Mr. Ballin

So finally, just two days earlier, the Sioux had had enough and they finally retaliated, attacking settlements along that river.

It was being called the Sioux Uprising, and the attack so far had been horrific.

A lot of farms along that river had been burned to the ground, and their occupants had been killed right alongside it.

And then just yesterday, the Sioux had attacked a city that was just 50 miles down the river from where Jeanne was right now.

And so Jean and everybody else in this particular area had really been terrified the last 24 hours that the violence was moving in their direction towards Ottawa Township.

And so now Jean, he had put his ax down and he just stood there, you know, trembling as the sound of gunshots continued.

I mean, this was not just a few stray bullets.

This was a barrage of gunfire.

And so this could only mean one thing.

The Sioux were here.

Now, Jean couldn't tell exactly where the shooting was coming from, but he could tell it was pretty close.

And so Jean knew that he likely only had maybe several minutes to gather up whatever he could of his possessions and get to safety before the Sioux arrived.

So Jean, he bolts over to the farmhouse, goes inside, and he goes to the area inside where he slept, and he grabbed his rifle, and he also grabbed his notebook and all that cash he'd been saving for his mom.

And he jammed the notebook and the cash into a satchel.

And with his rifle over his shoulder, he ran back outside.

And then once he was outside, he sprinted right towards the tree line at the edge of the property.

And after running for a little while, Jean finally stopped to catch his breath and to listen to see if there was more gunfire.

And as he sat there listening, he couldn't hear anything.

But that's when he realized, like, he's all alone out here.

If the Sioux came charging through the trees right now, he wouldn't stand a chance even with his rifle.