Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1869-04-08
LEoN0RA BROWN! +!
a STORY OF a HEROIC GIRL.

On the border of Green Lake. in
Minnesota, there lived sturdy, white
haired frontiersman named Walter
Brown. He was one of those adven-
turous spirits ever to be found in the
van of advancing civilization, always
courting the free, wild air of the prai-
rie, 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 daughter, the third or fourth
year of their residence at the head
waters Of the St. Croix, whom he
called Leouora. She was good girl,
and the idol of her father He pur-
chased rifle for her when she was
but twelve years old, and took the ut
most pains in teaching her the use of
it. She was brave and steady of nerve,
and soon acquired wonderful skill as a
shot, and the number of prairie chick
ems, partridges, wild water fowls, and
other small game she managed to shoot
each day was really large. Occasion
ally she would shoot 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,
Bnt knowing her perfectly truthful ma
ture, 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 Wis
consin. following the navigable rivers
as matter of course, and more and
more uneasy and crowded" felt Wal
ter Brown At length his wife died.
Leonora was then sixteen, and engaged
to be married to handsome young
trapper by the name of Weston, 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 getting too near, and
hunting and trapping were bad. As
the young man had moved up, and
pre-empted a quarter section of land
near Taylor's Fall, then beginning to
grow rapidly, he did not wish either to
abandon or sell it just then, and per-
suading Leonora to agree to write
to him when they got settled, he
bade her an affectionate goodbye.
Brown lived in Minnesota for three
or four years in peace and quiet, find
ing good trapping and hunting grounds,
when all at once young Weston ar
rived, and renewed the proposal of
marriage with Leonora. The old man
had about determined to move no more,
and accordingly located and pre-empt-
ed several thousand acres of land
about him; and learning from Weston
that he had money enough to do like
wise, proposed that he should 60 down
to St. Paul and buy land warrants with
his money, and take up all the land
around he could "swing." He might
then marry Leonora, and they would
90 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.
70 this proposition the young man
heartily assented, and after returning
from St. Paul, went bravely to work in
the woods, telling trees for building
purposes. 1t was agreed first that they
should build anew hewed log house,
for sl----.sufcOu IamIIy, as w e1tcI Hao
only got up small, single-roomed cab
in. 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 rife out every
morning and shoot prairie chickens for
the table, while her lover and father
were hard at work on the new house.
Weston had brought her present
from St. Paul, light and handsome
revolving rifle, of which she was inn
mensely fond, and with which she be-
came SO expert she could shoot duck
or prairie chicken on the wing with al
most absolute certainty. SA
One morning as she was strolling'
round lake, rife in hand, she noticed
three canoe loads of Indians padding
carefully along the opposite edge Of the
water steadily and stealthily approach
ing the spot where her lover and faith
er were at work She did notimrne-
diately appfehend any tragedy, but In
some unaccountable way she felt i'm
PEELED to remain and watch their mo-
tions. She therefore concealed herself
behind the top of a 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, overbanging birch tree afforded
concealment for their canoes, they dis.
embarked, and crept carefully and
noiselessly along until they were with
in REV feet of where the two unsus-