Settler Family is Murdered by Indians in Ross County, Ohio

Family Murdered by Indians in Ross County, Ohio

On their entry they appeared friendly, shaking hands with the whole family; 

nor Were the family} ^ alarmed, as the visitations of Indians were there- 
quent. But Euffner's sudden apj^earance aroused the suspicions 
of Philip Seymore. Euffner thinking that they would not dare 
to attempt an assault upon the family in his presence, insisted 
upon Philip, as he was the most fleet on foot, to run into the 
settlement and gather up some friends. As soon as Philip had 
left the cabin, Euffner immediately noticed a sudden change in 
the countenances of the savages; they cast upon each other 
significant looks and glances, as much as to say: "He is gone 
for aid, and now is our time." A deep, death-like silence 
now reigned in the lonely forest cabin. Kate Seymore could 
no longer endure this deathly gloom. Advancing toward 
Euffner, she said : " Oh, Euffner, we shall all be killed!" Euff- 
ner, who had sat eyeing the savages with a tiger's look, sprang 
to his feet and exclaimed, in a stentorian voice : " Imps of hell, 
leave this place this moment, or I will send your bloody red 
spirits to the burning pit of hell," advancing toward them. 
Instantly the Indians sprang from their seats, and made an 
attack upon the heroic Euffner with uplifted tomahawks. 
In the bloody conflict he killed three of the murderous savages, 
bat, being overpowered by their united strength, fell a lifeless 
bleeding corpse upon the cabin floor. The remaining savages 
then turned upon the aged and helpless couple, who sat like 
petrified statues, gazing with a vacant stare upon the terribly 
bloody scene around them. Two tall savages, with tomahawks 
uplifted, dripping with the blood of the murdered Euffner, 
dealt each a blow upon their heads, and they, too, fell in the 
aofonies of death. 

Poor Kate was an eye-witness to the dreadful tragedy. She 
was compelled to hand over all the money of her murdered 
father, and cook dinner for the murderous Indians. Immedi- 
ately after dinner Kanotchey, the brutal chief, approached Kate 
and sunk his tomahawk deep in her head. She, too, fell to rise 
no more. 

The savages then left the cabin, concealing themselves in the 
deep, dark forest. Philip, on returning with help, entered the 
yard, and seeing the blood, mangled body of Eutfner, sprang 
into the cabin, where his worst fears were realized. The sight 
was shocking. Poor Kate, the once romping, laughing, beau- 
tiful, rosy-cheeked Kate — there she lay beautiful in death. 
Philip, on beholding her lifeless form, and those of his beloved 
parents and the noble Euffner, gave vent to a flood of tears, and 
exclaimed: "'Tis done; I am left alone." Said he to his neigh- 
bors: "Blood for blood shall be my motto." Bidding them fare- 
well, he bounded into the deep forest, becoming an Indian killer. 
His home was the forest; his covering, the blue sky; his food, 
wild meat. He would lay in ambush, and every straggling Indian 
that hove in sight he would kill. Near the close of the war, 
while seated on a high bluff near the Mohiccan, in a narrow 
bottom below, he saw a large, straight, tall Indian in shooting dis- 
tance. He cocked his gun, took aim, fired, and killed the sav- 
age. He descended and walked to the place where the Indian 
lay. On examination of his costume and person, he found it 
was Kanotchey, the murderer of his sister. Philip said: "I am 
Now avenged." He then returned to his home on the Mohican.