New Orleans daily crescent., 1857-12-21
Providentia,l .Escape. q

now to contend, pursued vastly different mode oil
warfare from that which he had recently fought and
need in the commander Of such an expedition, than
the orthodox skill Of military chief It was highly
necessary to be constantly upon the alert to prevent
surprise and 70 guard against the Vaccinations o1
his crafty foe, he organized several corps OF spies
composed Of some Of the most efficient and expert
enced woodmen and Indian hunters which the from.
tiers afforded. The command Of these companies
was given 70 such as were distinguished for their in
merted and obtained this honor, was Captain lillian
Wells, who had been taken prisoner BY the Indians
while child, and brought up under their tutelage
until he arrived At maturity. He had been engaged
in the action with St. Clair and commanded q select
body of the enemy who were stationed opposite the
artillery, and did fearful execution among the can
noneers Feeling assured after that event, that the
whites would take bloody revenge, and anticipating
their ultimate in the contest he left the In
dians and joined Wayne's army. His knowledge Of
the country, Of the Indian language, and, above all
Of their habits and mode Of fighting, pointing him
out a. an efficient and valuable scout. Among his
men was one by the name of Henry Miller, who like
wse had served an apprenticeship with the Indians
but had escaped, leaving bis younger brother Chris
topher who had refused to 1y-in their hands. The
corps of Captain Wells performed many deeds Of valor
highin the estimation the commander and excited
against him the impacable hostility Of the Indians.
On one occasion he was directed by Wayne to
bring in an Indian prisoner. Selecting few Of his
and secretly they proceeded through the Indian
try hoping TO surprise struggling party but met
none with whom they could cope, until they reached
the Anglase river, on the banks Of which they dis
covered Indian sign. Searching carefully in the
neighborhood, they came upon party Of three In
disns, who were gathered about small fire, cooking
venison. They had judiciously selected their camp,
having located it on the apex Of small knoll, or
| mound, which was cleared Of underbrush, and gave
them free and uninterrupted view Of the goods
around them thus rendering it difficult to approach
without being discovered Wells, Miller and McClel-
Ian reconnoitred their position and in doing so, dis
covered fallen tree on one side OF their camp, which
afforded the only cover within rifle distance Of them
| It was delicate affair to gain the shelter of its
branches without being SEEN which would have frus-
trated their design, Wells determined to attempt it,
however; and, dismounting and trying their horses,
they commenced to creep on all fours in zigzag
direction, taking advantage Of every inequality Of
ground every shrub and rock, to shelter and conceal
their approach. In this manner after much exertion
they reached the tree and for the time were covered
by Its branches. Here they arranged their plan, and
prepared for its execution. One Of the Indians was
on his hands and knees, mending the fire another
was seated opposite to him, engaged in conversation
with the third, whe was standing in front of the fire.
and between the Others. All appeared to be in the
best spirits in anticipation of their meal and little
dreamed of the proximity of danger.
1t was arranged that Wells and Miller were to shoot
the two on either side Of the fire, while Mcclellan,
who was as fleet as deer was to charge through the
recover from his first surprise Resting their rifles on
the trunk Of the tree they aimed at the hearts Of their
foes, and in q moment more two reports awoke the
echoes Of the surrounding forest and Mcclellan was
bounding at bis utmost speed toward the camp.
Two of the redskins fell dead while the third, dis
covering the rapid approach Of the intrepid hunter,
dropped his rife, which be had not time to use, and
fed towards the river, which, at the point where he
approached it, had banks twenty feet in height.
Mcclellan at his heels however, followed by the
Others Of the party. There was no opportunity to
DOUBLE and the Indian forced to leap off into the
mud and water below. Here he stuck fast, founder
ing and trying to get out Mcclellan, discovering his
situation, sprang upon him. and, as the other drew his
knife, he raised his tonahawk, and threatened him
with instant death unless he surrendered The rest
OF the party appearing on the bank above the Indian
found his escape hopeless, and yielded himself pri-
soner After considerable exertion, they managed to
drag both out Of the mre and bound their prize who
proved sulky and refused to speak either in the Eng
lish OR Indian tongue. In washing the mud off his
person. they discovered that he white man, but
they could learn nothing of his history, he still
| fused to speak. Miller, thinking it might be his
brother, whom he had left among the Indians, rode
up alongside of him and called him by his Indian
4 name.
4 The effect was instantaneous. He started, turned
toward his brother, and eagerly demanded in the In
4 dian tongue, how he came to know his name. The
other easily explained the mystery and the brothers
4 were locked in each others arms the next moment
Their prisoner WAS, indeed, Christopher Miller who
by of those provdental occurrences by which the
white man seems to be protected from danger while
the red manis ated to extinction had escaped instant
death, perhaps, at the hands of his own brother
Had his situation in camp been differentiated he
been either side Of the fire. instead of in the center
Of the group his death had been inevitable. After
scapng the two dead Indians, the party returned tc
headquarters with their prisoner and he was ordered
tobe confined in the guard-house by Wayne, who in
terrogated him in regard to the intentions of the In
dams. He remainedf for some time suky and reserved
notwithstanding the efforts of Captain Wells and biz
t,nrI ,ttrlt nt,
and return to civilized life. Upon being released un
conditionally, he acquiesced, and, joining Wells
company served faithfully during the rest Of ths
campaign.
GETTING IN BY CoUNT.-Horn's minstrels wer,
1 performing at Springfield, and "a large party heart