They were frontier farmers, who chopped down the forest and tilled the soil with their own hands.

They used the axe and guided the plow as skilfully as they handled their rifles; they were also mighty hunters, and accustomed from boyhood to Indian warfare.

The children received the best schooling the back country could afford, for they were a book-loving race, fond of reading and study as well as of out-door sports.

The two chief members were cousins, Arthur and William.

Arthur was captured by the northern Indians when sixteen, and was kept a prisoner among them several years; when Lord Dunmore's war broke out he made his escape, and acted as scout to the Earl's army.