The mothers of the west deserve as wide a fame as their fearless husbands
and brothers. In no situation were courage and resolution so much required
in women as in the western wilderness, during the Indian wars, and even
the celebrated heroines of European history seem to us ordinary in
comparison.
In the fall of 1779, Samuel Daviess, who resided in Bedford county,
Virginia, moved with his family to Kentucky, and lived for a time, at
Whitley's station, in Lincoln. After residing for some time in the
station, he removed for a time to a place called Gilmer's Lick, some six
or seven miles distant from said station, where he built a cabin, cleared
some land, which he put in corn next season, not apprehending any danger
from the Indians, although he was considered a frontier settler. But this
imaginary state of security did not last long; for one morning in August,
1782, having stepped a few paces from his door, he was suddenly surprised
by an Indian appearing between him and the door, with tomahawk uplifted,
almost within striking distance. In this unexpected condition, and being
entirely unarmed, his first thought was, that by running round the house,
he could enter the door in safety, but to his surprise, in attempting to
effect this object, as he approached the door he found the house full of
Indians. Being closely pursued by the Indian first mentioned, he made his
way into the cornfield, where he concealed himself with much difficulty,
until the pursuing Indian had returned to the house.
[Illustration: SCALPING.]
Unable as he was to render any relief to his family, there being five
Indians, he ran with the utmost speed to the station of his brother, a
distance of five miles. As he approached the station, his undressed
condition told the tale of his distresses, before he was able to tell it
himself. Almost breathless, and with a faltering voice, he could only say,
his wife and children were in the hands of the Indians. Scarcely was the
communication made when he obtained a spare gun, and the five men in the
station, well armed, followed him to his residence. When they arrived at
the house, the Indians, as well as the family were found to be gone, and
no evidence appeared that any of the family had been killed. A search was
made to find the direction the Indians had taken; but owing to the dryness
of the ground, and the adroit manner in which they had departed, no
discovery could be made. In this study and perplexity, the party being all
good woodsmen, took that direction in pursuit of the Indians, which they
thought it most probable they would take. After going a few miles, their
attention was arrested by the howling of a dog, which afterwards turned
out to be a house-dog that had followed the family, and which the Indians
had undertaken to kill, so as to avoid detection, which might happen from
his occasionally barking. In attempting to kill the dog, he was only
wounded, which produced the howling that was heard. The noise thus heard,
satisfied them that they were near the Indians, and enabled them to rush
forward with the utmost impetuosity. Two of the Indians being in the rear
as spies, discovering the approach of the party, ran forward to where the
Indians were with the family--one of them knocked down the oldest boy,
about eleven years old, and while in the act of scalping him, was fired
at, but without effect. Mrs. Daviess, seeing the agitation and alarm of
the Indians, saved herself and sucking child, by jumping into a sink hole.
The Indians did not stand to make fight, but fled in the most precipitate
manner. In that way the family was rescued by nine o'clock in the morning,
without the loss of a single life, and without any injury but that above
mentioned. So soon as the boy had risen on his feet, the first words he
spoke were, "Curse that Indian, he has got my scalp!" After the family had
been rescued, Mrs. Daviess gave the following account of how the Indians
had acted.
[Illustration: GOING INTO CAPTIVITY.]
A few minutes after her husband had opened the door and stepped out of the
house, four Indians rushed in, whilst the fifth, as she afterwards
learned, was in pursuit of her husband. Herself and children were in bed
when the Indians entered the house. One of the Indians immediately made
signs, by which she understood him to inquire how far it was to the next
house. With an unusual presence of mind, knowing how important it would be
to make the distance as far as possible, she raised both her hands, first
counting the fingers of one hand, then of the other--making a distance of
eight miles. The Indian then signed to her that she must rise; she
immediately got up, and as soon as she could dress herself, commenced
showing the Indians one article of clothing after another, which pleased
them very much; and in that way, delayed them at the house nearly two
hours. In the meantime, 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 everything 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 which 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 a knife and cut off a few inches of Mrs.
Daviess' dress, so that she would not be interrupted in travelling.
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 and the
Indians had fallen asleep, she would rescue 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. Such an
attempt would now seem a species of madness; but to those who were
acquainted with Mrs. Daviess, little doubt was entertained, that if the
attempt had been made, it would have proved successful.
The boy who had been scalped, was greatly disfigured, as the hair never
after grew upon that part of the head. He often wished for an opportunity
to avenge himself upon the Indians for the injury he had received.
Unfortunately for himself, ten years afterwards, the Indians came to the
neighborhood of his father and stole a number of horses.
Himself and a party of men went in pursuit of them, and after following
them for some days, the Indians finding that they were likely to be
overtaken, placed themselves in ambush, and when their pursuers came up,
killed young Daviess and one other man; so that he ultimately fell into
their hands when about twenty-one years old.
The next year after the father died; his death being caused, as it was
supposed, by the extraordinary efforts he made to release his family from
the Indians.
We cannot close this account, without noticing an act of courage displayed
by Mrs. Daviess, calculated to exhibit her character in its true point of
view.
Kentucky, in its early days, like most new countries, was occasionally
troubled with men of abandoned character, who lived by stealing the
property of others, and after committing their depredations, retired to
their hiding places, thereby eluding the operation of the law. One of
these marauders, a man of desperate character, who had committed extensive
thefts from Mr. Daviess, as well as from his neighbors, was pursued by
Daviess and a party whose property he had taken, in order to bring him to
justice. While the party were in pursuit, the suspected individual, not
knowing any one was pursuing him, came to the house of Daviess, armed with
his gun and tomahawk--no person being at home but Mrs. Daviess and her
children. After he had stepped in the house, Mrs. Daviess asked him if he
would drink something--and having set a bottle of whiskey upon the table,
requested him to help himself. The fellow not suspecting any danger, set
his gun up by the door, and while drinking, Mrs. Daviess picked up his
gun, and placing herself in the door, had the gun cocked and levelled upon
him by the time he turned around, and in a peremptory manner, ordered him
to take a seat, or she would shoot him. Struck with terror and alarm, he
asked what he had done. She told him, he had stolen her husband's
property, and that she intended to take care of him herself. In that
condition, she held him a prisoner, until the party of men returned and
took him into their possession.
[Illustration: THE SQUATTER'S WIFE.]