| 5 Indians had killed a man by the name of Jos. Harris - ["Stout" marked out] He had been killed early in the morning - ["Capt Stout" marked out] he was moving towards Clarksville & had stopped at ["an abandoned farm" marked out] Blundell's residence, & had rode about two miles ["to a place" marked out] on his way to an old farm for the purpose of looking at some corn there which he wished to purchase - In a half a mile of this place he was killed - Capt. Stout arrived there in the evening & had him buried; the indians were pursued, but in consequence of the heavy rains which fell all night & day they could not be trailed - This alarmed the settlemt; Blundle, Harris' family and the whole settlement convened on the Cypress neare the Cherokee Crossing under the protection of Capt. Stout, where a fort was built called Fort Sherman - There were some 8 or 9 families here - Leaving 15 men here, Capt. Stout went to the Sabine, & thence to Lyday's settlement on the sulpher, which he found in a state of alarm and on the eve of breaking up in consequence of three men being killed in the neighborhood, the men were two Washburns (brothers) & another, whose name is not recollected. There was here an old dilapidated [----------------------------------------------------------------------] 6 Fort which Capt. Stout repaired and got the families into it, about 14 families - Here he left ten men, & hearing that Shelton's settlemnt about 15 miles below, was also about breaking up he repaired thither, where he found the principle part of the Settlement assembled at Shelton's and debating what was best to be done - Captain Stout proposed that they should build a Fort & that he would have the families protected provided they would remain & & the men would make a crop - To this they agreed - The fort was built, The arrangement for making a crop was this ["5 or 6 men were to work each day" marked out], They were to work for each other; 5 or 6 working to day & 5 or 6 more, working the next; thus taking it in rotation until all had done an equal portion of labor; as soon as one man's field was dispatched, they commenced on another's - Whilst the men were at work, a party of soldiers were station in the field as a guard against the Indians. Capt. Stout being authorized to augment his force, if necessary obtained in this population 19 additional recruits - this enabled him to garrison the fort, & still allow soldiers enough to protect the laborers at work - In this manner they continued from the 26th Decr. 1838 (the day Stout arrived there) until the fall, when the families returned to their respective homes in security, with the fruits of a good crop, as good as had ever been raised in the settlemnt -- |