Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1854-02-17


tlrln.
As ! left. locked back and saw tie poor
Mexican wrltcring in his blood and still
breathing.
We took Il northeast direction, and Travelled
slowly till sunset when we rncamrcd. Here
the rlundcr, consisting of blankets, bedding
clothing, brides, and sunr monrv .hich |
lDud ia my packet, was divided among the
lndiina. Some articles considered useless
wcr" thrown into the fire. My clothing was
taken away, except barely enough to cover
!ny person la the distribution of the cap
tNcs, the eldest boy, abpnt II years Of age,
was claimed by the chief; hccame the prop
crty of one OF the others | should have men
tiunrd that one ot our captors was II MrNican,
who had been stolen from the State Of Chi
huuhua when an infant. lie was now AS
savage us the Indians and claimed the Young
st boy for his prize. The scalp of the Mex
i,un was stretched on stick and dried by the
fire.
After giving US somh meat for our supper,
the Indians began To struIe us for the night
ihe boys with their arms tied tightly behind
them, were taken under guard by two of the
sayug.s. My feet were tied together. and
VAS obliged to lie between the other two.
did not sleep any during the night, for | was
afraid of being killed.
The next day we resumed our Journey. and
mounted on good animals, and had bows and
ARROWS. Their faces were painted Indian
fashion, and they looked like Young sayagrs.
They appeared to enjoy this new mode of life,
and were never treated with excessive cruel
tv. was mounted on good horse, but be-
ing obliged to sit astride the animal, the
journey was exceedingly painful.
had fine head of hair, which valued
very much. But the chief ordered it to be
cut off; | was not little mortified in seeing
it decorating the heads of the heartless sayn-
gcs. My head was thus left entirely unpro-
tected from the intensely hot rays of the sun
Nothing ofinterest occurred except repeated
acts OF humanity towards me, until the
twelfth day after my capture. At this time
we were joined by two Indian men and squaw.
These were all the Indians saw till after INV
escape. TIP to this time my suiferings had
been 50 severe as to take from me all desire
to live, but now they were greatly increased
The squaw, from whom | might have expec-
ted some compassion, was evidently the cause
of the new crueltrs which now began to
experience.
My horse was taken from me, and was
mounted on an unbroken mule without Il
bride. had Il saddle, but it was worn out
anu good ior nothing except to torture me-
lhs animal would frequently tip me over its
head Of its own accord but not being wild
enough to crafty the malice Of the Indians,
the chief would sometimes shake the Nlexi-
| can $ seal before his eyes. The beast would
then reara and plunge in the utmost fright, and
! would l~ thrown upon the ground with
! great Violence. | have been tossed from the
mule $ back as many as half dozen times a
ony, and once was so stunned that lay Il
! cnhsldcrabe time before my senses returned.
My repeated falls greatly amused the Indians
whose horrid reals of laughter might have
been l'ardn II great distance.
never saw them exhibit the first sign of
/ pity towards me. 1t made NJ difference how
/ badly was hurt, If did not rise ilnmediatc-
~ and mount the animal which had Just
thrown me, they would apply their riding
wlils. or gun sticks or the end Of IL lariut, to
my unprotected body with the greatest yio-
lence. The squaw would also helpm to rise
/ iy wounding me with the point of II spear
which She carried You may understand one
object the Indians had in view in putting me
upon this wild animal and causing me to be
thrown 80 often, when tell You | expected
to become mother in few weeks. They
understood my situation, but instead of soft
enin;s their hearts It only made them more in
human, and subjected me to greater sulerings.
was obliged to work like slave while in
camp; while there was any service to per-
form, was not allowed IL moments rest -
was compelled to carry large loads of wood
on my back. which being destitute of fsuihcent
clothing. was munged till the blood ran down
to my feet. had to chase the animals
through hriars and bushes, until what little
clothing | had was torn into ribbons
brought the animals to camp in the morning.
and had to watch them until they were ready
to start and if one more wild than the rest
ran off, must chase and bring him back and
then be knocked down bv the savage clirf for
my want oi skill. When all were ready to
start had to catch and saddle my own wild
mule, without assistance. If the party did
not start Immediately, was compelled to pull
at the end of the lariat which the Indians
would iastrn to Il bush They seemed to
study every method Of putting me 10 death by
piece meal.
Exhausted by inccssant toll and suffering
and extreme anguish from my wounds, could
not work rs fast as the Indians desired dnd
often scarcely able to stand and hardly know
ing what was doing. | hay been required
to do the work of the strongest man. And
because of my inability to accomplish my
task satisfactorily, have been whipped un-
til my flesh was raw. Large stones were
thrown at me. was knocked down and
stamped upon by the frocous chief, who
seemed anxious to crush me like worm be-
meath hsir My head sometimes fell some
times under the .horses feet, and the In
dians would try to make the beasts kick me
After all was ready for the days journey,
was obliged to travel us fast the others
riding sometimes over rocks and through
bushes, aching and sore from head to foot
and exposed alike to cold and heat, sunshine
and storm.
have gone two days at time without
tasting food The Indians depended on hunt
ing for their subsistence, and sometimes had
.nothing To eat themsclyes-unless there was
an abundance of food, rccrivtd little or
nothing--when any game was killed, the In
dians would tear out the heart, liver, and en-
trails, and cnt them raw. suffered exceed
ingly from thirst | was not allowed to drink
except while in camp. We frequently cross
ed beautiful streams during the day, and |
would beg the privilege Of dismonntmg To-
quench my thirst But the Indians would
always deny my request with contempt. 1t
, sin vain lponted to my parched tongue and
, head blistcrcd in the rays Of the sun Moth
ing could soften them into pity, and | ar-
. IDENTIFY desired death that my torments might
. come T. an end.
Every indignity was offered To- nv person
which the imagnation'can conceive And
am at loss to know how have lived through
the bar aIoyS treatment which was inflicted
, upon me, Frequently my feelings were 81
F.. outraged that | was tempted to kill my inhu-
man masters. Nv Indignation burned lar.
! ucularly against the chief; and thought if
=. could only eat him L. pieces | could die con
, tent.
We Travelled every day-wc usually started
, about 10 o'clock in the morning and halted
about four IN the afternoon. The Indians were
accustomed to 90 To the Jopof the highest
hills and stand there gazing in every direction
We always spent the night on hill and wcr,
5 thus exposed to tie cold autumn winds ",
, slept on tn" ground, generally without cover
t ing " hen it nincd the Indians made II tent
of the blankets and wagon sheet they had
stolen irnm Us, hut | was not allowed to- tax,
, shelter in it-l preferred sleeping outside il
D.. the storm.