David Crockett: His Life and Adventures - Chapter 03 - Marriage and Settlement

Chapter 3: Marriage and Settlement
This chapter likely covers Crockett’s marriage and efforts to establish a home and family in the frontier, detailing the hardships and successes of settling in the wilderness. Summary by Dream Audiobooks.com

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Chapter three, Marriage and Settlement. David took possession of his
horse and began to work very diligently to pay for it.
He felt that now he was a man of property.
After the lapse of a few weeks, he mounted his
horse and rode over to the irishman's cabin to see
his girl and to find out how she lived and
what sort of people composed the family. Arriving at the

(00:24):
log hut, he found the father to be a silent,
staid old man, and the mother as voluble and nervous
a little woman as ever lived. Much to his disappointment,
the girl was away. After an hour or two, she returned,
having been absent at some meeting or merrymaking, and much
to his chagrin, she brought back with her a stout
young fellow who was evidently her lover. The newcomer was

(00:46):
not at all disposed to relinquish his claims in favor
of David Crockett. He stuck close to the maiden and
kept up such an incessant chatter that David could scarcely
edge in a word. In characteristic figure of speech, he says,
I began to think I was barking up the wrong
tree again, But I determined to stand up to my rack.
Fodder or no fodder. He thought he was sure of

(01:08):
the favor of her parents, and he was not certain
that the girl herself had not given him sundry glances
indicative of her preference. Dark night was now coming on,
and David had a rough road of fifteen miles to
traverse through the forest before he could reach home. He
thought that if the Irishman's daughter cherished any tender feelings
towards him, she would be reluctant to have him set

(01:30):
out at that late hour on such a journey. He
therefore rose to take leave. His stratagem proved successful. The
girl immediately came, leaving her other companion, and in earnest tones,
entreated him not to go that evening. The lover was
easily persuaded. His heart grew lighter and his spirit bolder.
She soon made it so manifest in what direction her

(01:51):
choice lay, that David was left entire master of the field.
His discomfited rival soon took his hat and withdrew. David
thus was freed from all his embarrassments. It was Saturday night.
He remained at the cabin until Monday, morning, making very
diligent improvement of his time in the practice of all
those arts of rural courtship which instinct teaches. He then

(02:14):
returned home, not absolutely engaged, but with very sanguine hopes.
At that time in that region, wolves were abundant and
very destructive. The neighbors for quite a distance combined for
a great wolf hunt, which should explore the forest for
many miles by the hunters, thus scattering on the same day.
The wolves would have no place of retreat. If they

(02:35):
fled before one hunter, they would encounter another. Young Crockett,
naturally confident, plunged recklessly into the forest and wandered to
and fro until, to his alarm, he found himself bewildered
and utterly lost. There were no signs of human habitations near,
and night was fast darkening around him. Just as he
was beginning to feel that he must look out for

(02:57):
a night's encampment, he saw in the distance, through the
giganic trees, a young girl running at her utmost speed, or,
as he expressed it in the Crockett vernacular, streaking it
along through the woods like all wrath. David gave chase
and soon overtook the terrified girl, whom he found, to
his surprise and delight to be his own sweetheart, who

(03:18):
had also, by some strange accident, got lost. Here was
indeed a romantic and somewhat an embarrassing adventure. The situation was, however,
by no means so embarrassing as it would have been
to persons in a higher state of civilization. The cabin
of the emigrant often consisted of but one room, where
parents and children and the chance guests passed the night together.

(03:39):
They could easily throw up a camp. David with his gun,
could kindle a fire and get some game. The girl
could cook it. All their physical wants would thus be supplied.
They had no material inconveniences to dread in camping out
for a night. The delicacy of the situation would not
be very keenly felt by persons who were but at
one remove above the native Indian. The girl had gone

(04:01):
out in the morning into the woods to hunt up
one of her father's horses. She missed her way, became lost,
and had been wandering all day long, farther and farther
from home. Soon after the two met, they came across
a path which they knew must lead to some house.
Following this, just after dark, they came within sight of
the dim light of a cabin fire. They were kindly

(04:22):
received by the inmates, and tired as they were, they
both sat up all night. Upon inquiry, they found that
David had wandered ten miles from his home, and the
young girl seven miles from hers. Their paths lay in
different directions, but the road was plain, and in the
morning they separated and without difficulty reached their destination. David

(04:42):
was now anxious to get married immediately. It will be
remembered that he bought a horse, but he had not
paid for it. The only property he had, except the
coarse clothes upon his back, was a rifle. All the
land in that neighborhood was taken up. He did not
even own an axe with which to build him a
log cabin. It would be necessary for him to hire
some deserted shanty and borrow such articles as were indispensable.

(05:05):
Nothing could be done to any advantage without a horse
to diminish the months which she had promised to work.
In payment for the animal, he threw in his rifle.
After a few weeks of toil, the horse was his.
He mounted his steed deeming himself one of the richest
men in the far West, and rode to see his
girl and fix upon his wedding day. He confesses that
as he rode along, considering that he had been twice disappointed,

(05:28):
he experienced no inconsiderable trepidation as to the result of
this third matrimonial enterprise. He reached the cabin and his
worst fears were realized. The nervous, voluble, irritable little woman,
who with all of a termagant's energy, governed both husband
and family, had either become dissatisfied with young Crockett's poverty,
or had formed the plan of some other more ambitious

(05:51):
alliance for her daughter. She fell upon David in a
perfect tornado of vite operation and ordered him out of
the house. She was mighty wrathy, writes David, and looked
to me as savage as a meat axe. David was
naturally amiable, and in the depressing circumstances, had no heart
to return. Railing for railing, he meekly reminded the infuriate

(06:13):
woman that she had called him son in law before
he had attempted to call her mother in law, and
that he certainly had been guilty of no conduct which
should expose him to such treatment. He soon saw, to
his great satisfaction that the daughter remained faithful to him,
and that the meek father was as decidedly on his
side as his timid nature would permit him to be.
Though David felt much insulted, he restrained his temper, and,

(06:36):
turning from the angry mother, told her daughter that he
would come the next Thursday on horseback, leading another horse
for her, and that then he would take her to
a Justice of the peace, who lived at the distance
of but a few miles from them, where they would
be married. David writes of the mother, her irish was
too high to do anything with her, so I quit trying.
All I cared for was to have her daughter on

(06:58):
my side, which I knowed the case then, But how
soon some other fellow might knock my nose out of
joint again. I couldn't tell her. Mother declared I shouldn't
have her, but I knowed I should if anybody else
didn't get her before Thursday, the all important wedding day
soon came. David was resolved to crush out all opposition
and consummate the momentous affair with very considerable splendor. He

(07:21):
therefore rode to the cabin with a very imposing retinue,
mounted proudly upon his own horse and leading a borrowed
steed with a blanket saddle for his bride, and accompanied
by his elder brother and wife, and a younger brother
and sister, each on horseback. He cut out to her
father's house to get her. When this cavalcade of six
horses had arrived within about two miles of the Irishman's cabin,

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quite a large party was found, assembled from the log
huts scattered several miles around. David, kind hearted, generous obliging,
was very popular with his neighbors. They had heard of
the approaching nuptials of the brave boy of but eighteen years,
and of the wrath of the brawl call ill tempered mother.
They anticipated a scene and wished to render David the

(08:04):
support of their presence and sympathy. This large party, some
on foot and some on horseback, proceeded together to the
Irishman's cabin. The old man met them with smiles, whiskey
bought on hand, ready to offer them all a drink.
The wife, however, was obdurate, as ever, she stood at
the cabin door, her eyes flashing fire, and quite bewildered

(08:24):
to decide in what way to attempt to repel and
drive off her foe. She expected that the boy would
come alone, and that with her all potent tongue, she
would so fiercely assail him, and so frighten her young
girl as still to prevent the marriage. But here was
quite an army of the neighbors from miles around assembled.
They were all evidently the friends of David. Every eye

(08:45):
was fixed upon her, Every ear was listening to hear
what she would say. Every tongue was itching to cry
out shame to her opposition, and to overwhelm her with reproaches.
For once the termagant found herself baffled and at her
WIT's end. The etiquette of courts and cabins are quite different.
David paid no attention to the mother, but riding up
to the door of the log house leading the horse

(09:07):
for his bride, he shouted to her to come out.
The girl had enjoyed no opportunity to pay any attention
to her bridal trousseau, but undoubtedly she had contrived to
put on her best attire. We do not know her age,
but she was ever spoken of as a remarkably pretty
little girl, and was probably about seventeen years old. David
did not deem it necessary to dismount, but called upon

(09:29):
his girl to jump upon the horse he was leading.
She did so. The mother was powerless. It was at
waterloo defeat. In another moment they would disappear, riding away
along the road which wound through the gigantic trees of
the forest. In another hour they would be married, and
then they would forever be beyond the reach of the
clamor of her voluble tongue. She began to relent. The

(09:51):
old man, accustomed to her wayward humors, instinctively perceived it.
Stepping up to David and placing his hand upon the
neck of his horse, he said, I wish you would
stay and be married here. My woman has too much tongue.
You oughtn't mind her. Having thus for a moment arrested
their departure. He stepped back to the door where his
discomfited wife stood, and entreated her to consent to their

(10:15):
being married. There After much persuasion, common sense triumphed over
uncommon stubbornness. She consented. David and his expectant bride were
both on horseback, all ready to go. The woman rather
suddenly came forward and said, I am sorry for the
words I have spoken. This girl is the only child
I have ever had to marry, and I cannot bear

(10:35):
to see her go off in this way. If you'll
come into the house and be married here, I will
do the best I can for you. The good natured
David consented. They alighted from their horses, and the bridal
party entered the log hut. The room was not large,
and the uninvited guest thronged it and crowded around the door.
The Justice of the peace was sent for, and the

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nuptial knot was tied. The wedding ceremonies on such occasions
were sufficiently curious to be worthy of record. They certainly
were in very wide contrast with the pomp and splendor
of nuptials in the palatial mansions of the present day.
A large party usually met at some appointed place, some
mounted and others on foot, to escort the bridegroom to

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the house of the bride. The horses were decorated with
all sorts of caparisons, with ropes for bridles, with blankets
or furs for saddles. The men were dressed in deerskin moccasins,
leather breeches, leggings, coarse hunting shirts of all conceivable styles
of material, and all home made. The women wore gowns
of very coarse homespun and home woven cloth composed of

(11:39):
linen and wool, and called linsey woolsey, very coarse shoes,
and sometimes with buckskin gloves of their own manufacture. If
anyone chanced to have a ring or pretty buckle, it
was a relic of former times. There were no carriages,
for there were no roads. The narrow trail they traversed
in single file was generally a mere horse path, often

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soken tracted in width that two horses could not pass
along abreast. As they marched along in a straggling line
with shouts and jokes, and with the interchange of many
gallant acts of rustic love making between the coquettish maidens
and the awkward swains, they encountered frequent obstacles on the way.
It was a part of the frolic for the young
men to throw obstructions in their path and thus to

(12:21):
create surprises. There were brooks to be forded Sometimes large
trees were mischievously felled across the trail. Grape Vines were
tied across from tree to tree to trip up the
passers by or to sweep off their caps. It was
a great joke for half a dozen young men to
play Indian. They would lie in ambuscade, and suddenly, as
the procession was passing, would raise the war whoop, discharge

(12:43):
their guns and raise shouts of laughter in view of
the real or feigned consternation. Thus excited, the maidens would
of course shriek, the frightened horses would spring aside, the
swains would gallantly rush to the rescue of their sweethearts.
When the party had arrived within about a mile of
the house where the marriage ceremony was to take place,
two of the most daring riders among the young men

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who had been previously selected for the purpose, set out
on horseback on a race for the bottle. The master
of the house was expected to be standing at his
door with a jug of whisky in his hand. This
was the prize which the victor in the race was
to seize and take back in triumph to his companions.
The start was announced by a general Indian yell. The
more rough the road, the more full of logs, stumps, rocks,

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precipitous hills and steep glens, the better this afforded a
better opportunity for the display of intrepidity and horsemanship. It
was a veritable steeplechase. The victor announced his success by
one of those shrill, savage yells, which almost split the
ears of the listener. Grasping the bottle, he returned in triumph.
On approaching the party, he again gave forth the Indian

(13:48):
war whoop. The bottle or jog was first presented to
the bridegroom. He applied the mouth of the bottle to
his lips and took a dram of raw whisky. He
then handed it to his next of kin, and soh
the bottle passed through the whole company. It is to
be supposed that the young women did not burn their throats,
but very copious drafts of the poisonous fire water. When

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they arrived at the house. The brief ceremony of marriage
immediately took place, and then came the marriage feast. It
was a very substantial repast of pork, poultry, wild turkeys,
venison and bear's meat. There was usually the accompaniment of
corn bread, potatoes and other vegetables. Gray hilarity prevailed on
these occasions, with wonderful freedom of manners, coarse jokes and

(14:31):
shouts of laughter. The table was often a large slab
of timber, hewn out with a broad axe and supported
by four steaks driven into auger holes. The table furniture
consisted of a few pewter dishes with wooden plates and bowls.
There were generally a few pewter spoons, much battered about
the edges, but most of the spoons were of horn
home made crockery, so easily broken was almost unknown. Table

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knives were seldom seen. The deficiency was made up by
the hunting knives, which all the men carried in sheaths
attached to their hunting shirts. After dinner, the dancing began.
There was invariably some musical genius present who could play
the fiddle. The dances were what were called three or
four handed reels or square sets and jigs, with all

(15:16):
sorts of grotesque attitudes, pantomime and athletic displays. The revelry
continued until late into the night, and often until the
dawn of the morning, as there could be no sleeping
accommodations for so large a company in the cabin of
but one room, the guests made up for sleep in merriment.
The bridal party stole away in midst of the uproar,
one after another up a ladder into the loft or

(15:38):
garret above, which was floored with loose boards made often
of split timber. This furnished a very rude sleeping apartment.
As the revelry below continued. Seats being scarce, every young
man offered his lap as a seat for the girls,
and the offer was always promptly accepted. Always towards morning,
some one was sent up into the loft with a

(15:59):
bottle of whiskey to offer the bridegroom and his bride
a drink. The familiar name of the bottle was Black Betty.
One of the witticisms ever prominent on the occasion was
where is black Betty? I want to kiss her sweet lips.
At some splendid weddings where the larder was abundantly stored
with game, this feasting and dancing was continued for several days.

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Such in the main was the wedding of David Crockett
with the Irishman's daughter in the morning, the company dispersed.
David also and his young bride left during the day
for his father's cabin. As the families of the nuptial
party both belonged to the aristocracy of the region. Quite
a splendid marriage reception was held at John Crockett's. There
were feasting and dancing, and Black Betty received many a

(16:42):
cordial kiss. The bridegroom's heart was full of exultant joy.
David writes, having gotten my wife, I thought it was
completely made up and needed nothing more in the whole world.
He soon found his mistake and awoke to the consciousness
that he needed everything and had nothing. He had no furniture,
no cabin, no land, no money, and he had a

(17:04):
wife to support. His only property consisted of a cheap horse.
He did not even own a rifle, an article at
that time so indispensable to the backwoodsman. After spending a
few days at David's father's, the bridegroom and bride returned
to the cabin of her father, the Irishman. Here they
found that a wonderful change had taken place in the
mother's feelings and conduct. She had concluded to submit good

(17:27):
naturedly to the inevitable. Her conversational powers were wonderful, with
the most marvelous volubility of honeyed words she greeted them.
She even consented to have two cows given them, each
with a calf. This was the dowry of the bride,
her only dowry. David, who had not expected anything, felt
exceedingly rich with this herd. Near By was a vacated

(17:50):
log cabin with a few acres of land attached to it.
Our boy, bridegroom and bride hired the cabin at a
very small rent. But then they had nothing whatever to
put into it. Had not a bed, or a table
or a chair, no cooking utensils, not even a knife
or a fork. He had no farming tools, not a
spade or a hoe. The whole capital with which they

(18:10):
commenced life consisted of the clothes they had on a
farm horse, two cows, and two calves. In this emergence,
the good old Quaker for whom David had worked came
forward and loaned him fifteen dollars. In that wilderness, food
that his game and corn was cheap, but as nearly
everything else had to be brought from beyond the mountains,
all tools and furniture commanded high prices. With the fifteen dollars,

(18:35):
David and his little wife repaired to a country store
a few miles distant to furnish their house and farm.
Under these circumstances, the china closet of the bride must
have been a curiosity, David says, with his fifteen dollars,
we fixed up pretty grand, as we thought. After a while,
in some unexplained way, they succeeded in getting a spinning wheel.

(18:56):
The little wife, says David, knowed exactly how to use it.
She was also a good weaver, being very industrious. She
had in a little or no time a fine web
of cloth ready to make up. She was good at
that too, and almost at anything else a woman could do. Here,
this humble family remained for two years. They were both
as contented with their lot as other people are. They

(19:17):
were about as well off as most of their neighbors.
Neither of them ever cherished a doubt that they belonged
to the aristocracy of the region. They did not want
for food or clothing, or shelter or a warm fireside.
They had their merrymakings, their dances, and their shooting matches.
Let it be remembered that this was three quarters of
a century ago, far away in the wilds of an
almost untamed wilderness. Two children were born in this log cabin.

(19:41):
David began to feel the responsibilities of a father who
had children to provide for. Both of the children were sons.
Though David's family was increasing, there was scarcely any increase
of his fortune. He therefore decided that the interest of
his little household demanded he should move farther back into
the almost pathless wilderness, where the land was not yet
taken up, and where he could get a settler's title

(20:03):
to four hundred acres simply by rearing a cabin and
planting some corn. He had one old horse and a
couple of colts, each two years old. The colts were broken,
as it was called to the halter, that is, they
could be led with light burdens upon their backs, but
could not be ridden. Missus Crockett mounted the old horse
with her babe in her arms, and the little boy,

(20:25):
two years old, sitting in front of her, astride the
horse's neck, and occasionally carried on his father's shoulders their
few articles of household goods were fastened upon the backs
of the two colts. David led Wan and his kind
hearted father in law, who had very generously offered to
help him move, led the other. Thus this party set
out for a journey of two hundred and fifty miles

(20:46):
over unbridged rivers, across rugged mountains, and through dense forests
whose Indian trails had seldom, if ever, been trodden by
the feet of white men. This was about the year
eighteen o six. The whole population of the state then
amounted who bought one hundred thousand. They were generally widely
dispersed through the extensive regions of East Tennessee, but very

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few emigrants had ventured across the broad and rugged cliffs
of the Cumberland Mountains into the rich and sunny plains
of Western Tennessee. But a few years before terrible Indian
Wars desolated the state, the powerful tribes of the Creeks
and Cherokees had combined all their energies for the utter
extermination of the white men, seeking to destroy all their
hamlets and scattered cabins. At a slow foot pace, the

(21:30):
pioneers followed down the wild valley of the Holston River,
often with towering mountains rising upon each side of them.
If they chanced at nightfall to approach the lonely hut
of a settler, it was especial good fortune, as they
thus found shelter provided, and a fire built, and hospitable
entertainment ready for them. If, however, they were overtaken in

(21:51):
the wilderness by darkness and even a menacing storm, it
was a matter of but little moment, and caused no anxiety.
A shelter of logs and was soon thrown up with
a crackling fire illuminating the wilderness blazing before it, A
couch as soft as they had ever been accustomed to,
could speedily be spread from the pliant boughs of the trees.

(22:12):
Upon the pack colts there were warm blankets, and during
the journey of the day they had enjoyed ample opportunity
to take such game as they might need for their
supper and their morning breakfast. At length they reached the
majestic flood of the Tennessee River and crossed it, we
know not how. Then, directing their steps towards the setting sun,
they pressed on, league after league, and day after day,

(22:33):
in toilsome journey over prairies and through forests and across
mountain ridges for a distance of nearly four hundred miles
from their starting place, until they reached a small stream
called Mulberry Creek, which flows into the Elk River in
what is now Lincoln County. At the mouth of Mulberry Creek,
the adventurous immigrant found his promised land. It was indeed

(22:55):
a beautiful region. The sun shines upon none more so.
The scenery, which however, probably had but few attractions for
David Crockett's uncultivated eye, was charming. The soil was fertile,
the streams abounded with fish and waterfowl, and prairie and
forests were stocked with game. No family need suffer from
hunger here. If the husband had a rifle and knew

(23:16):
how to use it, a few hours labor would rear
a cabin which would shut out wind and rain as
effectively as the gorgeous walls of Windsor or Versailles. No
jets of gas or gleam of wax candles, ever illumined
an apartment more brilliantly than the flashing blaze of the
wood fire. And though the refectories of the Palais Royal
may furnish more scientific cookery than the emigrant's hut. They

(23:38):
cannot furnish batter turkeys, or more tender venison, or more
delicious cuts from the buffalo and the bear than are
often found browning before the coals of the log cabin.
And when we take into consideration the voracious appetites engendered
in those wilds, we see that the immigrant needed not
to look with envy upon the luxuriantly spread tables of
Paris or New York. Upon the banks of the Mulberry River, David,

(24:02):
aided by his father in law, reared his log cabin.
It is a remote and uncultivated region. Even now. Then
it was an almost unbroken wilderness, the axe of the
settler having rarely disturbed its solitude. A suitable spot for
the cabin was selected, and a space of about fifteen
feet by twenty feet was marked out and smoothed down
for the floor. There was no cellar. Trees near by

(24:24):
of straight trunks were felled and trimmed, and cut into
logs of suitable length. These were piled one above another
in such a way as to enclose the space, and
were held in their place by being notched at the corners.
Rough boards were made for the roof by splitting straight
grained logs about four feet long. The door was made
by cutting or sawing the logs on one side of

(24:44):
the hut about three feet in width. This opening was
secured by upright pieces of timber pinned to the end
of the logs. A similar opening was left in the
end for the chimney, which was built of logs. Outside
the hut, the back and jambs of the fireplace was
of a hole about two feet square, constituted the window frequently.

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The floor was the smooth, solid earth. A split slab
supported by sticks driven into auger holes, formed a table.
A few three legged stools supplied the place of chairs.
Some wooden pins driven into holes bored in the logs
supported shelves. A bedstead was framed by a network of
poles in one corner. Such was the home which David

(25:25):
and his kind father in law reared in a few days.
It will be perceived that it was but little in
advance of the wigwam of the Indian. Still, it afforded
a comfortable shelter for men, women and children who had
no aspirations above a mere animal life, who thought only
of warmth, food, and clothing, who had no conception of intellectual, moral,
or religious cravings. The kind hearted father in law, who

(25:47):
had accompanied his children on foot upon this long journey
that he might see them settled in their own home,
now bade them adieu and retrace the forest trails back
to his own far distant cabin. A man who could
develop uns ostentatiously such generosity and such self sacrifice must
have possessed some rare virtues. We regret our inability to
record the name of one who thus commands our esteem

(26:09):
and affection. In this humble home David Crockett and his
family resided two years. He appears to have taken very
little interest in the improvement of his homestead. Must be
admitted that Crockett belonged to the class of what is
called loafers. He was a sort of rip van Winkle.
The forest and the mountain stream had great charms for him.
He loved to wander in busy idleness all the day

(26:32):
with fishing rod and rifle, and he would often return
at night with a very ample supply of game. He
would then lounge about his hut, tending deerskins for moccasins
and breeches, performing other little jobs, and entirely neglecting all
endeavors to improve his farm or to add to the
appearance or comfort of the miserable shanty which he called
his home. He had an active mind and a very

(26:53):
singular command of the language of low illiterate life, and
especially of backwoodsman's slang. Though not exactly a Maine man,
his self confidence was imperturbable, and there was perhaps not
an individual in the world to whom he looked up
as in any sense his superior In hunting, his skill
became very remarkable, and few, even of the best marksmen,

(27:13):
could throw the bullet with more unerring aim. At the
close of two years of this listless solitary life, Crockett,
without any assigned reason, probably influenced only by that vagrancy
of spirit which had taken entire possession of the man,
made another move. Abandoning his crumbling shanty and untilled fields,
he directed his steps eastwardly through the forest a distance

(27:35):
of about forty miles to what is now Franklin County.
Here he reared another hut on the banks of a
little stream called Bear's Creek. This location was about ten
miles below the present hamlet of Winchester. An event now
took place which changed the whole current of David Crockett's life,
leading him from his lonely cabin and the peaceful scenes
of a hunter's life to the field of battle and

(27:57):
to all the cruel and demoralizing influences of horror war.
For many years there had been peace with the Indians
in all that region, but unprincipled and vagabond white men,
whom no law in the wilderness could restrain, were ever
plundering them, insulting them, and wantonly shooting them down on
the slightest provocation. The constituted authorities deplored this state of things,

(28:18):
but could no more prevent it than the restraints of
justice can prevent robberies and assassinations in London or New York.
The Indians were disposed to be friendly. There can be
no question that but for these unendurable outrages inflicted upon
them by vile and fiendlike men, many of whom had
fled from the avenging arm of law, peace between the
white men and the Red Men would have remained undisturbed.

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In the extreme southern region of Alabama, near the junction
of the Alabama River with the almost equally majestic Tombeckbee River.
There had been erected several years before for the protection
of the emigrants, a fort called Mims. It consisted of
several strong log huts surrounded by palisades which inclin closed
several acres. A strongly barred gait afforded entrance to the

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area within. Loopholes were cut through the palisades just sufficiently
large to allow the barrel of a musket to be
thrust through and aim to be taken at any approaching foe.
The space within was sufficient to accommodate several families who
were thus united for mutual protection. Their horses and other
cattle could be driven within the enclosure at night in

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case of a general alarm. The pioneers, occupying huts scattered
through the region for miles around, could assemble in the fort.
Their corn fields were outside to cultivate, which even in
times of war, they could resort in armed bands, setting
a watch to give warning of any signs of danger.
The fort was in the middle of a small and
fertile prairie. The forest trees were cut down around and

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every obstacle removed which could conceal the approach of a
foe or protect him from the fire of the garrison.
The long continued peace had caused vigilance to slumber. A
number of families resided in the fort, unapprehensive of danger.
One evening, a Negro boy, who had been out into
the forest at some distance from the fort in search
of cattle, came back saying that he saw far in

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the distance quite a number of Indians, apparently armed warriors.
As it was known that the Creek Indians had been
greatly exasperated by recent outrages inflicted upon them, this intelligence
created some anxiety. The gate was carefully closed, the guard
was set through the night, and some slight preparations were
made to repel an assault should one be made. Thus,
several days were passed and there was no attack, and

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no signs of Indians being near. The general impression was
that this timid Negro boy was the victim of his
own fears. Many jokes were perpetrated at his expense with
wonted carelessness. All precautions were forgotten, and the men sallied
thoughtlessly forth to disperse through the fields in their labors.
But after several days the boy was again sent out
into the woods upon the same errand as before. He

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was a timid little fellow and had a great dread
of the Indian. Tremblingly and cautiously, he threaded the paths
of the forest for several moreles, keeping a vigilant lookout
for any signs of the savage foe, when his eye
fell upon a sight which appalled him. At but a
short distance, as he stood, concealed by the thickets through
which he was moving, he saw several hundred Indian warriors,

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plumed and painted and armed to the teeth. They had
probably just broken up from a council and were moving
about among the trees. His spears magnified their numbers to thousands.
Terror Stricken, he turned for the fort, and with almost
the fleetness of a deer, entered the gate with his tidings.
Even his black face was pallid with fright. As he
breathlessly told his story. The Indians said he were as many,

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and as close together as the trees. There were thousands.
The alarm was sounded in the garrison, all the outsiders
were called in. The sun shone serenely. The gentle breeze
swept over the fertile prairie. Not a sight was to
be seen, but what was peaceful. Not a sound came
from the forest, but the songs of birds. It was
generally believed that the silly, cowardly boy had given a

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fall alarm. They cross examined him, he was so frightened
that he could not tell a straight story. The men,
indignant at being thus a second time, duped as they supposed,
actually tied the poor boy to the whipping post and
commenced whipping him. But a few lashes had left their
bloody marks upon his back. When the uplifted arm of
the executioner was arrested, the awful Indian war whoop, the

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precursor of blood and flame and torture, which even the
boldest heart could seldom hear without terror, burst as it
were simultaneously from a hundred warrior's lips. The wary savages
had provided themselves with sharpened sticks, rending the skies with
their yells, they rushed forward from the gloom of the
woods upon the totally unprovided garrison, and very speedily plunged

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up the loopholes, so that not a musket could be
discharged through them. Then, with their hatchets they commenced, cutting
down the palisades. The bewilderment and consternation within was indescribable.
A few of the assailants hewing at the barricades were
shot down, but others instantly took their places. Soon a
breach was cut through, and the howling warriors, like maddened demons,

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rushed in. There was no mercy shown. The gleaming tomahawk,
wielded by hundreds of brawny arms, expeditiously did its work. Men,
women and children were indiscriminately cut down and scalped. It
was an awful scene of butchery. Scarcely an individual escaped.
One athletic boy, after having seen his father, mother, four sisters,

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and four brothers, tomahawked and scalped, Pursued by the savages,
with frantic energy, succeeded in leaping the palisades. Several Indians
gave chase. He rushed for the woods. They hotly pursued.
He reached a sluggish stream, upon the shore of which,
half embedded in sand and water, there was a moldering log,
which he chanced to know was hollow beneath. He had

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but just time to slip into this retreat when the
baffled Indians came up. They actually walked over the log
in their unavailing search for him. Here he remained until night,
when he stole from his hiding place and, in safety,
reached Fort Montgomery, which was distant about two miles from
Fort Mims. End of chapter