There’s a cool event underway commemorating the 250th anniversary of the cutting of the overland path into Kentucky. The Daniel Boone Wilderness Trail Association, the National Park Service and others are conducting a kind of torch relay along the emigrant route Boone cut in 1775, with a hand-forged tomahawk standing in as the “torch.”
To mark Daniel Boone and his Axemen’s 250th anniversary carving the path to Kentucky, we’re following in their historic footsteps. Starting from Kingsport, TN, teams of explorers will hike roughly 10 miles daily, symbolically passing an ax along the way to Fort Boonesborough, KY, just a tad southeast of Lexington. Along the 250-mile route, you can also take part in special events, honoring the pioneers of westward expansion and those who helped shape our nation. It’s a journey into our past, and you’re invited!
We can “Track the Ax” at https://www.boonetrace250.com/.
I believe I spy Flintlock Operator in that company…
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The esteemed frontier historian Paul Andrew Hutton has hung up his spurs as a classroom educator and is headed to a new gig in Cody, Wyoming.
Just turned in my final grades–after 48 years I am retiring from teaching and heading north to spectacular Cody, Wyoming, where I have taken a position as interim curator of the Buffalo Bill Museum in the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. I feel a bit like Daniel Boone, who late in life struck out from Kentucky for Missouri in search of “elbow room.” I seek the same both physically and intellectually. Looking forward to a grand new adventure!
A fantastic museum just got better.
Hutton’s book on the Apache Wars is first rate. It was a tremendous honor to me to be a fellow commentator with him on Into The Wild Frontier. This is just a grand thing, the way a fine career should be capped.
Greg Austin Walker says
Jim,
I’ll be ordering that book.
As you know the crossed arrows insignia we wear in Special Forces is tied to the Indian scouts, specifically the Apache scouts although numerous tribes served in this capacity.
An important reason why the Pacific Northwest Nez Perce adopted this SF unit leading up to Operation Iraqi Freedom and solidified that adoption when the unit returned to Fort Lewis from Iraq.
https://www.specialforces78.com/sf-unit-adopted-by-nez-perce-tribe/
“The crossed arrows insignia used by U.S. Special Forces is rooted in its historical use by U.S. Army Indian Scouts. The Native American roots of the symbol are a reminder of the Special Forces’ historical lineage and the skills of the Indian Scouts they draw upon. In Native American cultures, two crossed arrows can symbolize an alliance or friendship, while a broken arrow signifies peace.”
“Indian Scout Legacy:
“The crossed arrows were officially adopted as the uniform insignia for the U.S. Army Indian Scouts in 1890. These scouts, who served in the western United States from 1860 to 1939, were known for their proficiency in scouting, tracking, and combat skills.”
And this book, North American Indigenous Warfare and Ritual Violence, is a superb study of this subject.
“Despite evidence of warfare and violent conflict in pre-Columbian North America, scholars argue that the scale and scope of Native American violence is exaggerated. They contend that scholarly misrepresentation has denigrated indigenous peoples when in fact they lived together in peace and harmony. In rebutting that contention, this groundbreaking book presents clear evidence—from multiple academic disciplines—that indigenous populations engaged in warfare and ritual violence long before European contact. In ten well-documented and thoroughly researched chapters, fourteen leading scholars dispassionately describe sources and consequences of Amerindian warfare and violence, including ritual violence. Originally presented at an American Anthropological Association symposium, their findings construct a convincing case that bloodshed and killing have been woven into the fabric of indigenous life in North America for many centuries.”