Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-09-07

is no canoe. No wagon to carry them
to other white men far down the river.
And then we would have visit from
about half a dozen Of the red devils
and what would be left of us would not
be sufficient to send to our friends as
little souvenirs. So It behooved us
youngsters to find way of getting
away before the following night. we
felt quite sure that the Indians would
not show themselves while it was day.
They preferred swooping down upon
us when we were sleeping ana unpre-
pared to fight in self-defense.
eff only we could get across the
river right herein front OF the
house. said Susan. You see, it's only
two miles over the hills to the JACK.
sons, and we could easily walk that
| distance in a short time OF course, IL
would be hard on mother-but any
thing is better than staying here till
night falls again. That lurking Indian
meant something, and that something
will happen tonight unless we ward II
Off .a, s. 81.
eyes, we'll have to outwit the red
DEVILS said I. Then an idea flashed
through my mind. Father and l had
! been cutting down trees on the RIVER
bank. not three hundred yards from
the house, and we had split them ana
dressed them on one side. We had
nice pile of split logs-we called them
slabs. and these figured In my IDEA. !
would build a raft of them, raft large
enough to carry us all across the RIVER.
The current would be strong and OH.
| L.ao,& h,{ uoOrv and | COui0
pole and paddle the raft over
II told my idea to Henry ana sue
and they fell in with 1t. But | naa 70 :,
begin work that very nlght as -
would be too much of an Undertaking
to accomplish in one day. so wall.
ed till about 9 o'clock, when l 1eit
quite sure that our red spy hao long
ago departed, and l went out TO sort
over my logs. 1t was still raining
heavily, but that did not deter me. !
| was strong and used to all SORTS OF
hardships and exposure.
Il got my split logs selected and lalo
side by side at the very edge OF the
water Then l proceeded to tie them
securely together with long ropes
which were used during grazing Time
as lariats for the cows.
"This done, / went to the stable
and worked till almost midnight wnit-
Ting out long, strong wooden pms 10
be used In holding the logs togetner:
Then I went to bed. BY daybreak
was at my raft-building again. "nlie
Henry did the chores l took an anger
to the yard and bored holes In the
logs. then I put in my long wooden
pins thus holding the logs together.
"Well. I worked hard all that day.
Henry lent me a helping hand every
snare moment he had. and toward
noon we told mother OF the lndlan
visit the night before. and she oesa
getting together what things she coule
carry on the raft. Sister sue helpeu
her and Henry worked at hiding pro-
visions beneath the floor of the mousse.
We knew the Indians would ransack
the place and we wanted the nour'
bacon, potatoes and other PROVISIONS
safely hidden away from, them. so
Henry buried these things foot pc
low the surface of the earth under the
floor and laid the floor boards back
into place, mailing them down. MOI
sign of this work was visible, which
was proved later.
ut was about o'clock when the
raft was at last completed. 1t was an
odd sight to see us-mother In the
lead marching down the slippery
bank to the raft, which Henry ana
had pushed upon the water, and when
was tied to a tree on the bank. we
were laden with bundles which we
piled upon the raft.
"Then came the real tug. Henry
and I worked like real galley slaves
getting that raft to the opposite banK,
The high water was full OF drlrt"ooo
and several times we had close call
but succeeded after an hours marc
work in getting to safety. Mother
sat with a brave face through 1t al!
and once when a whirling log collldeo
with us. and sister Sue screamed, she
only took hold of her and said calm
Nv: Never fear, daughter, we would
better brave these small dangers tnan
the Indians
"Well, we reached the Jacksons, anc
they we're surprised to see US. all drag
gled and covered with mud: We were
made most welcome, and Mr.. Jackson
lost no time in riding about the neigh
borhood telling the neighbors OF tne
nearness of the Indians. But he hac
little fear that the red men would at
tempt to cross the river And he
was right. 2.> ST..
1.-THE next morning Henry and sci
out afoot to meet father, for we kne"
he would start homeward that day
the clouds clearing away and the sun
coming out. We met him half way tC
town and got into the wagon with him
and told him the story Of our adven
ture on the raft He was much ex
cited over it, and praised us for build
ing the raft. We went to the Jack
sons, and from there father, Mr.
Jackson and I went to our home. we
1 crossed on my raft, which had remain
ed secure where I had tied 1t up. The
waters were still high, and we coulc
not 20 home for several days, and re
NAMED with the Jacksons. But during
our hours visit at home we found the
Indians had raided the place and car
ried away what they could find. we
were astonished that they had no.
burned the place. The COWS had beer
driven away, and, Of course, furnished
their tribe with beef. But otherwise
i ~.+L;,- 10 r,,i,ch cOnaoOuenCe laC