As attackers surrounded the house, Nathan D. Champion recorded the day’s violence in his diary. He wrote that he and Nick were making breakfast when the attack began, and that two other men who went out did not return. Nick was shot and later died about 9 o'clock, while gunfire came from the stable, the river, and behind the house. Champion watched the attackers remain around the buildings, saw smoke and believed the stable had been fired, and feared he would not be allowed to escape. Through the afternoon he noted men passing in a buckboard and on horseback, others pursuing them across the river, continued shooting at the house, and shelling like hail. Hearing wood being split and believing the house would be burned, he considered trying to flee at night if still alive. His final words came as the house was set on fire: "Goodbye, boys, if I never see you again."