“Resolved, by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky,—­That our Senators in Congress be requested to make use of their exertions to procure a grant of land in said territory to said Boone, either the ten thousand acres to which he appears to have an equitable claim, from the grounds set forth to this Legislature, by way of confirmation, or to such quantity in such place as shall be deemed most advisable, by way of donation.”

Notwithstanding this action of the Legislature of Kentucky, Colonel Boone’s appeal, like many other just and reasonable claims presented to Congress, was neglected for some time.  During this period of anxious suspense, Mrs. Boone, the faithful and affectionate wife of the venerable pioneer, who had shared his toils and anxieties, and cheered his home for so many years, was taken from his side.  She died in March, 1813, at the age of seventy-six.  The venerable pioneer was now to miss her cheerful companionship for the remainder of his life; and to a man of his affectionate disposition this must have been a severe privation.

Colonel Boone’s memorial to Congress received the earnest and active support of Judge Coburn, Joseph Vance, Judge Burnett, and other distinguished men belonging to the Western country.  But it was not till the 24th of December, 1813, that the Committee on Public Lands made a report on the subject.

The report certainly is a very inconsistent one, as it fully admits the justice of his claim to eleven thousand arpents of land, and recommends Congress to give him the miserable pittance of one thousand arpents, to which he was entitled in common with all the other emigrants to Upper Louisiana!  The act for the confirmation of the title passed on the 10th of February, 1814.

For ten years before his decease, Colonel Boone gave up his favorite pursuit of hunting.  The infirmities of age rendered it imprudent for him to venture alone in the woods.

The closing years of Colonel Boone’s life were passed in a manner entirely characteristic of the man.  He appears to have considered love to mankind, reverence to the Supreme Being, delight in his works and constant usefulness, as the legitimate ends of life.  After the decease of Mrs. Boone, he divided his time among the different members of his family, making his home with his eldest daughter, Mrs. Callaway, visiting his other children, and especially his youngest son, Major Nathan Boone, for longer or shorter periods, according to his inclination and convenience.  He was greatly beloved by all his descendants, some of whom were of the fifth generation; and he took great delight in their society.

“His time at home,” says Mr. Peck, “was usually occupied in some useful manner.  He made powder-horns for his grandchildren, neighbors, and friends, many of which were carved and ornamented with much taste.  He repaired rifles, and performed various descriptions of handicraft with neatness and finish.”  Making powder-horns—­repairing rifles—­employments in pleasing unison with old pursuits, and by the associations thus raised in his mind, always recalling the pleasures of the chase, the stilly whispering hum of the pines, the fragrance of wild flowers, and the deep solitude of the primeval forest.