AUDUBON AND BOONE. 169 
and gave them liberties which finally resulted in the desired 
opportunity of escape, and of which they skillfully availed 
themselves in time to get off. They found their camp broken 
and plundered, and, to their great dismay, that the rest of the 
party having become frightened by the appearance of the 
Indians, had returned to North Carolina. This was a great 
shock to Boone, but his nature was far too resolute to be 
deterred at all from the prosecution of his fixed purpose at 
the out-set, to explore and possess this whole region. 
