Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1869-10-21
Seleft Stnru.
Story Of a Heroic Girl.

On the border of Green Lake, in Min
nesota, there lived sturdy, white-haired
frontiersman named Walter Brown. He
was one of those adventurous spirits ever
to be found in the van of advancing civ
ilization, always counting the free, wild
air of the prairie. and rejoicing in the
profound depths of uninhabitable forests.
But the country became more and more
thickly settled, and Walter Brown became
uneasy His wife had borne him a
daughter the third or fodrth year Of their
residence at the headwaters of the St.
Croix whom he called LeoLora. She was
good girl. aud the idol of her father
He purchased rifle for her when she was
but twelve years old, and took the utmost
pains in teaching her the use Of it. She
was brave and steady of nerve, and soon
acquired wonderful skill as shot, and the
number of prairie chickens, cartridges,
wild water fowls, and other small games
she managed to shoot every day was real
ly large. Occasionally she would shoot a
deer, and one eventful morning, by a
lucky shot through the eye into the brain,
she killed bear.
When she came home with the news,
her father could scarcely credit her. But,
knowing her perfectly truthful nature, he
danced about the room for joy, and seiz-
ing the sturdy little maid, he mounted
her upon his shoulders and insisted upon
carrying her all the way to the spot where
the dead bruin lay.
Thicker and thicker flowed the tide of
emigration into Minnesota and Wisconsin,
following the navigable rivers as matter
of course, and more and more uneasily
and "crowded" felt Walter Brown. AT
length his wife died. Leonora was then
sixteen, and engaged to be married to a
handsome young trader by the name Of
Watson, who had joined her, father in bus
mess.
The death of the mother had made it
necessary to postpone the wedding, and
in the interim Walter decided to move in
to northwest Minnesota. Neighbors were
getting too near and hunting and trapping
were bad Asdhe young man had prov
ed up and pre-emptel a quarter section of
land near Taylor's Falls, and did not wish
to either abandon or sell it just then, per-
suading Leonora to agree to write to him,
he babe her an affectionate goodbye.
Brown lived in Minnesota for three or
four years in peace and quiet, finding
good trapping and hunting grounds, when
all at once young Watson arrived, and
renewed the proposition of marriage with
Leonora The old man had about deter
mined to move no more. and had accord
ingly located and pre-empted several thou
sand acres of land about him, and learn
ing from Watson that he had money
enough to do likewise, proposed that he
should 60 down to St. Paul and buy
land warrants with his money, and take
up all the land he could swing" He
ight then marry Leonora, and they two
would 90 to work, and, after building
plenty of stabling, etc., would get good
stock of cattle and sheep, and try and
lead pastoral life for the rest Of tn eli
days.
10 this proposition the young man
heartily assented, and after returning
from St. Paul, went bravely to work in
the woods, telling trees for building pur-
poses 1t was agreed first that they
should build new hewed log house for
the united family, as Watson had got up
a snail single room cabin. Then the
wedding was to take place, and the two
men would again resume their work.
While thus busily engaged the Sioux
war broke out. 1t was the habit of Lee
onora to take her rifle out every morning
and shoot prairie chickens for the table,
while her lover and father were hard at
work on the new house. Watson had
brought her, as present, from St. Paul,
light and handsome revolving rifle, Of
which she was immensely fond, and with
which she became so expert that she could
shoot duck or prairie chicken on the
wing with almost absolute certainty.
One morning as she was strolline
around the lake, rife in hand, she MOTTO
ed three canoe loads of Indians padding
carefully along the opposite side of the
water, steadily and stealthily approaching
the spot where her father and lover were
at work She did not Immediately ap
prehend any tragedy. but in some unac
countable way she felt inpelled to remain
and watch their motions She therefore
concealed herself behind the top of fall
I en- tree, and observed their movements