Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1890-01-15
KENTUCKrS PIONEERS
THE EARLY MOTHERS WHO COULD
PROTECT THEMSELVES

THE EARLY MOTHERS WHO COULD
PROTECT THEMSELVES.
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MsA Dsssa@ ssrssasis Hssso0s ssr ~
C.ss.rs - . LavsaD WHITE k.@y -
n~ DssAaaA-TAs ssssy q '1h0S Hy&"
In the early settlement Of Kentucky.
the boys, and even the women and chill
dren, became - Thorough soldiers - The
men This was the result Of their sur
roundingA They were educated to il.
and lived At . time when IL vas neces-
sary TO practice Is daily. There were
few women on the frontier but could
load and fire . rife. and many Of them
could do is with - fatal accuracy -
their fathers, husbands and brotherx A
fair illustration Is found in the care Of .
Mrs.. Davies, whose husband was among
the early settlers Of Lincoln county. She
could shoot an Indian with a. steady .
hand - Daniel Boone himself. One day
. white man came TO her husbands cab
Ii ~ LII A1<AeA D@ASSGh SOkAAC RtORIAsy AASAA
him, and who bore bad character gen.
orally.
Mrs. Davies was alone with her chill
dren when this desperate called. and.
knowing her husband WAS on the look
out for him. ahe resolved to capture him
Upon his entering the cabin she asked
him il he would not stake q dram"-no
| pioneers home was ever found without
its whisky bottle. which was kept as .
remedy for snake bites, etc. She put the
bottle on the table and told him to step
up and help himself. He set his gun
against the cabin wall 70 comply with
her invitation. and, after hearty pull At
the bottle. he turned TO find himself look
| ing into the muzzle Of his own rifle,
which Mrs. Davies had picked up while
be was drinking, cooked il. and stood
with it leveled at his head. When he
asked her what she meant, she informed
hin that he had stolen her husbands
property, and she meant to keep him
there until his return. and she did. She
stood guard over him until her husbands
| return, when she delivered to him her
prisoner.
| The boys were no less brave and man.
full To fight the ''Injuns" was the first
thing they learned, and, by the time they
could lift q rifle they knew how to use it.
Many instances and incidents could b
given illustrating the heroism Of the Dor
der boys, Of which the following may be
taken as a fair sample: Among the early
settlers Of Hardin county was one Silas
Hart, an expert hunter. thorough back
woodsman, and an inveterate Indian
hater and fighter. Whenever an Indian
incursion was made into the state he was
one of the first on the trail, and he pur-
sued them relentlessly and with the keen
ness of bloodhound. His keen eye, and
prowess in skirmish and battle, won from
the Indians the name Of SHARP Eye"
On one of their many incursions into
his neighborhood, Hart pursued them
with a few chosen followers, and before
they reached the Ohio shot and killed
their chief. The savages vowed VEN
geance against him and his family, and
shortly another incursion was made by
them under the leadership Of the brother
Of the fallen chief. As usual, Hart was
first on their trail, and the savages re-
treated toward the Ohio. The whites
finally despaired of overtaking them and
upon their trail and became the pursuers
instead Of the pursued. Hart reached
his home about dark. and, being much
fatigued from his long tramp, slept
soundly all night, little dreaming of dan
ger lurking near.
Next morning, just as the family were
sitting down to breakfast, the savages ap-
peared at the door, and the dead chiefs
brother shot Hart dead His son, a lad
but l2 years old, sprang up. seized his
fathers rifle and shot the murderous
savage. As the next Indian sprang over
his fallen leader. the brave and un-
daunted boy. with a large hunting knife,
stabbed him to the heart But the odds
were against him, and he and his mother
were carried away captives. 1t was the
intention of the savages to take them to
their towns and torture them. but they
were finally ransomed and returned to
their friends.
| The same Daviess mentioned above was
surprised one morning in August. 1882.
by Indians. They had approached his
cabin during the night, concealed them
selves. and waited for him to make his
appearance. Daviess, little after day.
light, got up and stepped out of his cabin.
He had proceeded but a short distance
from the door when. turning, he beheld
a number of savages behind him and the
cabin. Seeing there was no chance to
render his family assistance, he fed to
the nearest station. which was five miles
distant, for help.
The Indians made prisoners Of his
wife and children, the eldest boy IL
wars old. and, knowing Daviess had
escaped, they soon left with their pris-
oners, hoping to escape beyond the
Ohio. Daviess gathered force. and
pursued so rapidly as to overtake them
before night. As usual, when about to
be brought to bay. the savages essayed
to kill their prisoners, but were too
closely pressed by the whites A savage.
however, succeeded in knocking down
the boy and scalping him. the boy
was not killed, only stunned by the
| blow, and almost as soon as the savage
left him bounded to his feet, exclaim-
ing: "Durn that Injun, he's got my
scalp"
The boy lived to grow up to manhood,
but was ever after bald headed; the
hair would grow no more on that part
Of the head which had been scalped. He
never forgave the savages for rendering
him prematurely bald headed, but swore
eternal vengeance against them. In the
summer Of 1899, ten years after his ex-
periences detailed above, a band Of In
dams raided the settlement. and stole .
number of horses. Young Davies joined
party in pursuit Of them When the
savages found they would be overtaken
they ambushed the whites, and in the
skirmish that ensued young Daviess was
killed. Thus the Indian fatality chung
to him. William Henry Perrin in Louis
vile Courier Journal.
AduIt-rnt-d Candida
The Board of Trade Journal of Port
land. Ne. is authority for the statement
that about 6 900 tons of terra alba were
recently imported through the port Of
New York alone The only Use for terra