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.
