The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1864-04-14

you all over; and then you must not speal
or cry, or stir ~ and without murmur tn,
children complied with her wish.
| Having placed her darlings in a place o
as much safety as her circumstances per
mitted, the trembling mother stole back t.
the weapons, laid her hands upon them, and
prayed to Heaven for assistance in the grea
and terrible trial before her. She grew
calmer and firmer as she prayed. and then
came the terrible resolution to defend her.
self to the last and not be taken alive.
Up to this moment, the awful silence
succeeding the fierce yells, had remained
unbr, ken, but now. as if in answer to her
last resolve, there came some quick. heavy
raps upon the door, and the low voices o
two or three savages speaking together in
their own tongue, which of course she could
not understand. Soon the Indian language
ceased, and was succeeded by the English
words, in deep, cultural tone:
:.Squaw, door open ~
To this Mrs. Peters made no reply, and
it was repeated some two or three times
with the same result. Failing to get an an
swer from her. the savages grew angry and
impatient, and began to hack at the dool
with their hatchets. Taking up her axe and
gun, not knowing which she might be re.
quired to use first, the poor mother moved
silently over to the place where her foes were
at work, and stationed herself beside the We
ry spot though every blow, in view OF the
awful consequences, seemed to beat upon
her very heart They were by this time at
work in earnest, determined to cut pass
age into the dwelling; and it was not long
before the stout planks began to splinter
and give way on the inner side, and Mrs.
Peters could see the faint light Of the starry
night from her own position of absolute
darkness, and indistinctly the shadowy
forms of the hdeous beings so industriously
laboring for the destruction of herself and
| the dear Innocents whose life she valued
more than her own. gt 1n ..s.' a7an.
| Suddenly, with crash. the aperture was
enlarged sufficiently to admit the head of a
man, and this success was greeted by the
savages with yell that seemed to curdle
the blood in the veins Of the poor mother,
who. like the brave heroine she was, still
remained unfinchingy at her post. as firm.
lv resolved as ever to defend herself to the
death. A few more rapid blows soon in
creased the opening to size that would per-
NIT man to crawl through, and then the
Indians stopped their work, and the fore
most thrust his head far in. and turned it
from side to side, as if trying to perceive
some object in the deeper darkness Of the
unlightei apartment. ~,...asssa Er.. .
All this was seen by Mrs. Peters, as she
stood within reach Of the savnge-though
the latter, looking in from lighter place.
could see nothing. not even her--and being
on the instant seized with strange feeling
something akin to inspiration, as she af
terwards expressed it-she impulsively
raised the axe above her head, and, with a
quick, short prayer for guidance, protection
and mercy, brought it down with all her
might.
| Whether guided by mortal or spiritual
hand, it carried death with,it. The keen
edge of the descending blade passed swiftly
through the spinal column of the venturous
savage. and he was dead beyond motion ere
he knew he was harmed. The body of the
Indian, at the moment the blow was struck,
was leaning too far inward to fall outward
on the cessation of sensation, and the same
inspiring impulse that compelled as it were
the brave mother to strike, now caused her
to seize the bloody corpse and drag it through
the aperture into the apartment .nr .
All this was the work Of a few moments
and the Indians outside, wholly unaware and
unsuspicious of what had really occurred,
supposed their companio, hal crawled in of
his own accord, and they at once prepared
to follow him.
The next that entered met the fate of the
first in similar manner; but in her at
tempt to kil the third, the blow of the brave
mother missed the vital point, and wounded
the savage in the head. With a howl Of
fright and pain, and fury, he drew back,
with CHASTITY cut near the left temple, and
the blood streaming down his face and hands
Instantly his three remaining companions
gathered around him, with cries of aston
lshmen:, and in another minute they would
have comprehended all, and got into place
Of safety, to lay new scheme of vengeance.
But it was not so to be. Impulsively our
noble heroine dropped her axe, caught the
gun, thrust the muzzle through the opening.
and fired the charge f1to the dusky group
that stood directly before Her.
That shot. guided by an oyeruling Prov
idence, was the means of her salvation.-
Two of the savages fell mortally wounded,
and the other two. with short, quick yells of
'dismay, turned and fed, aud were instantly
lost to, her view IN the starlight darkness.
For an hour, faint with the conteEding
emotions Of horror, hope, gratitude and fear
Mrs. Peters stood leaning against the door
for support, listening to the means of the
lying savages outside, which gradually
grew weaker and feebaer, till all became still,
and the silence of death once more reigned
over the horrible scene Their she started,
as one awakening from q frightfui dream,