The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1849-10-20
7OODSFIELD, OHIO, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1s4s.

and both rushed on, as they supposed, to
certain victory-but to certain destruction
The moments were few until Lewis was
again ready to stake tree, but as he sprung
behind one, the foremost Ingen contempt.
uously shouted "Ingen not fool"
"a doe skin would be to high price
for your WISDOM" muttered Lewis, his
eyes flashing like tigers, as he awaited
the approaching monster.
"Empty gun white man."
"Empty through your heart, murderer,
once white man." passed through the grit
ting teeth ofLewis, and one frightfnl groan,
the last of the renegade, seemed an echo
to the sharp crack of the rifle. -
! The remaining monster in human form
was now too far advanced to retreat with
amy safety, and being rendered desperate,
it became now / real struggle for life and
death, and had the enemy been actually
an Indian, even the skill and activity Of
Wetzel might have Jailed. Both feeling that
their lives depended on the issue, put every
nerve and sinew to the strain. The dis
advantage was fearfully on the side oi
Wetzel, and must have been fatal. had his
pursuer not been determined to make Sc
curity more secure, reserved his fire, await.
ing chance of discharging with certain
aim. Thus proceeded the race for a few
hundred yards, when Lewis once more
tree'd. 4"
"You're dead man," roared thun.
dering voice.
ell shall have one tenant more,''
seemed to come hoalsely from the bowels
of the earth, as Lewis lay like crouching
lion. Not conceiving the possibility ofen.
countering a loaded rifle, which had been
discharged not three minutes before, with
dreadful oath, expressed in good or bad
English, as you choose, his adversary ad-
vanced.
"I'll know who this scoundrel is before
| finish him." muttered Lewis, as he de-
liberately sent ball through his left arm
and shoulder, and dropping his rifle, seiz-
ed his tomahawk and rushed upon the fall
en- foe. "Never carelessly approach a
wounded enemy" was maxim Lewis
had a good reason TO remember, as he
learned its wisdom from seeing rifle muz-
zle raised and pointed to his breast. The
rifle ball and his tomahawk passed each
other in mid air. The ball passed harm
less, but the hatchet lodged in the brain.
and forever concealed the last of the cap
tors. Of Susan Gray '=ra--sz--e1------
Here Kingsly stopped as if his tale was
ended. Every hearer felt anxious to know
what had become of Conrad and Susan,
and at length finding the old historian ST.
lent, more than one voice rather impa-
tently breathed, "what of Conrad and
Susan!" .n
"Reared fine family ofyoung Conrads
and Susans," replied Kingsly. "They re-
turned to see the fresh graves of their pa
rents, whose bodies had been laid in the
earth by party Of men on the very day
of their return. 1t was long before their
hearts could again feel the gaiety of former
days, but time softened the memory of the
past, and when the name of their eldest
son, Wetzel Mayer, was pronounced, they
remembered the warrior of the West; and
many is the time that young Mayer ran to
meet the coming warrior, and many is the
time that Susan Mayer sent to heaven the
breathings ofinnocence mingled with like
aspirations from other mothers, for the pres
ervation of the brown warrior sleeping in
the far distant woods of Ohio or Muskin-
gum" .-ra- ''... -
The reader might view some of the in
cidents c!the preceding tale so far border
ing on the marvellous, as to be out of ma
ture: but there is not one incident that, in
some case or other, did not really happen
within forty miles of Wheeling, between IT,
70 and 1895. The power of ofloading ri
fe, whilst running in the woods, was real
ly possessed, as represented, in the person
of Lewis Wetzel, and actually exercised
not very materially different from the Incl
dents related in the tale. My object has
been to represent Hunter warrior, as they
werein fact, without putting slang and vul-
gar patois innis mouth, never used by him.
| was bred among the hunter warriors,
and. have seen and heard them in all stu.
ations, except that of war. have seen
them serious and sad, and have seen them
in their hours of revelry, as we'll as when
shouldering their rifles for the chase and
for war;,
MARK BANCROFT.
u