If I remember my history correctly, which is always suspect, the term Longhunter was in use during the French and Indian War. Boone was a Longhunter and by his own admission was no farmer, and many others never bent to a plow either. Boones longest hunt was 2 years. Their main quarry was the whitetail deer, the skins of which were used as money, thus our slang, "buck", for a dollar. They also took whatever other game was presented them and trapped in addition to hunting. Oddly, to us, their best hunting for deer was in the summer when their hides were thinner and I suppose easier to work and made for a softer leather. The Longhunter history makes for interesting reading and corresponds with much of our early history as a country, especially our "first west" as Belue puts it.
As Butler Ford said there are hundreds, if not thousands, of volumes on the subject. I really enjoyed Belues book.
As an aside, for years I thought the Indian wars in the west of the plains and Rockies were bloody confilicts, and they were, but they don't hold a candle to the bloodletting and savagery, from both sides, of the settling of our "first west". As one example, General Arthur St. Clair lost something over 500 men in one failed expedition to subdue the tribes of the Old Northwest, and that happened twice. Custer and his loss of 200+ men pale by comparison. My current study of that period has been enlightening to say the least.
Vic
