Almost every autumn, despite the unrest on the frontier, he would go on "long hunts", extended expeditions into the wilderness lasting weeks or months. The Wilderness Trail at this time was just a foot path. Boone and a group of men from Boonesborough followed in pursuit, finally catching up with them two days later. With food running low, the settlers needed salt to preserve what meat they had, so in January 1778, Boone led a party of 30 men to the salt springs on the Licking River. In April 1777, during an Indian attack on Fort Boonesborough in Kentucky, a bullet struck Boones leg and he found himself staring up at a Shawnees tomahawk. One day thousands will desire this land, and we will be richDaniel Boone. Locke hits Boone, heals his head with a medicine and fastens him with a rope in a tree, living him alone in the forest. There are three variations of the Wilderness Trail leaving Stickleyville to the west, and we do not know which versions were being traveled by James, and perhaps Daniel. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of theTerms and Conditions. He began earning money by locating good land for other settlers. The inscriptions may be genuine, or part of a long tradition of phony Boone relics. [95] In 1791, he was elected to the Virginia legislature for the third time. The population was growing in the Yadkin Valley, which decreased the amount of game available for hunting. //-->