Project Gutenberg's Harper's Young People, August 17, 1880, by Various

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Title: Harper's Young People, August 17, 1880
An Illustrated Weekly

Author: Various

Release Date: June 11, 2009 [EBook #29099]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HARPER'S YOUNG PEOPLE, AUG 17, 1880 ***

Produced by Annie McGuire

[Illustration: HARPER'S

YOUNG PEOPLE

AN ILLUSTRATED WEEKLY.]

* * * * *

VOL. I.--NO. 42. PUBLISHED BY HARPER & BROTHERS, NEW YORK. PRICE FOUR
CENTS.

Tuesday, August 17, 1880. Copyright, 1880, by HARPER & BROTHERS. $1.50
per Year, in Advance.

* * * * *

[Illustration: THE ESCAPE OF HANNAH DUSTIN.--DRAWN BY HOWARD PYLE.]

OLD TIMES IN THE COLONIES.

BY CHARLES CARLETON COFFIN.

NO. IV.

JOHN KERZAR, HANNAH DUSTIN, AND THE INDIANS.

It was in August, 1692. John Kerzar, who lived on the banks of the
Merrimac, a few miles from the sea, went out into his meadow with his
scythe to cut grass. He took his gun along with him to shoot a bear if
he saw one in his corn, or an Indian if one made his appearance. He
leaned his gun against a tree, and went on with his mowing, not knowing
that an Indian was crawling through the tall grass toward him. The
Indian reached the tree, seized the gun, and cocked it.

"Me kill you now," said the Indian.

John Kerzar was brave. He was quick to think. He could yell louder than
any Indian. No use for him to run; that would be certain death. With a
yell like the blast of a trumpet, and uplifted scythe, he rushed upon
the Indian, who, instead of firing, dropped the gun and took to his
heels. Kerzar was upon him in an instant, swinging his scythe, and
making such a fearful gash that the Indian fell dead at his feet.

Kerzar lived in Haverhill. It was a frontier settlement, and the Indians
either had a spite against it, or else it was more convenient for them
to attack than other settlements, for they made many attempts to destroy
the place.

Thomas Dustin was at work in his field one day, when he saw a large
number of Indians coming toward him from the woods. He had