The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1906-03-02

ened to cry; all the noise was ~ ~
the outside. The house mioTa
have stood on an island in nv
midst of the Internal regiona
Judging from the cries that cama
from the village. The noiao
seemed actually in the room '
The men hurridly strengthened
the windows of the block bonaa
with props of logs. and fttaJ
their rifles in the loop holes.
Suddenly there was a grao.
crash at the door and a wild
savage yell. The rifles openad
fire and some Of the women rnSb
ed to the door and pressed fiprceIr
against it with their delcato
shoulders. The rifles cracked
louder. tiercer. and faster. tbe
men rammed in the charges and
the savage foe fell back. tba
blows upon the door ceased.
The young girl ran up the
stairs to her chamber and looked
out of her little window. Deer
field was roaring mass of flames
the sky and snow rejecting back
the red hue. and leaping through
the angry glare came the painted
savages. the savage white face
and flashing sword of Hertel de-
Rouville in their midst.
The Quavering war hoop re.
sounded on all sides, intermiugled
with the death cries of the vii.
layers. She saw close under
her window the quick stroke of
the tOmahawk, the swift circle
of the Scalping knife. and the
red starting of the caps of blood
as the hairy trophies were torn
from the heads Of the victims
She saw infants hurled through
the air like foot balls and the
Straining forms of shrieking
women dragged half naked down
the street.
Her room was fun of The red
glare. The roof of the next
house. which was that of the
Rev. John Williams, now fell in
and the sparks and cinders shot
up in showers.
There was now a great Outcw
from below. and the Young Girl
hurried down. The Indians were
! trying to fire the house from the
west side. They had piled A lot
of brush against the wall. and
the men had cut new loop holes
in it and were heating them back.
Again a terrible cry arose 1.-The
ammunition is running Short
Every face blancbed. and the
enemy without cau2 htthe purRort
of the cry, and with triumphant
cries renewed the attack TO
hesitate is TO lose, but the women
of the Detrield block house did
not hesitate on that awful winter
morning. The pewter plates and
spoons were quickly collected By
the stern faced matronS aud
trembling young girls The wood
was piled in the fire place and
the fire made hotter The women
worked with desperation to sup
ply the men with bullets and
soon the loop holes Of the block
houSe blaXed anew with a deadly
fire. just as the ammunition
was a second time running low,
the foe withdrew from the attack,
aud left the scene with a large
train of captives.
The men in the block house
ceased firing, and everything was
4 quiet on the outside with the eX-
ception of the report of Skirm-
iSh fire that was going on be-
/ tween body Of men from
Hatfield, a town below Deerfeld,
and the letreating French and
Indians. The dawn was now
breaking, and cautiously opening
doors and windows, the inmates
of the block house ventured forth.
What a sight presented itself
to their fearful gaze. The sun
was now rising, and its increaS-
ing light was steadily Overcom'
ing the fire glow from the emberS
of the ruins.
No one would have recognized
Deerfeld. The sun of Monday
evening, February 2Sth, had
gone down upon the comfortable
homes and peaceful freSidrs OF
one of tue best frontier villages
in the Massachusetts colony. IL
arose on Tuesday morning, the
Goth, on a scene of blood ana
desolation. Everywhere here
was nothing now seen but beds OF
Glowing Goals, ruins of door posts
and chimneys in the midst OF
them, and twisted charred heaps
which the survivors viewed WIN
tears and trembling. Here ana
there throughout the entire VII
lage, great crimson blOtcheS us
figured the snow. and i'll them
lay the Scalped and mutllated