Encounter

The period after the Revolutionary War was a time of rapid white expansion west of the Allegheny Mountains and into the Kentucky and Ohio country. The Indians as well as the white hunters and settlers generally carried a knife, tomahawk and single shot flintlock rifle or musket. Usually they tried not to seek confrontation until the other parties' strength and numbers were ascertained. Each had to decide whether the other was friend or foe: to greet and share food, fight or run. If the interloper turned out to be hostile, agility as well as speed and cunning were the best defense. Flight did not mean cowardice. It was simply one of the many strategies used for survival.

Shortly after the siege of Boonesboro, Kentucky, in 1778, some of the Indians who remained in the area began killing the settlers' cattle at a nearby settlement known as Logan's Station. Benjamin Logan went to drive his cattle nearer to the protection of the station since they were scattered and had become quite shy. During his search, Logan encountered a small party of Shawnee warriors who wounded him two or three times and shattered his arm. Logan ran to an area of brush and cane brakes. He had to hold his thumb in his mouth so that his broken arm wouldn't swing freely and get hung up in the brush. Logan made it back to the security of the station, recovered from his wounds and had a long, distinguished political career before and after Kentucky's statehood.

The highly detailed painting entitled "Encounter" has been reproduced as a very limited edition, archival quality, giclee canvas print of only ten individually signed and numbered reproductions.

The giclee process, especially in small quantities, is an extremely costly endeavor, however, it allows the collector to obtain a superior quality, lasting work of art which can be displayed without the need of protective matting or glass.