CAPTIVES
As has been stated, the opening by Daniel Boone of the road through the
wilderness to the new settlement, and the safety with which the journey
thither had been accomplished, were strong inducements now to other
families to make similar ventures.
Within a few months the little settlement had increased until it
contained at least one hundred and fifty people. Trees had been felled,
log houses had been built, and with great energy the new people were
preparing to make permanent homes in the fertile valleys. Most of the
newcomers were more than willing to follow the suggestion of Boone, who
strongly advised all the settlers to seek safety in the shelter of the
fort when night fell.
The great scout was convinced that the Shawnees were continually
watching the little community, and that their anger at the determination
of the settlers to make permanent abodes in the beautiful region was
steadily increasing. Every day Boone was watchful. Occasionally the red
men were seen, and not infrequently they crept close enough to the fort,
or to the men when they were toiling in the forests or fields, to fire
upon them; but as yet no concerted attack had been made.
Among the families which had come was one named Merrill. Mr. Merrill was
a vigorous, active young man, and his wife was almost as large as he and
as strong. So convinced were the two young people of their ability to
withstand any attack that might be made upon their home that they had
been somewhat unmindful of the request of the leader.
One morning in December Daniel Boone said to Peleg: "I wish you to go to
Mr. Merrill's at once, and say to him that I have seen recently some
signs of the Indians which greatly disturb me. It will not be necessary
for you to say more, except that I strongly urge the Merrills to comply
with my suggestion and come nightly to the fort."
Peleg, at the request of the scout, mounted a horse and rode in the
direction of the little log cabin which the Merrills had erected on the
extreme border beyond the settlement. He and Henry, accompanied by young
Israel Boone, who now had become almost a man in size, had been frequent
visitors at the friendly home of the Merrills. It was therefore with a
feeling of personal interest as well as anxiety that the young hunter
hastened to carry out the suggestion of the great scout.
Before he arrived at the little house its appearance suggested to him
that something was wrong. It was early in the morning and yet no smoke
was rising from the chimney. The silence which rested over the place
seemed ominous. So anxious was the young scout that he dismounted before
he entered the clearing, tied his horse to one of the trees, and then
cautiously crept forward to discover what might be amiss with the
household.
When Peleg approached the border of the little clearing he halted and
peered anxiously before him. No one was seen about the place. Delaying
only a brief time, and holding Singing Susan in his hands ready for
instant use if occasion required, Peleg called to the inmates of the
house.
"Hello!" he called. As no response was given to his hail, he raised his
voice and called again, "Hello! Mr. Merrill!" Not even the dog, which
was a great pet of Peleg's, made any response. Several minutes elapsed
and the silence was still unbroken.
Troubled by his failure to arouse any one, Peleg darted swiftly across
the clearing and, as he approached the door, stopped in astonishment
when he beheld near the threshold the bodies of two dead Indians. As he
looked about he saw bloody trails leading into the forest, which
indicated that others also had been wounded. In the door a large breach
had been made which was evidently the work of the Indian tomahawks.
The young scout, his flesh creeping at his discovery, glanced about him
in every direction, but no sign of friend or enemy could he see. The
door itself was partly open, and as Peleg stepped within the little
cabin the odour of burned feathers greeted him.
There were many indications of a struggle which plainly had taken place
within the room, but it was not until he had passed out to the rear of
the little building and descried Mrs. Merrill approaching that his full
courage returned. The resolute woman, her face pale, but otherwise not
betraying any emotion, approached the young scout and said quietly: "I
have just buried my husband."
The astonishment of Peleg was so great that he was unable to reply to
the staggering statement, and then aware that the silent grief of his
friend was almost more than she could bear, he assisted her within the
house and soon was listening to her story.
"I did not like to bury my husband so soon," began the woman at last,
"but I dared not wait to ask any one to come."
"Tell me about it," said Peleg quietly, "unless you think that we had
better start for the fort right away."
Mrs. Merrill shook her head as she said: "I do not think there is need
of immediate haste. It must have been about midnight when our dog began
to growl so savagely that my husband thought something must be wrong. He
got up, and when he opened the door to find out what the trouble was he
received the fire of six or seven Indians. He sank to the floor, but
managed to call me to close the door and let down the bars.
"I don't know that I ever had such a thrilling or awful moment in my
life! I could hear the savages on the porch, and I was afraid they would
get to the door before I could shut and bar it. Just as I managed to
close it and let the bar fall, the Indians began to pound upon it with
their tomahawks. If I had been one second later they would have got
inside the house and I should now be where my husband is. They kept
pounding on the door until they made a large hole in it. They did not
know that I stood close by, waiting for them with an axe, and as fast as
one after another--four of them--tried to crawl through, I killed or
badly wounded every one that made the attempt. They could not force
their way into the cabin," she added simply.
"How many Indians did you say there were at the door?" inquired Peleg
in astonishment.
"Four, but only two of them were killed. At least there are only two
left here, and the others may have got away."
"I saw two," said Peleg. "How many were there altogether?"
"Seven, I think. They kept away from the door after that, but pretty
soon I heard them up on the roof. I knew then that they were trying to
get into the house by coming down the chimney."
"I think I know how you kept them out," said Peleg, smiling slightly.
"Yes," replied the woman. "I grabbed the only feather bed we had in our
cabin and ripped it open, in desperate haste, feeling just as I did when
I was trying to close the door. I knew if I was not quick enough the
Shawnees would be in the room. It was fortunate that there were coals on
the fireplace, and just as soon as I put the feathers on them a blaze
sprang up and such smoke as I never saw began to pour up the chimney. In
less than one minute two of the redskins fell into the fireplace, and
with the same axe with which I had defended the door I quickly put an
end to both varmints."
"That made six of the seven, then," suggested Peleg.
"Yes. But the seventh wasn't ready to leave yet. He ran around to the
door and tried to crawl through while I was busy at the chimney. It was
fortunate that I chanced to see him. He got a gash in the cheek, and you
ought to have heard him yell when he ran away from the door. Talk to me
about the Indians never making any fuss! This man was yelling so that
you might have heard him at the fort. He called me the 'Long Knife
Squaw,' but I didn't care so long as he cleared out for good and all!
And I don't believe any of them will come again very soon."
"What are you going to do now?" inquired Peleg.
"I haven't any plans."
"You must come with me to the fort."
"But I must not leave my clearing," said the heroic woman. "Now that my
husband is dead, I shall have everything to do."
"Come with me, and I will find some one to do what ought to be done
here."
Yielding to the persuasion of the young scout, Mrs. Merrill accompanied
him to the fort, where at once some of the women offered her the solace
of their sympathy.
Peleg at once assembled a little company of men, and led by Daniel Boone
himself they returned to the scene of the brave woman's struggles. The
dead Indians were buried and the two cows were driven within the
stockade.
"It will not be safe," said Daniel Boone to Peleg, "for Mrs. Merrill to
come back here alone. If she does insist upon coming, either you or
Israel must be with her. She should be persuaded, however, not to expose
herself to such dangers as she will meet here."
"She seems to be able to protect herself," said Peleg dryly.
"Indeed she does. I question if there is another woman in our settlement
who would have been able to do what she did. Single-handed, to keep off
seven Shawnees! I believe that the story of her bravery will be told to
your grandchildren, Peleg."
Mrs. Merrill, however, was found to be more reasonable than the great
scout's fear had warranted. She was quite willing to make her home for
the present where the peril and the loneliness were not so great as in
her cabin.
The attacks of the Indians continued, although no party as large as that
which had attacked the home of the Merrills was seen. The plowmen in the
fields, the men cutting the timber, and those who separated from their
fellows while hunting game were continually in danger.
The determination of the whites was as great as that of the Indians,
and although every one was anxious, no one thought of withdrawing from
the settlement.
To Daniel Boone himself there came a little later an experience almost
as thrilling as that which had befallen Mrs. Merrill.
Among the new families was one named Callaway. In this family there was
a girl of nearly the same age as Daniel's Boone's daughter Jemima. One
morning, early in the summer, the girls, taking the one canoe which was
kept near the fort, paddled out upon the river.
"Do not go more than one hundred feet above or below the fort," warned
Daniel Boone, who stood on the bank watching the girls. Both promised,
and soon in their light-hearted way were paddling the canoe back and
forth from shore to shore.
Satisfied that the girls were well within the protection they needed,
Daniel Boone returned to his labours and no one was left upon the bank
to watch them.
As the sport continued, and before either of the girls was aware of the
fact, the light canoe had drifted beyond the points which had been
designated by the scout as the limits of safety. Discovering some
flowers along the shore, they pushed the little craft in among the tall
rushes while they plucked the blossoms they were seeking. The canoe was
well within the rushes and concealed, as the girls thought, from the
sight of any one on the bank.
Suddenly the younger girl, emitting a piercing shriek, turned to Jemima
Boone, and exclaimed: "Look there! Oh, look there!"
As Jemima sharply turned about she saw, creeping through the rushes and
concealed from the sight of any one on the shore, a huge Shawnee
warrior, who already had seized the painter of the little craft.
Scream followed scream when the Indian began to pull the canoe toward
him. In a moment he was joined by several of his dusky comrades. The
canoe was drawn to the shore and the girls, prisoners of the savages,
were dragged up the bank.