Demoine courier., 1855-08-30

A Thrilling Adventure.---LeWis and
the RattleSnake.

fiTgiutd, anu COHst3tcu VI utuS1ci, uis
wife. AMI four sons, Thomas, William,
Andrew. aid Charles. Ofihese, the
hrs, three were born in Ireland. from
whence the family came, and the last
vas a na,ivt of Virginia.
lewis was a man Of wealth anu station
Y liz Die old country, and The cause OF his
emigration 10 A merica was an attempt,
on The part of a man Of whom he hired
some properly. 10 eject him ,herefrom,
which led to an adray, in which the no.
bic landlord los, his life. Fearing, fsom
the high standing of his antagonist, the
Cooperate character OF his surviving as
sailan.s, and The want Of evidence 10
subsianiiaie his case, that bis life would
be in danger il he slaid, Lewis fed the
counry. accompanied by a patty Of his
ieRaatY, and settled in the then western
wi.ds Of Virginia.
The father appears to have been d man
Of remarkable force aud energy, and all
four OF his some rendered themselves con-
spicaGus for deeds of daring and deter
mined bravery. during the early history
OF Western Virginia, and that Of her in.
fant sister, Ohio and Kentucky, which
would require volumes 10 relate.
Charles Lewis, the hero Of my ere
sent ske,"h, was even in eatly youth,
Distinguished for those qualifications
which have rendered the class to which
he beloGged--,hs Indian fghters-so re-
markabie among men. lie was q young
nan when The lndiana commenced ,he,r
attack upon the settlement of Western
Virginia, but entered the contest with a
zeal and courage which ou,s:rIpped ma.
ny Of his Older and More boas,ful com
peers. His astonishing s.lf possession
and presence Of mind carried him safely
,hrupgh many a gallant exploit. which
has rendered his name as familiar, and
his fame as dear TO the memories Of the
descendants ofthe early settlers, as house,
hold words. Cool, calm. and collected
in ,he face oil danger, and quick. wilted
where others would be apt 10 be excited
and iremulous. he was able 10 grasp on
The instant. the p~ropiuons Tor &C
..on. aud render subsersient to his own
adssa age the most rilling incident
Ne was so nnfoytut ate On one 0cca
sion. as 10 be taken prisoner by Q party
of lEtians while on u huniIDg excursion,
Separated from his com paninns, be was
surprised aud surrounded before he wac
aware Of his danger, and when he cid
become aware OF his critical situation.
he saw low futile il was TO contend, and
how reckless and fatal i, nus, be to him
sell, should he kill one Of his antagonists.
He knew full well that the blood oil his
enemy would be washed on, in his own.
and that. too, al The stake, whereas. if he
surrendered peaccably. he stood a chance
81 being adapted by The Indians as one
Of themselves. Revolving lhese things
in his mind, he quietly delivered up his
rifle 10 his enem!es, and was lei away
By his capiors, who r%ejaicea exceedingly
over their prisoner. ~Bareheaded, with
his arms bound tightly behind him. with
outa coat. and bare foo,ed. he was driven
forward some 200 miles toward The In
dian towns, his inhnman capiors urging
him on, when he Jagged. with their knives
and 'aun.lngly reminding him Of The ,ri
ais which awaited him at she end of ihe
Journey. Nothing daunted, however. by
their threats and menaces, he marched
Oh in the weary path which lod him
further and further from his friends, per-
fec,ly traclab!e, so far as his body wac
concerned, but constantly busv in his
mind with schemes of escape. He bijeI
his time. and a, length the wished for
moment zane
As the distance from the white settle
ments increased, the vigilauce Of the In
dams relaxed. and his hopes increased.
As the party passed along the edge of a
precipice some twenty feet high, at the
foo, Of which ran a mountain torrent, he.
by a powerful effort, broke the cords
which bound his arms. and made The
leap. rhe Indians, whose aim was to
take him alive, followed him, and then
commenced a race for life and liberty,
which was rendered The more exciting
by the fact thai his pursuers were close
upon him. But such was not their de-
sire, u on, on. he sped, now buoyed
up by hope as his recent cap,ors were
lost 10 sight. and anon despairing of sue
cess as he crossed an open space which
N M
showed them almos, a, his heels. A,
length. taking advantage Of a ,hicke,
through which he passed and which hid
him IRON their sight Tor a moment, he
dar,ei sside aud essay ed TO leap a fallen
tree which lay across his path.
Vhe tangled underbfush and reeds
which grew .hickly around aud almos,
covered the deeaying trunk, ,ripped him
as he !sapesl. and he fell with consider.
able force on The opposite side. For an
instant he was SO stunned by the fall az
10 lose his consciousness, bu. coon re-
covered it 10 find that The Indians were
actively searching every nook in his i'm
mediate vicinity. and thai he had fallen
almost directly upon a large ratlesnake.
which had thrown itself into the deadly
coil SO near bis face :hat'his iargs were
within a few inches Of his nose.
Is il possible for the mos, vived imapi
nation to conceive of a more horrible and
terrifying si,ua,ion' The 2ursui, of his
now highly sxasperaled and sevsge enc.
mics. who ,hirsiec for his recap,ure, that
thew mioht wreak rror h;~. a.c.,