Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1902-12-14
ONCE FOUGHT INDIANS |
PIONEER DAYS IN THE COUNTY OF
SCOTT RECALLED.
ROBERT KlLGoRE's DREAM.
.,nuc Asleep nc Received Three
warnings That the sarascs Were
c,ntnp-And They Served Him
Ncil-Dortnn's Fort
received Three

carr, cry VA. December 12--tspe-
a,a,,-r,,n ntoncer history OF Southwes;
,r{rcf,sa is rich in interesting and thrill
ing events. The struggle for supremacy
netwcen the whites and the Indians was
III long duration and was charac'eflZeo
by many inhup:an atrocities inc oio
Cherokee trail passed through Scott cohn-
.~ leading from The northwest TO me
southwest. and predatory bands OF M
CLANS regularly harasscd the carry set
Tiers. ,nurdering and scalpng many, amer
burning their rude dwellings and driving
off thcir cattle
This led TO a long and bloody struggle
al last terminated by the victories OF
,,alorous and ,'csoiute old John Sewer ma
his iron-nervod companions at cherokee
Island and elsewhere.
DARTOE'S FORT
One Of the forts established in what is
now Scott county, was fifteen miles east
of Gate CITY and one mile south oil NICK
cIsyiIle II was known as Dorton's Fort /
ono milo from the site OF the fort. on
Come: Creek stands the old Robert MI
--ora house. one Of the first houses built
in this section X is built OF large heWed
oak logs. chlnked with stones. and perlof-
ated with portfolios from whlch 10 hlc
,,pon an enemy II has a massive stone
into four rooms by strong wall partitions
IN this house occurred Robert hilSoTc
famous dream, in which he vas warned
of the approach OF the saragts In time
for him and his wife to seek refuge IN
Dortnns Fort.
DREAM GAVE A WARNING.
one night in the early fall he awoke
and told his wife that ne had just dream
cd that messenger came in haste ana ,
told he had better get TO the fort Tor the
Indians were coming. He fell asleep 10
dream n second time OF the approach OF
the messenger with the same warming
The recurrence of the dream, Identical IN
every particular with the first, deeply I'M
pressed him: YET he tried to dismiss 1t,
reasoning that IL was caused by his iiE-
ing in constant dread of Indian attack
On his falling asleep the third time he
was startled in his dream b.: the same
messenger riding swiftly by and shouting
as he passed. the same warning as be
fore; this time adding that when Mr.
Kilgore opened his door the next morning
the first thing he Should see would be
two cattle Of a peculiar description APP
proachin: the creek from q certain dlrec-
ton which might be taken as a sign that
the warning WAS not the mere accident
OF a dream. and that he should seek the
eafety of the fort without delay. Spend
ing the remainder OF the night in fcrepod-
ings of impending danger, he arose at
early dawn and on opening the door. sure
enough there We're the TWO cattle APP
preaching the creek just as the messen- I
ger in the dream had predicted.
AND THE INDIANS REALLY CAME.
There was not longer any doubt in his
mind that the dream was warning of
danger and he and his wife Immediately
hurried TO the fort. That evening a band
of hostile Indians enCamped on the BLUFF
opposite Mr.. l<lgore's house.
So deep an impression did the incident
make upon the minds Of the people, that
il has been handed down from generation
TO generation. and almost every child in
the community Is familiar with the story
1t moreover ensendered belief in dreams.
5 gns ana omens that Will live long in
the minds of the poole.
The old house stands to-day as a vener-
able monument 10 the later colonial days
and as a forcibie reminder Of the valiant
struggle of the pioneers and the hard
ships and dangers they had To encounter /
OPGSSUM NOMIcNCLATURE.
The Idle Reporter of the Dispatch, in
his highly interesting article last Sun
day (which was ready by al least one
besides the writer. the printer and the
proof-readeT). deplores the fact that the
opossum was given the inHocuGEs de-
SuetuGe" SO TO speak. and in The non2en-
clature OF postciilccs II is with pleasure
that this writer informs him that that
highly respectable marsupial has been
duly noncred in this section On the
south side of this county, winding its
graceful selpentne way among lofty
wooded tils--a veritable 'posSums para
dise-is Cpossun Creek the most import
ant watercourse in the world. at least TO
the fine gentlemen who own mills 10 which
ii furnishes the motive power. Il is four
teen miles from its source to its mouth.
and 1t is more than sixty miles long 1t
loops and doubles hack passing through
gaps in OposSUrn mountain tmore honor
for the nocturnal persimnon destroyer,
al least dozen times. winding about ii
such a May way that it is said that the
people living along its course are cften al
a loss to know which side of the creek
they live on. From a natural. wilful and
wayward disposition, Opossum Greek flows
tsnsssn