St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-01-18
PLUCK FROM DOWN EAST.
A Woman Brave Enough to Have
Been Born on the Prairies.


Detroit Free Press.
Away back in the "sixties," before
the buffalo. elk, deer and antelope were
killed and driven from Kansas. in the
middle and western portions of that state
the settlers made ''dugoutS" for theirhab-
itations. The settler would dig into hill
side one or more excavs tons, twelve or
fifteen feet SQUARE In front and around
the sides he stood cottonwood trees,
which would be kept firmly in place by
stamping earth in the trenches, The
roof would be made of poles covered
with branches, earth and sod.
One of these dug-Outs was constructed
in hill which sloped to one of the
streams tributary to the Arkansas river.
1t was of better class than was usually
| found in that new re gion. 1t had a
| panel door and two windows of upper
and lower sash.
In this house lived an Eastern gentle
man named Wentworth, with his wife.
he had invested in sheep and was
| obliged to go to store few miles
| from his home to look at some blooded
stock which an importer had for sale.
He left his home without fear of i'm
| pending danger, as the Indians in Kan
sas had been quiet for some time.
The day was passed by Mrs. Went
i worth in woman'S usual home pur-
suits. Toward evening she stepped to
| returning. Her large Newfound-
near her, growled and looked to-
wards the thlcket bordering the
| stream at the foot of the hill. Upon
! looking that way she saw an Indians
| face peering through the bushes. She
! called her dog to her, and, shutting and
fastening the door and barring the solid
| inside shutters to the windows, she
| lighted lamp and prepared for the
| attack she knew must come. Her huS-
! band always kept gun loaded with
! buckshot to defend his sheep from the
large gray wolves, which in that day
were so destructive to the fiocks.
! In few minutes Nero, the dog, de-
tected the approach Of the Indians.
] They broke the glass in the windows
| and strove to push the blind open.
| Failing, they went to the door and
| hammered on it with their weapons.
| Mrs. Wentworth made 40 reply. They
! pushed, and the frail lock yielded.
The door few open, and the
brave woman discharged both barrels
VI Tie gun llIO tHC SIOup VI odf-
| ages. The dead and wounded fell OH
the floor of the room and the porch out.
! SIDE The dog flew among them and
must have killed those who fell only
wounded, as some of them showed
| marks of his teeth, and he was covered
| with blood when his master entered.
| L he Indians who were not injured re-
| tired after their comrades fell, not
| knowing what might be their fate were
| they to attempt to enter the dug-out.
| Mrs. Wentworth was thrown upon the
| floor by the recoil of the heavily charged
| gun In falling, her head struck the
+! wall, and she was so stunned that she
| became insensIble.
! AS the Indians were accommodating
| preparatory to another attack. Went
worth, accompanied by Wild Bill, a
| we'll known scout, leading some twenty
| ranchmen. all heavily armed, rode up
| Wentworth and Wild Bill threw them
selves from their horses at the door, and
leaping over the slam, raised Mrs
Wentworth, placed her on the bed anC
applied restoratives. She was soon able
to tell her husband of the attack. The
pile of dead atteSted how she had de
Tended her home.
Wild Bill left them, and mounting his
|
the now flying savageS. Few of then
escaped.
The boy who herded the sheep wa:
killed and scalped by the Indians, bu
the sheep were brought in by the shep
herd dog that night.
Had it not been for Wild Bill, Went
worth would have known nothing o
his Wife'S perilOuS situation, and NJ
would have returned to find deSOlateC
and burned home, his wife slain, o.
worse. captive.
Wild Bill was on his way to Fort Riley
to procure troops to intercept band o
Cheyenne Indians who had left thei
reservation and were on the warpath
He went to the store where Wentworth
was to inform the owner, so that III
might warn the ranchmen in the neigh
borhood. He knew the course the In
dians had taken would lead them b.
Wentworth's ranch, and on learning
that Mrs. Wentworth was alon,
ne called for volunteers to go t.
her defense. AS there was large
number of ranchmen at the Stor
to see the blooded sheep he was soon OF
his way at the head of the squad of men
who arrived at the Wentworth rancl
just in time to save the brave woman
from horrible fate.
After this experience Wentworth sol,
his ranch and stock and returned to tn
East.
Wild Bill afterwards became famou
as marshal of Abilene and Salins
Kan, where he was terror to the will
element during the building of tn
Kansas Pacific railroad, and CON
panion scout with Buffalo Bill for Gems
Hancock and Custer,