Daniel Fraley Story
Submitted by Sharon Cornell
- Information about persons born after 1920 and, has been removed -
This story about Daniel Fraley was told to Uncle Rice Fraley, while fishing with his grampa George Washington Fraley, when they were fishing on a river bank in Ohio.
James Fraley, born 1759, and his brother Dan b 1790, migrated from Russell County, Va to Floyd County Ky, where they raised their families.
Daniel," G.W. Fraley's dad," lived on land inherited from GW's mother, Polly's father. GW told Rice that Daniel was a old Melita man.
Dan and his brother, James, being a old Melita man , and former Indian scout, during the Revolution, would leave their families and be gone in the mountains for Weeks at a time, and my gramma Polly, being a true pioneer woman, took care of their home and children, while Grampa was gone.
James and Grampa Dan hunted Indians and were paid twenty-five cents per scalp by the Indian agent at Pt. Pleasant, Ohio. On one of their trips, after collecting their bounty, the two brothers started for their homes, on the Big Sandy River area of Floyd County, Kentucky.
After parting ways, Daniel was in site of his cabin, when without Daniel knowing, a big black bear had started following and tracking him. When Dan was within earshot, he began calling to his wife Polly and children, as he usually did, to announce his home coming. When Polly saw Dan come into view, she also saw the black bear, and realizing that Dan did not know he was being stalked by the bear, who was fastly closing the gap between him and Dan, Polly began yelling for Dan to run. Polly then opened the front and back door of the cabin,( which was a shotgun cabin, with a Straight path from the front to the back door.) Polly yelled to Dan to enter the cabin and climb to the loft. Dan running as fast as he could and got into the loft without the bear seeing him. The bear in hot pursuit ran in the front door and straight out the back door of the cabin. Polly quickly closed and put the bars on the doors.