Litchfield enquirer., 1850-05-23

hfeaking mss nj all ana coulu "oe "@'f
swing ve,,t 10 my gI.ef in excessive weep
inc. while all my companions we're oe.Py
affected with oVeTPowering suTrow.
We then tried the dog, and, by him we
learned the way the hyels had taken--put
thai was all, for as the day grew warm, ne
lost all traces whaieven We searched all
over the country for many days, bat could
end no traces OF my dear boy, either dead
or alive-~and Al length were obliged tore>
turn home, we1ty and broken hearted. To
describe the state of1my poor Agnes is
impossible. II may be conceived, but
can never be expressed. But l must
haste on with my narrative, for have
vet great deal TO communicate.
About three months after this sad ca
lamity, one evening, after returning home
from my labor, my Agnes was missing,
and neither her maid servant, nor one OF
All the settlers could give the least &C
5unt of her. My suspicious fell in
stantly on tie Kousi chief, Karoo, for !
knew that he had been in our vicinity
hunting, and l remembered his threat.
This was the most .grievous stroke of all,
and, in order to do all for the preserya
ton of my dear wife that lay in my
power, I and three Of my companions
setsout and Travelled night and day, till
I'VE came to the chiefs headquarters. !
have not time to describe all the fooler-
les and difficulties we had to encounter,
suffice it, that Karoo denied the deed, but
ia such manner that my suspicious were
confirmed. threatened him terribly
with the vengeance Of his friend Capt.
tombstone, and the English army at the
Cape, saying, I would burn him and all
Ilis wives and people with FIRE. He wept
put Of fear and vexation, and offered me
abe choice Of his wives or any two Of
them, many of whom he recommended
ON account Of their great beauty and
tatness; and | believe he would have
given me any number if I would have
gone way satisfied. But the language
of the interpreter being in a great meas
ure unintelligible, we all deemed that he
said repeatedly that Karoo scould not
give the lady up!
What was | now to do? We had
not force in our own small settlement to
compel Karoo to restore her, and was
therefore obliged to buy a trained OK, on
which I rode all the way to the next
British settlement, for there are no hor
SEES in that country There found Capt.
tombstone with three companies of the
72d. watching the inroads OF the savage
Boshesmen. He was greatly irrita.
ted at Karoo, and dispatched Lieut.. Nc
Kenzie, and so men along with me to
chastise the agressor When the chief
saw the Highlanders, he was terrified out
of bis wits but, nevertheless, not know
ing what to do. he prepared for resistance
after once more pfofering me the choice
of his wives,
Just when we were on the eve Of COM
1nencing war, which must have been
ruinous to our settlement, black serv-
ant Of Adam Johnstone's came to me.
and said that I ought not 70 fight and
kill his good chief, for he had not got
the white woman, was astonished
and asked the Kaffre what he meant,
when he told me that he. himself saw
my wife carried ACROSS the river by q
band of pongos, (onrang-outangs.) but
had kept it secret, for fear Of giving
me distress as they were too far gone for
pursuit. when he beheld them. He said
they had her bound, and were carrying
her gently on their arms. but she was
either dead or in swoon, for she was
not crying, and her long hair was hang
ing down, ''a@ q
/ had kept up under every calamity |
till then, but this rews fairly upset my |
reason. l fell a-blaspheming, and ac-
cused the Almighty of injustice for lay
ing such fearful judgements on me-
May he in mercy forgive me, for ! knew
not what said; but had not been de-
priyed Of my reason could not have
outlived such catastrophe as this. and
whenever it recurs to my remembrance,
it win make my blood run chill till the
day &c nv death. "A whole year passed
over my head like one confused dream
another came, and during the greater
part Of It my mind was very unsettled,
but at length began tosindulge in long
fitsof weeping. till at length, awaken>
ed to a full sense of my misery, and Of
ten exclaimed that there was no sorrow
like my sorrow. fingered on about
the settlement, not having power to leave
the spot where ! had once been so hap
py. with those ! loved, and all my COM
.panions joined in the cultivation Of my
fields and gardens in hopes \ would be
come resigned to the wlllof the Lord.
and the judgements Of bis providence.
About the beginning ofsthe last year
q strange piece of intelligence reached
our settlement. II was said that two
maids of Kamboo had been out on the
mountains Of ,Narroweldt gathering
fruits, where they had seen a pongo tall.
! or than any Kousi and that the pongo
hada beautiful white boy with him, for
whom he was gathering the choicest
fruits,sand the boy was .gambolling and
playing around him, and leaping on his
shoulders.
This was niece of intelligence SO ex-