The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1874-09-17

Peter Barnes, you are an idiot
spoke the woman, watching him mo-
ment. L don't want harm to come to
a hair of your head, but you will get a
fearful lesson before noon this day -
The arms being Ia good order. the wo-
man shut the north door. nailed it up,
and then nailed boards over the two
ndows on the inside. The south door
Fl; .tened with bar, and she was satisfied
With It's strength. She went to the
soring. filled two pals with water. pick
"a up and carried in the axe, and then
cleared the table of dishes. not stopping
to wash them Then she sat down 10 the
sct..h doorway and waited-waited for
the Indian attack which she had dres M
ed OF and predicted.
An hour passed, aad she had not
changed her position. Half an hour
moe wore away, and then she suddenly
lea Jed ny and seized her rifle. She had
seen the horses stop and begin to rear
and plunge as they came near the south
end Of the field, which was fringed by
the forest. She saw her husband pulling
at hem and using the whip, but in
moment more the animals dashed off at
full speed. Just as they started, grand
mol her heard faint. 'Yi! VII" and
the next moment caught sight of score
Of savages as they dashed out of the
woods and made for her husband.
Just exactly as | dreamed, she
whispered to herself, lifting the rife clear
of the floor.
Grandfather caught sight OF the red
skins as soon as they broke cover, and
he wheeled and made for the house at
| his best pace For few rods he held
| his own, but then his fifty years COM
menced to tell on him. and the shouting
| Indians began to gain. They were thirty
| the distance to the house had been trav-
ersed, they were not ten rods behind.
Run, father! run FOR Your life |"
! shouted grandmother, waving her hand
10 him; and he did his best.
But the old man did not have it in
| him. He was within rifleshot of the
door, when the redskins bore him down
to the grass, right in plain sight of his
wife Five or six of them halted to take
care of the prisoner. and the rest, whoop
! ing and yelling, made for the house.
Grandmother.stood square is the door.
and the rifle was slowly lifted When
| the foremost savage was twenty rods
away, out on q line went the barrel, there
was e quick report, and the Indian fell
forward on the grass. Then she stepped
back, closed the door, and in a moment
toe shouting demons jumped against it.
| The door stood like rock. Baf1ed
and disappointed. the Indians hacked at
| the boards with their tonhawks, as if to
| bew their way In. Striking away, one of
the blows fell on a knot in the plank, and
the knot fell at tho womans feet, while
| hole as big as man s fist was left in
| the door. Encouraged by this. the Indi-
ans were chopping away when grand
mother seized the revolver, took swift
aim, and horrible yell Mingled with
the report. The Indians then fell back
to where they had left their prisoner,
| and were out of range
Grandfather had his hands tied behind
him, and after a few minutes, walked out
a few feet in advance of his captors He
looked at the house, then looked back
and refused to obey the command given
him The Indians advanced, drew their
tomhawks, and then their captive shout
ed:
Nancy Nancy unbar the door,
leave the rife in the house. and come out
here They won { hurt you"
The wife heard every word of it, and
he trem bling tones of the old man S
voice made her heart ache. But she
knew that the Indians had forced him to
make the appeal, and that it was only
ruse TO get another prisoner. She made
no reply and the redskins forced the CID
man to speak again.
Nancy! |" be called, 1.-The Indians say
that if you don't come out they will
murder me right here. :"
1t was the hardest struggle of her long
life, but grandmother realized that both
would certainly be murdered if she COM
piled, and that if she held out, there
was hope that help might come from i'm
migrants or hunters before night. Tears
came to her eyes, and she thought Of her
husbands fate; but she was determined
10 resist it to the last. As she did not
reply, one Of the Indians, who could not
speak English quite well. stepped out
and shouted:
Come, hurry up, quick . You no
come out, we kill old man y
Peter Barnes" shouted graDdmoth-
err, her mouth at the knothole, Il know
that you don t want me to come out, and
shall not come have the rifle and
revolver. and ] shall defend the house to
the last Be on your watch for chance
TO break away and run to the house..
The Indians understood sufficient of
! the speech to know that the woman did
not propose to surrender, aud they gath
cred around the prisoner and held con-
sultation. At length, leaving two of
their number to guard him, the others,
fifteen in all, made detour, and collect
ed on the north side of the house. They
had no arrows, to fire the house from a
distance, but gathered brush and piled
it against the north door to force the wo-
man to come out.
She had no loophoIes on that side, but
going up stairs, she softly removed a
strip Of "chiuking" from between two of
| the logs, thrust through the hand hold
ing the revolver. and, shooting by guess.
badly wounded one Of the savages. With
g great whooping and yelling, the rascals
drew out of range and held another con-
sultation. In q few minutes they all re-
! ho ,1la