Cooper's Clarksburg register. [volume] (Clarksburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1851-1861, 1854-03-15
CnopepgG Iurkgburg Ae9iatarI
TIE ESCAPE.
IA IL EASNA Z Hs ..E
A Thrilling Historical Narrative. :

1nTIlIlnS AlSlOFICal N AFfatlrcs
Early in the spring Of 1890. Mr.. Alex.
Mcconnell Of Lexington KY, went into |
the woods on foot 10 hunt deer. He soon
killed a large buck, and returned home (
for horse in order to bringit. During
his Hb sence, IL party Of FIVE Indians, on
one of their skulking expeditions, acct !
dGntally stumbled on tue body of the
deer. and rerceving that it had been re-
Gently killed, ;hey naturally supposed |
that the hunter would soon return to Sc
cure the flesh. Three of them therefore, /
took their stations within close rifle shot
of the detr, while the other two followed
the trail Of the hunter and waylaid the
path by which he was expected to return.
Mcconnell thinking not of danger. rode
carelcssly al ong the path, which the
scouts were watching, until he came
within view ofthe deer, he was fired up.
ON by the whole party, and his horse kill
led. While labOrIng to cxtrcatc himself
from the dying animal, he was seized by
the enemies, ovcrpowered aud borne off
II prisoner. His captors, however, 81 en-
cd n merry, good natured set of fellows,
and permitted him to accompany them
unbOund-and what was rather cxlraOr-
binary, allowed him to retain his gun
and hunting accoutrcment. He accom-
panied them with great apparent cheer.
'nlneSs through the day, and displayed
his dexterity by shooting deer for the use
of the company, until they began to re-
gard him with great partiality. Having
travelled with them in this m amer for Sc
veral days, they at length reached the
Ohia river.
Heretofore the Indians had taken the
precaution to bind him at night, although
not very securely, but on that evening he
demonstrated with them and complained
SO strongly Of the pain which the cord
gave him, that they merely wrapped the
buffalo tug about his wrists, and having
. tied an easy knot, and then attached the
extremitles Of the rope to their bodies, in
order to prevent his moving without
awakening them, then very compo5edly
went to sleep, leaving the prisoner to fol-
low their example or not as he pleased
Mcconnell determined to effect his es-
cape that night if possible, as on the fol-
lowing morning they would cross the ri
yer, which would render it more difficult
He therefore lay quietly until midnight
anxiouSly Eliminating on the best means
of etfecting his escape. Accidentally
casting his eyes in the direction of his
feet, they fell upon the glittcring blade of
knife, which had escaped from its
sheath, and was now lying near the feet
OF one of the Indians
To reach it with his hands, without
disturbing the two Indians to whom he
was fastened, was impossible, and it was
very hazardous to attempt to draw it up
with his feet. This. however, he attempt
Il In, al ii,
blade with II his toes, and after repeated
and long continued efforts, succeeded at
length in bringing it within reach Of lis
hands. To cut the cord, was but the
work of a moment and gradually and ST.
lently extricating himselfhe walked to the
fire and sat down. He felt that his work
was but half done. That if he should at
tempt to return home without destroying
his enemies, he would be pursued, and
probably Overtaken, when his fate would
be certain. On the other hand, it seemed
almost impossible for single individual
to succeed in Il conflict with five Indians,
even though unarmed and asleep. He
could not hope to deal a blow with knife
SO silently and fatally as to destroy each
OF his enemies in turn without awakening
the rest. Their slumbers were proyerbi-
ally light and rcsLless-and if lie failed
with singI lie one, he must inevitably be
overpowered by the survivors. The knife
was therefore out of the question. After
anxious reflections for few minutes, he
formed his plan.
The guns of the Indians were stacked
near the fire. Their knives and tomahawks
were sheathed by their Sides The latter
he dare not touch for fear of arousinr
their owners, but the former he carefully
removed with the exception of two, and
hid them IN the woods, where he knew
tho Indians were still sleeping. perfectly
ignorant Of the fate that awaited them
and having taken deliberate aim at the
head of one, and the heart Of another, he
pulled both triggers at once. Both
shots were fatal.
AT the report Of the guns, the Others
sprang to their feet, glancing wildly about
them. Mcconnell, who had run to the
spot where the other rifles were hid, has
tlly seized one Of them and fired at two
OF his enemies who happened to be stand
ing in line with each other. The near
est fel dead, being shot through the CEN
tire OF the body; the second fell also,
believing loudly, but soon recovering,
imPcd off as fast as possible. The fifth,
the only one that remained unhurt, dart
ell Oft like deer, with yell that an
nounccd equal terror and astonishment-
Mcconnell not wishing to fight any more
such battles selected his own rifle from
the stock, and made his way to Licking
ton' where he arrived i'll two days.
PHILADELPHIA INC1DENr.-The following
Is orlet history OF humanity in the city