| According to some sources, it seems that these qualities even helped her deal with
the occasional threat to her home and family. Mary Ann was often left
alone in the house while the men cleared the land and mapped out the village
for future inhabitants. One day, according to Mrs. Ellet, two or three Native Americans caused a stir in the Rumsey home when
they "invaded" Mrs. Rumsey's property. The story has
it that Mary Ann's son was playing with the Natives, who were showing the boy
how to kill a deer. A misunderstanding arose between Mary Ann and the group of men,
causing the Indians to take their leave. She had gone back in the house when two
or three of the Indians, who had stayed behind, supposedly attacked her with sticks.
Mary Ann ended up chasing them away with her broom, but not before they
allegedly threw her on the fire. As the story goes, she and her son survived the incident, and apparently, no one made the mistake of bothering her after that. |