Rocky Ford enterprise., 1894-07-12
Address all ORDERS to Zhe EWzERPRZSE.

self at one side of the door she stood
determined to do battle for her own
life and those of her husband and
children.
The break in the door grew perceptb
bly larger, until it was of sufficient
size to admit the head and upper part
of the body of an Indian, who was
forced, from the height of the OPEN
ing, to stoop as he endeavored to en-
ter; as he did SO the powerful arm OF
Mrs. Merrill, whom he could not SEQ.
brought the keen edge of tho axo
down upop the back of his neck and
he rolled dead upon the floor. /
Another head and shoulders came
through the opening, again the axe
came down, and another Indian fell
upon the body of his comrade. Igno-
rant of the fate of the others, two
more savages attempted to enter, and
four dead bodies, the victims of Mrs.
Merrill's axe, lay piled upon each
other at one side of the partially
splintered door.
The attack then ceased for a while,
and the Merrills heard the remaining
Indians parlcying on the outside.
Finding that none who went in by the
broken door gave any token OF life,
the savages concluded that the way
was too dangerous to be given further
trial, and they commenced exploring
around the house IN search Of some
safer place of attack. The single,
small window, with its one close shut
ter of boards, was too firmly secured
to prove available, but the yawning
top of the great chimney, built OF
rough stones and dauEed with clay,
was more than wide enough to admit
the passage of n mans body.
With heavy hearts the Merrills boz
came aware that some of the savages
had climbed upon the roof and were
commencing a descent down the chin
ney. Merrill rolled himself with diff
ficulty from the feather bed on which
he lay, needless of the agony which
this caused him to feel in his wounded
arm and leg, and with the help of his
Oldest boy, who was only Z, he dragged
it to the fireplace, slit 1t open with q
knife which the boy brought him and
emptied it's contents on the shoulder
ing Goals. A sitting smell and smoke
went up the chimney and partially
pervaded the cabin; it proved SO over
powering to the two Indians who were
climbing down the inside of the chim-
ney that they lost their hold and tum-
bled down half suffocatcd upon the
hearth. Leaving the girl to guard
the broken door Mrs. Merrill ran to
the fireplace. The two ill-starred in
truders had fallen face downward into
the sitting smoke and feathers and
the brave woman had no difficulty in
dispatching them also by blows from
her dripping weapon.
At this juncture the seventh and
last Indian stuck his head in through
the hole in the doorway to see how
matters were progressing, and the
cries of the girl who stood guard
warned Mrs. Merrill of this new dan
ger, and called her back to her former
post. Powerful woman though she
was, the unusual exertion and the
death of six men, all of them killed
with her own hand, now began to tell
upon her strength and nervous sys-
tenn. The great excitement under
which she labored, and the imminent
danger had kept her up so far, but
she was now SO much exhausted
that it was but an uncertain blow
which she dealt upon the cheek of
the last foeman twas owing to this
that he was able to extricate himself
from the door, and retire from tho
contest. His wound proved to be not
very severe, and he succeeded in MAX
ing his way back to his tribe at Chilli
cothe. In letter written shortly
afterwards by Colonel James Perry to
Rev. Jordan Dodge, dated Nelson
county, KY, April 20, 1888, it is re-
lated that this Indian upon his return
was questioned by some white men as
to what was the news. His reply
was:
.'Plaguey bad news; squaw fight
worse than long knives"
Merrill lived to get we'll and obtain
a small indemnity for all he had un-
dergone by disposing Of the ornaments
worn by his would d-be-murderers-
The bodies of the dead saw
ages had been adorned with
fine head-dresses and many sill
yer ornaments, which were stripped
from them by the neighbors before
they were tossed into one common
grave for burial. This silver furni-
ture," as it was styled in Colonel
Perry's letter, was carried to one OF
the larger towns and sold for what in
those days was thought considera BILE
sum.