St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-08-30
INDIANS In KENTUCKY.
For the Young Folks. I


To the young folks of to-day, many of
whom never saw all Indian, it may seem
strange when they are told that large
tribes once roamed over the state of
Kentucky and carried CD cruel and
bloody war against the early settlers.
When was a small boy, the cruelty
practiced by these Savages was fresh in
the memories of the grOwn-up men and
women, and / have heard them tell in
dian stories until could almost imagine
myself surrounded by the bloodthirsty
creatures, eager TO secure my curly
scalp-locks. So numerous were the
bloody battles that the state has ever
been known as the Ozark and Bloody
Ground" The early pioneers were
principally from Virginia, and were
young men fond of adventure, who left
their homes for the wilds of Kentucky
to chase buffalo, hunt bear, elk, deer and
all the varieties of game SO plentiful in
the early years of the century. These
young men expected to have trouble
with the Indians, and they were not
disappointed. Many of them were bru
tally murdered, but the survivors be-
came the leading men of that state, and
finally succeeded in establishing law
and order and compelling the Indians
to sue for peace.
While the SavageS were still hostile
and roamed through the dense forests
numbering and plundering the whites,
three men left Harrod's station in
search of horses which had strayed off.
The pursued the trail for some miles,
frequently observing signs of Indians
in their vicinity, which made them
move very cautiously. At length dark
nd nnld dicn hi Ia
rain drove them to seek shelter in an
old deserted log cabin surrounded by a
heavy growth of cane and covered with
dense grape vines, which had been
planted by the former occupant, and
which had grown so luXuriantly as to
almost conceal the house with their
heavy foliage. These men thought it
unwiSe to strike fire, as the Indians
knew the location of the cabin, and,
like themselves, might seek its friendly
shelter and dispute their right to pos
session. They concluded to ascend into
the loft. the floor of which was clap
boards resting on round poles. They
laid down quietly, side by side. each
one holding his trusty rife in his arms.
1t was not long before six well-armed
Indians entered the cabin, placed their
guns, tomahawks and knives in cor
| merry. One of the white men wishing
to know the number of the lndianS-he
was the middle man of the three, and
was lying on his attempted to
turn over and get peep at things be-
low. His comrades held him to keep
him from turning over. and. in the
struggle, one of the poles broke and the
men fell in the midst of the Indians,
who with yelp of terror fled from the
house, leaving their guns and other
weapons and could never be induced to
return to the cabin, which, i'll their
| superstition, they imagined was haunted
by evil spirits. The scarcely less terri
fed whites remained in quiet possession
and on the following morning returned
to the station bearing their trophies
with them. In after life, when these
men CHANGED to come together, they
would heartily enjoy talking over this
strange adventure, which they agreed
to call the Battle of the Boards" This
event took place in what is now called
Mercer county.
For twenty years Indian warfare was
carried on, but equal courage, superior
intellect. and the destiny of revolu-
tionary soldiers and their descendants
overthrow the heroism of the sons of the
forest and they turned their faces west
ward in the direction of the setting sun,
leaving the graves of their ancestors be-
hind them. The dark and bloody ground
has been converted into landof peace,
and on the sites of the battle fields
little children play in safety under the
shadow of church spires and college
dOmes. X. w. JOHNSON.