Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1877-08-01

what had become of me, and how de-
spair crept into her heart, II wish
that | were dead. The other two chill
dren were girls, one aged twelve and the
other seven. The boy says that Mary,
the oldest, used the revolver from one
of the doors, while her mother defend
ed the other, and that little Clara car
ried cartridges to both of them from
the closet. There was a halfstory
chamber to the cabin, and the boy was
stationed up there to look through the
crevices and watch for me. When his
mother knew that part of the Indians
had suddenly withdrawn, and when she
heard the firing on the bluffs, she called
him down from his post and gave him a
rifle which had laid away to sell to
some Indian. He says that she was
very pale, and that her hands trembled,
but she kept the Spencer going. Lying
among the rocks. nearly mile away,
and with an Indian rifle popping at me
every second, | heard that carbine
above all the din. My post couldn't
stand an Indian attack, and [ knew it
as there were too many windows and
doors to defend The house and store
room were connected by a door
way, but there We're no loop holes at the
end of the store-room, and the Indians
could gather there and be safe. 1t was
about o'clock in the morning when |
took to the bluffs, and when noon came
[ could still hear that carbine going. |
was wondering all the time why the dew
lis didn't set fire to the post, but they
had other plans [ had three kegs Of
powder, lots of lead, two barrels of flour,
twenty pair of blankets, fifty powder
horns and various other goods in there,
and they wanted them They several
times called upon my wife to surrender,
but she kept up the fire and encouraged
the children. About 1 o'clock all the
Indians surrounding me, except about
half dozen, drew off and joined those
around the post. | was in a safe place,
and yet it was bad place They
couldn't reach me with their bullets,
and yet they had positions from which
they could have killed me had stood
up or moved six feet to right or left.
The excitement kept pain away for an
hour, but after that | was pretty badly
used up, having not a drop of water to
wash my wounds or quench my thirst.
"About O'clock" he went on, after
a short rest, all firing ceased, and I
believed that the post had been captur-
ed. Half crazy with anxiety and dis
tress | rose up, determined to dash out,
but the bullets came SO fast that ! was
frightened under cover again. Few men
ever put In such an afternoon as | did
there. Pain and thirst were terrible
enough, to say nothing of my mental
distress. | hadn't the least hope of get
ting out alive, and along towards night
L got reckless as to consequences. /
should have made dash for the river,
which was in plain sight and not over
half a mile away, and was just on the
point of rising up when yells and shots
from my cabin held me back. For
about five minutes there was lively
roar of firearms, and above all other
noises [ could hear that carbine going
boom! boom! boom! The Indians who
had been left to watch me now opened
fire and began yelling, and it wasn't long
before [ suspected the truth You see,
as suspected, and as the boy after
wards related, the murderous devils
found they couldn't capture the post by
assaults on the doors. That brave little
woman and those poor children We're
too much for forty or fifty Indians.
After losing nine Or ten killed and over
a dozen wounded the reds collected at
the west end of the store-room, out of
range, and went to work to tear out the.
logs. They were three or four hours,
h, hat
came nearly all the end of the building
went down at once. My wife and chill
dren were ready for 'em. They defend
ed the doorway for full fifteen minutes,
Or until all but this boy were shot dead
When the Indians finally swarmed in
he was the only one left to wreak ven
geance on. They tomahawked him,
started to scalp him, and he was the
same as dead for hours. He is sure the
others were dead before the Indians got
through the door, and | praise god for
that consolation, while it nearly drives
me crazy to think Of it,
There was a period of silence, the boy
weeping bitterly, and then Greer braced
himself anew and continued?
And what did [ do? God forgive
me! but couldn't do anything! Twas
wild with excitement, and while [ was
trying to plan something the reds made
dash at me- They poured down at
me as if there was no end to the num-
Der. They were right on me the first [
knew, shooting, stabbing and striking at
me with their guns. | got this rap on
the head then, and also this bullet in
the shoulder, but they didn't finish me.
[ fought 'em, but how long I don't know,
for was crazy. [ remember of them
lodging around me, of striking at them,
and of feeling the rage and strength of
wounded lion 1t was long after dark
before cooled down and knew my sit
uation Twas then carrying this boy in
my arms to the river Where [ found
him l don't know. After plundering
my post the Indians set fire to it. This
child must have crept govt and hid in
the bushes, while the bodies of the dead