Betty Zane | Page 5

arrived at the village in 1774. As an attack from the
savages was apprehended during the year the settlers determined to
erect a fort as a defense for the infant settlement. It was planned by
General Clark and built by the people themselves. At first they called it
Fort Fincastle, in honor of Lord Dunmore, who, at the time of its
erection, was Governor of the Colony of Virginia. In 1776 its name was
changed to Fort. Henry, in honor of Patrick Henry.
For many years it remained the most famous fort on the frontier, having
withstood numberless Indian attacks and two memorable sieges, one in
1777, which year is called the year of the "Bloody Sevens," and again
in 1782. In this last siege the British Rangers under Hamilton took part
with the Indians, making the attack practically the last battle of the
Revolution.

BETTY ZANE

CHAPTER I.
The Zane family was a remarkable one in early days, and most of its
members are historical characters.
The first Zane of whom any trace can be found was a Dane of
aristocratic lineage, who was exiled from his country and came to
America with William Penn. He was prominent for several years in the
new settlement founded by Penn, and Zane street, Philadelphia, bears
his name. Being a proud and arrogant man, he soon became obnoxious
to his Quaker brethren. He therefore cut loose from them and emigrated

to Virginia, settling on the Potomac river, in what was then known as
Berkeley county. There his five sons, and one daughter, the heroine of
this story, were born.
Ebenezer Zane, the eldest, was born October 7, 1747, and grew to
manhood in the Potomac valley. There he married Elizabeth
McColloch, a sister of the famous McColloch brothers so well known
in frontier history.
Ebenezer was fortunate in having such a wife and no pioneer could
have been better blessed. She was not only a handsome woman, but one
of remarkable force of character as well as kindness of heart. She was
particularly noted for a rare skill in the treatment of illness, and her
deftness in handling the surgeon's knife and extracting a poisoned
bullet or arrow from a wound had restored to health many a settler
when all had despaired.
The Zane brothers were best known on the border for their athletic
prowess, and for their knowledge of Indian warfare and cunning. They
were all powerful men, exceedingly active and as fleet as deer. In
appearance they were singularly pleasing and bore a marked
resemblance to one another, all having smooth faces, clear cut, regular
features, dark eyes and long black hair.
When they were as yet boys they had been captured by Indians, soon
after their arrival on the Virginia border, and had been taken far into the
interior, and held as captives for two years. Ebenezer, Silas, and
Jonathan Zane were then taken to Detroit and ransomed. While
attempting to swim the Scioto river in an effort to escape, Andrew Zane
had been shot and killed by his pursuers.
But the bonds that held Isaac Zane, the remaining and youngest brother,
were stronger than those of interest or revenge such as had caused the
captivity of his brothers. He was loved by an Indian princess, the
daughter of Tarhe, the chief of the puissant Huron race. Isaac had
escaped on various occasions, but had always been retaken, and at the
time of the opening of our story nothing had been heard of him for
several years, and it was believed he had been killed.

At the period of the settling of the little colony in the wilderness,
Elizabeth Zane, the only sister, was living with an aunt in Philadelphia,
where she was being educated.
Colonel Zane's house, a two story structure built of rough hewn logs,
was the most comfortable one in the settlement, and occupied a
prominent site on the hillside about one hundred yards from the fort. It
was constructed of heavy timber and presented rather a forbidding
appearance with its square corners, its ominous looking portholes, and
strongly barred doors and windows. There were three rooms on the
ground floor, a kitchen, a magazine room for military supplies, and a
large room for general use. The several sleeping rooms were on the
second floor, which was reached by a steep stairway.
The interior of a pioneer's rude dwelling did not reveal, as a rule, more
than bare walls, a bed or two, a table and a few chairs--in fact, no more
than the necessities of life. But Colonel Zane's house proved an
exception to this. Most interesting was the large room. The chinks
between the logs had been plastered up with clay and then the walls
covered with white birch bark; trophies of the chase,