The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1839-10-15
MaSCELLANEOTs.
LEY OF w 70 NJ N G.
THE LOST SISTER.

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their former homes, and quite little meighbor
. hood was collected. Bur the Indians kept pro wi
! ing around on the mountains, now descending
here md now there, killing This family. scalping
thar, or makng it captive, At n little distance
from the present Court House nj WiIkesherre
lived family by the nane Of Slocum, upon
whom the visitafions Of the Indians cruelIies
were nwhIly severe. The men were one day
away IN the fields. and in an instant the house
was surrounded by Indians There was i'm H.
the mother daughter about nine years Of are,
a son nged thirteen, another daughter aged five,
and lit'lr hoy aged two and half 4 Young
man and boy Ivy the name Of Kingsley were
present grinding knife. The first thing the
Indians lid was 20 shoot down the Young man
AMI scalp him with the knife which he had in
his hand The nine wear old sister took the lit
tie boy two years and "A half old, and ran out OF
the back iour tN get To the tnrr. The Indians
chased her Just enough 70 see her frghr, and
/ having Il hearty laugh is she ran and cluug 10
anu lifted her chubby little brother They then
took the Kingsley boy and young Socum aged
thirteen, and little Frances aged five, and pre-
pared to DEPART. But finding young SIocum
lame, AT the earnest enreaes of The mother,
they set him down and left him. Their cap.
lives were then yCu"g Kingsley and the little
girl. The mothers heart swelIed ununerahIy.
and for years she could not describe the scene
without tears. She an Indian throw her
child over his shoulder, and rs her hair fell over
the tears fell fro n her dstended eye.nnd stretch
ed ont her other hand towards her mother she
called for her aid. The Indian into the bushes,
and this was the last seen Of lille Frances
This image, probably, was carried Ivy the mother
TO her grave. About n month after tits they
came again, and with the most awful crueltlGs,
murdered the aged grandfather, ami shot ball
in The leg of the lnme boy. This he carried
with him in his leg nearly sixty years 10 the
grave. The last child was born a few months
after these tragedies What were the con
versat0ns, what were the coucclurps.
what were she hopes and the fears Respecting
the probable fate of little Frances. | will NOT
attempt TO describe. Probably the children
that in all after life, the heart Of the stricken
wo'her ""as ycasuing for the Iiue one whose
late was so uncertain, and whose luca she could
never see agnin.
As the boys grew NJ and hecame men, they
were very anxious TO know the fNta Of their h.jr
hujrad sister They wrote letters, thew sent IN
uuirles, they made journeys through nil the vest
and u'O the Canaius IT peradventurc they
might rdrN any Jhing Respecting her fate Four
OF these long Journeys were u,ade ~ win.
silence deep Us the deepest forest through which
they wandered, hung over her tate,and that six
~ years.
My reader viii now pass over 70 years from
The time OF this captivity and suppose himself
tar in the wilderness in the tuwhest par, If IN
diAna. \ very respectable agent Ot t"e United
STATES il travelling there; and weary and beiated
with Il Ir"d horse, he stops NJ an Indian wig
wan for the nighr. He can speak the Indian
language. The family are rich for lndinns, have
horses and skins in abundance. In the course
of the evening he notices thar the hair Of the
woman is light and her skin, under her dress Is
also white. This led to a conversation. She
told him she was Il white child, but had been
carried awav when a very small girl.
She could only rememher her name was S!o
cum, that she lived in little house on the banks
,l,- -.
were in her fathers family, and the order Of
their ages Bot the name of the town she
could not remember. On reaching his home,
The agent mentioned the story to his mother
She urged and pressed him TO write and print
the account. Accordingly he wrote it amt sent
il 70 Lancaster Of this state, requesting that it
might be published. b some tn me, unac.
countabie blun,ier, it lay in the office t!cO gears
before il was printed. But last summer it was
published. In few days it tell into the hands
of Mr. Siucum, OF Wkesharre, who was the
little two and half'yenr old boy, when Frances
was taken. In few days he was OFF to seek
his sister, taking with him his oldest sister, (the
one who aided him to escape) and writing to a
brother who now lives III Ohio, and who l be-
eve was born after the captivity, TO NEE him
and 20 with him.
The two brothers and sisters are now 1855.
on their way to seek little Frnrces, Justly Siriy
gears after her Captivity. After travelling more
tAan 300 miles through the Wilderness. they
reached the Indian country, the home Of tie
Miami Induns. Nine miles from the
nearest white, they find the liuIe wjgwam. Z" /
shall know nv sister," sail the civilized sister,
'hecause she lost the nail of her fr>t finger. :
You, brother hammered it off in rhe blacksmith
shop when she four years old. They 60
into the cabin and find an Indian woman having
the appearance of seventy five. She is painted
aud ewelled off, and dressed like an Indian in /
all respects. Nothing but her hair and covered
skin wond indicate her origin. Tuey get an
interpreter and begin to converse. She tells
them when she was born, her name, &c, with
the order Of her fathers family. How came
your nail gone p said the oldest sister. My o'd
er brother pounded it off when | was little .
enid IN the shop!' In a word they were suits
ned that this was Frances. their long lost sister! |
They asked her what her Christian name was ?
Sne could OF remember. Was it Frances p
She smiled and said yes.'-It was the first time
she mad heard IL pronounced for so years Here,
then, they were met-two brothers and two sis