vation. They had,
however, this one comfort: the cold weather kept the Indians at home.
They had no disturbances throughout the winter from them.

When spring opened, however, the savages showed themselves more furious,
if possible, than ever. Their plans of mischief were better laid; they
seemed to have been feeding their revenge fat. Open and secret war was
all around the settlers. It would be idle for me to attempt to give
details of the doings of the savages. Ashton's, Hoy's, M'Afee's,
Kincheloe's, and Boone's station, near Shelbyville, were all attacked.
Men were shot down in the open fields, or waylaid in every pathway. The
early annals of Kentucky are filled with stories of many a brave white
man at this time. There were Ashton, Holden, Lyn, Tipton, Chapman, White,
Boone, Floyd, Wells, the M'Afees, M'Gary, Randolph, Reynolds, and others,
some of whom were killed, and all of whom had their hard struggles. The
history of that spring is only a story of burnings, captures, and
murders, on the part of the savages. It was a dark period for the white
men; even Boone, with all his vigor and fearlessness, thought it the
darkest period he had known in that region. The savages seemed bent upon
a war of extermination.

Not satisfied with such mischief as they had already done, in the early
part of the summer the savages held a grand council at Old Chilicothe, to
arrange their plans for further destruction. There were chiefs there from
the Cherokees, Wyandots, Tawas, Pottawattomies, and most of the tribes
bordering on the lakes. Two notorious white villains--whose names will
never be forgotten in Kentucky--were there also, to aid them with their
counsels. These were Girty and M'Kee, infamous men, who lived among the
Indians, and lived only by murdering their own countrymen. Their plan was
soon settled. Bryant's station, near Lexington, was known to be a strong
post, and this was to be attacked. This station had within it forty
cabins, and here it was thought they might make the greatest slaughter.
The warriors were to gather as rapidly as possible for the enterprise.

In a little time, five hundred of them rallied at Girty's cabin, ready
for their departure. The white rascal then made a speech to them. He told
them that "Kentucky was a beautiful hunting-ground, filled with deer and
buffaloes, for their comfort; the white men had come to drive them away;
the ground was now red with the blood of the red men that had been slain