The weekly North-Carolina standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 186?-1869, 1869-06-16
A Story of a Heroic Girl.

man named Walter Brown He was one OF
those adventurous spirits ever to be. found
in the van of advancing civilization, always
counting the free, wild air of the prairie, and
rejoicing in the profound depths of unin-
habited forests.
But the country became more and more
thickly settled, and Walter Brown became
uneasy. His wife had borne him a daugh-
ter the third or fourth year Of their residence
at the headwaters of the St. Cro;x, whom he
call Lconora. She was a good girl, and the
idol of her father He purchased rifle tor
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,
partridges, wild water fowls, and other small
game she managed to shoot every day, was
really large. Occasionally she would shoot
deer, and one eyentful morning, by
lucky shot through the eye into the brain,
she killed bear.
When she come home with the news her
father could scarcely credit her. But,
knowing her perfectly truthful nature, he
danced about the room for JOY, and seizing
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 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 the mother had made it
necessary to postpone the wedding, and in
the interim old Walter decided to move into
northwest Minnesota. Neighbors were get
ting too near and hunting and trapping
were bad. As the young man had proved
up and preempteda quarter section of land
near Taylor's Falls and did not wish to either
abandon or sell it just then, persuad-
ing Leonora to agree to write to him, lie
babe her an affectionrte 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 Lconora.
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, pro-
proposed that he should go down to st. Paul
and buy land warrants with his money, and
take up all the land he could Swing"
He might then marry Leonora. and they too
would go 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 their days.
To this proposition the young man heart
lily assented, and after returning from St.
Paul. went bravely to work, in the woods,
telling trees for building purposes It was
agreed first that they should build new
hewed log house for the united family, as
Watson had got up small 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 Leonora 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 a
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 strolling around
the lake, rifle in hand, she noticed three
canoe loads of Indians padding carefully
along the opposite side OF the water, steadi-
ly and stealthily approaching the spot where
her father and lover were at work. She did
not Immediately apprehend any tragedy, but
in some unaccountable way she felt impelled
to remain and watch their motions. She
therefore concealed herself behind the top
of fallen tree, and observed their move
ments, which grew more and more suspici-
Gus. There were two Indians in each canoe,
and after pulling steadily to apoint where
thick, overhanging birch tree afforded.
concealment for their canoes, they disem-
barked, and crept carefully and noiseessly
along until they were within a few feet of
where the unsuspecting men were chopping.
Suddenly with a yell 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 trembled with excitement and
apprehension, expecting nothing less than
to witness the horrible butchery of her
father and lover at once
But this did not seem to be the purpose
of the Indians, for, tying the arms of their
captors 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 to where the house stood.
ri fbair ,p+o
!" she said to herself, "they design
capturing me, too, They deem that an easy
job, perliaps!' and her eyes flashed and her
face flushed with anger "See there is
fourth canoe, which they no doubt suppose
will carry me. This villainous work has
been we'll calculated; but ha! you had
savages! you have mistaken your girl this
time. Leonora Brown has been taught
more things than to cook venison steak.
Oh, dear, dear father, your Leonora will
soon show you how bravely she can succor
you, and how your instructing her the use
of this rifle has saved you this day. And
you, too, darling Henry Watson. have won
longer lease of your precious life by pre-
senting me with this splendid revolving
rifle. Six bullets for six ruffians Miss one
of them! all, if should-therc's my knife.
No, Leonora, you must not miss one of
them"
The girl now crept stealthily through the
underbrush up the bank to the prairie
above. She knew that to reach the house
the Indians would have to cross broad,
flat field, where there was no shelter for
their persons. She did not think they
would hesitate to do this, because having
taken the two men, they would hardly ex-
pect any resistance from single girl.
About thirty rods to the right of the path
a cattle yard had been erected by her father,
| and in the conner of the fence stnnd an I'M.