The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1877-03-23

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band and one child had been murdered,
Mrs. Ebberts was like tigress. She
had her husbands rife, and for time
the two lone women held that entire
band of savages at bay. Nay, more
than that, they killed three of the red
skins and wounded two more, as the In
dians afterward admitted. When they
found that the plan was to surround
them they fell back. Between that
point and the cabin the child was killed.
The women carried the body for a few
rods, but the close pursuit obliged them
TO drop it,
A new horror awaited them as they
entered the cabin. The demons had al
ready been there. The oldest child was
dead on the floor, its head almost sew
cred from the body, and the youngest
had been carried away. Two Indians
were still in the house, making prepar-
ations to burn it. One made a safe es-
cape, but the other was shot down by
Mrs. Ebberts as he cleared the door
step. There was no time to remember
the scalped and mutilated bodies in the
forest. The Indians were at the door
almost before the dark body at the step
had ceased quivering.
1t was a stout cabin, having more
strength than convenience. Logs and
roof were not yet seasoned enough to
burn, and the single window was pro-
tected by a heavy blind. The redskins
knew that there were only two women
in the house, and they dashed at it and
swarmed around it as wolves would sur
round helpless doe.
Mrs. Hutley was as pale as death
and her hand trembled as she loaded
the rifle, but her eyes shone like fire,
and she bit her lips till the blood came.
'Isuppose [ was halfcrazed, for wanted
to open the door and fight the whole
band"
Thus says the survivor, whose story
of the terrible affair is as clear as a page
of a book. The excitement was too
great for the women to plan a defense,
| but both understood that the Indians
must be beaten off There were two
loopholes in the door and others in the
walls. While the savages were mass
! ing against the door, two of them were
badly wounded from within, and soon
thereafter one was killed from a loop
hole in the wall. Discovering that they
had perilOus work on hand, the Indians
drew off and took cover behind logs,
stumps and trees, and for an hour they
fired at the loophOles, hoping that a
chance shot might kill or wound. Their
bullets were simply thrown away, and
the effort to fire the roof was time mis-
spent.
All day long the siege was main
tained, and when darkness fell, the
women realized that it was TO be the
longest night of their lives. A child
dead in the cabin, another carried away,
a husband and two children dead in the
woods, and the little clearing was alive
with human devils seeking the blood of
the two desperate defenders. Says Mrs.
Ebberts:
"My nerves were strung up till I felt
every minute as if I must toss up my
arms and scream out to relieve the
agony of my heart, and Mrs. Hutley
was suffering just as badly. At one
time she would be wailing and sobbing
over the poor dead body on the floor,
and then again she would stand at one
of the loopholes, her face so white that
| could see it through the darkness. II
was as still as death outside until about
ten o'clock. We were not off our guard
at all, but were beginning to hope that
the sRvages had left, when we heard
them on the roof. At the same moment
they plugged up all the loopholes with
5btChS Cub lOI buo pun pOoS. L N-lONC bu6S6
plugs out with an ak, while Mrs. Hut
ley watched the roof. She fired as the
Indians made an opening, and we heard
a scream of pain. There was no further
demonstrations until an hour before
daylight, though we heard the wretches
creeping around the cabin. AS the
night was wearing away, they
brought up log and battered in the
door. We had warning and were ready.
AS the Indians rushed into the opening
we both fired. They came faster and
thicher, but Mrs. Hutley went at them
with the ak and l with knife, and we
drove them out. 1t was all over in a
minute. 1 remember the shouts and
yells; they got hold of me; heard the
ak chopping at them and then we were
alone again."
At daylight the Indians drew off,
warned that aid for the women was al
hand. Hutley never reached the settle
ment for which he started. Weeks af.
terward his dead body was found in the
woods, while his scalp ornamented some
warriors dress. The heroines were rem
dered childless and widowed in one
day, for the child carried away has
never been heard of since, and while
one received a slash across the face in
the terrible fight to clear the cabin, the
other was wounded by a bullet at the
same moment.-M Y Herald.