Collection of Nebraska Pioneer ReminiscencesDaughters of the American Revolution. Nebraska
History
Collection of Nebraska Pioneer Reminiscences
Daughters of the American Revolution. Nebraska
Frontier and pioneer life -- Nebraska; Nebraska -- History
The constitution and by-laws of this first woman's suffrage association
of the state are still well preserved. The first officers were: Susan E.
Ferguson, president; Harriet G. Huse, vice president; Barbara J.
Thompson, secretary; Lucy L. Correll, treasurer; A. Martha Vermillion,
corresponding secretary. Of these first officers only one is now
living.
AN INDIAN RAID
BY ERNEST E. CORRELL
In 1869, Fayette Kingsley and family resided on the Haney homestead at
the southeast corner of Hebron, where Mr. Haney had been brutally
murdered in the presence of his three daughters in 1867, the daughters
escaping and eventually reaching their home, "back east."
On May 26, 1869, "Old Daddy" Marks, accompanied by a young man for
protection, drove over from Rose creek to warn Kingsley's that the
Indians were on a raid. While they were talking, Mr. Kingsley heard the
pit-pat of the Indian horses on the wet prairie. From the west were
riding thirty-six Indians, led by a white man, whose hat and fine boots
attracted attention in contrast to the bare-headed Indians wearing
moccasins.
In the house were enough guns and revolvers to shoot sixty rounds
without loading. When Mrs. Kingsley saw the Indians approaching she
scattered the arms and ammunition on the table where the men could get
them. There were two Spencer carbines, a double-barreled shotgun, and
two navy revolvers, besides other firearms.
Mr. Kingsley and Charlie Miller (a young man from the East who was
boarding with them) went into the house, got the guns, and leveled them
on the Indians, who had come within 250 yards of the log-house, but who
veered off on seeing the guns. One of the party at the house exclaimed,
"The Indians are going past and turning off!" Mr. Marks then said, "Then
for God's sake, don't shoot!"
The Indians went on down the river and drove away eleven of King
Fisher's horses. Two of Fisher's boys lay concealed in the grass and saw
the white leader of the Indians remove his hat, showing his close-cut
hair. He talked the Indian language and ordered the redskins to drive up
a pony, which proved to be lame and was not taken. The Indians continued
their raid nearly to Meridian.
Meanwhile at Kingsley's preparations were made for a hurried flight. Mr.
Marks said he must go home to protect his own family on Rose creek, but
the young man accompanying him insisted that he cross the river and
return by way of Alexander's ranch on the Big Sandy, as otherwise they
would be following the Indians. Mr. Kingsley, with his wife and three
children, went with them to Alexander's ranch, staying there two weeks
until Governor Butler formed a company of militia composed of the
settlers, to protect the frontier. A company of the Second U. S. Cavalry
was sent here and stationed west of Hackney, later that summer. The
Indians killed a man and his son, and took their horses, less than two
miles from the soldiers' camp.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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