The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1863-02-12
n sETTEEWs ExPEOIr.-

i ISA S1V ssH1NS EAIuUAE.yl
1 As.Samuel Bowditch, one of the early set.
tiers on Green River, in Kentucky, was 90
ing over patch Of swamp. one afternoon,
4 about half mile from bis dwelling, to look
after some ca,tlo, he beard stick snap be-
Y hind him, and turning quickly round, he
found himself confronted with huge saw
age, in al the hidsousne.s Of his war paint,
and with his misket or rife leveled at his
head, the muzzle not more than four feet
from him. Bowditch himself had riae in
his hand, but knew the Indian could shoot
him before he,could raise il and fire. and 40
he did not make the attempt, but droppod it
10 the ground and held up his open palms.
in token Of Surrender. a5as
On seeing this the savage walked up and
! said 4" tfsa .t
Give Tnjun gun I" 81
4 The settler picked up his piece, and a. he
handed it to the other said, in concilstory
4 tone:
~ see you're big chief and hope We
may be friends" '
Where liver asked the savage. ak he
produced stout thong Of deer skin. and
proceeded TO bind the hands Of his captive.
who, being a smsller man. saw he was NJ
match for the other even witkont weapons
on either side. and so submitted quietly.
though agonizel At the thought Of his p''nr,
helpless wife and children, in their lonely
cabin over the hill
~ 1.-Two out yonde,. not great wavs from
here" replied the captive, nodding his head
in the proper direction.
"FI,w many gst:' qasrisd the savage.
The settler hcsita' ed about telling correct
ly. he first thought he'd namca number
large enough to deter the Indian from goin.
thither, and thus, perhaps. save his wife and
children from a f,te like his own; bat after
q moments reflection. il occurred to him
that, should til. savage take him thsrs, a
chance might arise for him to regain his lib
crty, and So he decided upon speaking the
itruth 1 s
/ "Why no Long knife tell ?" demanded
the Indian. with an impatient frown. mo
lie make"
"No, chief; Tn tell you the truth. There
are only three persons in my cabin-my
wife and two little children-hut know a
big. brave chief like you won's hurt EN-
"Ne 20 see 'em!" returned the savage,
with fierce CLEAN OF triumph, which the
other did not fail to notice.
Having tightly bound the hands Of his
captive behind his back, :he savage felt
about his dress for any other weapon, took
away his ammunitian, and putting both
weapons over his own shoulder, told the
white man to lead the way This the latter
did. full Of hope. fesrnnd general anxiety,
till he came in sight Of his humble log cab
in situated in q pleasant valley. shro' which
flowed pretty little stream. a branch Of the
Green river, when the lntisn ordered him
to stop. aud proceeded to make him fast to
| ~ pCe, Wv aiCaUu W oh'eISi uOC'-oh"
secured othat around his wrists.
"Ain't you going to let ms 60 down to
the house with you p inquired the captive,
/ now beginning to feel mach alarm for the
safety of his. family.
Me 60 sl,ne!" returned the savage
gruffly. 'Me big chief want se.lpr'
r"Oh. for Gods sake. don't Kill my poor,
Innocent wife and thildren!' p'sad,l B'w-
ditch, fsirly a.onized at the Thought
.'You're big chief, I know, and you'll re-
member that they never did you any harm"
"Long knife scalp much goad y rej,in.
ed the Indian. sullenly, as he finished bind
ing the other to the tree, and strode away
down the hill. carrying with him the two
weapons. Bow ditch watched him, step by
step, as he glided away under cover Of tie
trees, keeping some rock, stump, or ciump
Of bushes between him and the inmates Of
the dwelling, so thsy might not by any
chance perceive his approach and take the
alarm.
At any rate ssa hoIler yit," uuttered
the captive. "and may be they'll hear me-"
and forthwith he set up series Of yclls,
that went echning and re.sehoing far away
through the forest.
The settler saw his wife and children
come in haste ia tbs door. and lonk un the
hill in alarm. At this he shouted at the top
Of his lungs:
"Quick, Esther--go bach into the house
and bar it up tighti The Injun's ar arter
you, and I'm a prisoner! Quick. quick or
you're lost, and the children too ~
For ,nament or two the mother and chill
dren stood as IL paralizsd with amazsInent
AID terror. and then, t. his groat relief he
saw Ms little boy point in the direction Of
the sknlking sewage. and MI three hastily rs
trest Apd closed the dssr.
The Indian now uttered fisrcs yell, and
stepping out into plain vie :. frcd hoth pie
Iees. ons after the other. at the dwelling, a.
f ne had impulsivcly adopted this means to
vent his rage at being discovered and fo;lcd
Of his murderous purpose. Then looking
round at his captive. he threw down the rife
belonging to tbs latter. and drawing his
tomahawk started toward him on rum
Bcwditch. who had watched every motion,
and knew that in his rage the savage would
brain and scalp him, now gathered all his
strength and made one desperate effsrt to
free himself. acting rather from the instincts