saxon, Norman, and Tudor times. Exeter's splendid cathedral dated from the eleventh century and had been rebuilt between 1280 and 1370 as a Gothic masterpiece.
Exeter had long been a center for the weaving and dyeing trades, producing a woolen cloth of serge weave. But it was also a market center where many goods as well as produce were sold near the cathedral. Smiths made guns, horseshoes, hinges, and tools for the village. George Boone II completed an apprenticeship as a blacksmith and married Sarah Uppey around 1660 before settling down to his trade at Stoke Canon. George II was a member of the Church of England, prosperous, entitled to a pew at the parish church. He was the father of George III, born in 1666, who became a Quaker.
The man who founded the Society of Friends, George Fox, was born in Nottinghamshire in 1624 to a Puritan family and was apprenticed to a shoemaker. At the age of eighteen he experienced a conversion, a call, and began to wander from town to town, valley to valley, witnessing and exhorting, encouraging drunkards and sinners to repent and reform. He supported himself by making shoes. In Nottingham Fox was jailed for intruding on a church service, shouting, "Truth is not in this meeting." He was arrested in Derbyshire for preaching in the street. His message of humility and simplicity began to attract followers, and enemies, and in places he and his listeners were stoned. His flocks were primarily artisans and farmers. His followers were especially well received in the West Country, in Devon and Cornwall. But in much of England Quakers were accused of vagrancy and jailed. Fox himself was imprisoned for refusing to take off his hat in court. In prison he drew a large following among the inmates and local people.
Quaker communities became tightly knit. Before a Quaker could move away he had to get a "certificate of cleanness" from his meeting, declaring his faith and good character. Quakers were expected to visit the sick and bereaved, talk with the troubled, and discuss problems and plans in the family and community. To marry, they had to obtain approval of the committee of Friends and were forbidden "to keep company" or marry outside the community of Quakers. They had to avoid all gambling, music, frivolity. But because Quakers were known to be trustworthy in their dealings, they gained the respect of society and their businesses prospered.
George Boone II chose the weaver's trade for his son George III, who was born in the sixth year of the Restoration, 1666. George III established his weaving business in the village of Bradninch, where he had probably served his apprenticeship. In 1687 young George married Mary Maugridge, from an old Bradninch family. Mary, the daughter of John Maugridge, was baptized in Bradninch in 1668. She gave birth to her third child, Squire Boone, in 1696. The other children were George IV, baptized in 1690; Sarah, 1692; Mary, 1694 (d. 1696); Mary, 1699; John, 1702; Joseph, 1704; Benjamin, 1706; James, 1709; and Samuel, 1711. It would seem the Boones always had large families. George III and Mary Maugridge Boone joined the Friends Meeting in nearby Cullompton sometime after 1702.
After the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, which ended the War of the Spanish Succession, the woolen trade declined. There was widespread unemployment in Devon. Norwich and Yorkshire had begun to produce a less expensive kind of wool cloth. This decline in their business almost certainly influenced the Boones to think of immigrating to the New World. George IV, Sarah, and Squire Boone traveled to Pennsylvania as early as 1713, and George IV and Squire soon joined the Friends Meeting there.
It would seem the younger Boones were sent to Pennsylvania to scout out opportunities for George III, and the rest of his family soon followed. But before he left Devonshire for America, George Boone III wrote out a confession to the local Society of Friends. The handwritten copy still exists in the Devon Hall of Records in Exeter. In the letter he admits a number of failings:
I am constrained to make mention of this my transgression not without grief but with trouble and sorrow of heart for this my wickedness—which was keeping of wild company and drinking by which I sometimes became guilty of drunkenness to the dishonour
of truth.
And then he goes on to confess another shortcoming:
I fell into another gross evil which I also confess to my great shame and sorrow that I did so little regard the Lord and the dear mercies of the Lord, but went on in another gross sin by which the honour due unto marriage was lost, for the marriage bed was defiled.
Bradninch, 29th of the 12th month, 1716
Many Quakers had already gone to the New World in the 1600s. William Penn, the son of an admiral highly respected by King Charles II, had been inspired by the "inner light" as a youth and was expelled from Oxford University for refusing to attend Anglican services. He became associated with George Fox and preached on the Continent. He served as trustee for Quakers immigrating to the New World. By 1678 there were hundreds of Quakers from Yorkshire living in New Jersey.
Some had already crossed the Delaware into what would become Pennsylvania, where Swedish immigrants had earlier built settlements. The headquarters of the Quakers in America was established at
Burlington, New Jersey, in 1677. George Fox visited the community there to encourage the members.
On March 4, 1681, Charles II, to settle a debt claim to William Penn's
late father, granted Penn a charter to twenty-eight million acres, all lands west of the Delaware River between forty and forty-five degrees and extending five degrees west. The king named the region Pennsylvania in honor of the late admiral. William Penn himself came to the colony in 1682. Penn's proprietary land agent granted tracts of land to immigrants on generous terms. After a parcel was surveyed, the purchaser paid an annual quitrent of a penny an acre. Land could be bought outright, fee simple, at the price of one hundred pounds for five thousand acres. Settlers started to pour into the colony. Between 1682 and 1684, fifty ships arrived in Philadelphia, bringing settlers from London, Bristol, Ireland, Holland, and Germany. A number of Welsh began to arrive.
The Welsh immigrants tended to settle near each other in what was called the Welsh Tract, forty thousand acres with towns named Merion, Radnor, Haverford. The only physicians in the colony at this time were members of the Welsh community.
Edward Morgan of Bala, a Welsh Quaker who had arrived in 1691, settled with his family in the Moyamensing District of Philadelphia County. Nine years later they moved to Towamencin Township near Gwynedd. Here Squire Boone, who would become the father of
Daniel Boone, met Edward's daughter Sarah. A Friend's meetinghouse had been established at Gwynedd in 1701. George III and Mary Boone had moved there soon after they arrived in America.
The Morgans of Merionethshire in North Wales had become Quakers soon after George Fox visited there in 1657. Morgan is one of the most common names in Wales, along with Jones. Edward Morgan belonged to the tenth generation descended from Llewelyn Ap Morgan. That part of Wales is renowned for its mountain crags and mists. In the seventeenth century its main businesses were sheep grazing; knitting stockings, gloves, sweaters; and making wigs. Writing in the 1180s the historian and priest Giraldus Cambrensis described Merionethshire as "the roughest and rudest of all the Welsh districts. The mountains are very high, with narrow ridges and a great number of very sharp peaks, all jumbled together in confusion. If the shepherds who shout together and exchange comments from these lofty summits should ever decide to meet, it would take them almost the whole day to climb up and down again."
Quakerism had taken root in that part of Wales following the preaching of Morgan Lloyd and John Ap John. Since the times of the Druids, the Welsh had been a people who loved music and praise. One of their own in the fifth century, named Morgan, had called himself Pelagius, translating Morgan ("of the sea") into Latin, when he rose
to high office in Rome and preached a doctrine denying original sin. He gained many followers, until he was denounced as a heretic by Augustine of Hippo. The Welsh had always loved a religion of praise, and independence, preferring to seek peace, liberty, and happiness on their own terms and in their own rugged world.
When George Fox visited Wales, he found a small, though receptive, audience for his "quietism" and pursuit of the "inner light." Fox's best reception was in the mountains of Merionethshire, and there he invited his listeners to come to Pennsylvania to take part in the "holy experiment" with freedom and brotherhood on the banks of the Delaware and Schuylkill. Edward Morgan and his family had answered that call.
When George III and Mary Boone arrived in Pennsylvania in 1717 with their six younger children, Mary, John, Joseph, Benjamin,
James, and Samuel, they first lived with their son George IV and his wife, Deborah Howell Boone, in Abingdon. Before winter they moved to the Quaker community of North Wales. George IV had presented the certificate "of his orderly and good conversation" from Cullompton, Devonshire, to the Friends' Abington meeting on "8 mo. 26, 1713."
It was at Gwynedd, near Oley, that Squire Boone and Sarah
Morgan were given permission to marry on the thirtieth day of the Sixth Month in 1720. Quakers referred to the months by numbers to avoid using the pagan names such as January and February. Earlier that same year George III had been required to confess to the Gwynedd Monthly Meeting his "forwardship in giving his consent" to the marriage of his daughter Mary to someone "Contrary to the Establish'd order amongst us." This was not the last time a Boone would be asked to confess and apologize to the Friends for the behavior of his children.
Squire Boone has been described as a rather small man, with fair skin, red hair, and gray eyes. Sarah Morgan was taller than most women, with black eyes and black hair, strong and active. The marriage
of Squire and Sarah is described in the Gwynedd Friends Meeting Book:
At a solemn assembly of the said people [Quakers] . . . the said Squire Boone took the said Sarah Morgan by the hand (and) did in a solemn manner declare that he took her to be his wife, promising to be unto her a faithful and loving husband, until death should separate them, and then and there in the said assembly Sarah Morgan did likewise declare.
In April 1718 George III moved his family to Oley, in Berks County, where his older daughter, Sarah, and her husband, Jacob Stover, had been living for three years. The new meetinghouse in Oley was named Exeter, after the town back in Devonshire. The stone building still stands and is used as a meetinghouse. George III bought four hundred acres of fine meadowland and forest. By 1728 George III had built a mill at Exeter, and we have the impression of years of prosperity. But after a period of peaceful relations with Indians, the area was suddenly threatened by Shawnees. George Boone wrote to the governor requesting help: "Our condition at present looks with a bad vizard, for undoubtedly the Indians will fall down upon us very suddenly, and our inhabitants are generally fled, there remains about 20 men with me to guard my mill."
Many settlers were so frightened they left their homesteads. Within days eleven Indians, painted for war and carrying weapons, arrived near Van Bibber's Township, going door to door demanding provisions and drink. A posse of twenty local men gathered to pursue the warriors. The leader of the Indian band refused to negotiate and fired on the settlers, wounding two before fading into the forest. The settlers took refuge in a mill, possibly George Boone's. The Shawnees were on their way to join a party of Delawares in a campaign against the
"Flatfeet," as the Catawbas were sometimes called. In all they wounded five settlers in what luckily turned out to be the only ever hostile encounter between whites and Native Americans in the Philadelphia area.
Because of their cooperation, craftsmanship, division of labor, and hard work, the Quakers were well adapted for frontier life. They were used to being frugal, self-reliant, resourceful. They raised their own sheep and flax, spun their own wool and linen, wove their own cloth. In the Philadelphia area the Quakers were in the majority and became the leaders of the colony.
The Boones were leaders of their community. Squire Boone became a trustee of the Oley Monthly Meeting, and his brother George IV and his wife, Deborah, deeded land for the Quaker burial ground. George III was a justice of the peace. Several Boones served as delegates to the quarterly and annual meetings of the Friends. The strong sense of community and brotherhood among the Quakers helped sustain them through the hardships of the frontier. They provided care and aid to the sick or struggling. At the same time they were strict about the conduct of their members, requiring violators to make a written confession of errors and acknowledgment of justice. The confessions were posted on the door of the meetinghouse.
Squire Boone was a weaver and blacksmith. He also farmed his land and ran a gristmill, and he had a substantial herd of cattle. A man of many parts, hardworking and talented, Squire was neighbor to Mennonites, Swedish Lutherans, Presbyterians, Huguenots, and Moravians as well as Quakers. Though he grew increasingly independent and liberal in his thinking, he was a man of patience and common sense. And like his father before him, he was touched with restlessness, curiosity, an urge to move on.
Among the Boones' neighbors in the area were the extensive Lincoln family. "Boones and Lincolns several times intermarried. Sarah Lincoln sister of John Lincoln who was the gr[eat] grandfather of President Lincoln, married William Boone son of George Boone and Deborah (Howell) Boone by Friends Ceremony 8th mo 27th 1761." Anne Boone, daughter of Squire's brother James, married Abraham Lincoln on July 10, 1760. Because Lincoln was not a Quaker she was condemned by the Friends Meeting. Their daughter Mary later married a James Boone. Both Boones and Lincolns are buried in the yard of the Exeter Meeting House. The Boones and Lincolns would be acquainted later also in Virginia and Kentucky.
Squire and Sarah's sixth child, Daniel, was born November 2, 1734 (October 22, Old Style). From the very beginning the family sensed that Daniel was different from the other children. Lively, apparently tireless, curious, when very young he helped out in the family trades of blacksmithing, milling, and farming. But family lore has it that from the very first Daniel liked to roam in the woods. Oley was mostly forest then, a green world of rolling hills and small streams, and from his childhood Daniel preferred to rove and study the ways of the wild. He seemed born to be an outdoorsman and hunter, the way John Keats
was born to be a poet. One early biographer described the infant
Daniel playing with his father's powder horn and rifle where they had been laid down after a hunt.
Daniel's closest relationship was with his mother, tall Welsh Sarah, with her black eyes and cheerful disposition. From his birth she seemed to favor Daniel of all her children, tolerating his pranks, his tendency to slip away into the woods for hours, for whole days. The bond between mother and son was intense, affectionate, inspiring. It seems she put her fondest hopes in this independent, sometimes wayward boy driven by enthusiasms for the wild and curiosity about the world beyond the farm, beyond the river. Daniel's uncle John Webb took a particular interest in the boy also, "keeping him and petting him for weeks together" at his house with his own four children.
In October of 1744 Squire Boone bought twenty-five acres of land five miles north of his home in Oley. That was where he pastured his livestock, and from the age of ten Daniel accompanied Sarah there in summer to look after the cattle and sheep. From spring until fall he lived with her in a cabin in the woods. For the rest of his life Daniel would look back on those summers as an idyllic time. He was assigned to keep an eye on the herds and help with the cows, while his mother milked and made butter and cheese. Once a week they carried the milk and milk products on foot back to the homestead. For Daniel the forest was his mother world, a place of shadows and mystery, infinite diversions and pleasure; the settlement and town were the masculine world of trade and business, meetinghouse, authority and strictness. He would always be closer to the mother world than to the father world. His deepest affinity was with the forest and the streams.
Daniel spent much of those summers exploring the nearby and not-so-nearby woods. Though he had little formal schooling, he studied the ways of animals, of deer and bear, foxes and panthers. He learned to read signs, tracks and droppings, broken twigs, bent-down grass, torn moss. As an early biographer, W. H. Bogart, phrased it, "He learned lessons of the snow and the leaves and moss, and to detect, with a quick eye, the tread of foot." From Sarah he seemed to have inherited a Quaker calm and patience, a sense of intimacy with place and weather, with all life, including Indian life and Indian ways. He delighted in solitude. It is likely that most of the milking and work with the dairy was done by his mother, since milking and butter making were considered women's work.
From the beginning, the complexities and contradictions of Daniel's
character seemed evident. He loved most to spend time alone in the woods, observing and learning, tracking and trapping and killing game. Indians still lived in the neighborhood when Boone was a boy. One Indian, a close friend of George Boone, built a cabin on Boone's land, lived to an old age, and was buried close by. The local Shawnee Indians liked him because he respected their ways and admired their knowledge of the land and forest. There was almost a Franciscan humility and reverence for life in the young Boone, yet he was a hunter, a killer of the wild animals.
And though he was a Quaker, Daniel was a fighting Quaker. The stories of his youthful pranks and fights, told by Boone's son Nathan to Lyman Draper in 1851, make it clear the young Daniel was no pacifist. Once two sisters, carrying a bucket of fish guts to empty during the shad run, saw Daniel sleeping under a tree. Unable to resist the
temptation, they dumped the contents of the bucket on his face. Brushing the slimy entrails out of his hair and eyes, the young Daniel jumped up and bloodied the girls' noses and sent them home howling. Within minutes the girls' mother stormed into Sarah Boone's kitchen and accused Daniel of attacking her daughters. But the peaceable Quakeress would not tolerate the tirade against her son. "If thee has not brought up thy daughters to better behavior," she said, "it is high time they were taught good manners. And if Daniel has given them a lesson, I hope for my part that it will in the end do them no harm. And I have only to add that I bid thee good day."
The young Daniel often demonstrated a tendency to wander off without much concern for the worry his absence might cause others. However much he loved his mother, and however much he later loved his wife, Rebecca, his urge to hunt and wander and explore always came first.
From the time he was a boy Boone had a flair for the dramatic. He seemed to know instinctively how to make himself noticed, remembered. As a young man he began to create for himself the role of Daniel Boone, and he spent much of his life perfecting that role. Despite his later protestation that he was "but a common man," he seemed aware from early in his youth that he was not just playing himself but a type, what Emerson would later call a Representative Man. Boone would embody in his actions and attitude the aspirations and character of a whole era.
At least once, Daniel became so distracted by his own explorations that he forgot the hours of the day, his home, the fact that he was supposed to help his mother. Before it got dark, Sarah had to round up the cattle herself and do the milking, strain the milk, and put it in the springhouse to stay cool. Calm and prayerful, she worked at churning butter from clabbered milk. But when Daniel did not come home by the next morning and still had not returned by noon, she had no choice but to walk the five miles back to town to get help.
A search party was formed and they combed over the Oley Hills all the way to the Neversink mountain range northwest of the Monocacy Valley. They found no sign of Daniel that afternoon. But starting out early the next morning they traveled farther and spotted a column of smoke. Late in the afternoon they reached the source of the smoke and found Daniel sitting on a bearskin and roasting fresh bear meat on the fire. When asked if he was lost, he said no, he had known where he was all along, on the south shoulder of the hill nine miles from the pasture. The search party accused him of scaring his mother and forcing them all to waste time looking for him. But he calmly answered he had started tracking the bear and didn't want to lose it. And besides, here was fresh meat for everybody.
Whether this story is true, or just one of the legends that grew around Boone in later life, it reveals as much about the way he was perceived and remembered as it does about his character. People later recalled that even from his boyhood there was a sense that Daniel had been singled out. The story of the search party echoes the story in Luke 2:49 of the twelve-year-old Jesus lost from Mary and Joseph. The boy is finally found in the temple conversing with the elders. When he is questioned and scolded, he explains that he has been "about his Father's business." The sense of the story is that Boone had already found his calling and his destiny. It is clear he also knew how to make a memorable impression.
For Boone there was something erotic about the woods, a playground, a place of sometimes dangerous pleasure. And some would later suggest that with his lifelong passion for hunting, there was a part of Boone that never quite grew up.
Boone's cunning and love of pranks are also recorded in many of the childhood anecdotes Lyman Copeland Draper and others collected later. One tale Boone himself liked to repeat in old age concerned his confinement to the house during an outbreak of smallpox. His mother would not let him or his sister Elizabeth outdoors to play. Sick of the imprisonment, young Daniel and Elizabeth decided to catch the smallpox themselves and get it over with so they could go out to play as usual. That night they slipped away to a neighbor's house and crawled into bed with friends who were infected with smallpox, then returned home before daybreak.
When a few days later the red marks began to appear on him, Sarah grew suspicious. "Now, Daniel," she said to her son, "I want thee to tell thy mother the whole truth." Daniel readily confessed the initiative he had taken. "Thee naughty little gorrel," she cried, "why did thee not tell me before, so I could have had thee better prepared." Sarah called him an Old English word for knave but was too affectionate to punish him. It was the kind of story Boone as an old man liked to recall of his beloved mother.
Squire Boone, however, was not so indulgent with his sons. When he punished them he would swing the strap until they begged for
forgiveness. Then he would quit whipping and talk with them
calmly. But Daniel was more stubborn than his brothers and endured the punishment in silence. "Canst thou not beg?" the frustrated father would ask. But Daniel would never answer, leaving Squire to make up his own mind when the punishment was sufficient. Even as a boy Boone showed the stoicism and self-control he was later renowned for.
While he roved the woods and tended his father's cattle, Daniel cut and carved a stick which he used to kill animals — rabbits and squirrels, possums and wild turkeys. Before he owned a gun Boone was already a hunter, with the patience, sharp eye, and deadly aim of the successful hunter who learned something new every day as he went into the woods again. He was proud of his skill at cleaning and dressing
a turkey. Often he cooked outdoors for himself and Sarah, hanging the bird on a stick over the flames, turning it to bake on all sides. With a piece of curved bark he caught the drippings, which he used to baste the turkey. When his mother asked how he had learned to do that, he said merely that an Indian had told him how it was done.
When Daniel was almost thirteen he was given his first firearm, a "short rifle gun" with which he roamed the nearby Flying Hills, the Oley Hills, and the Neversink Mountains. The Flying Hills were named for the flocks of turkeys that lived there. The rifle was probably made by Squire Boone, who, besides keeping six looms busy with hired hands, farming, and running his blacksmith shop and mill, was also a gunsmith. His skill at making and repairing guns was passed down to his fourth son. It would be an essential, lifesaving skill in later years, in the wilderness beyond the mountains.
As a blacksmith Squire Boone had taken an apprentice named Henry Miller, two or three years older than Daniel. Henry and Daniel
soon got into a fistfight, and then, as often happens with those who begin by fighting, they became lifelong friends. Henry taught Daniel blacksmithing and gunsmithing, as he learned the skills himself. Together they hunted and fished and played pranks on neighbors and on other members of the Boone family. Once they overloaded a rifle that was to be lent to a neighbor named Wilcoxen. Wilcoxen, who knew little about guns, was to pick up the already loaded rifle in the morning for a deer hunt. During the night the boys took out the lead ball, added six times the usual amount of powder, and replaced the bullet.
As soon as the neighbor took the rifle away, the boys realized what they had done. A seriously overloaded rifle might well explode, injuring Wilcoxen, perhaps even killing him. Sick with guilt and dread, they listened as he stalked off into the woods. Later they heard a report like the blast of a cannon and, running toward the sound of the blast, were relieved to see Wilcoxen stumbling out of the woods, his face bruised and bloody from a cut on his forehead. He said the recoil of the gun had thrown him to the ground.
When he heard the story, Squire Boone answered that the load had been so light he could have rested the gun on his nose without hurting it. Daniel and Henry asked Wilcoxen if he had killed the deer, but the poor man was so surprised by the force of the blast he hadn't noticed his target. But Wilcoxen recovered his dry wit and commented that he thought "it was a pretty dear shot." The boys ran into the woods and found the deer and brought it to the neighbor, who likely after that learned to load his gun for himself.
Because of the family's strict Quaker principles, the Boone children were not allowed to attend parties or dances. But Daniel and Henry heard of a frolic to be held in a distant town, and giving each other courage, or daring themselves, they decided to borrow Squire Boone's horse in the night and ride away to the dance. After an evening of celebration, perhaps after sampling some of the local hard cider, they decided to jump the horse carrying both of them over one of Squire's cows sleeping in the pasture. The cow awakened and started to rise, rear first, just as the horse began its leap. Daniel and Henry slammed to the ground shaken but unhurt, but the horse broke its neck and died. The boys returned the bridle and saddle to the barn and crept back into the house as if nothing had happened. Squire never solved the mystery of how a healthy horse could let itself out of the barn and break its neck in an open pasture.
One of the pranks credited to Boone and Henry Miller was taking apart piece by piece the wagons of neighbors who had scolded them and placing the wagonwheels on the ridgepoles of the owners' barns. But these may have been Halloween tricks more than acts of revenge.
Daniel began to acquire a reputation for prowess, cunning, and willpower. From an early age he could walk miles without getting tired and swim any river or pond. He could outrun other boys and he always seemed to win fights and wrestling matches. With bow and arrow he always seemed to win shooting matches, and with a rifle he was without peer. If he and his friends played "Hunt the Indian," he always found the Indian. If it was his turn to be the Indian, he disappeared and could not be found. Once he and Henry and other boys were carrying their rifles in the woods and surprised a panther sunning on the riverbank. It screamed and started to charge. The other boys ran, but Daniel stood his ground, leveling his sights at the bounding cat. Just as the creature was about to leap at him, he fired and the cat fell dead at his feet.
There has been much debate about Boone's education. Late in life he told his children he had never had one day of schooling. A nephew later told a story of young Daniel attending a school taught by an Irishman who was both fond of the bottle and handy with the cane. The teacher frequently repaired to the woods for a sip from his hidden jug. One day while squirrel hunting Daniel found the bottle and laced the liquor with an herbal emetic. Later, as he was wracked by violent heaves and spasms, the teacher noticed Daniel giggling and realized he was the culprit. Attempting to whip the boy, the sick Irishman got knocked to the floor by the independent youth. Sarah Boone rebuked her son for violence but didn't force him to return to school.
Whatever the truth about his schooling, the fact is that Daniel Boone could read and write. As a militia officer, storekeeper, land agent, surveyor, magistrate, and legislator he wrote thousands of letters and reports, many of them still in existence. And he enjoyed reading, especially history books, the Bible, and later Gulliver's Travels. There is reason to believe he knew Robinson Crusoe quite well. But his spelling was erratic, even imaginative. The orthography of his many notes and letters, bills and survey accounts, is part of the legend. Lyman Draper reports that Boone was actually taught to read and write by his brother Samuel's wife, Sarah Day. Draper offered his own description of Boone's writing: "He could at first do little more than write his own name in an uncouth and mechanical way. To these humble beginnings, he added something as he grew up, by his own practical application . . .
His compositions bear the marks of a strong common sense, yet, as might be expected, exhibiting defects in orthography, grammar and style, by no means infrequent."
Draper applies strict, Victorian standards to Boone's handwriting and spelling. Another story relating to Boone's education, or rather lack thereof, concerns his bachelor uncle John who kept a subscription school nearby and was liberal in applying the rod. Daniel refused to attend, and Sarah took his side, critical of excessive caning. John complained to his brother Squire.
"It's all right, John," Daniel's father answered. "Let the girls do the spelling and Dan will do the shooting, and between you and me that is what we most need." Whether the story is true or not, it implies a very common course of events, as educated immigrants to America found little opportunity or time for education for their children. The second generation of the immigrants often had less education than the first. "They took the powder horn and left the ink horn at home," the biographer W. H. Bogart later wrote. From infancy Daniel had been exposed to daily readings from the Bible, and it is likely its words made a lasting impression on him "in the mighty solitudes of his after years."
There were few schools in the area of Oley at the time. But the fact is all the other Boone sons received a respectable education. As far as we know only Daniel avoided school and the rules of grammar and spelling. It would seem his parents early on recognized his skills as a hunter and woodsman who provided the family with venison and turkey, squirrels and rabbits, as well as hides and furs. It was practical to let him do what he did better than anyone else.
Later in his life, in a moment of great danger, Boone would write sentences such as, "Your company is desired greatly, for the people are very uneasy, but are willing to stay and venture their lives with you, and now is the time to flusterate their [the Indians'] intentions, and keep the country whilst we are in it." This letter, written to Richard Henderson on April 1, 1775, as Boone and his men were hacking out Boone's Trace after being attacked by Indians, shows he had some command of language, as well as a flair for making up words and spelling. We don't know, of course, how much help he had with the letter from his son-in-law Will Hays.
However poor or creative Boone's spelling was, he did know how to spell his name, always with an e at the end, proving that the famed inscriptions such as "D. Boon Cilled a bar on tree in the year 1760" were almost certainly made by someone else.
Young Daniel's greatest teachers were the woods themselves and the Indians he watched and questioned and imitated. We talk often of the impact of the white culture on the Native Americans, but the influence of the Indian culture on the white was just as significant. As John Mack Faragher has pointed out, in Europe hunting was the preserve of the nobility. Most of those who came to America learned to hunt from Indian ways. Not only did the settlers and hunters learn much about hunting and trapping and survival from the Indians, they also learned the use of herbs and roots and berries, medicines, the lay of the land and courses of rivers to the west.
The Boone family, like William Penn himself, had always been known to be friendly to the Indians. George III had organized a rescue of two Indian girls who had been kidnapped. Indians passing through the neighborhood were often invited to eat and drink and stay the night at the Boone home. In 1736 a chief called Sassoonan, "King of the Schuylkill Delawares," stayed at the Boone homestead with a party of twenty-five.
Relations between Indians and whites in Pennsylvania were more peaceful than in the other colonies. In the woods along the Schuylkill above Philadelphia, white hunters who lived like Indians were seen frequently along the trails and beside the streams. Indians of many different tribes mingled in the hills and villages north of Oley, Tuscaroras and Tutelas, Conoys and Nanticokes, Shawnees and Susquehannocks and Delawares. One nearby Indian village, called Manangy's Town, was later renamed Reading.
Besides the minor outbreak of fighting in 1728, there were no Indian raids on the southeastern Pennsylvania frontier in the eighteenth century. It was a time when the Indians were learning from the Europeans to use firearms, wear woven cloth, build log cabins, use metal tools, and drink whiskey. And from the Natives the white hunters learned the ways of the American woods, the best techniques for hunting deer and bear and trapping beavers, mink, and otter. From the Indians the hunters learned to prepare bear bacon and jerk from venison. They learned to cure deer hides and buffalo hides and bearskins. And they learned the beauty and value of furs, the glistening pelts of beavers that populated almost every stream in the forest. The pelts of mink and otter, fox and muskrat, raccoon and pine marten, were also useful and beautiful, warm and silky to the touch. Most luxuriant of all was the otter, its fur deep and dark and sparkling, soft as a whisper to the fingertips, shining with mystery. In the Old World fur was reserved for royalty. In the North American forests fur was there for anyone with the skill to take it.
The hide of the deer was used mostly for clothing. Scraped and tanned, softened and smoothed, buckskin was common as khaki is now. Deer hides were such a familiar item of frontier trade that the Spanish dollar, worth about one hide, came to be called a buck. Buckskin served many purposes on the frontier, used for clothes, strings, and pouches. Prepared right, it was soft and pliable. However, when wet, buckskin tended to become very heavy, and it shrank as it dried out.
The American long rifle, developed by German gunsmiths in Pennsylvania, was the weapon of choice for hunters of both races. It was light and sturdy and could be accurate at up to two hundred yards in the hands of a skilled marksman. But both white and Indian hunters used other firearms as well—British muskets, Dutch shotguns, pistols. A man's rifle was his most important companion in the forest. The saying was he should select a rifle as carefully as a wife.
As they interacted more and more with the whites, Indians changed their customs and dress. With the traditional buckskin leggings and breech clout, the Indians often wore the long linen hunting shirts donned by the white woodsmen. The log cabin and stockade were almost impossible to build without metal tools. For centuries the Indians had lived in shelters made of poles and bark, hides and brush. But once the Indians had metal axes and saws, adzes and augers, they too made log dwellings, similar to those the whites built. It is said that Indians preferred to notch their logs on the underside, while whites notched theirs on the top.
It has long been observed that white and Indian communities on the frontier mirrored each other in many ways. From the Indians the whites learned herbal medicines, hunting techniques, crops fitted to
the local climate and soil, preparation of hides and furs, geography of the regions farther west. From the whites the Indians acquired firearms, metal tools, whiskey, cloth, small grains, and a number of diseases that killed more Natives than all the wars combined.
It was in this world of mingling Indian and European cultures that Daniel Boone's character and aspirations were formed. He became an expert marksman, tracker, and trapper. He never forgot a trail or place he'd seen. But at the same time he was part of a large close family, loyal and affectionate, good natured and often funny. He loved to enjoy himself and be with friends before vanishing into the woods again, emerging days later with bear meat, a deer, pelts to trade. These two sides to his character seemed to be there from the first. From childhood he seemed to inhabit a "middle ground" between white and Indian cultures. And he served at times as a kind of double agent, his loyalties complex and divided between his several worlds and kinships.