Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1876-07-01
THE PIONEER GIRLS CAPTURE.

THE PIONEER GIRLS CAPTURE.
The following tale of the last century
IS copied from the Louisville Courier
Journal
at was Sunday, July IA, l776. The
rudely constructed fort Mt Boonsboro lay
in drowsy stiffness ON the bank of the
Kentucky river. Daniel Boone. apd his
friend and associate, Richard Callaway,
had been absent since early in the morn
ing and the good wives, sharers in the
toll OF the early pioneer days, were en-
joying the rest that the Sabbath brought
even to the unbroken wilderness.
''ln the grateful shade Ola tree in one
corner of the inclosure, sat three young
girls, giving an unwonted charm to
the rough evidences of civilization about
them.
1.-The eldest of these maidens was
Elizabeth Callaway,-not name sug-
gestlve of romance, yet she was. withal,
gentle and a loving girl, and had
maiden fancies that gave the deep color
of romance to one of the incidents of her
life in the wilderness. She was Just
| turned of sixteen.
"The other girls, younger by two
years were Fanny Galloway. fairer than
her sister Betsy, and Jemima Boone. :
Though but fourteen years counted. 80
lives OF the two girls, each had kQvats
who was a hardy pioneer. - ess-s:
'.As evening drew near, 4o9e d tho
girls proposed that thaissla Ys
Eshort distance bellows sc, where
a canoe was layingE I'd diff out upon
the river to catch me rising coelness of
the evening. - g':S ,.s..
Hardly were they seated sna, pre-
pared to push from the short, vixen theY
detected slight rustic ip6s BRUSH
and in a moment more-fv stalsfASt atA
hideously painted Indians tapped to3ie
side of the canoe.- What girl of sixteen
could be equal to- sach an emergencyP
betsy Galloway, without moments
hesitation, determined to defend the
honor and the lives of herself and her
young companions, and wrote her name
in the annals of Kentucky. Standing
erect in the canoe, she se1Zeu the ped
die, and at single blow, inflicted 4
serious wound upon the head of the
foremost savage. The other Indians
pressed on, but still undaunted, the
brave girl fought them.
"Finally, exhausted, she sank to the
bottom of the canoe. and with her tremb-
ling sister and friend, was dragged
ashore and hurried off to meet whatever
, |
"The CONSERVATION at the fort can
well be imagined. The fathers OF the
girls soon returned, and before the
I night closed in, Daniel Boone, at the
head of 4 party on foot, and Richard
6 Galloway, at the head of party on
horseback, were off in pursuit. In Boon's
party were Samuel Henderson, John
! Holder, and Flanders Galloway.
h "As Henderson trod along, he was
: thinking of the olive-cheeked heroine,
+ Betsy Galloway and Holder clenched
h his hands and ground his teeth when he
g thought OF poor little frightened Fanny;
i and Flanders Galloway almost forgot
n his kith and kin for thinking of his cap
q tured Jemina Boone. We can easily
q smile over it now, but let any man put
l. himself in the place of these young men,
!, and ask himself how he would feel in
such q pursuit.
9 .When the Indians started with the
J. girls, they made the younger ones take
10 off their shoes and put on moccaslns.
s. but Betsy refused to take off her shoes,
l. and as she walked along, she ground
l. her heel into the soil to leave Il trail.
70 Noticing this. the Indians made the
Ii whole party walk apart and deviate
j. from tho course, SO as to wade through
l. the water and destroy the trail
m "Then the undaunted Betsy broke of
twigs and dropped them along the road;
and when the savages threatened her
to with uplifted tomahawks if she persisted
a. in this. she secretly tore off portions of
es her dress and dropped them on the
h, road.
it 'Boone's party soon found the trail and
e. followed it rapidly, fearing that the girls
h might grow weary and be put to death.
a All Sunday night and all Monday the
of pursuit was kept up. On Tuesday morn
MS ing a slender column of smoke was seen
in. the distance, and the experienced eye
of the hunter detected the camp of the
Y Indians.
er "a serious difficulty now presented
to itself. How were the capitives to be
n rescued without giving the captors time
;, to kill tha,. ? There was but little T1me
G. for reflection, rs the Indians must quick
II. ly discover their presence.
m "Ihe white men were sure shots,
IN and so they picked their men, fired up
be on them, and then rushed into the camp
to the rescue. At the moment of attack
the girls were sitting at the foot of a
as tree, Betsy with red bandanna hand
ly kerchicf thrown over her head, while
he reclining in her lap.
y. serving her a bad turn at this juncture,
o. for one of the rescuing party, coming
ID, suddenly upon her, mistook her for an
D. Indian, and was about to strike her with
ID the butt of his rifle when friendly
hand interviewed, and saved the girl
from meeting her death just at the mo-
"a, ment when she saw liberty within her
he reach.
~ 1.-The fathers and gallants carried
en- their loved ones home In triumph, and
on this romance ofreal life in Kentucky a
nd century ago would not be complete
rs without the information that the dreams
Of love and happiness that were SO cru
ely disturbed, were subsequently all
sst realized,
10 at is long ago. nigh on to a hundred
OK years and all the actors in the romance
,ut have long since departed, but their men,
De ory is green with many of us yet, and
10 we can all we'll afford to give few
thoughts to the event that marked their
characters and the times in which they
y lived and loved"