xt7f4q7qnw9x https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7f4q7qnw9x/data/mets.xml Spooner, Walter Whipple, 1861- 1883  books b92-86-27376443 English W.E. Dibble, : Cincinnati : Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Indian captivities. Fountier and pioneer life United States. Back-woodsmen, or, Tales of the borders  : a collection of historical and authentic accounts of early adventure among the Indians / by Walter W. Spooner with an introduction by Florus B. Plimpton. text Back-woodsmen, or, Tales of the borders  : a collection of historical and authentic accounts of early adventure among the Indians / by Walter W. Spooner with an introduction by Florus B. Plimpton. 1883 2002 true xt7f4q7qnw9x section xt7f4q7qnw9x 

























































































THE DEATH OF JAMES BRADY.

 
This page in the original text is blank.

 





  THE BACK-WOODSMEN


                OR



TALES OF THE BORDERS



A COLLECTION OF HISTORICAL AND AUTHENTIC ACCOUNTS

    OF EARLY ADVENTURE AMONG THE INDIANS



                 BY
        WALTER W. SPOONER



WITH AN INTRODUCTION
       BY
FLORUS B. PLIMPTON



COPIOUSLY ILLUSTRATED





         CINCINNATI
W. E. DIBBLE  CO., PUBLISHERS
           pound;883

 




























   COPYRI(GIIT
W. E. DIBBLE  CO
      r883

 











          AUTHOR'S PREFACE.



'rORIES of adventure in real life, and instances
3of heroism, daring and devotion, when based on
truth and related with fidelity, can rarely fail to en-
gage the attention of the most listless reader. To
know the lengths to which physical effort can go,
and to witness the struggles of the faculties when
the body is placed in circumstances of great trial,
must be objects of curiosity as long as curiosity is a
natural instinct.
  In the following pages the author has attempted to
present, in the light of truth, a phase of actual life
around which cluster associations of great romantic
interest. To do this with acceptation he has adopted
the narrative form exclusively, believing that, for the
purpose which he proposes, a complete and faithful
picture can be better given by episode than by his-
torical relation.
  The principal merits of his work, the author be-
lieves, will be found to be as follows:
  T. Simplicity and directness in style and treatment.
  A writer who undertakes a task of modest preten-
sions should have these qualities well developed. In
                                              (v)

 




AUTHOR S PREFACE.



the treatment of great themes there is room for the
display of great literary power; but in dealing with
ordinary matters, where neither the imagination nor
the reasoning faculties are taxed, entire simplicity
will be the best indication of the writer's intelli-
gence.
  2. Thorough reliability.
  A work which attempts to present a true picture of
any phase of actual life must not be lacking in this
element. As far as dependence can be placed upon
the reliability of his material, the author feels confi-
dent that the work bears every mark of scrupulous
fidelity to truth.
  3. Freshness in matter and originality in arrange-
ment and general treatment.
  Books descriptive of Western adventure and of
Indian life, character and warfare, are so numerous
that a new work in this department of narrative liter-
ature, in order to be favorably received, must contain
something that shall make it worthy of being named
apart from the rest. The author invites a comparison
of his work with others of this class, both in respect
of contents and method in arrangement.

  The principal authorities which have been con-
sulted are Pritts's " Border Life," McBride's "Pioneer
Biography," Hall's "Romance of Western History,"
McClung's " Sketches of Western Adventure," "Spen-
cer's Narrative," and Flint's "Life of Daniel Boone."
  In the story of Spencer the language of the orig-
inal has in several places been retained. The rest



vi

 



                AUTHOR'S PREFACE.              Vii

of the book is of the author's own composition, ex-
cept where otherwise indicated in the text.
  The three concluding stories,-" Girty, the Rene-
gade," "The Doomed Wyandot," and " Sketch of a
Pioneer," by William D. Gallagher and Otway Curry,
respectively, are taken from "The Hesperian, or
Western Monthly Magazine."
  The author's grateful acknowledgments are due
to his friend, Florus B. Plimpton, Esq., the writer
of the Introduction, and to Prof. W. H. Venable, for
useful suggestions.

 
This page in the original text is blank.



 













CONTENTS.



INTRODUCTION, BY FLORUS B. PLIMPTON
The Story of Spencer's Captivity among the Indians
Spy-Life.-Robert McClellan
Robert McClellan on the Plains
The Captivity of John McCullough
C.iptain Samuel Brady .
John and James Brady
The Adventures of Lewis Weitzel
The Adventures of Isaac Anderson
Incidents in the Life of Boone
Anecdotes of Kenton  .
REMARKABLE ESCAPES.
    John Slover.
    The Johnson Boys.
    The Linn Boys
    William Kennan   .
    Mrs. Woods .
    Miss Callaway
INSTANCES OF INDIAN GENEROSITY.
    Logan Saves the Life of Robinson
    Johnston Protected by a Humane Indian
    The Little Captive.
INTERESTING INCIDENTS.
   Mrs. Taylor.
   Luke Holland
   Muldrow
   Widow Shanks
   The Wild White Man
Mrs. Cunningham's Captivity
Girty, the Renegade. By William D. Gallagher
The Doomed Wyandot. By Otway Curry
Sketch of a Pioneer. By Otway Curry.



               PAGEC


                 17
               94
             . 125
             .  '79
             . 205
             . 236
             . 251
             . 300
              327
              365


           395
              412
    .  .    415
               422
             . 429
     . .     430


              439
           442
           .  444


            .454
             . 462
             ; 465
             . 468
             . 476
             . 484
             . 498
             . 526
              532
    ix)



 






x                          CONTENTS.

Hunting the Buffalo .
NEw ENGLAND STORIES.
   The Dustan Family    .
   The Attack on Lancaster and Mrs. Rowlandson's Captivity.
   Isaac Bradley and Joseph Whittaker .
   The Massacre at Dover





              LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.



The Death of James Brady .

Emigrants Passing down the Ohio.
Spencer Led into Captivity .
Wawpawwawquaw Saves Spencer's L:
William Moore Running the Gauntlet
Spencer's Encounter with the Wildca
The White Squaw's Shot
The Rangers Ride into the Indian Cai
A Convivial Meeting
Rocky Mountain Scenery
Camping in the Far West
McCullough Defending his Children
Brady's Jump
The Massacre of the Weitzel Family
Weitzel Escapes from the Guards .
Kentucky Emigrants Attacked by Ind
Boone Escapes by Strategy
Simon Kenton a Prisoner
The Linn Boys Fighting Young India
The Rescue of Miss Callaway
Return of the Little Captive.
Muidrow's Adventure .
The Indian Betrayed by his White Brc
Indian Scalp Dance
A Buffalo Hui-t .
New England Scenery.



                        Frentisoiece
                        TO FACE PAGE.
                                24
                                43
ife   .                         57
 .   .    .      .  .    74
t.   .    .    .   .    .   .   8
                               104
np    .   .    .   .    .   . 120
                               138
                        ,.1 .  x46
     X   .    .   0    -     172
                               184
                               226
                           . 254
                               283
lians.      .               343
                               357
                           .. 387
ns   .    .   .    .    .   . 419
                              437
                              453
                            . 46S
other.        .    .   .      483
                          .. 542
                            . 565
            .           59c



PAGe.
. 558


 573
 58i
 593
. 603

 









             INTRODUCTION.



THE purpose of the writer and compiler of the fol-
     lowing pages is to bring within the compass of
a moderately-sized volume, and into orderly sequence,
the substance of various narratives of romantic ad-
venture in the Great West during the period of its
first settlement by a civilizing race.
  These tales are, for the most part, but fading le-
gends in the memory of the present generation. Some
of them are out of print; others to be found only in
rare collections. They are often prolix and tedious in
details that, however interesting they may have been
at the time they were written, have lost flavor and
significance with the passing years.
  The object, in a word, is to present as fully and
fairly as may be done from the material at command,
a picture of pioneer life during the most picturesque
period of American history-a period abounding in
daring personal exploits, hardships, sufferings, perils,
and wonderful escapes from imminent death. These
could come to pass only in an unsettled state of soci-
ety, where the safety of the individual depends more
upon his own vigilance, readiness, and sagacity, than
upon the protection which either civil authority or mil-
itary supervision could afford him.
                                             (xi)

 



xii                INTRODUCTION.

  It was not alone the rugged and opposing forces of
savage nature that the pioneer had to contend with:
attracted from the older states by the genial climate,
the fat and fertile lands, and the splendid rivers of
the Mississippi Valley, at every advancing step into
the wilderness he was followed by a lurking and re-
morseless foe, who, regarding the invader as a nat-
ural enemy, neglected no contrived or chance oppor-
tunity to overcome and destroy him.
  Surprised in his newly built cabin, attacked in his
half-cleared field, tracked in his hunting excursions,
the pioneer, with the ever-present consciousness of
danger, became inured to peril, as the sailor to that
of the treacherous sea, and, without relaxing his vig-
ilance, he matched craft with cunning, strength with
sagacity, lightness of foot with suppleness of arm,
and, not unfrequently, cruelty with ferocity.
  Under no other conditions could such characters
as McClellan, the spy, Captain Brady, the scout, and
Lewis Weitzel, the hunter, have been developed. To
a greater or less degree, all experienced pioneers re-
sembled them in intrepidity of conduct, alertness of
action, and hardiness of constitution. They were sim-
ply a more perfect type of the back-woodsman, who
divided his life between hard labor, rough fighting,
andl rude frolicking.
  One will search in vain in the romantic pages of
Cooper and Simms for incidents of such surpassing
and thrilling interest as are to be found in the plain
stories of marvelous escapes from captivity, torture,
and death, recorded in this volume. Were they not,

 



                   INTRODUCTION.                 Xiii

indeed, well authenticated and undisputed, they would
be regarded as extravagancies of the liveliest imagi-
nation. Too trivial for sober history, perhaps, which
concerns itself with higher themes, they will grow in
value as illustrating a phase of frontier life that can
never be repeated on this continent, and, mellowed
by time and distance, will yet form subjects for the
painter's canvas and the poet's pen.
  The conditions of the settlement of a new country
now are very different from those that attended the
civilizing conquest of the Mississippi Valley. The
railroad carries forward to the pioneering colony
(even anticipating its wants) all the conveniences
and comforts of older communities; the telegraph
speedily follows; and few settlements are now so
remote as to be isolated from the civilized world.
But the pioneers who, upward of a century ago,
crossed the Alleghanies from the east or the Cum-
berlands from the south, afoot, on horseback, or in
rude wagons, cut loose from their base of supplies,
and beyond provision for the barest necessities, had
to create for themselves those things that contribute
to the comfort and happiness of living.
  The very ground upon which the pioneer's cabin
was built, the field which was to supply his food, had
first to be cleared of its wealth of timber and luxuri-
ous undergrowth. He was accounted fortunate who
had brought with him into the wilderness other prod-
ucts of civilization than the inseparable axe and rifle,
the plow and the spinning-wheel, and such household
utensils as were absolute necessities. Dr. Doddridge,

 



INTRODUCTION.



in his " Notes on Western Virginia," tells us that he
was a well-grown lad, and on a visit to friends in the
East, before he saw or knew there were such articles
as dishes of earthenware. Pewter spoons and plates,
wooden bowls, puncheon floors, and rudely-hewn and
plastered log walls were the common surroundings of
the hardy men and women who laid the foundations
of the great States of the North-west.
  There are men of middle age living in Ohio who
can recall the time when nothing but homespun was
worn by the boys and girls, and when a rag carpet
was accounted a luxury. But with all the hardships
and deprivations of the pioneers, life was not without
its enjoyments and compensations to them. There
was a sense of freedom, independence, and equality
which is not so fully realized when communities be-
gin to accumulate wealth, and the dividing line be-
tween rich and poor appears. A hearty though rude
hospitality prevailed. An English engineer who, in
early times, had to tramp afoot between Cleveland
and Pittsburgh-then no more than villages-told the
writer that nothing so much impressed him as the
fact that, at every place where he stopped overnight,
compensation for his entertainment was almost indig-
nantly refused. The latch-string was out, and the
stranger welcomed to the best the house afforded.
  The pleasures of the pioneers, though few, were
hearty. There was the frolic and dance by the large,
roaring wood-fire in winter, the log-rolling bee in
spring and autumn, the barn-preaching by "early
candle-light" when some stray itinerant came bearing



xiv

 



INTRODUCTION.



the tidings of great joy to the frontiersman, and later,
the occasional camp-meeting and the militia muster.
with feats of strength in wrestling and foot-races, and
like diversions, which served to alleviate the other-
wise barren life of the pioneer.
  It was amid such scenes of hardship, danger, and
rude pastimes that the foundations of a civilization
of incalculable possibilities were laid. The builders
builded better than they knew. We are indebted to
them for the sturdier virtues of American manhood,
and for that practical common sense and ingenious
adaptability which enable an average American boy
to " turn his hand" to almost any thing, with the
chances of success in his favor. Yet it is doubtful
whether, with our many advantages and privileges
of culture and refinement, we can improve upon the
pioneers of American civilization in the essentials
of good citizenship.
                               F. B. PLIMPTON.
  "COMMERCIAL" OFFICE,
     Cincinnati, Nraeinber, 1882.



XV

 
This page in the original text is blank.


 











THE STORY OF SPENCER'S CAPTIVITY

          AMONG THE INDIANS.



               TRUE NARRATIVE.

AMONG the various stories of early adventure,
    enterprise, and heroism, related in these pages,
none are more remarkable, or will be read with
greater attention, than that of 0. M. Spencer, who,
during a period of eight months' captivity with the
Indians, passed through an experience of the most
singular and eventful character, gaining, in that time,
a knowledge of the language, manners, and customs
of the Indian tribes, which was at once highly inter-
esting and instructive. This story possesses more
than usual interest, not only on account of the
exciting nature of the narrative, but also of the
extreme youth of the adventurer; and the insight
which it affords us into the early history of the
Western country, as well as of the character of the
savage races who populated it, renders it very use-
ful and pleasing to the thoughtful reader.
  It was on a pleasant day in October, of the year
                                           ( 17)

 



THE BACK-WOODSMEN.



1790, that young Spencer, then only nine years of
age, mounted the leading horse attached to the
foremost of two wagons destined to the far West.
In these wagons were stowed such indispensable
articles of household furniture as could not at that
time be easily procured west of the Alleghanies.
With spirits naturally buoyant, pleased with the
novelty of traveling, from which he anticipated a
great deal of pleasure, the few tears which the
youthful emigrant shed on quitting forever the home
of his childhood were soon dried; and he won-
dered not a little at the sober sadness of his father,
the deep sighs of his mother, tnd the frequent sobs
of his sisters, whose feelings and expectations he
supposed would naturally correspond with his own.
  Mr. Spencer's father had descended from one of
the first families who left England on account of the
persecutions for religious opinions, in the reign of
the second Charles, to seek, in the unbroken wilds
of New England, an asylum from oppression, and to
rear a temple to the God of their fathers, in which
they might worship "according to the dictates of
their own consciences." Inheriting the spirit of his
ancestors, he was among the first to resist the pre.
tensions of Great Britain, and to arm in defense of
American rights and liberties. Having signalized
himself on several occasions, particularly in the battle
of Springfield, N. J., at the head of a battalion of
militia, he was appointed, by Congress, to the com-
mand of a regiment, which he led in the battles of
Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth; and at

 



SPENCER'S CAPTIVITY



the head of this regiment he continued until the
close of the war.
  Before entering the Continental army, he had
become possessed of a small fortune, the fruits of
his industry in a lucrative business; but of this, a
large amount was destroyed by the enemy, and
more than ten thousand dollars, advanced by him
in specie to pay and clothe his regiment, was repaid
to him by Congress, in Continental money, on which
he sustained a total loss.  Like many of his com-
panions in arms, after encountering the dangers and
enduring the hardships of a protracted war, Colonel
Spencer found himself at its close reduced from
affluence to comparative poverty; but with them,
too, he enjoyed the proud satisfaction of having
aided in achieving that independence which laid the
foundation of our national greatness and prosperity,
and the hope of perpetuating to his children's chil-
dren the blessings of civil and religious liberty.
  With impaired health and injured constitution, he
again engaged in business, hoping in time to retrieve
his losses, and trusting in the honor and justice of
the government to pay his equitable claims against
it; but in this hope and confidence he was deeply
disappointed. After toiling many years with little suc-
cess, hearing the flattering accounts then in circulation
of the beauty and fertility of the Aliami country, he
determined to explore it. He visited it in 1789;
and, being. much pleased with it, determined to make
it his future home. Previous to his leaving home,
he had disposed of his certificates for his military
        2



I9

 



THE BACK-WOODSMEN.



services at one-third of their nominal value, and
invested their proceeds in Miami lands; and, hav.
ing purchased some lots, and erected a cabin in
Columbia for the reception of his family, he returned
to effect the removal.
  The first few days of the journey passed very
heavily,-the thoughtless whistle of young Spencer,
and the quaint expressions and occasional humorous
sayings of the driver, an old soldier, being all that
for hours broke upon the stillness of the lonely
woods, or varied the dull monotony of the rumbling
wheels. Gradually, however, the family became more
cheerful. Dwelling less upon the past, their thoughts
began to be occupied with their present condition and
future prospects, and they now found much to. interest
them, and to render their journey agreeable.
  From Mendham, a small village in East Jersey
(their late residence), their route lay through Easton
and Harrisburg. Passing these towns, the formida-
ble mountains which separate the waters of the At-
lantic States from those of the Mississippi Valley
were soon reached, and here the family were called
upon to exercise all their fortitude and patience.
Few who now make the journey by rail from New
York or Philadelphia to Cincinnati, with all the com-
forts of modern travel, can conceive of the hazards
incurred by the early emigrants, who, besides being
subjected to the greatest personal inconvenience and
exposure, were not unfrequently placed in imminent
peril of life and limb, partly from the dangerous
character of the roads, which were narrow in width



20

 



SPENCER'S CAPTIVITY



and often extremely steep and even precipitous, and
partly from attacks by hostile Indians, who at that
time infested every part of the then Western country.
  During the journey across the mountains, an inci-
dent occurred which, though happily not serious in
its results, caused the family considerable alarm.
They had taken shelter one evening in a dense
forest, two miles from any habitation, and, after
eating their slender meal, had retired for the night.
Young Spencer had slept, perhaps, two hours, when,
awaking at about eleven o'clock, he discovered that
his bed-fellow, a nephew a year his senior, had left
the wagon. After waiting some time, as he did not
return, he called him; and, repeating his calls louder
and louder, soon awakened the family. Search was
made in every direction, but in vain.; loud calls and
the firing of guns received no response but the
louder howling of the wolves, which, as the family
now believed, had torn him to pieces. But, in the
midst of their alarm and distress, they received the
welcome information of his safety. He had walked
in his sleep, with bare feet, and almost naked, in a
cold night of October, to a house about two miles
distant, had knocked at the door, and was admitted,
but did not awake until the screams of the inmates,
some of whom were terror-stricken, aroused him.
Recovering himself, he soon convinced them that he
was not an apparition, but a real "spirit of health,"
and, as it was late, was kindly accommodated with a
bed for the night.
  Before the application of steam to the propulsion



2 I

 



THE BACK-WOODSMEN.



of vessels, almost the only conveyance on the West-
ern waters was by keel and flat-boats. The latter,
being cheap and easily built, and intended wholly
for conveyance down the Ohio and Mississippi, were
always sought by families descending these rivers;
and, as there were several places along the Monon-
gahela at which these boats were built, and where
they could be obtained on better terms than at Pitts-
burgh, instead of taking the direct road to that place,
the Spencers took a south-westerly direction to
Jacob's Creek, a branch of the Youghiogheny.
Here, having arrived and waited more than a month
for the building of a boat, and for a rise of water,
they embarked for Columbia; and, in company with
another family, which augmented their numbers to
about sixteen, they soon found themselves quietly
gliding down the beautiful waters of the Ohio.
  The remainder of the journey was made without
any event of an unusual nature; and, although the
emigrants were sometimes alarmed, and often appre-
hended an attack, they saw no Indians, and but few
signs of any, during their progress.  Passing by
Pittsburgh, Wheeling, Marietta, Kanawha, Gallipolis,
Maysville, and a few other intermediate settlements,
they arrived safely at Columbia, their future home,
in December. I790.
  This town, like all others in the neighborhood of
Cincinnati, was at that time in its primitive state.
It had been laid out by Major Benjamin Stites, its
original proprietor, into blocks,-each containing
eight lots of half an acre apiece, bounded by streets



22

 



SPENCER'S CAPTIVITY.



intersecting at right angles,-and was expected by
him and others to become some day a large city, the
capital of the great West.
  It was in a small log hut in this village that the
Spencer family took up their residence. The doors
were of thick oak plank, turning on stout wooden
hinges, and secured with strong bars braced with
timber from the floor, thus forming a safe barrier to
the entrance below; while above, on every side, were
pbrt holes or small embrasures, from which the in-
mates might see and fire upon the enemy.  Of
windows, there were but two, containing only four
panes of glass each, in openings so small that any
attempt to enter them by force must have proved
fatal to the intruder.
  The new habitation had been occupied about a
month,-during which time its accommodations had
been greatly increased,-before any event occurred
to disturb the peace or happiness of the family. In-
deed, they had begun to submit to the inconven-
iences, privations, hardships, and dangers common
to the pioneers of the West, without much repin-
ing; and, having heard of no recent disturbances by
Indians in their immediate neighborhood, had begun
to give over their apprehension of danger. Their
fears were, however, suddenly aroused by the news
of an attack made by several hundred Indians on
Dunlap's Station (now Colerain); fifteen or twenty
miles north.west of Cincinnati, then garrisoned by a
few inhabitants, and thirty or forty soldiers, under
the command of Lieutenant Kingsbury. This intelli-



23

 



THE BACK-WOODSMEN.



gence was brought by Mr. John S. Wallace (after
ward Colonel Wallace), who, at the risk of his
life, left the garrison at night, passed unperceived
through the enemy, and reached Cincinnati the same
night. Of the volunteers, who marched immediately
to relieve the garrison, one company was from Co-
lumbia. All were well mounted, and armed with
rifles, knives, and some even with tomahawks, and
dressed in hunting shirts; and, thus prepared, they
moved off in single file. Arriving at Colerain too
late to encounter the enemy, who a few hours before
had raised the siege, they, after a short pursuit,
returned home.   The apprehensions of the citi-
zens were by no means allayed by their fearful ac-
counts of Indian warfare and barbarity; and the
story of the burning of Mi. Abner Hunt, whom
the savages had taken prisoner a few hours before
their attack on the garrison, shocked them beyond
measure. It is much easier to conceive than to de-
scribe the feelings of the garrison, when, after being
urged and entreated by the wretched man to purchase
their own safety, and, above all, his life, by surrender-
ing to the enemy, they saw him led off, and witnessed
the fearful preparations for torture; or the heart-sick-
ening anguish of hope suddenly extinguished, and the
mute despair of the prisoner, as h e heard the decided
though reluctant refusal of the garrison to save his life
at the certain loss of their own. The Indians had tied
their prisoner to a sapling within sight of the garrison,
by whom his screams were distinctly heard, and built
a large fire so near as to scorch him, inflicting the most



24



 










































c






c


z
(-







0
:w

 
This page in the original text is blank.

 



SPENCER'S CAPTIVITY.



acute pain; then, as his flesh, from the action of the
fire, and the frequent application of live coals, became
less sensible, making deep incisions in his limbs, as if
to renew his susceptibility of pain; answering his cries
for water, to allay the extreme thirst caused by burn-
ing, by fresh tortures; and finally when, exhausted
and fainting, death seemed approaching to release the
wretched prisoner, terminating his sufferings by ap-
plying flaming brands to his naked bowels. In this
siege, which lasted two days, the Indians suffered
severely in killed and wounded, without inflicting any
serious personal injury on the garrison, whose princi-
pal loss was in cattle, destroyed or driven off by the
enemy.
  The attack on Dunlap's Station was followed by
successive depredations and murders by the Indians.
In the ensuing spring, they attacked several boats,
killed many persons, and took some prisoners on
the Ohio. Men were killed, or made prisoners, even
on the outlots of Cincinnati, and near the mouth
of Deer Creek, and many were the hair-breadth
escapes from captivity or death.  A  Mr. Bailey,
while returning home one night on horseback, was
seized and made prisoner in the immediate neigh-
borhood of the Spencers by Indians who had con-
cealed themselves behind a large elm which grew
near the turnpike; and shortly afterwards, near the
narrows of the Little Miami River, the brave but
unfortunate Newell fell a victim to the rifle and
scalping-knife of the savage.
  The successful expedition of General Scott, of Ken-



27

 



THE BACK-WOODSMEN.



tucky, against the Indians on the Wabash, in May,
I791, had but little effect on the tribes to the north,
whose boldness and daring remained unchecked.
Early in the summer of that year, they stole the
horses of the Spencer family, two in number, from
a shed adjoining the cabin; and only a few days
afterwards the whole family narrowly escaped total
massacre. They had just ended their evening's re-
past, and were about to rise from the table, when
one of the women, hearing, as she believed, the
almost noiseless tread of approaching footsteps,
casting her eyes upon the door, and perceiving,
as she thought, the latch gently rising, sprang up,
and, seizing it, held it down until the doors were
barred. Immediate preparations were made for de-
fense. The lights were instantly extinguished; and,
while the females of the family sought safety by cov-
ering themselves with beds, the men, three in num-
ber, with a rifle and two muskets, manned the port-
holes above, and, by frequently moving to the differ-
ent -sides of the house, endeavored to impress the
Indians with an idea of their strength. The tread of
the Indians was now distinctly heard, and the forms
of two or three of them were indistinctly seen gliding
through the darkness. Their intention, no doubt,
had been to take the family by surprise, and, open-
ing the back door silently, to have first fired, and
then to have rushed into the house, and with their
tomahawks completed the work of destruction; but,
being too weak in numbers to accomplish this, and
seeing n6o opportunity of making an attack, and,



28

 



SPENCER'S CAPTIVITY.



probably, too, not wishing to alarm the town with-
out first effecting some mischief, they soon stole off
and disappeared. But a few minutes, however, had
elapsed before the crack of rifles within two hun-
dred yards was heard, followed by the shrill war-
whoop of the Indians. Three musket shots in
quick succession soon sounded an alarm; and, in
ten minutes, about thirty men had assembled at the
cabin of Ensign Bowman, on the hill-side, a short
distance west of the Spencer house. They found
the family in great consternation. The Indians had
fired into the house through an opening between the
logs, and, guided by the light within, had wounded
Mrs. Bowman slightly in the body. At sunrise of
the following day, a small party pursued the In-
dians, whose number, judging from their trails,
did not exceed six; and, toward noon, finding their
tracks quite fresh, and judging that they were now
almost in view of the enemy, moved cautiously, half
bent, and straining their eyes as if they would look
through every tree before them. Suddenly, at the
sharp crack of one of their own rifles, as by one im-
pulse, each sprang behind a tree, waiting a few mo-
ments, in breathless suspense, the appearance of the
Indians. At this moment a huge bear was seen
bounding off a few rods from the left, and the dis-
appointed marksman was heard muttering curses on
his rifle for deceiving his expectations. The rest of
the party, however, who had strong doubts of his
courage, and believed that he had availed himself
of this opportunity to avoid an encounter with the



29

 




THE BACK-WOODSMEN.



enemy, were deeply incensed, and could with diffi-
culty be prevented from anticipating the decision of
a court-martial, by inflicting summary punishment on
the culprit, who, in one unlucky moment, as they con-
fidently believed, had deprived them of the certain
spoils of victory.
  Soon after the failure of Colonel Harmar's expedi-