Year: 1869

ENESOTA GIRL WITH INDIANS.


On the border of Green Lake
in Minnesota, there lived sturdy,
white. haired frontiersman named
Walter Brown. He was one oi
those adventurous spirits ever to
be found in the van of advancing
civilization-always eourting the
free, wild air of the prairie, and
rejoicing in the profound depths
of uninhabited forests. But the
country grew more and more
thickly settled, and Walter Brown
became uneasy. His wife had
borne him a daughter, the third
or fourth year of their residence
at the head waters ofthe St. Croix,
whom he called Leonora. She
was a good girl, and the idol of
her father. He purchased rifle
for her when she was but twelve
years of age, and took the utmost
pains in teaching her the use OF
it. She was brave, and steady of
nerve, and very soon acquired Won
derful skill as a shot; and the
number.of prairie chickens, par
tridges, and wild water-fowls and
other small game, she managed to
shoot each day, was really large.
Occasionally she would shoot a
deer, and one eventual morning,
by a lucky shot through the eye
.-iaseathe brain, she killed a bear.


When she came home with the
news, her father could scarce
ly credit her; but KNOWN 6
her perfectly truthful nature,
he danced about the house for
Joy, and seizing the sturdy little
maid, he mounted her upon his
shoulders and insisted upon carry
ing her all the way to the spot
where the dead bruin lay.


Thicker and thicker flowed the
tide of immigration into Minneso-
ia and Wisconsin-following the
navigable rivers as a matter OF
course-and more uneasy and
"crowded" felt Walter Brown.
At length his wife died. Leonora
was then sixteen, and engaged to
be married to a handsome young
trapper by the name of Watson,
who had joined her father in busi-
ness. .-.-..


The death of the mother made
it necessary to postpone the we'd
ding in the interim old Walter
decided to move into Northwest
ern Minnesota. Neighbors were
settling too near, and hunting and
trapping were bad. As theyoung
man I'D proved up, pre-emptedl
spd improved u. I~erter SECTION ssao % OF
land near Taylor's Falls, sn~'u w.
ginning to grow rapidly, he did
not wish either to abandon or sell
it Just then, and, persuading Leo
nora to agree to write to him when
she got settled, he bade her an af-
fectionate goodbye.


Brown lived at his new home
for three or foar years in peace
and quiet, finding good trapping
and hunting grounds, when all at
once young Watson arrived and
renewed the proposal Of marriage
with Leonora. The old man had
aba&t determined to move no more,
al had accordingly located and
pre-empted several thousand acres
OF land about him, and learning
from Watson that he had money
enough to do likewise, proposed
that he should 60 down to st.
Paul and buy land warrants with
bis money, and take up all the
land around he could Swing" and
he might then marry Leonora
and they too would go to work
and after building plenty of sta
bling, ETC., would get on a gooo
stock of cattle and sheep, and try
and lead a quiet pastoral life tol
the rest of their days.


To this proposition the young
man heartily assented, and after
returning from St. Paul, he and
old Walter took their axes and
went bravely at work in the woods
telling trees for building purposes
It was agreed at first that they
should build a new bewed log
house for the united family, a:
Walter had only put up a small
single-roomed cabin; and then tht
wedding was to take place, anc
the two men were to resume thell
work. -


While thus busily engaged, :he
Sioux war broke out. 1t was the
habit of Leonora to take her rifle