Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1857-04-08
INDIAN GIRL SAVING THE LIFE OF
HOWARD.

~ OAlcn repeated, or which familiar 70
every one, as the story Of Captain Smith and
POcahOntss. Thoroughly imbued with the ro-
nance Of which the Elizabethan period was so
replete, it has furnished a subject for the easel
OF the artist, the pen Of the poet, and the page
Of history, until il has become almost common
place. The life Of Smith, from its opening to
its close was a continuous romance, and 1t Is
probable that had PocahOntas' magnanimity
been exhibited in behalf Of one Of Smiths men
in place of himself, her name would never have
filed the niche il now occupies. This deduc-
ton is drawn from the fact that q similar Incl
dent, of more recent date, in which, however,
the hero was but q private soldier, had only a
local reputation, and will probably be new to
most of our readers. 1t furnishes the material
for lengthy romance, equal in point of inter-
est TO any of CoOper's or Irving's, and il is
somewhat surprising that it has not been used.
But to the story.
1t seems that at the famous defeat and rout
IT st. Clair's army. there were two young men.
belonging to the militia regiment which sustain
ed the first shock Of battle, named Howard and
FltZ GlbbOn. They were both wounded on the
retreat of the regiment to the main body How
ard had received a ball on the instep which had
disabled him from running, and Fitz Gibbon
had been struck by a tomahawk, which, al
though 1t did not seriously in jure him, yet had
the effect to stun him, and when he recovered
his senses, he found himself bound and a pris-
Oner with many others, among whom was How
ard. In this situation, they were compelled to
be eye-witnesses Of the orgies Of the savages on
their return from the pursuit Of the retreating
army. and they could readily imagine the hor-
rid fate to which they had been reserved They
had been captured by the warriors of the Mis-
sauga tribe, and when the battle was over and
the Indians returned to their horses, they were
taken to their village, where they were obliged
10 pass the ordeal of running the gauntlet, and
received the brutal treatment usual upop such
Thav han a1 90 a
in adjoining the council house, where they were
left TO darkness and their own sad forebodings
The council met on the eve Of their return to
deliberate upon the fate Of their captiyes and
the decision was unanimous that they must die
at the stake The tribe had lost many braves,
whose spirits could not enter the happy hunting
grounds unless accompanied by the ghosts Of
white men, slain TO ayenge them, and when
Sish-te- yong-tsh, their chief, asked What
say the Missauga braves; shall the white man
die!' There was an universal ugh and their
fate was sealed
On the following morning preparations were
made to carry out the decision of the Council,
and at an early hour, the entire population of
the town might be seen coming from all direc-
tiOns, and centering about the foot of a gigantic
pin-Oak, which had been cleared Of its lower
branches, and otherwise prepared for the part
IT was to perform In the coming ceremony.
There were old men and maidens, young men
and matrOnly squaws, incipient warriors in
their gaudy paint, and old men with whitened
locks and tOttering limbs, all gathering about
the fatal tree to take part in the sacrifice to the
names Of their friends. At length the prison.
ers were brought forth-twO sturdy, brave and
fearless youth, whose span of life had not
reached twenty summers. They were pre-
pared for death by being stripped of all their
clothing except a cloth about their loins and
were conducted bytSo warriors while others
formed a circle about them, with arms in their
hands. ready 70 strike them down in case Of an
attempt 70 escape.
As they entered the circle which surrounded
the tree the human wall closed in and shut of
every chance and hope Of fight or rescue and
the victims looked around upon that assemb-
Iage IN vain 10 discover the least spark Of feel
ing or sympathy for their fate. Howard was
the first selected for the ordeal Feeling that
no effort of his own could save his life and that
the only way to shorten his own suffering was
70 submit in silence to his fate, he allowed no
sign TO escape him, no useless pleading in vain
repining TO add to his enemies triumph; but
with a stOicism which would have done credit
70 an older and more experienced warrior, he
permitted the savages 10 bind him with his
back 70 the fatal tree His arms were drawn
behind him, thong passed around them at the
elbow, and tied securely, while his feet were
fastened In such q manner to the roots as to pre-
vent all power Of motion except to his head
this was left free. When thus prepared, the
n,
standing at q little distance, made a mark of
his head, at which they threw their tomahawks,
endeavoring TO see how near il they could strike
without hitting 1T, with the object of intimidat-
ing their victim, and wringing from his tortured
spirit some evidence Of fear or cowardice Not
muscle quiyered, however, under this severe
test OF his courage, and then came the old
squaEs, who stuck his flesh full of splinters,
gashed him with knives, and adopted every
diabOlical device which their ingenuity could
invent 70 torture without killing him and
finally. u close the scene, several Indians ap-
preached with flaming brands TO light the fune-
raj pile.
Already had the greedy flames caught the
dry iaggOts which surrounded the victim and
were curling upward in serpentine wreaths,
when light aud graceful form was seen to dart
from the circle of dusky figures, throw itself
upon the burning heap, and encircle within its
arms the neck Of the young man. Twas 0o-na
letah, the darling sister of the chief. Struck
with sympathy for the sufferings she had wit
messed, and horrifed at the inhumanity exhibit
Ell by those about her, she nobly determined
to save the prisoners or perish herself. The
chief, astOnlshed at this unexpected interpOsi-
ton, and horror stricken at the dangerous situ-
alton OF his sister, was for the moment power
les the next, he was dashing the faggots right
AM left, extinguishing the tames which had
caught her robes in their greedy embrace, and
endeay0ring 70 tear her from her hold-but in
vain. In the most pathetic tone, she begged
the life Of the pale-faced youth. She plead with
her brother for his sympathy; she expostulated
and appealed to the warriors who surrounded
her 10 spare the victims as they would be spared
Is well might she appeal to the stern rock,
or the spark-yivi steel, and il was not until
she had offered her entire wealth Of furs and a
sum Of money, that she induced them to forego
their savage purpose and free the prisoners
from their impending fate. They were not
allowed their liberty even then, but were
adopted into the families Of those who had lost
their relatives, and remained in captivity until
the treaty Of Greenville freed all prisoners in
The hands Of the Indians. The act is not
the less worthy Of praise. however. and her
name should be ranked with the brightest on
history page, and associated with Pocahontas
nd others, whose deeds have proved that the
EHhe'I feelings Of woman's nature are sometimes
hn.r among the forests wild as well as in the
hearts VI cities
saw, Ti,erSi MIBows-The w New York Mirror