Lewistown gazette. [volume] (Lewistown, Pa.) 1843-1944, 1861-08-28

/ or his mammoth hands Good bye, mas
sa; nebber fear Ingin long as ole Jake's
/ round
/ And with these words Old Jake disap-
peared into the house, whilst the pioneer
also turned to depart, waving last adeu
as his manly form disappeared in the depth
! of the forest.
! The sun had reached the meridian; Jake,
! true to his masters orders, had remained
! in the cottage, and was now helping to pre-
| pare the MONDAY meal. Jennie, the gol-
den haired daughter Of the pioneer, was set
! ting the dishes upon the table, while the
matron herself went forth to the little
spring, some hundred yarGs distant from
the cottage, to bring the pure, cold water
that was to be their beverage Slowly she
approaches the spring, her eyes anxiously
| cast around to spy any supicious motion
of a leaf or bending of twig, for once or
| twice during the morning hours she
thought or imagined she saw the suspicious
| movement Of the under growth in the for
est. She has reached the spring at last.
Suddenly she stops What is that in yon-
der clump Of bushes? 1t futters in the
| air like the gaudy plumage of some forest
bird 1t is birds plume, but it rests up
on the head of some painted savage. You
! would hardly have noticed it; but the eyes
Of the matron are sharp-for not only her
own life, but that Of her darling child, de-
pend upon her. Now for presence Of
mind. She must net let them know she
has discovered them, and perhaps she may
yet regain the house
Calmly she fills her pail with water and
turns to retrace her steps. Already has
she passed over one quarter of the distance
between the spring and the house. 'Will
she reach there safely?' her heart throbs
audibly. When-oh, horror!-a savage
and appalling yell strikes upon her ear; too
we'll she knows its import: the savages
have started in pursuit! She must reach
the house before they do or all is lost She
drops her bucket and starts on the race for
life. Terror adds wings to her fight, and
she will distance her enemies No, one
burl y savage gained her side; but he harms
her not, but swiftly continues on toward
the house. What means he by that ma
neuvre? alas. her heart tells her too we'll
the house once in the possession of the In
dians, all are at the mercy Of the savage
foe
Loudly she cale Jake to close the door;
but the negro stands with the handle Of the
open door in his hand, fierce determination
depicted on his swarthy visage. The mat
ron and the Indian gain the house togeth-
er, and both cross the threshold at the
same moment. But as Mrs. Wood passed
the servant, the faithful fellow calls to
her:
Bar dc door, missuar And with orc
spring he is upon the savage.
Jennie slams to the heavy GaneH door as
the rest the Indians dash up it. One
Of them, more speedy than the rest, gets
his red visage caught between the door ana
the post, and thus prevents Mrs Wood
from getting the door securely closed but
the matron has, as quick as thought, slip
ped the bar into its loop in one side Of the
door, and using it as . lever, presses the
oaken barricade tightly against the body of
the savage, and holds him there prisoner,
whilst his body protects the door from the
assaults of his companions outside.
But how goes on the fight inside
We left old Jake graphing with the In
dian. For once the negro had found his
match; and each, clasped in the embrace
Of the other had fallen to the floor Now
they rolled over and over from one side OF
the room to the other, and at last it seemed
the Indian would be the victor. He had
succeeded in getting the negro beneath him,
and had drawn his knife to finish his ene-
my, when, with oGe great effort of strength,
Jake, as the knife Of the Indian was about
to seek his heart, partially relieved himself
and seizing the savage by both arms, held
him motionless-the knife suspended in
the air.
'Ole mig got you now, you red cuss 7
pulled Jake. No use yer tryin', yer can't
git away! Ole Jake aint much on his pins,
dat the truf; but jist luf him git desc var
arms onto anything and dey hor tighter nor
def to dead nig-shure ?
And Jake spoke the truth for though
lame and feeble in his legs, his arms were
strong enough to lift ton. But Jake was in
bad fix for, although he held the Indian
immovable, he was himself prisoner, and
for some time he cogitated what to do.
Mrs. Wood could not help him, for she had
as much as she could do to keep the door
closed against the Indians outside If he
had only seized the savage by the wrists,
he might have broken them, and so make
him powerless; but, unluckily, he had
caught hold of him about the middle OF
the forearm, and with the savage 3rithing
above him, it was impossible to shift his
hold with safety. What could he do? A
happy thought strikes him. There is
sharp axe under the bed, could he but get
that. But, how could he use it? That
vas the question, and he took tighter
bold upon the Indian, that made him, stole
though he was, writhe with pain.