Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1873-11-27
FEMALE HEROISM-INTRE-
PIDITY OF ELIZABETH
ZANE.
BY GEORGE 4 BLAKEsLEE.

The struggles and encounters
;; through which the early settlers Of
Ohio and adjoining States passed
when the red man held dominion,
did not all fall upon the sterner sex,
nor should all the achievements OF
pioneer days he credited to. them;
for women, with an intrepidity sell
I dom equaled, took part in many ad-
ventures, and achieved. victories in
blood chilling encounters which
should have placed their names
prominent in the early history of
our country
About 1882. Miss Elizabeth Zane,
a relative of Col. e Zane, left
school in Philadelphia. having COM
pleted her education, and emigrated
with family of her acquaintance to
the banks of the Ohio river, where
her brother resided, at point then,
as now, called Wheeling. Miss
Zane had been brought up IN a man
ner of living far different from that
which the almost unbroken forest
afforded She knew nothing, of
course. about the perils of border
life. further than has been told by
others, but her courageous spirit
caused her to listen with interest to
tales of adventure with the Indians,
and desire to take part in the strug
gle between civil progression and
barbaric possession
At the time Miss Zane arrived at
Wheeling, remarkable degree of
quiet existed; there had been no en-
croachments upon the possessions of
the whites at that point by the say
ages for some time, and the people
of the settlement had become negli-
gent in keeping a guard The block
house, or fort as it was called. was
not manned as originally intended.
and the extra guns and ammunition
had been nearly all removed for in
dividual uses.
The Indians, who had among
them English renegades, acting "a
spies, doubtless heard f the cOndi
tion of things at the fort, at least
they made complete preparation for
q surprise and massacre of the whole
town. A large force of warriors be-
gan stealthily surrounding the set
tlement, ahd had nearly gained a
point where the uprising should
take place. when borderer by the
name of Lynn made the discovery
tofs danger, and gave the alarm to
fheswhites. The families of Wheel
l,,arieffgg wttrf elfeafn5 ,i5tn the -fnrf
wero most needed, and could be
most easily conveyed. In the haste,
a sufficient supply of powder was
not secured to stand siege, althogh
there was an abundance secreted
beneath the floor of Colonel Zane's
| house.
The Indians were upon the town
with their work of destruction be-
fore the deficiency could be supplied,
and an attack was made on the fort
with the same spirit manifested at
the attack on Boonesborough, in Au-
gust, 1878. The garrison must have
ammunition, or yield to the enemy;
but how to accomplish this was ii
question not easily answered. The
command was given for no one to
fire unless he was certain OF wiping
out a red skin, in other words, to
make every bullet count. By great
precaution the defense was kept up
for considerable time, but at last
the little stock of ammunition became
exhausted, and the situation terrible
beyond description
The firing having nearly ceased
at the fort, the savages became more
bold IN their operations, and, it was
evident that they would soon be
come possessors of the garrison, and
that merciless butchery would fol
low. A brief council was held and
decision made that the feetest runner
should be selected from among the
men, and an attempt TO reach the
house where the powder was stored
and return with supply. The un-
dertaking would be one attended
with great danger, really, with but
a shadow of chance for success.
but something must be done. While
the matter of determining who
should be the one to make the bold
attempt, Miss Zane, charmingly
beautiful. pale. and firm In purpose,
stepped forward and declared herself
the one to go. When told that it
could not be, for men were fieeter and
stronger, she replied, in nobleness
of spirit, that she was young and ac
tive, with courage to face the dan
gers of the mission. Should a man
fall, she argued, the loss would be
soreIy felt, for every one was needed
TO protect the lives of the women
and children, and her services being
of no avail in the fort, would not be
missed. These arguments were
forced upon the defenders, and snch
a spirit cf courage and determina-
ton was shown, that consent was
given for her to make the terrible
run.
Divesting herself of such apparel
as would most retard her progress,
Miss Zane made her appearance at
the gate of the fort, in readiness to
spring further into the very faces of
the murderous savages. The men
who had loaded guns were stationed
at such port holes as commanded the
best view of the ground over which
the run was to be made to reach the
magazine, eight or ten rods distant.
Ali being ready, the signal was given,
the gate suddenly opened, and the
, heroic woman shot like an arrow
, through the aperture, and bounded
like young roe from the fort. The
: Indians wereydumbfounded with as
t tonishment at the intrepidity mani
: tested, and without making any at
t tempt to kill or capture the beauti
| Gal n, aosaroor ariod ont Ha03ffaa0 y