DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker tells it this way, and I'm just the one brave enough to say it out loud. Somewhere in Falls County stands a site that holds a story older than the state itself — the home of John Marlin, built in 1835, out there on the edge of a world that did not always welcome the people trying to settle it. Now picture that.
A home. Four walls against everything the frontier could throw at a man. And on January 10, 1839, the frontier threw quite a lot.
About seventy Indians came against that house, and the only thing standing between them and what was inside was four defenders. Four. Against seventy.
You'd be forgiven for thinking that story ends badly. But here's the thing about those four — they held. The attackers were repulsed, seven of their number slain in the fight.
One of the four defenders was injured, which, given the arithmetic of that morning, almost sounds like a miracle, except I'm not supposed to editorialize — I'm just supposed to tell you what the marker says. And what the marker says is this: four people inside a house built four years before that January dawn looked out at something that outnumbered them nearly twenty to one, and the house was still standing when it was over. Falls County doesn't forget a thing like that.
What the marker says
Built in 1835. On January 10, 1839 it was attacked by about 70 Indians who were repulsed and seven of their number slain. One of the four defenders of the home was injured.