Clark and his friends speedily relieved their necessities by killing fourteen of the great beasts; for when once the hunters had found out the knack, the buffalo were easier slaughtered than any other game.[28] The hunters were the pioneers; but close behind them came another set of explorers quite as hardy and resolute.

These were the surveyors.

The men of chain and compass played a part in the exploration of the west scarcely inferior to that of the heroes of axe and rifle.

Often, indeed, the parts were combined; Boon himself was a surveyor.[29] Vast tracts of western land were continually being allotted either to actual settlers or as bounties to soldiers who had served against the French and Indians.

These had to be explored and mapped and as there was much risk as well as reward in the task, it naturally proved attractive to all adventurous young men who had some education, a good deal of ambition, and not too much fortune.