Chief Of A Native Indian Tribe Adopted Him

To Chillicothe, the hometown of Blackfish, Boone and his men were sent. The Shawnees replaced their lost warriors by adopting some of the prisoners, as was their custom. At Chillicothe, Boone was adopted into a Shawnee household, maybe Blackfish's, and given the name Sheltowee (Big Turtle).The Shawnees transported the unadopted prisoners to Governor Hamilton in Detroit in March 1778. Boone traveled with Blackfish despite the fact that he turned down Hamilton's promises to hand him over to the British. He fervently begged Blackfish, the tribe chief, to let him go.

Boone continued to act as though he intended to hand over Boonesborough while Hamilton courted him with presents in an effort to gain his devotion. Boone traveled back to Chillicothe with Blackfish. He got a tip that they were preparing to attack Boonesborough, so when he had the chance, he escaped from their possession. Boone escaped his captors and sped home in five days on horseback then, after his horse gave out, on foot after learning Blackfish was set to return to Boonesborough with a sizable army on June 16, 1778. One of the great stories of frontier history, according to biographer Robert Morgan, is Boone's flight and subsequent return.