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THE GEORGIA -BANNER & SENTINEL.
VOL. XXI.
NEW
Carriage Repository,
A.tla nta, Georgia.
IL IL WOODRI FF & CO.
HAVE opened in Atlanta a large and splendid
stock of Carriages, ot every variety and style,
consisting of
ROCKAWAYS, COACHES,
BERLINS, PHEATONS, BRETTS,
Slide-Seat, Top and No-Top
BUGGIES, CONCORD BUGGIES,
HACKS AND JERSEY WAGONS,
Northern-made Iron-Axle
Plantation AV ago ns,
For One, Four and Six Horses,
HARNESS, WHIPS, &C., &C.
All of their Stock is made np to special order,
stnd warranted to be of the best made in America,
Their long experience in the Carriage business in
Griffin, Ga., where they still keep a large Stock,
enables them to offer great inducements, both in
■quality and price.
BECOME, EVERYBODY, and see our Stock,
or send vour orders, and you shall be supplied as
low as you can buy in New York or any other
market.
Parties living in Florida, Alabama, or Tennessee,
ordering from us, can be supplied directly from the
factory, North. [May 4th, ISGO-ly.
DR. ID. YOUNG.
WHOLSALE AND RETAIL DRUGGIST,
(JOHNSON BLOCK,)
White Hall Street,
ATLANTAGEORGIA.
’ EEPS Constantly on hand a choice stock of
Paints, Varnish. Fancy Goods, Ac., &c.
Would call particular attention to his large
■Stock of CHOICE GARDES SEEDS.
Oct. 14-17tf.
MASSEY & LANSDELL,
WILL SELL UPON AUGUSTA, CHARLESTON,
SAVANNAH TERMS,
ANY 08.E5E8.S I'o JrC
DRUGS, MEDICINES, CHEMICALS,
PAINTS, OILS <&cO.
Ikerosene Oil and Lamps
Always on hand at the Lowest l, rices.
Atlanta, Georgia, Nov. 18.22 tt.
"McNAUGHT ORMOND & CO.,
COMMISSION MERCHANTS, ANDdEAL
• ers t/i General Merchandise,
KEYSTONE BOILINGS, Whitehall Street,
Atlanta, Georgia.
W M NAUGHT, TIIOS. SCRUTCHIN,
JAS. ORMOND, JNO. MORRISON.
Nov. 18.22.tf.
‘ ILIWSO.V GILBERT ABIRR,
DEALERS IN
HAP.DWARE AN D CUTLERY, HOUSE
FURNISHING AND FANCY GOODS,
Plated, Britannia, Japanned and Plain
TIaNT
COOKING, . PARLOR, AND
avtxvt,
WHITEHALL STREET?AfLANTA, GEORGIA.
Roofing. Guttering and Job Work promptly
attended to. [Nov 18.22tf.
TO PLANTERS I
“VITE have now in Store, a large lot of EXTRA
W HEAVY, DOUBIE-SOLE RUSSET BRO
GANS, made with two heavy soles of the best qual
ity of Hemlock Sole Leather and Oak Uppers, with
Rivit Eye-Seams, which we have made expressly
for the trade of this market, and guarantee them,
in every respect, superior to any thing that can be
found in this market, in the line of Brogans, and
-will sell them at low prices, by the case or single
pair. .
Those wanting a good Brogan, at low prices, will
fl nd it to their interest to call on us at the Sign of
the Big Boot.
DIMICK, WILSON & CO.,
Peach-Tree Street, Atlanta, Georgia.
Oct. 14-17 ts.
IWDLEIUA ABANKS,
WHOLESALE AND RETAIL DEALERS IX AND MANUFAC
TURERS OF
Boots, Shoes, Leather, Lasts, Pegs,
Calf, Lining, and Binding Skins,
SHOEMAKER’S TOOLS, &.C.,
of which they keep a large and constant Supply at
the lowest Cash Prices, Whitehall Street, Atlanta,
C invite the attention of Country Mer
chants to our prices. [Nov. 18.22tf.
DIMICK, WILSON & G.
(SUCCESSOR TO DMICK A MIX.)
WHOLE SALE &W\
DEALERS
is
BOOTS, SHOES & BROGANS.
o*ll4- and llcmlocK Sole
rnFNCH CALF SKINS, BOOT TREES, LASTS,
FR SHOE PEGS AND SHOE FINDINGS.
T M Dimick, Wm. W ilson, A. Mix,
L ‘ Cherokee Block, Peach Tree Street, Atlanta, Georgia.
Oct. 14-17tf.
“EGiTTA.!* -A.3NTJD EXACT JUSTICE TO TA LIL MEN, OF WHATEVER STATE OR PERSUASION, RELIGIOUS OR POLITICAL ”
i __
COURT CALENDAR FOR 1861.
REVISED BY THE SOUTHERN RECORDER.
SUPERIOR COURTS.
JANUARY. | JULY.
2d Monday, Chatham. [lst Monday, Floyd*
4th Monday, Richmond :4th Monday, Lumpkin*
Lumpkin i AUGUST.
*Floyd '2d Monday, Campbell
FEBRUARY. ■ ‘ Clark
Ist Monday, Clark j Dawson
2d Monday, Campbell 3d Monday, Forsyth
Dawson j fl’olk
3d Monday, Forsyth G-htsvvrk 1
fPolk Meriwether
Glascock Walton
Merriwether 4th Monday, Baldwin
Walton Jackson
4th Monday, Baldwin | Monroe
Jackson j Paulding
Monroe | Taliaferro
Paulding ! Walker
Talliaferro Thursday after, Pierce
Walker
MARCH. SEPTEMBER.
Ist Thursday, Pierce -Ist Monday, Appling
Ist Monday, Appling Chattooga
Chattooga Cherokee
Cherokee Columbia
Coweta Coweta
Columbia Crawford
Crawford Madison
Gwinnett | Marion
Madison ■ Morgan
Marion 2d Monday, Butts
Morgan • Cass
2d Monday, Butts ' Cotfee
Cass ' Elbert
Coffee I Fayette
Elbert j Greene
Fayett I Gwinnett
Green ! Pickens
Pickens I Washington
Washington > Webster
Webster ,3d Monday, Cobb
3d Monday, Cobb I Calhoun
Calhoun Hall
Hall j Hart
Hart I Heard
Heard J Macon
Macon , Newton
Newton ! Putnam
Putnam i Talbot
Talbot ; Ware
Tattnal ; Bulloch
Ware '4th Monday, Clinch
Friday after, Bulloch ' [[Chattahoochee |
4th Monday, Clinch Emanuel j
[[Chattahoochee Lee
Emanuel Twiggs
Lee White I.
Twiggs Wilkes
White Monday as-j
Wilkes ter the 4th >• Echols
4th Thttr'y, Montgomery Monday J
Monday ) > ~ i OCTOBER,
after 4th > JL* t j Ist &2d Monday, Carroll
Muiulay I ;4tb Monday, Dooly
apkTTZ | ■
Ist A 2d Monday, Carroll 1 Fulton
Ist Monday, Dooly Gilner
Early ; Gordon
Fulton Taylor
Gordon i Warren
Pike i Wilkinson
Rabun I Pike
Taylor j Wednesday after, Rabun |
Warren [2d Monday, Fannin
Wilkinson Habersham I
2d Monday, Habersham Hancock
Hancock ! Harris
Harris . Laurens
Laurens Miller
Miller i Scriven
Scriven > Sumter
Sumter [3d Monday, Franklin
Tuesday after, Mclntosh : Glynn
3d Monday, Franklin j Haralson
Glynn j Henry
Haralson I Jefferson
Henry Jones
Jefferson Murray
Jones j Oglethorpe
Liberty ! Pulaski
Murray ; Stewart
Oglethrope | Union
Pulaski Worth
Stewart Thursday ) .
1 Morth ; after J ° J |
after, / *Bryan 4th Monday, Banks
4th Monday. Wayne : Wayne
Banks | Decatur
Decatur DeKalb
DeKalb Houston
Houston Jasper
Jasper Lincoln
Lincoln Schley
Schley Tattnall
Whittiield Towns
Wilcox Whifield
Friday after, Telfair Wilcox
Camden Friday after, Telfair
Thursday after, Irwin Camden
Monday after, Berrien Thursday after, Irwin
Carlton Monday after, Carlton
MAY.
Ist Monday, Clayton | NOVEMBER.
Gilmer > Ist Monday, Berrien
Randolph j Clayton
Upson : Effingham
2d Monday, Burke i Milton
Catoosa : Randolph
Chatham i Upson
Fannin '2d Monday, Burke
Mitchell ; Catoosa
Muscogee 1 Mitchell
3d Monday, Bibb ; Muscogee
Quittman [3d Monday, Bibb
Spaulding Quittman
Troup Spaulding
Union Troup
Baker Baker
4th Monday, Dade, 4th Monday, Dade
Terrell ! Terrell
Towns Thursday after, Mclntosh
Last Monday, Colquitt (Monday after Colquitt
JUNE. “ “ Liberty
Ist Monday, Lowndes Mon. after Liberty, Bryan
Dougherty ! DECEMBER.
Milton 1 1st Monday, Dougherty
2d Monday, Brooks ; Lowndes
Johnson 2d Monday, Johnson
♦Clay I Brooks
3d Monday, Thomas ( +Clay
4th Monday, Richmond [3d Monday, Thomas.
*May hold three weeks, if necessary, at each
term.
fThis change not to take effect till after the
next regular term of the Court.
JAH Courts in Clay county, which, under the
old law, would sit between now and the times as
fixed hy this act, must stand over till the times
fixed as above.
||The County of Chattahooche, by act of this
Session, is to be added to, and become a part of
the Chattahoochee Judicial District, after Ist Jan
uary, 1861.
NEWNAN. GA.. FEBRUARY ], 1861.
&|jt £ :
PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY MORNING BY
WELCH,
EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.
TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION I
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RATES OF ADVERTISING.
Advertisements inserted at SI,OO per square of 10
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Monthly advertisements SI,OO per square and semi
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Contracts will be made for advertising by the
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Every advertisement handed in without limitation
as to time, will be published till forbid, and char
ged for at the above rates.
gliscfnanfoiiL
From the Macon Telegraph.
I9on. Charles .3. Mcllonald.
Among the names of our State which are
destined to become historical, very few, if any.
are better entitled to that distinction than the
subject of this imperfect sketch, Charles J.
McDonald. His character and public services
will in some future day, no doubt, receive an
enduring record. In the meantime it is with
a melancholy pleasure, that this brief tribute
is offered to a citizen as much beloved as he
was distinguished. Judge McDonald was
born in the city of Charleston on the 9th day
of July, 1793 —received his academic educa
tion at Mt. Zion in Hancock county, under
the direction of Bev. N. S. S. Beman, and
was graduated at the South Carolina College
at Columbia. He studied the profession of j
law with the late Hon. Joel Crawford, and
entered upon the practice in the city of Mil
ledgeville. From thence he removed to Clin
ton in Jones county, and thence to the city of
Macon, where he resided for many years.— ;
After the expiration of bis term of office as I
Governor of the State, he settled in the town !
of Marietta, where he died. Few citizens of j
Georgia have been called to fill more numerous '
responsible offices than Gov. McDonald, and
not one has discharged public duties with
more fidelity, firmness, industry and ability.—
It is not proposed to write a memoir of his
public life—to recount his services, or to ad
vert, except very briefly, to the men and |
erdita UTTnSTTSy* TTis vii-'nes :>u«l capacity
as a, public man, it is true, would be most”"
happily illustrated in a review of the times in
which he lived, and a notice of the men with
whom he was associated. All, however, that
is practicable in this article, is an enumeration
of the offices which he filled, with some illus
tration of his character as a man, a jurist, and
a public functionary. He commenced the
practice of the law in the year 1818, and in
the year 1822 was elected by the Legislature
Solicitor General of the Flint circuit, which
office he filled until 1825, when he was elected
Judge of the same Circuit. In 1830, he was
elected to the House of Representatives from
the ’.county of Bibb. In 1834, and again in
1837, he was returned to the Senate from the
county of Bibb. In 1839, he was elected
Governor of the State, succeeding the late
George R. Gilmer, lie had been for many
years, and was at his death, a Trusree of the
State University—was President of the Nash
ville Convention, and in 1857 was elected to
the Supreme Court Bench. This latter office
he held until the fall of 1859, when declining
health constrained him to resign. A few
months of variable health, after his resigna
tion terminated his career, lie died at his
home in Marietta, amid the profound regrets
of a wide circle of affectionate friends. His
personal acquaintance was, it is believed, more
extensive than any man of his day—his pub
lie character was familiar to the State. His
name had become a household word in the
homes of the people- It is not, therefore, too
much to say, that the announcement of his
death, carried with it a thrill of anguish
throughout the length and breadth of the
Commonwealth.
Physically Governor McDonald was a noble
specimen of a man; of medium height, active,
muscular, and well proportioned, with a frank,
benignant face, broad and high forehead, and
a carriage at once dignified and unrepulsive.
Nature gave him just those personal endow
ments indispensable to a life so laborious, and
so successful as his. The simplicity and reg
ularity of his habits preserved his constitution
up to a late period unimpaired. These, with
a cheerful and hopeful temperament, carried
him through more than sixty years, with al
most the elasticity and vigor of youth.
Early after entering upon his profession suc
cess began to demonstrate his capacity as a
lawyer. Clients were not wanting, and his
reputation as a sound, industrious, and faithful
practitioner, was soon established. During
the whole of his life, except whilst in the
Executive Chair and on the Bench, he was
indefatigable in the pursuit of his profession.
His circuit was extended, and his various on
gagernents involved great energy and assiduity.
His cases were prepared and prosecuted with
uncommon labor. His perseverance was in
domitable. He seemed almost incapable of
abandoning a cause. When defeated, his
case, if possible, revived in some new form.—
His touch of the earth, seemed as in the case
of the fabled wrestler, to impart new strength,
lie was considered, and justly, an eminent
pleader—inferior in fact to no one of Ins con
temporaries. When the Governor came to
the bar, and for many years afterwards, the
pleadings of the common law, relieved, it is
true, of something of their subtlety by our
statute, obtained in the Courts of Georgia;
and familiarity with them was an indispensable
qualification. His skill as a pleader is referred
to as proof of his ability as a lawyer, inasmuch
as it was unattainable without thorough knowl
edge of elementary principles. The pleadings
in a caus - arc a logical statement of the facts
with a view to a clear ascertainment of the
rights of a party. A knowledge of the prin
ciples .upon which those rights depend, be
comes essential therefore to good pleading.—
The writer of this article has had occasion
frequently to note, the admirable logic of Bills
of Equity drawn by him. llis oratory was
not impassioned—nor remarkable for brilliancy
or jy. 11 is language was pure for he
was a good classical scholar. His manner of
speaking was rather grave, for he had no ex
cess of imagination. He gave himself more
especially to the solid matter of his subject,
whether at the bar or in the Senate. llis
style of oratory was, upon the whole, more
forensic than popular. Still his addresses to
the jury were effective, because of his clear
perception of the strong points in his case,
and his perspicuous handling of facts. No
doubt mu(j» of his success as an advocate was
attributable to his accurate knowledge of men
—his ready insight into character. Coming
into life without the advantage of fortune or
numerous connections, he fought his way to
professional and political distinction among
the people, and in the midst of able competi
tors. It is in such a school that, in our coun
try, men learn how to be great. It may not
be forgotten, however, by those who would
profit by the example of this gentleman, that
the foundations of his reputation were laid in
sound principle —in scrupulous integrity and
persevering industry. Conceding that some
thing is due to natural gifts and much to edu
cation, yet it remains as an incontrovertible
proposition that no man ever yet became a
great lawyer without hard work. No one ever
achieved judicial renown by inspiration, by
clap-trap pretension, or even eloquence. He
who would win the highest professional honors,
and wear them by consent of his fellows, must,
like Judge McDonald, devote, a life time to
the enterprise. As a Judge, his impartiality
was never impugned, and his firmness never
questioned. Like other Judges, including
Mansfield and Marshall, he may have commit
ted errors, but the profession conceded that
he brought to his judgments uprightness and
the best resources of a strong and well-trained
intellect He was not an “oft speaking”
Judge, but for the most part silent, patient
and courteous, lie abided authority, believ
ing that rights depend greatly upon the per
manency and uniformity of the rules which
guard tH’v J l * Lnd not the vanity to believe
tli.it ® wiser than an liuuarea generations
tiiaT preceded him, or that a principle was
erroneocsly settled, because an ingenious man
could give plausible reasons against it. His
recorded opinions whilst upon the Supreme
Court Bench, are characterized by brevity,
perspicuity, learning and pure Saxon English. .
They are highly creditable to the judicial lit-!
erature of the State. I
Judge McDonald entered into politics at a I
time of great excitement. The State was I
nearly equally divided between what were then j
designated as the Clarke and Troup parties,
and at no time since has the tide of party
passion run higher. II is fortunes were cast
with the former, to which lie adhered when,
in 1832, it was known as the Union, and since
to this day, as the Democratic party. His
early adventures in politics were marked with
the zeal and enthusiasm o a young and not
unambitious man, which, whilst they gained'"
the confidence of his friends, did not forfeit
the respect of his enemies. From this great!
party he received most of his political honors. ’
He for many years served in its ranks, or led
it to victory. His politics were those of the
States rights school. Yet his opinions were j
not ultra, for he was quite national enough to
recognize the powers conferred upon the
government of the Union, and to admit its
glory. Whilst he believed in the tendency of
Federal power to encroach upon the reserved
rights of the States, he at the same time held
that they should not be viewed in the light of
irresponsible sovereignties. During the time
that he was a member of he State Legislature,
he originated and carried through many of
those legal reforms which time has sanctioned
as permanent improvements. His Guberna
torial term began at a time when the State
labored under severe financial embarrassments.
Difficulties surrounded the treasury which
seemed almost inextricable. The Western &
Atlantic Railroad, a work which has contrib
uted incalculably to the wealth and greatness
of the -Strte, had been begun, but now lin
gered in its progress for the want of means.
The Centre! Bank, which had been made the
fiscal agent of the State and charged with the
burden of supporting it without taxation,
pressed altogether beyond its capacity, had
fallen into discredit in the commercial world.
The credit of the State was protested by rea
son of a protest of its obligations to a large
amount. The taxes, under the delusive idea
that the Central Bank would furnish ample
provisions for the public necessities, had been
withdrawn and given to the counties, and the
Treasury was empty. It is therefore apparent
that his administration started under the most
inauspicious circumstances. It is the crown
ing olory of that administration that it extri
cated the State from her embarrassments. —
Gov. McDonald achieved this triumph by a
manly and persistent demand that the wants
of the Government should be supplied by
taxation.
Discarding expedients, and confronting the
exigency with unflinching courage, he exposed
the true condition of the finances, and coun
selled the people and the Legislature to restore
the taxes to the Treasury. 11 is appeals to the
pride and honor of the country were not in
vain, although tardily and somewhat reluc
tantly met. They however were met, and the
credit of the State restored. Her great work
of internal improvement advanced, and his
successors had but little to do but to follow
out the line of policy which he had inaugu
rated. To illustrate his moral courage the
following incidents are presented. In 1811,
when the pecuniary embarrassments of the
State were yet unrelieved, the Legislature
passed an act to reduce the taxes twenty per
cent., he vetoed the act. Vetoes in that day
were rare things. To intervene by Executive
authority to prevent a reduction of taxes, was
to imperil most seriously the popularity of the
Governor, yet he did not hesitate to take a
hazard. Again, in 1842, he had made an ur
gent appeal to the Legislature to provide for
the necessities of the Treasury by an increase
of taxes. A bill in accordance with his
views was introduced and lost. Upon learn
ing, toward the close of the session, that the
Treasurer was, as usual, paying to the mem
bers their legal compensation, before the pas
sage of the appropriation bill, he issued an
exective order forbidding farther advances.—
The supplies being thus stopped, the General
Assembly was thrown into violent agitation,
but neither the remonstances of his friends
nor the denunciations of his enemies availed
to withdraw the order. He stood firm, and
the bill was passed. These incidents, now
that the passions of the hour have died away,
will be looked upon by all candid men as
striking illustrations of character.
Officially and personally he was an enlight
ened and liberal patron of education. He
entertained a profound respect for Christianity
and its institutions, and contributed freely to
the charities of the Baptist Church, with
which denomination were his doctrinal con
victions and religious sympathies.
Judge McDonald was twice married, first to
a daughter of Col. Franklin, a rising lawyer
who died early at Madison, Morgan
and after her decease, to Mrs. Ruffin, relictot
Hon. Mr. Ruffin, of Virginia, and daughter of
the late Judge Roane of that ilk. He sur
vived his last wife only a few months.
The most pleasing part of this review of
the life of this eminent person remains, and
that is to speak of him in his private relations.
If his public character emitted a more bril
liant light, his private character shone with
purer and sweeter radiance. His affections
were warm, and his sympathies with human
suffering and joy quick and generous His
benevolence extended not alone to his peers,
but to all classes of men. His affability was
remarkable. He had for all his acquaintances
always a shake of the hand, a friendly greet
ing, and a kindly enquiry. He seemed to be,
and was in fact, interested in every body. He
was temperate, but not wholly unconvivial.—
Li mere is augnu ui me social element m the
lawyer, it will show itself on the Circuit
Those who have been professionally associated
with him, bear testimony to his uniform
agreeableness of temper —his obliging dispo
sition—-his mirthfulness—his keen relish for
harmless wit—and his appreciation of humor.
In the Court House, on the road, in tavern
halls, in parlor circles, and around his own
hearthstone, he was always the polite, agreea
ble and refined gentleman. As head of his
family, in the relations of husband, father and
master, he illustrated all the virtues of a wise,
affectionate, strong and just man. In these
relations none know the vastness of the void
his death has made, except those who daily
saw the magnitude of his living presence.—
The richest inheritance he has left to his
children and his country, is the memory of
his virtues. IL L. G-. I
'Flic House on the Potomac in
Standing on a bluff, above the river Potomac,
was a small log house, two stories in height,
with a kitchen and dining room on the first
floor, and two bed-rooms on the second. Old
Spellman, the owner, was known in the vicinity
as the greatest Indian hunter of his day. The
red skins feared his rifle, and when it
a rough and tumble fight, they feared his pow
erful arm more than his rifle. Os course, he
was marked among the saveges, known to each
warrior, and held in awe by all. The Indian
who would bring in old Spellman’s scalp would
be reverenced, worshipped, and be regarded as
a motto and example for all young warriors to
imitate. The family of Spellman consisted of
father and mother, daughter and son. The
parents were well advanced in years, but stout,
hale, and hearty. The son was a young man
of promise; large muscular frame and like his
father, possessing a Herculean power. The
daughter was a girl of eighteen, fair andbeeu
tiful. Being inured to (he forest, she was
brave and daring; cool, calculating, calm, and
self possessed in times of the greatest danger
and most imminent peril.
The house stood within a few yards of a
precipice, about twenty feet high, which ex
tended some distance up and down the river,
and affording it on that side a protetion from
an enemy. A high palisade, commencing at
the bluff on the opposite side, thus enclosing
it on three sides by the palisade, and one side
protected by the bluff. It was considered by
the neighbors as a strong post, and the u old
man himself thought it almost impregnable.
About this time the Seneca Indians made
war upon the Susquchannahs, and drove them
from the head of the Chespeak. They wan
dered along tho banks of the Potomac, and six
of the chief applied to the whites, desiring to
negotiate tearms of peace; they were, howev
er put to death, on which occasion, Sir William
Berkeley said, “ They came in peace, and 1
would have sent them in peace, though they
made war on the whites slaying indiscriminately
all who fell into their hands.
It was a cold evening in November, that
Mr. Spellman was seated by the table with a
book in his hand. The old lady was dozing
before the fire with her knitting part the time
going on and part the time lying idle in her
lap. The son was mending and generally pre- I
paring his traps for the winter service. The ; >
daughter was seated at her spinning wheel, I ;
occasionally casting sly glances at a fine looking 1
young man near her, who smiled graciously in
• return. The gentleman alluded to was a beau
• of Miss Spellman’s, and had that evening
walked through a lonely forest five miles to see
his sweetheart. His name was Robert Risler,
and a brave stout hearted man, willing and
able to defend his lady love from harm.
The wind was whistling dolefully about the
bouse, making everything without seem cold
and dreary, and all within look more cheerful
j . o,d g en t’eman laid down his book, took
oil his specs, and turned his ear towards the
i back end of the house. The son noticed the
; father s actions, laid down his traps, and fol
! lowed the old man’s example
I “ Hist ?” said he to his sister, putting up
his finger in a token of silence.
( “Did you hear anything pap ?” asked the
I old lady, starting up in her scat.
“There is something wrong,” replied the
man • “ the horses seem uneasy, and the doos
whine. lam afraid the Indians will be on us?”
“ Oh I, dont say that,” plead the old lady. '
“ Don’t be frighted, there is a pretty .rood
party of us. Risler, you, and Nancy, collect
all the arms together, and put them in order
there are strong indications of Indians Guard
well the doors, and keep a sharp lookout.”
The old man arose from his chair, and noise
lessly stole up stairs. There were several
port-boles in the upper part of the house, thro’
which the old gentleman took an observa
tion of the premises within the enclosure—
Irom what he could observe, he was satisfied
that Indians were lurking about, and, as war
existed between the whites and savages, of
course their intentions were not of a friendly
character. 3
When he returned to the room below stairs,
Vassisted in preparing the armsand distrbu?
*"ng the amunition. There were firearms e
nough for all, except the old lady, and, for
better security, she was placed in one end of
the room. A screen was made to shut off the
fire, by suspending before it two or three bed
quilts.
All the necessary preparations having been
completed, the family waited, in perfect silence
the result of their suspicions. It was perhaps
midnight, when there was a slight rustling
outside the door and closely- observing and
listening a voice could be heard. The old
man ordered three of the party up stairs to fire
upon the savages who might be in the yard,
while he might defend the door. The com
mand was put in the hands of Risler, who on
looking out, saw, by the faint light the moon
cast through the the clouds, a body of Indians
just inside the palisade. They were standing
teawHwg mtr mwcuients vi
their companions near the door.
“Take the three Indians on the rmht ”
said Risler. “ I will take the first one, Hany
take the second, and Nancy the third.”
Noiselessly they placed their weapons in the
port-holes and at the same instant the arms
belched forth fire, and three Indians fell dead
on the spot. fl he Indians seemed stricken
with a panic, and precipitately fled, but a mo
nient after returned and attacked the house
furiously. Their principal point of attack was
the door, which the old man was defending
While they were battering at it, the old lady
put a kettle of water over the fire, and in a few
minutes had It boiling. She then ascended
the staiis, and softly raising a small window
directly over the savages she threw the whole
contents over them. With loud howls thev
fled and as they retreated the party up stairs
Kra\ e them a volley, and two or three were
mther killed or wounded.
I'or about half an hour there was a perfect
silence, no trace of an Indian could be seen.
“ I reckon they’re gone,” said the old lady
in a wisper to her husband.
“ Not they —we’ll hear from them directly
and he had scarcely made the reply, when a
rifle shot from one of the party up stairs an
nounced the reapproach of the savages.
“ Go into the kitchen Hannah,” said the
old man. “ I believe they are at the back
door.”
Ihe old lady hastened to obey orders; and
watched the door closely as the Indians batter
ed away at it. fl here was a party of savages
at the front door, which the old man was
guarding with the utmost care. Those up
stairs were ordered down and the whole force
were then mustered below stairs. The son and
the mother were guarding the back door, at
which the savages were eagerly at work. At
length it yielded to their efforts, and fell in.
fl he son shot the first Indian, while the mother,
with an axe, attacked the second one, and
drove him back, fl'hc howling of the savages
brought those to the rescue, and the whole
forces were now assembled at that point. The
old lady received a serious wound, and was
borne away by her son. The old man, Risler,
and Nancy, now joined in the fight, by giving
the savages a volley, which was returned,
wounding Risler and the elder Spellman ; but
they continued the fight, and as the savages
fled, pursued them to the yard. Spellman
received a second wound, which disabled him
and he crawled into the house.
The remaining three fought with desperation
and drove the savages step by step beyond the
palisades. Nancy and her brother stopped to
repair the breach; while Risler made a circuit
of the place, to see if it was thoroughly cleared
of the enemy.
As he came near the precipice, an Indian
spung from the darkness upon him, and tlmn
commenced a struggle for life. The Indian
had no weapon, but endeavored to dra<r Risler
over the precipice. The latter was coTnpelled
to drop his rifle, and was therefore on canal
footing with his savage foe. 1
For a few moments, they would dangle over
the edge of the precipice, when Risler, getting
a little of the advantage would force hisanta<?
onist back. His only hope was to choke the
savage; and to this purpose he put out his
whole strength. Rut the savage was*the
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