The daily morning journal and courier., 1899-09-21
SHE FOUGHT THE INDIANS
SINGLE 4 WOMAN HELD
 THE REDSKINS AT B1Y.
Story If the Peril ofa Pioneer Family ina Old nIissOurt-Feathers Utilized as OneofH Her Chief Means of Defence,

ina Old nIiss0uri-Feathers Utilized n,
 On the southern slope of hillside
 about fifty-fve miles west from St
 Louis and midway between the Missou-
 ri and Mississippi rivers, is the ruin
 and even that has almost disappeared
 of quaint, heavily built structure
 known in the early days of the white
 mans advance into Missouri as Fort
 Kennedy. This outpost of the west
 ward march of civilization was the
 scene of a battle Waged on one side by
 a party of marauding Indians, on the
 other by a woman, and the result of
 which was the woman's victory. It was
 the battle of woman for her home and little ones, and for her own life, too.
 The fort was years after superseded by
 a substantial farmhouse, the forest has
 given way to the axe, and what was
 once thick woodland is now divided into
 pasture and grain fields. A railroad
 runs across one corner of the farm, and in sight of the house has grown up a
 thriving Missouri town The descend
 ants of the woman who fought and won
 the battle still oWn but do not live on,
 the farm,
 It was autumn and the Osages the
 tribe of Indians that inhabited the ter
 ritory at that time, were rowing about in bands hunting. the game season being
 at its zenith. The redmen were not
 friendly with the ever increasing pale | in
 their inveterate enemies The whites
 returned the sentiment with interest and collisions with hunting parties of | Indians were frequent. At the time mentioned, maraudings and murders by | the Indians had been more frequent than usual. It was not strange there fore, that Mother Kennedy, standing at the front door of the fort, should feel apprehensve as she peered down the vista in front, fianked upon either side by long files of giant oaks and hicko- ries. She and her three small children were the only persons at the fort. Her husband had gone out that morning with his dogs and rifle in quest of game, salt pork and dried venlson hay ing become a tiresome diet. He had
  but he had not come.
 Musng on the probability of her hus- bands return, fearing what might have happened yet daring not to think on what she feared, Mother Kennedy be- gan doing the chores that evening brings about farm house. She no- ticed as she went about the work that the hogs and cows had come up from the range earlier than usual and hud- dled about the pens and feeding places In manner not usual with them The two ponies followed her about impa tnently. It was almost dark when Mother Kennedy finished the evenings work and entered the fort. The evening meal over, the anxious woman stepped outside to listen. She thought she might be notified of her husbands ap- proach by his singing or whistlng, for he was cherry man, or the barking of the dogs. She waited until 1t grew quite dark, and then suddenly the cry of a panther broke on the still night air. It seemed a long way off and was intive as the we waiing of child. Paint ers?" she said. Thar aint ben nary painter round this settlement all sum mer." and again she listened, The cry was repeated. Her trained cat, this time expecting the sound, told her that It was a counterfeit of the crying of that animal The cry this time was nearer, too. In an instant it was re- peated on another side of the house, some distance away, but still nearer than the first. "Injuns," said the hardy pn I lot +, ready fer the varmnts'
 So she groped her way through the darkness 10 the woodplle in the yard and secured her husbands age, returned and re-entered the fort, First she bar rlcaded the door and set the axe ag ainst tEe wall, to be ready for emer- gencies. Then she looked over her ri- lle and saw that it was well loaded. She leaned 1t against the wall near a small aperture set at an angle to com mand a view of one side of the fort. | Then, without saying a word she put | her little ones to bed. This done, she | looked or rather, felt about for some | thing else to do There seemed noth- | ng. She listened. The false panther ny grew very close to the fort. Peer
  Mrs Kennedy fancied she could see 'orms of Inaians gathering on the edge If the clearing, a few rods from the She raised her rifle. It it we're a panther, to fire would frighten he animal away.
 If the forms she thought she saw were cal shot would warn the Indians that he inmates of the fort were aware of heir presence and prepared to receive hem, if, indeed, none were hit, which he hoped might be the case if she fired, s it would prove to the reds that it ttack. She was almost on the point of pulling the trigger, when it occurred to Ter that, the fort being dark-she had lot lighted the talloW dip-the Indians night conclude, after reconnoitering, hat no one was there, and would go The forms drew nearer until she could istiuguish one from another She aised her rifle again, am9d and fired. . form leaped into the air, there was a hriek of pain and hurrying of foot teps back to the shelter of the trees lrs. Kennedy quickly reloaded her ri- e and knowing the tactics of the In- ians, made a circuit of the room and ,oked out of the porthCles-there were )ur, one on each side of the fort-to see an approach was attempted from any ther point. She could see nothing nni har anntinuAnrN now praSaptad