Boon's Lick times. [volume] (Fayette, Mo.) 1840-1848, 1843-10-14

mistaken, my beauty thought /; Pm not
done for YET Drawing out one of my
pocket pistols, which was rather a matter
Of difficulty in my confined position ] fired
The ball crashed through his face and skull,
and heard his dead body fall heavily to
the ground.
Ayel Of fear and rage arose from his
black companions. took advantage Of
the opportunity, and raised myself up so as
to look about me, but their threatning
spears soon drove me back to my retreat
There was now another pause and a dead
silence; and ] fattered myself with the
hope that the savages, having been so fire.
quently baffled, and having suffered so
much in their attacks. would now retire.
Blu the death and the wounds of their COM
rades, it appears only whetted their rage.
and stimulated to fresh endeavours; and
the cunning devices of that develish saw
age Musqueto were turned in new and
more fatal direction.
Gas lay in my retreat. heard sound
as if heavy materials were being dragged
towards the tree. Iventured to peep out.
and behed the savages busy in piling dead
wood round the trunk, with the intention,
as Immediately surmsed, Of setting fire
to it, and of burning me in my hole.
"My conjectures were presently verified.
| saw emerging from the wood one of their
females, bearing the lighted fre-sticks,
which the natives always carry with them
in their journeys, I looked on these prep
arations as neglected but not Indifferent
spectator, the natives disregarding my ap-
pearance above the opening, and waiting
with sort of savage patience for the sure
destruction which they were preparing for
me.
THE native women approached with the
fire, and the natives, forming circle round
the tree, performed dance of death as
prelude to my sacrifice. / was tempted to
fire on them; but did not like to part with
my last two shots, except in an extremity
even greater than this.
"In the meantime, the natives continued
their dance, seeming to enjoy the interval
between me and death, like the epcure who
delays his attack on the delicious feast be-
fore him, that he may the longer enjoy the
exciting pleasure of anticipation. Pres
emily. however, their death song broke out
into loud cries of fury; they applied the
fire to the faggots. and as The blaze incrcas-
ed, they danced and yelled round the tree
in complete delirium Of rage ande xuta-
ton.
The fire burned upl-the smoke ascend
ed! already felt the horrid sensation of
being s,iAed by the thick atmosphere of
smoke before the flames encompassed me.
In this extremity determined, at least, to
inflct some vengeance on my savage per.
secugors.
Il scrambled mp from my hiding.pace,
and rrawIed as far as could on one of the
branches which was most free from the suf-
floating smoke and heat, and fired the re-
majning barrel Of my fowling-peace at the
yelling wretChes, which | then hurled at
their heads. | did the same with my re-
naming pistol, when, to my amazcment,
heard the reports Of other guns; but wheth-
er they were the echoes of my own, or
that my falling senses deceived me. knew
not, for the smoke and flames now master
ed me. Stihed and scorched, | remember
only falling from the branch of the tree
which was not high, to the ground, when
my senses left me.
II was reused from my trance of death
/, by copious deIuges of water, and heard
a voice which was familiar to me exclaim.
$ ing u. ..
+, well if this is not enough to disgust a
man with this horrd country. don't know
what he would have morel For years and
years | have been preaching 10 him thai
, nothing good could come of this wretehec
den of bush-rangers and natives. and now
you see the has come at last"
Il opened my eyes at these words. Il
was the voice Of Crabb, whom heaven hac
directed with party of friends to this
spot to deliver mel Overcome with the in
=, tensity of my emotions, racked with pair
, and sick from the very fullness of joy a
, my escape from death. | uttered piercing