One day, taking a pitcher to get water from the river, she had ventured
some distance from the fort, when Indians dashed out of the forest and
sprang toward her. Seeing her danger, she darted swiftly back, with her
bloodthirsty foes close at her heels.
It was a race for life, and she knew it. There was not time to reach the
gate; so she ran the shortest way to the fort, caught hold of the top of
the pickets, and, by an almost superhuman effort sprung over to the other
side. She did not fall to the ground as she expected, but into the arms of
John Sevier, for he was standing at a loophole close by, and caught her.
He had witnessed her danger and helped her to escape by shooting the
Indian closest in the chase. A romance is connected with this, for we are
told that John Sevier, who was then a young widower of thirty-one, married
Kate Sherrill during the siege.
Although the Indian braves were eager for the scalps of the Watauga
settlers, they failed to capture the fort and finally went away, just as
they did from the neighboring settlements. For a while, but only for a
while, the pioneers were left free from Indian ravages.
SEVIER A HERO AMONG THE TENNESSEE SETTLERS
In spite of the danger, however, daring men kept coming to join the
pioneers at the Watauga settlements.
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