Mineral Point tribune. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1854-1858, 1857-07-28
The daughter equally courageous as
lcr mother, assured her She would do her

hcI Iilotner, dooutea ner She would do he
best.
The conversation had hardly ceas,
) when two more rilie-talls came crashi,,,
thloug the window. A death-iike siIenc
ensued for the space of several minutes
when two more balls, IN quick succt ssIo,
came through the door, followed by heay,
; strokes against il with a heavy stake. A
length the dor gave way, and an India,
with a fiendsh yell was in the act o
springing into the house, bt,. a lall from
the boys rifle, in the hands of the mother
pierced his cart, and he fell across III,
threshold. The surviving Indian, daring
not to venture and 1t was well for IN
skull that he did not = fired at random
and then ran away.
"Now,' said the mother TO the daughter
l''we must leave and taking the rifle ant
axe, they FASTENED 70 the river, i,luper
into canoe. and without a rIforcel o
Eprovlslons, except a wild duck and two
blackblrds which the mother shot on the
voyage, and which they ate raw, the,
padded their canoe down the river unu
they reached the residence Of a French
s-ttler at ST. Louis.
"
started over into Illinois, and secured the
country IN every direction but they re-
turned without finding the sqlatter or his
! boys. Nor have they been heard of to
| this day. Should the traveller ever pass
by the beautiful city of Peoria, in his
westward wanderings, the old settlers ia
! that nelghborhood can point out the spot
where stood the cabin of the squalter, SO
heroically defended by his wife and
daughter, and who SO molly avenged the
death of the father and sons.
lhe pioneer women of the West, like
the men, were made of sterner stuff than
enters into the composition of most of our
modern ladies and gentlemen. They
were brave in entering the wilderness,
and they showed themselves equally SO
IN graphing with It's difficulties and en-
countering lis periIs. Who has not heard
of the heroic Miss Elizabeth Zane at
! Fort Henry, in 1777, where the city of
Wheeling now stands When a large
army of savages had been collected under
the famous Girty, and had attacked the
For, having killed IN an outside skir,.ish
several officers and men, fearful crisis
had arrived. The fort was reduced TO
eleven men and boys. The houses of the
/ villagers were occupied by the savage
Toe, who for the moment had ceased hos
ulltles, and had Withdrawn u the base of
the hill, which rose abruptly and precipi-
tously from the narrow valley. The am
mumrIon of the fort was nearly exhaust
ed, and the stock must be replenished, or
ali would fail-men, women and children
u, Il
sixty yards distant, at the house of Ebe-
! nczer Zane, there was a l>eg of powder
! If that could lie produced they would be
enabled successfully to defend the fort,
and keep the Indians at bay. A man or
Il boy, for they were equally good marks
men, could not be sent, and YET some one
must risk his life in the undertaking. II
was the fororn hope ST the liltle hand
and on ii their fate was to turn. The
commander, Col. Sheppard, called for Il
volunteer in lhis perlIous undertaking.
Several promptly volunteered their servi-
ces, both men and boys; but they were
! the bravcst of the band, and could least
be spared. The difficulty seemed to be
not 50 much in finding the heart stout e
nough for the fearful undertaking, but in
! ped a slender, delicate girl. W:th the
spirit of her father she said to the com
mander, 4 will get the powder. If
die in the attempt, my loss viii not be
! felt" In vain they tried to dIssuadc her,
she would most certainly be shot; besides
she could not run with the flcetness of Il
man. All cntreaties were vain and she
heroically exclaimed, "Open the gate
and let me CO." With fearful eyes the
gates were opened, and the intrepid girl
bounded toward the house. The moment
she emerged from the fort she was seen
by the Indians, who, instead of firing at
her, seemed to be taken with surprise and
aStonlshment, that for moment suspen-
ded their murderous purpose. She reach
ed the house, entered 1t, secured the
llcg, and started back for the fort The
soul of the heroic girl was in the effort
and braveiy 1t sustained her. AS she
/ sped across the space with her burden, a
/ dozen rifles were raised. and their sharp
crack seemed to announce her DOOM but
! she neither fell nor faltered. On with
accelerated speed she urged her way
and passing the gates, she entered the
! fort IN safety. The deed of that brave
girl saved the fort and an advantage was
: gained over the Styages from which they
did not recover 50 as to renew their dep
relations in future on tha, frontier out
post. Pioneer life in the West abounds
with incidents of female heroism and the
simple story of their deeds possesses a
more thrilling interest than can be infus-
ed by the most fervent and fruitful INA
ginatlon into any scene of fiction plo-
neer of the West.
GoING TO BETTER CoUSrRy.'-A
Christian does not turn his back upon the
fine things of this world, because he has
no natural capacity to ENJOY them, no taste
for them; because the Holy Spirit has