Was Daniel Boone a Traitor? from Unsolved Mysteries

Unsolved Mysteries of American History by Paul Aron, Barnes and Nobler Books, New York,1997.

This refers to an incident surrounding Boonesborough, Kentucky.  This was a fort founded by Daniel Boone.  However at the height of the Revolutionary War, Daniel Boone surrendered the fort to Native Americans.  It first happened he was taken prisoner.  He then negotiated a sort of peace if Boone turned over the men looking for salt who were with him.  He did so, and in captivity was adopted by a Chief Blackfish of the Shawnee.   Then with the British and the Shawnee he arranged for turning over Fort Boonesborough.  This he did.  If you were to look at this you would think Boone was a traitor; however he had his own explanation.  A peace party met outside the fort.  The Shawnee laid siege.  However this did not last long and they gave up.  He contended his actions were for the benefit of the people.  The Shawnee outnumbered them and they would have been killed without his intervention.   He had gained time for them to prepare their defense.  He was brought to trial for treason; but the jury found in favor of Daniel Boone.  What has become known since is that the wife of Daniel Boone was a Tory.  Daniel Boone for sure was torn between loyalties.  After the war there was no British influence, but Daniel Boone was no longer welcome in the town he founded. 

What Caused the Salem Witch-Hunt?

Unsolved Mysteries of American History, by Paul Aron, Barnes and Noble, New York, 1997.
The Salem Witch Trials as they are known, resulted in twenty executions, fourteen woman.  Also five people died while imprisoned, including two children.  What Caused the Salem Witch-Hunt?  This is a question with many answers.  What is known for sure is that an area was effected with mass hysteria.  Some made accusations to free themselves.  It started when two girls had attacks which were not contributed to epilepsy.  Their Black servant who dabbled in voo-doo provided an excellent excuse, which then resulted in more and more accusations.  Upwards of fifty persons spent time in prison.  There was a preexisting feud going on between the Putnams and the Porters.  The Putnams being the second wife, and her son, who inherited a very large estate, which the descendants of the first wife thought should belong to them.  Joseph Putnam, of the second wife, married a bride of considerable wealth, a Porter.  The Putnams were among the accusers.  The daughter of Thomas Putnam was one of those who had fits blamed on witchcraft.  The Porters and their friends were often named as witches.  However the Porter side of the family remained rich, while the Putnam side remained poor, and most of them moved away.  In addition to the feud, there were other motives.  The magistrate who carried out the arrests benefited greatly.  One of the priest, who wasn’t fully drawn to the idea, prospered when a rival priest was accused.  The judges also may have been in on the profiteering.   

Chapter Review: What Happened to the Lost Colony of Roanoke?

Unsolved Mysteries of American History by Paul Aron, Barnes and Noble Books, New York, 1997.
The Roanoke colonist predated the Jamestown colony of British settlers in America.  Roanoke Island is off the coast of North Carolina.  This was 20 years before the Jamestown.  the governor of the colony, John White, only stayed a short time.  His daughter gave birth to the first English baby born in America, Virginia Dare.  He then returned to England to negotiate for more supplies and support.  He returned three years later, and the colony had disappeared.  they left carved in a tree the word, Croatan.  Perhaps the left and joined the Native American on Croatoan Island.  However they had been told to go north, and the island was south.  
Sir Walter raleigh was the money behind the project.  However he fell out of favor with the queen, and was off on other adventures.  the colony was somewhat forgotten.  
There in fact was even an earlier colony by two years.  However this colony faded into the mist as well.  However this colony was rescued just in time.  they had alienated the locals, and were short on food.  Sir Walter raleigh appeared with ships, and took them aboard, making room by leaving some slaves and Indians who had been rescued from the Spanish.  Those left also disappeared.  
With regards to the lost colony, it is generally felt the majority went north, and were killed when they allied themselves with the Chesapeake Indians.  This group was wiped out by Powhatan.  A for the few who had been left to guard the original settlement, it is believed the did go to Croatoan and mixed in with the Native Americans.  
the governor of the colony, though not much of a governor (he left) he was an artist, and consequently we have from him the first pictures by and Englishman of Native Americans.  these were painted in 1585.

Chapter Review: Was Rachel Jackson a Bigamist?

Unsolved Mysteries of American History by Paul Aron, Barnes and Noble Books, New York, 1997.
This chapter concludes that this is a true statement to a degree.  This was an accusation made while Jackson was running for president.  In the day when Andrew Jackson and Rachel Jackson became husband and wife laws were different.  Rachel was married previous, and to get a divorce took and act of Congress, at least state house.  Rachel's first husband was abusive, but there was not a way for her to get out.  Andrew Jackson took up as her defender.  And it appears they had become intimate long before any divorce could be granted, which reportedly the Jacksons thought had happened but hadn't.  At any rate, the friends of the Jackson, and the country folk where they lived had no problem with it.  The relationship between Rachel and Andrew was considered legitimate.  
Andrew won the election, but Rachel never served as first lady as she passed away before Andrew Jackson took over as president.  

Chapter Review: How Did Cortez Conquer the Aztecs?

Unsolved Mysteries of American History by Paul Aron, Barnes and Noble Books, New York, 1997.
This chapter gives a pretty concise of the two-year struggle in which the Aztecs were defeated.  Hernan Cortez took his men on a non-sanctioned mission to Mexico to take the Aztec treasure.  On the way to the Aztec capitol city, Tenochtitlan, a city built in the middle of a lake, the gather allies from amongst those native indigenous people who were controlled by the Aztec, but historically were enemies.  Sometimes this involved small skirmishes, but by the time the Spanish force of 600 men arrived, they had numerous allies supporting them.  Add to this the confusion Montezuma had over the appearance of White forces.  The were confused because they had a legend about a White god returning to take his place as ruler.  This was enough to give Cortez a break, and the took Montezuma captive.  Controlling the ruler, the Spanish controlled the Aztecs, until the Aztecs became disillusioned with Montezuma.  They confronted him, and Montezuma attempted to calm him.  Instead the Aztecs started firing at him, and whether Montezuma was killed by the Aztecs, or the Spanish is not known, but he was of no further use to the Aztecs.  However without some kind of control, the Spanish were forced out of the city, suffering heavy casualties.  Many of the Spanish drowned with their pockets heavy with gold.  As they retreated they were met with another convoy of Spanish, sent by the Cuban governor to capture Cortez.  However Cortez and his men were able to kill the leader and instantly had many new recruits to continue their battle against the Aztecs.  They returned, and with their allies were able to take the city again, fighting house to house.  
This chapter does not mention the story about burning the boats presented by Andy Andrews.  In other study it appears this story is basically true.  However their are mixed ideas with regards to motive.  Cortez did spend considerable time with his men on the beach motivating them.  However some of the men were determine to return to Cuba as the new the mission was illegitimate.  It is not necessary that the boats were burned, but they were destroyed.  

Chapter Review: Where Did Columbus Land?

Unsolved Mysteries of American History by Paul Aron, Barnes and Noble Books, New York, 1997.
Some people, with their made up history, have accused Columbus as the culprit of everything bad thing that has happened over the past 500+ years, which is just nonsense.  Columbus was a man who embarked on a quest for a different route to India, and was willing to risk his reputation and life on that quest.   However, a more important question that where he landed, is what he thought about what he had found.  There are several islands that claim to be the spot of the first landing.  They are all in the Bahamas, and the historical record is so old, it is open to interpretation today.  Columbus never returned to the original landing site.  However a more interesting question is at what point did Columbus realize he had found something other than a route to India?  The debate here ranges from, Columbus always though he had found islands off the coast of India, v. his intention all along was to discover a new world.  What is certain is that two cultures collided, which collision caused terrible hardship for the Native Americans.

Chapter Review: Why Did Benedict Arnold Turn Traitor?

Unsolved Mysteries of American History by Paul Aron, Barnes and Noble Books, New York, 1997.
In the case of Benedict Arnold the primary motivation was greed.  Arnold had other grievances.  In fact he had been court marshaled, but cleared on most counts, however he had begun communicating with the British before this.  He also felt slighted in many instances.  He had directed several American military successes before joining the British.  However his major reason for turning was money.  He had a new wife he needed to support, and offered to surrender West Point to the British for money.   However the British officer with whom he was communicating was found out, and in turn so was Arnold.  The officer was hung, but Arnold escaped, leading troops for the British and eventually returning to England.  George Washington had given orders that Arnold was to be hung if caught.

Chapter Review: Why did the Anasazi Abandon their Cities?

Unsolved Mysteries of American History by Paul Aron, Barnes and Noble, New York, 1997.
The Anasazi are the ancient people who were responsible for the building of the sites in Chaco Canyon, as well as Mesa Verde where they constructed cliff dwellings.  Pueblo Bonito was the largest apartment building in North America until the late 1800s.  It was five stories high.  However durable these buildings, the people abandoned these sites, Chaco Canyon by 1200, and the Mesa Verde sites by 1300.  So where did the people go?  You may thin they were conquered by another nation, but there is no evidence of a great battle or warfare. Weather conditions may have been a contributing factor.  Tree ring studies does show evidence of a drought.  However the answer may lie in a combination of factors.   Sometimes we think of the Anasazi as a distinct people that disappeared.  In fact they merged with other peoples.  The Anasazi live on in the Pueblo peoples of Arizona and New Mexico.

Chapter Review: Did Leif Ericsson Discover America?

Unsolved Mysteries of American History by Paul Aron, Barnes and Noble, New York, 1997.
I think we all pretty much accept that the Vikings visited North America in their travels.   Eric the Red had discovered Greenland, giving it a hopeful name in order to attract people to settle.  However Biarni Heriulfson first made it to North America, but was very unimpressed.  He did mention his find to Leif Ericsson, who was impressed with his story.  He went to establish the first non Native American settlement there and called in Vinland.  It wasn't until 1964 that evidence of an actual village was discovered.   This discovery included domestic items, which indicated their must have been women in the settlement.  However it didn't last long.  The natives were too inhospitable.  The mystery remains however that the site discovered is too far north for grapes to grow, thus belying the name of the city.  It could have been a rouse to encourage settlement, or the climate may have been more conducive to grapes at a past period, or there could be another site farther south.

Chapter Review: When Did the First People Arrive in America?

Unsolved Mysteries of American History, by Paul Aaron, Barnes and Noble Books, New York, 1997.
This book starts with a chapter on the origin of the Native Americans.  It proposed that the majority of them came across the Bering Strait, when it was a land bridge at the end of an ice age in about 12,000 B.C.  However there are others how have evidence of earlier inhabitants.  There are also those who contend that some of the Native Americans are of Hebrew or Middle Eastern origin.  Some even contend they were survivors of Atlantis.  I think in the end, accepting all theories as a partial explanation for the arrival of the Native Americans is a good bet.  Of course theories of native Americans coming from the lost tribes predates Joseph Smith.  The Book of Mormon explains the arrival of a group to America, although likely only a small group compared to those already here.  If you ask Native Americans themselves, they will tell you many stories of how they arrived as well.