cate the
presence of Indians in the Buchannon settlement, and some of those who
were in the fort, hoping that they should not be again visited by them
this season, determined on returning to their homes. Austin
Schoolcraft was one of these, and being engaged in removing some of
his property from the fort, as he and his niece were passing through a
swamp in their way to his house, they were shot at by some Indians.
Mr. Schoolcraft was killed and his niece taken prisoner.

In June, John Owens, John Juggins and Owen Owens, were attacked by
some Indians, as they were going to their cornfield on Booth's creek;
and the two former were killed and scalped. Owen Owens being some
distance behind them, made his escape to the fort. John Owens the
younger, who had been to the pasture field for the plough horses,
heard the guns, but not suspecting any danger to be near, rode forward
towards the cornfield. As he was proceeding along the path by a fence
side, riding one and leading another horse, he was fired at by several
Indians, some of whom afterwards rushed forward and caught at the
bridle reins; yet he escaped unhurt from them all.

The savages likewise visited Cheat river, during the spring, and
coming to the house of John Sims, were discovered by a negro woman,
who ran immediately to the door and alarmed the family.--Bernard Sims
(just recovering from the small pox) taking down his gun, and going to
the door, was shot. The Indians, perceiving that he was affected with
a disease, of all others the most terrifying to them, not only did not
perform the accustomed operation of scalping, but retreated with as
much rapidity, as if they had been pursued by an overwhelming force of
armed men,--exclaiming as they ran "_small pox, small pox._"

After the attack on Donnelly's fort in May 1778, the Indians made no
attempt to effect farther mischiefs in the Greenbrier country, until
this year. The fort at Point Pleasant guarded the principal pass to
the settlements on the Kenhawa, in the Levels, and on Greenbrier
river, and the reception with which they had met at Col. Donnelly's,
convinced them that not much was to be gained by incursions into that
section of the frontiers. But as they were now making great
preparations for effectual operations against the whole border
country, a party of them was despatched to this portion of it, at once
for the purpose of rapine and murder, and to ascertain the state of
the country and its capacity to