We might have possessed a much fuller history of the times when great
difficulties and dangers opposed the settlers. When rushing rivers had
to be crossed without boat or bridge; when men and women often found it
necessary to contend single handed with Indians; and when, for meeting
the many obstacles that placed themselves in their path, our ancestors
were often but poorly equipped.

Whilst we take pride in the hardships cheerfully borne by our
forefathers in the early colonial days, may we not be sometimes inclined
to forget those fleet-footed, clever, dusky sons of the forest, to whose
generous aid they were not infrequently indebted for protection from
hostile men and savage beasts, and even sometimes for sustenance?

When we have secured positive information that now and again there have
appeared among the brawny men of the forest noble specimens of all that
is true and kind, let us not fail to record their deeds of faithfulness
and heroism. The least we can do for such is to bring to light their
actions and preserve their history. When beneath the shade of the
forest, on the trackless desert, on the rushing river, in tempest and
thunder, or when watching in the vicinity of an old fort or near the log
cabin of the early colonists, the Red man has been found a faithful
friend and guide; should not his deeds of kindness, faithfulness and
bravery be recorded side by side with those of the noblest of the human
race?

The story related in the following chapters has been gathered from facts
stated in time-worn documents, which have been lying for generations
concealed in a wooden box. The only regret of the writer is, that it was
impossible for him to gain access to all the old musty and defaced