Female Intrepidity
Be not dismayed—fear nurses up a danger,
And resolution kills it in the birth.
Phillips.
During the war between the Indians and Kentuckians, while the owner of a plantation in a thinly settled part of the state, was at work with his slaves in the field, a sable sentinel, who was posted near the house, saw a party of savages approaching. One of them was more fleet than he, and reaching the house at the same moment, they rushed within doors together. The planter’s wife instantly closed the door and the negro and Indian grappled. The former was the stronger of the two, though the latter was the more expert. After a hard struggle, the negro threw the Indian, and held him fast until the woman beheaded him with a broad-axe. The negro then seized the guns, and began to fire at the other Indians through the loop-holes. The guns were loaded by the woman as fast as discharged. Their frequent report soon brought the laborers from the field, and the surviving Indians were driven away.