Iowa capitol reporter. [volume] (Iowa City, Iowa) 1841-1855, 1851-09-17

her scalp as the next best thing for
them to do, and that they bore in
triumph to the camp to obtain the
promised reward for such trophies.
Mrs. Mcneil always believed the
story of the Indians to be true, for she
knew that they were fired upon by
the detachment from the fort, and it
was far more to their interest to car
ry prisoner than a scalp to the
British commander, the price for the
former being much greater. In fact
the Indians were SO restricted by
Burgoyne's humane instructions res
pecting the taking of scalps, that
their chief solicitude was to bring a
prisoner alive and unframed into the
camp. And the probability that Miss
McCrea was killed as they alleged is
strengthened by the fact that they
took the corpulent Mrs. Mcneil, with
much fatigue and difficulty, uninjur-
ed to the British lines, while Miss
McCrea, quite light and already on
horseback, might have been carried
off with far greater ease.
1t was known in camp that Lieu
tenant Jones was betrothed to Jenny,
and the story got a broad that he had
sent the Indians for her, that they
quarreled on the way respecting the
reward he had offered, and murdered
her to settle the dispute. Receiving
high touches of coloring as it went
from one narrator to another, the sad
story bee anne a tale of darkest horror
and produced a deep and widespread
indign alton. This was heightened
by published letter from Gates to
Burgoyne, charging him with allow
ing the Indians to butcher with inn
punity defenceless women and chill
drcn. "Upwards of one hundred men,
women, and children" said Gates,
shave persisted by the hands of the
ruffians, to whom, it is asserted, you
have paid the price of Blood" Bur-
goyne fatty denied this assertion,
and declared that the case of Jane
McCrca was the only act of Indian
cruelty of which he was informed
His information must have been ex-
ceedingly limited, for on the same
day when e ny lost her life, a party
Of savages murdered the whole fam
ilv fJohn Allen, of Argyle, consist
ing of himself, his wife, three children,
a sistcr-in-law, and three negroes
The daughter of Mrs. Mcneil already
mentioned, was then at the house OF
Mr.. Aliens father-in-law, Mr.. Gilmer,
who, as well as Mr.. Allen, was To
ry. Both were afraid of the savages,
nevertheless, and were preparing to
flee to Albany. On the morning OF
the massacre, younger daughter oil
Mr.. Gilmer went to assist Mrs. Allen
in preparing to move. Not returning
when expected, her father sent a
negro boy to look for her. He soon
returned, screaming, "They are all
dead--father, mother, young missus,
and ALP 1t was too true. That
morning. while all the family were
at breakfast, the Indians burst in
upont them and slaughtered every one.
Mr.. Gilmer and his family left in
great haste for Fort Edward, but
proceeded very cautiously for fear of
the savages. When near the fort,
and creeping wariIy along ravine,
they discovered portion of the very
party who had plundered Mrs. Nc
NeiPs house in the morning. They
had empted the straw from the beds,
and filled the ticks with stolen arti-
cles. Mrs. McNeil's daughter, who
accompanied the fugitive family, saw
her mothers looking-glass tied upon
the back Of one Of the savages.-
They succeeded in reaching the fort
in safety.
Burgoyne must soon have forgotten
this event, and the alarm among the
loyalists because of the murder of
Tory and his family, forgotten how
they hocked to his camp for protec-
ton, and Fraser's remark to the
frightened loyalists, sit is con-
quered country, and we must
wink at these things" and his own
positive orders to the Indians, not to
modest those having protection, caus-
ed many OF them to leave him and
return to their hunting grounds on
the st. Lawrence. 1t was all dark
and dreadful, and Burgoyne was will
ling to retreat behind false assertion
to escape the perils which were sure
to grow out Of an admission of half
the truth of Gates's letter. The let
ter, as Sparks justly remarks, was
more ornate than forcible, and aban-
doned more in bad taste than sim
plicity and pathos; yet it was suited
to the feelings of the moment, and
produced a lively impression in every
part Of America. Burke, in the ex-
ercise of all his glowing eloquence,
used the story with powerful effect
in the British House of Commons,
and made the dreadful tale familiar
throughout all Europe.
Burgoyne, who was at Fort Ann,
instituted an inquiry into the matter.
He sunni olcd the Indians to coun-
Gil, and demanded the surrender of
the man who bore off the scalp, to
be puni he'd as a murderer. Lieu
tenant Jones denied all knowledge
ofthe matter, and utterly disclaimed
any such participation as the send
ing of letter to Jenny, or of an In
dian escort to bring her to camp
he had no motive for so doing, for