The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1869-05-14
LEONORA BROWN.
A STORY OF A HEROIC GIRL.


of advancing civilization, always court
ing the free, wild air of the prairies
and rejoicing in the profound depths OF
uninhabited 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 fourth
year of their residence at the head.
waters ofthe st. Croix, whom he called
LeOnora. She was good girl and the
idol of her father. He purchased q
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, part
ridges, wild water fowls, and other
small game she managed to shoot each
day was really large. Occasionally she
would shoot deer, and one eventful
morning, by lucky shot through the
eye into the brain, she killed a 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 Selling 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 immigration into Minnesota and
Wisconsin, following the navigable
rivers as a matter of course, and more
and more uneasy and crowded" felt
Walter Brown. At length his wife
died. Leonora was then sixteen, and
engaged to be married to handsome
young trapper by the name of Watson,
who had Joined her father in business.
The death of her mother had made ii
necessary to postpone the wedding,
and in the interim old Walter decided
to move to Northwest Minnesota.
NeigL bors were getting too Ter, and
hunting and trapping were bad. AS tie
young man had proved up and pre-
empted quarter section of land near
Taylor's Falls, he did not wish to
either abandon or sell it just then, and
persuading Leonora to agree to write
TO him, he babe her ali affectionate
goodbye.
Brown lived in Minnesota for three
or four years in peace and quiet, fine
ing good trapping and hunting
grounds, when all at once young Wat
son arrived, and renewed the PROPOSE
ton of marriage with Leonora. The
old man had about determined to move
no more, and had accordingly located
and pre-empted several thousand acres
of land about him. and learning from
Watson that he had money enough to
do likewise, proposed that he should
go down to st. Paul and buy land war
rants with his money, and take up all
the land he could swing" He might
then marry Leonora, and they two
would go to work, and after building
plenty of stabling, etc, would get a
good stock of cattle and sheep, and try
and lead pastoral life for the rest OF
their days.
To this proposition the young man
heartily assented, and after returning
from st. Paul went bravely to work in
tie woods telling trees for building
purposes, 1t was agreed first that they
should build new hewed log house
for the united family, as Watson had
only got up small, single room cabin.
Then the wedding was to take place,
and the men would again resume their
work.
While thus busily engaged the Sioux
war broke out. 1t was the habit of
Leonora to take heg 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 a present
from st. Paul light and handsome
revolving rifle; Of which she was i'm
mensely fond, aud with which she be-
came so expert that she could shoot q
duck or prairie chicken with almost abb
solute certainty.
One morning, as she was strolling
around the lake, rife ia hand, she no.
ticed three canoe loads of indians pad
ding 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 appreheBd any tragedy,
but in some unaccountable way she felt
impelled to remain and watch their mo-
tions. She therefore concealed herself
behind the top of fallen tree, and OBJ
served their movements, which grew
more and more suspicious. There were
two Indians in each canoe, and after
pulling steadily to a point where thick
oyerhanging birch tree afforded con-
cealment for their canoes, they dssem-
barked, and cTept carefully along until
they were within a few feet of where
the two unsuspecting men We're chop
ping. Suddenly with yeR that made
the forest ring, and which echoed and
re-echoed across the broad, still lake
they sprang upon their victims and bore
them to the earth.
Leonora tFembled with excitement
and apprehension, expecting nothing
less than TO witness the horrible butch
erv of her father and lover at once.
But this did not seem to be the pur.
pose of the Indians, for, tying the arms
of their captives behind them, they took
to the canoes, where, taking the old
man into one, and the young man into
the other, they showed boldly into the
lake, and padded rapidly down toward
where the house stood. Leonora divin.
ed their intent instantly.
Hal she said to herself, ''they dc.
sign capturing me, too. They deem
that an easy job perhaps - and her eyes
flashed and her face flushed with anger
''Seei there is a fourth canoe. which
they no doubt suppose will carry me
This villainous work has been well cal
culated but ha! you bad savagesl you
have mistaken your girl this timei LIE.
onoraS Brown h; 8 been taught more
things than to cook q venison steak
| Oh, dear dear father, youI Leonora
will soon show you how bravery she
can succor You, and how your instruct.
ing her in the use of tn S rifle has saved
you this day. And you, too, darling
Henry Watson, have won a longer lease
of yonr precious life by presenting ms
with this splendid revolving rife. Six
bullets for six ruffians! Miss one Of
them! ah, if should-there's my knife
No, Leonora, yon must not miss one OF
them
The girl now crept stealfhiiy through
the underbrush TO the prairie above.
She knew that to reach the house the
Indians would have to cross broad
fiat field, where there was no shelter fol
their persons. She did not think they
would hesitate to do this, because, hav.
ing taken the two men, they would
hardly expect any resistance from a
single. girl. About thirty rods to the
right Of the path cattle ward had beer
erected By the father, and in the corpel
of the fence stood an immense elm tree
Inside of this yard climhed Iennnra