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




The Alarm Among the Settlers

On the next day after Jemima was brought home seven men from Hinkson's came into the fort, declaring that the savages were rising against us, and begging that we go back to Virginia with them. It was enough to scare even a brave person to hear the tales those frightened people had to tell, regarding what the Indians were making ready to do; but father insisted that they had cut out of whole cloth considerably more than half of all their stories.

Those men were determined to go back over the Wilderness Road while there was yet time to save their lives, and ten of our company were persuaded to join them, despite all Colonel Boone and Colonel Callaway could say to the contrary.

[Illustration] from Hannah of Kentucky by James Otis

Father said we were well rid of the cowards, for if it happened that the Indians did make an attack on Boonesborough, we wanted with us none but those who could stand up and fight as long as a single charge of powder was left.

Neither Colonel Boone nor any of our men whom I heard talking about the matter believed there was a grain of truth in what the people from Hinkson's had told. They knew it was likely the savages might come upon us at any time; but we were in a strong fort and would be able, not only to hold our own, but, perhaps, to prevent the savages from doing very much mischief in the country roundabout.

The cowards from Hinkson's had hardly more than left us before people from all around came in, nearly dead with fear, until there were times when the stockade was so crowded one could barely move about.

They came in parties of five or ten, some from Harrodstown, others from Boiling Springs and from Miller's, until it really seemed as if all the white people in Kentucky were going back over the Wilderness Road.