Contents ▼▲
Front Matter At Boonesborough Beginning of the Story Boone on the Yadkin Boone Moves his Family Ready for the Journey What we Wore Driving Cattle and Sheep Camping at Nightfall The Long Halt Jimmy Boone Goes to Clinch Murder of Jimmy Boone A Time of Mourning The Faint-hearted Return A New Home Making Moccasins Tanning Leather Governor Dunmore Our Home on the Clinch Household Duties Attacked by a Wildcat Fighting the Wildcat Boone and Father Return The Wilderness Road Building the Forts Boonesborough Gathering Salt Boonesborough Precautions Our Home in the Fort Ready for Cooking Furnishing the House The Hominy Block The Supply of Water Sports Inside the Fort Wrestling and Running Religion of the Indians Indian Babies Colonel Callaway Arives News from Eastern Colonies Venturing Outside the Fort Dividing the Land Who Owned Kentucky? Ready to Build a Home Billy's Hard Lot Preparing Flax Spinning and Soap Making Broom Making More Indian Murders Indian "Signs" Woodcraft and Hunting Pelts Used as Money Petition of the Settlers Making Sugar Building Fences Capture of the Girls My Willful Thoughts Finding the Trail The Pursuit The Story Told by Jemima Elizabeth's Heroism Rescuing the Girls Alarm Among the Settlers Indians on the Warpath The First Wedding The Wedding Festivities The Brides Home The Housewarming Attacks by the Indians Besieged by the Savages In the Midst of the Fight The Assault by the Indians Failure of the Assault Watchfulness of the Indians The Sortie My Father Wounded Our Wounded

Hannah of Kentucky - James Otis




Elizabeth's Heroism

She not only refused to wear their moccasins; but she tore off little bits of her linsey-woolsey gown, dropping them on the ground, and now and then she bent or broke a twig in such a manner that those who followed must know it had been done by a white prisoner.

When the Shawnees saw what she was about, one of them threatened to strike her down with his tomahawk and promised to kill her without warning if she did anything more of the kind. Elizabeth had sense enough to understand that the threat would be carried out, and ceased trying to leave a trail in that way; but whenever she came to damp ground, she set her foot down firmly, in order to leave the plain imprint of her shoepack, and this was of great assistance to those who were following.

[Illustration] from Hannah of Kentucky by James Otis

During the evening of the day they were captured, and throughout all the daylight of the following forty-eight hours, those poor girls were forced to walk at their best pace, for it was not until early morning of the third day that our people came upon them.

Jemima could not tell me very much about what happened when they were finally rescued. On the next day, however, when I found Flanders and Jemima sitting together inside the stockade, I asked him to tell me what had been done by Colonel Boone and his company.