The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1888-02-24

tiOns. showing that the murderous red
skins were 1T work. Miller had one
hundred and sixty acres of land, almost
every acre as level as a floor. We had
Just finished building a milk-hOuse
over a spring, about three hundred
feet from the house. Around the
spring was about two acres of broken
ground, underlaid with rock, and we
had blasted out sufficient Of this to lay
up the walls Of the milk-house. Miller
was stone mason by trade, and his
work had been well done. The house
was pretty large being eighteen by
| twenty-four inside the walls, and the
walls were perhaps a foot thick. The
roof had been planked and then sOdded,
and the door was of heavy plank. The
place would make a capital fort, and
while was carrying into it such things
as Mrs. Miller directed, the husband
used a crowbar to make loOpholes in
the walls. In the course of an hour
| he drove five or six, and then he bored
two in the door with big auger.
We carried in all the provisions in
the house, followed by the clothing and
the bedding. While we worked we kept
! our eyes opened for signs of Indians, but
it was eleven o'clock before we saw
them coming. They were not more
| than a mile away when we retired to
| our fort and barricaded the door. All
the live stock had been turned loose
and driven away, while the fowls were
| flying about on the prairie. There was
very little left in the house, and the
worst they could do was to burn it.
/ When we shut ourselves up / missed
two of the. kegs of powder, but to my
| query as to what had become of them
Miller made no reply, except by . laugh
He had been working by himself all the
forenoon, digging holes and running
| trenches, but l had been too busy to
/ notice what he was up to.
There were thirty-twO mounted In
dams in the band which came up, and
among them they had five fresh scalps.
Every one had plumber of some sort
from the settlers cabins, and two or
three appeared much the worse for
liquor. They had probably seen US
enter the milk-house, for they rode
right up to the cabin without
| fear We could see them very
plainly, and among the rang
we picked out several who
had often been supplied with food and
| ammunition. There were yells of rage
from those who dismounted and en-
tered the house to find it stripped, but
presently a council was held in the one
big room. After few minutes an In
dian appeared around the corner of
the house with a white rag tied to a
stick, and when he had waved it few
times he called out that he wanted a
talk" Miller shouted to him to come
on, and he advanced to within fifty
feet of the fort before he stopped and
called out:
"All come out Indians no hurt
Dutchman.
'Is there warp shouted Miller
''No war-no war. Young men get
drunk and ride around, but no war.
Indians all like Dutchman."
''If you like US, then go away and
leave us aloner shouted Miller.
"WiH you come OutP"
mo"
"Then we burn house and kill all
cattler'
L
at their bloody work to waste much
time in parleying. The messenger was
no sooner under shelter than the gang
began to howl and whOOp, and while
some opened fire on US from the win
dows, others made preparations for a
bonfire. In about ten minutes the
house was on fire, and the Indians
crowded together on the far side. 1t
was a log house. and the roof fell in
before the sides were hardly ablaze.
The slight wind blew the smoke and
sparks directly over us, so that we
could not see five feet. The Indians
continued to yell and dance for time,
but suddenly there was terrific ex-
plosion and dozen screams of terror.
/ was looking into the smoke cloud,
which now and then lifted for an in
slant, and 1 saw the burning logs OF
the house scattered to the four winds
by the explosion. Miller knew the
reds would set the building on fire,
and he had placed one of the kegssoi
powder where it would do the most
good We counted five warriors killed
or disabled by the explosion, and Mil
Ter killed two others before the crowd
got out Of range. The house was the
best shelter from which to worry us,
and they had lost by destroying it.
The strength of our fort could be seen
at a glance. The Indians were wise
enough not to attempt a rush, and the
whole party were also impatient to
push on to other scenes. Six or eight
more arrived soon after the explosion,
! and presently we saw them making
ready to move off A general vOlley
, was fired at us, the war whoop was
; sounded. and the brief siege was raised
r 1t was half an hour before we ventureC
out, and not an Indian was in sight
We could, however, see tall columns O.
/ black smoke whichever way we looked
and il was plain that the whole section
was in the hands of the Indians. We
, could not at first make out why they
had left us, but Miller soon concluded
, that they knew what they were about
We had no means of escape left to us,
The savages were on every side, and il
we attempted to leave the neighbour
hood we should fall into the hands Of
some of them. 1t was quite safe &c
/ leave us there while they pushed on &c
butcher the defenseless ones.
! An hour after dinner we were Joined
t by three young men who had been hid
; ing, lodging and travelling since the
3 evening before. and who had come
r distance of twenty miles. They wer,
I bachelor homesteaders, and all haC
/ rifles, revolvers and plenty of ammuni
ton. 1t was welcome addition t,
e our party, for we now felt that W,
/ ,,-,,,11 have N stand a siaUa Mrs