Forest and Frontiers; Or, Adventures Among the Indians
History
Forest and Frontiers; Or, Adventures Among the Indians
Hunting; Indians of North America
The old lady was permitted to reach the stile unmolested, but in the
act of crossing, received several balls in the breast and fell dead.
Her son, providentially, remained unhurt, and by extraordinary agility
effected his escape. The other party succeeded also in reaching the
fence unhurt, but in the act of crossing, were vigorously assailed by
several Indians, who throwing down their guns, rushed upon them with
their tomahawks. The young man defended his sister gallantly, firing
upon the enemy as they approached, and then wielding the butt of his
rifle with a fury that drew the whole attention upon himself, and gave
his sister an opportunity of effecting her escape. He quickly fell,
however, under the tomahawk of his enemies, and was found at daylight,
scalped and mangled in a shocking manner. Of the whole family,
consisting of eight persons, when the attack commenced, only three
escaped. Four were killed upon the spot, and one, the second daughter,
carried off a prisoner.
The neighborhood was quickly alarmed, and by daylight about thirty men
were assembled under the command of Colonel Edwards. A slight snow had
fallen during the latter part of the night, and the Indian trail could
be pursued at a gallop. It led directly into the mountainous country
bordering on Licking, and afforded evidences of great hurry and
precipitation on the part of the fugitives. Unfortunately, a hound had
been permitted to accompany the whites, and as the trail became fresh
and the scent warm, she followed it with eagerness, baying loudly and
giving the alarm to the Indians.
The consequences of this imprudence were soon displayed. The enemy
finding the pursuit keen, and perceiving that the strength of the
prisoner began to fail, sunk their tomahawks in her head and left her,
still warm and bleeding upon the snow. As the whites came up, she
retained strength enough to wave her hand in token of recognition, and
appeared desirous of giving them some information, with regard to the
enemy, but her strength was too far gone. Her brother sprung from his
horse, and knelt by her side, endeavoring to stop the effusion of
blood, but in vain. She gave him her hand, muttering some inarticulate
words, and expired within two minutes after the arrival of the party.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account