The Litchfield County post. [volume] (Litchfield, Conn.) 1826-1829, 1826-10-31
Scenes on the Western JVaters.
From F!int's Recollections Re-

! a
sample OF the cases Of extreme misery and
desolatiDn, that are often witnessed on the
Mississippi In the Sunday school at New
Madrid we received three children, who
were introduced to that place under the
following circumstances. A man was de-
scending the river with these three chill
dren in his pirogne. He and his children
had landed on desert island, onsa bitter
snowy evening Of December. There were
but two houses, which were at Little Prai-
RE, opposite the Island, within great dis
lance. HGwanted more whiskey, although
he had already been drinking Ii too freely.
Against the persuasions of his children he
left them, q cross over in his pirogue to
these houses, and renew his supply. The
wind blew high and the river was rough.
Nothing would dissuadc him from this dan-f
gerous attempt. He told them that he
should return 10 them that night, left. them
IN tears. and exposed TO the pitiless pelting
Eof the storm, and started for his carouse.
The children saw the boat sink before he.
bad DALI crossed the passage. The man
Twas drowned. These folorn beings were
left without any other covering, than tier
own scanty and ragged dress, for he had
taken his last blanket with him. They had
neither FIRE, nor shelter; and no otheriood
than uncooked pork aud corn. 1T showed
fast, and the night closed over them III this
situation. The elder was girl oil Six years,
but remarkably shrewd aud acute for her
age. The next was girl of -four, and the
youngest, a boy Of two. II was affecting
to hear her describe her dcsolation Of heart,
as she set herself to examining her resour-.
ces. She made them creep together and
draw their bare eetunder her clothes. She
clyered them with. leaves and branches,
and thus passed the first night.
In the morning the younger children
wept bitterly with cold and hunger. The
pork she then cut into small pieces and
made them chew corn with these pieces.
She then persuaded them ~ run about by
setting them the example. Then she made
them return to chewing corn and pork.
i should seem as if Providence had spe-
cial eye to these poor children, for III the
course Of the day some Indians landed on
the Island, found them, and as they were
coming up to New Madrid, took them with
them. ss
In a cabin at the mouth Of the Arkan-
sas, saw a woman, apparently very sick
Of fever and ague, lying on the floor of the
cabin, on bear skin, with an infant babe
also sick by her side.. She had been evil
IDENTIFY beautiful woman, and by her coun-l
tenance and her manner, as well as by rem
nants OF tattered lace and fnery, / saw that
she had not been born and reared in this
country. / asked her for her story. With
great labour and exhaustion, and with ac-
cents often interrupted, she told me the
following tale. She was born in London,
and had married q sergeant in the British
army. He had been ordered on the SER
vice against New Orleans. After the de-
feat of the eighth of January, be was a
prisoner, and chose to remain III the coun-
try. She had crossed the Atlantic In p1r-
SUN of her trtiant husband, had landed at
New FORK, and made her way to Cincin-
matt; being here IN extreme misery and
want, and In despair of ever finding her
husband, she had, as the horrid but famil-
lar phrase of this country is, = taken up
with man. At Cincinnati, by whom she
had this child. After living with her few
months, he had deserted her. She then
came down in q boat, until within sixty
uttcS ID Hi0 f1FNuuSdSs Ndu tHCu duQ tneFe
bccn taken extremely i'll OF fever and ague,
and had been taken in. bY Il family who
kept her as long as she had any clothes or
trinkets left. The men Of the family had
then taken her from bed after sunset, put
her in pirogue, and rowed her down du-
ring the night to the mouth of the river,
and there Ioft her on the sand bar. The
bank which II was necessary to mount, be-
fore arriving at = house, was sixty feet high.
She made various attempts, as the morning
sun began TO beat upon her bead, TO mount
this bank, in hope OF finding either house
or shelter. All her exertions failed, and
she laid herself down and tried to resign
herself to die. az. n
II happened that some men who cut
wood for the STEAMBOATS,, boarded at the
house above the bank. They were cross
singthe river a third Of mile above the
mouth, 10 60 Is their morning task. They |
heard tho wailings Of the infant that was
lying by its mother. One Of the men in \
sisted that the cries were those Of d child.
The rest ridiculed the idea, and insisted
that it was the scream Of owls, that in these
countries often utter their. notes in the
morning. He would not be ridiculed out
Of his persuasion, crossed back to the side