Noble Deeds of American Women: With Biographical Sketches of Some of the More Prominent
History
Noble Deeds of American Women: With Biographical Sketches of Some of the More Prominent
Women -- United States -- Biography
Meanwhile the Indians--four in number--who had entered the house while
the fifth was in pursuit of Mr. Daviess, routed Mrs. Daviess and the
children from their beds, and they soon understood that they must take
up a line of march--they knew not whither. As soon as she was dressed,
Mrs. Daviess "commenced showing the Indians one article of clothing and
then another, which pleased them very much; and in that way delayed them
at the house nearly two hours. In the mean time, the Indian who had
been in pursuit of her husband returned, with his hands stained with
poke berries, which he held up, and with some violent gestures and
waving of his tomahawk, attempted to induce the belief, that the stain
on his hands was the blood of her husband, and that he had killed him.
She was enabled at once to discover the deception, and instead of
producing any alarm on her part, she was satisfied that her husband had
escaped uninjured.
"After the savages had plundered the house of every thing that they
could conveniently carry off with them, they started, taking Mrs.
Daviess and her children--seven in number--as prisoners, along with
them. Some of the children were too young to travel as fast as the
Indians wished, and discovering, as she believed, their intention to
kill such of them as could not conveniently travel, she made the two
oldest boys carry them on their backs. The Indians, in starting from the
house, were very careful to leave no signs of the direction they had
taken, not even permitting the children to break a twig or weed as they
passed along. They had not gone far before an Indian drew his knife and
cut off a few inches of Mrs. Daviess' dress, so that she would not be
interrupted in traveling.
"Mrs. Daviess was a woman of cool, deliberate courage, and accustomed to
handle the gun, so that she could shoot well, as many of the women were
in the habit of doing in those days. She had contemplated, as a last
resort, that if not rescued in the course of the day, when night came on
and the Indians had fallen asleep, she would deliver herself and
children by killing as many of the Indians as she could--thinking that
in a night attack as many of them as remained would most probably run
off."[19]
[19] Collins's Historical Sketches of Kentucky.
Mr. Daviess and his comrades reaching the house and finding it empty,
hastened on in pursuit of the Indians. They had gone but a few miles
before they overtook the retreating party. Two Indian spies in the rear,
first discovered the pursuers, and running on, overtook the three
others, with the prisoners, and knocked down and scalped, though they
did not kill, the oldest boy. At that moment the pursuers fired at the
Indians, but missed. The latter were now alarmed and confused, and Mrs.
Daviess, taking advantage of this circumstance, jumped into a sink hole
with her infant in her arms; and the Indians fleeing, every child was
saved.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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