A famous backwoods leader was a mighty hunter and Indian fighter, George Rogers Clark. Clark was physically strong, having light hair and blue eyes. He was from a worthy Virginian family and a backwoods surveyor early in his youth, much like George Washington. Clarke ventured to Kentucky for one year, either at the stations or camping by himself in the woods, surveying and hunting. Although Clarke was against war with the Indians, his presence in Indian territories convinced him that a small force of resolute backwoodsmen could conquer the Indians for the United States. When he returned to Virginia, Governor Patrick Henry entered heartily into Clark’s schemes and gave him authority to fit out a force for his purpose.
Source: Hero Tales from American History by Henry Cabot Lodge and Theodore Roosevelt
