characters, began to thunder at the door with great violence, but a
single shot from a loophole, compelled them to shift the attack to
some less exposed point; and, unfortunately, they discovered the door
of the other cabin, which contained the three daughters. The rifles of
the brothers could not be brought to bear upon this point, and by
means of several rails taken from the yard fence, the door was forced
from its hinges and the three girls were at the mercy of the savage.
One was immediately secured, but the eldest defended herself
desperately with a knife which she had been using in the loom, and
stabbed one of the Indians to the heart, before she was tomahawked.

In the meantime the little girl, who had been overlooked by the enemy
in their eagerness to secure the others, ran out into the yard, and
might have effected her escape had she taken advantage of the darkness
and fled, but instead of that the terrified little creature ran round
the house wringing her hands, and crying out that her sisters were
killed. The brothers, unwilling to hear her cries without risking
every thing for her rescue, rushed to the door and were preparing to
sally out to her assistance, when their mother threw herself before
them and calmly declared that the child must be abandoned to its fate
--that the sally would sacrifice the lives of the rest without the
slightest benefit to the little girl. Just then the child uttered a
loud scream, followed by a faint moan, and all was again silent.
Presently the crackling of flames was heard, accompanied by a
triumphant yell from the Indians, announcing that they had set fire to
that division of the house which had been occupied by the daughters,
and of which they had undisputed possession.

The fire was quickly communicated to part of the building, it became
necessary to abandon it or perish in the flames. In the one case,