The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1858-08-28
A Wonderful Escape,
Irrom No sole uoa. ofm' Iale ca1l Iaa'I nea

under the command Of Major Rogers, for the
purpose Of making an attack upon the lndi-
ans al tne old town Of Chillieothe. On our
way up the river We met with no remarkable
adventure, ii we approached the mouth Of
Licking which We did about sunset Of a de-
lighthl day, We observed few Indians
standing upon o projecting sand bar, at q
point where the two streams unite, apparent
~ watching some companions iu q canoe, who
we're crossing 10 them from the opposite bank
of che smaller stream, II they saw ua there
was nothing IN their manner 20 indicate the
fact and thinking IL possible 10 take them bY
surprise, Major Rogers ordered the boats 10
be run under some bushes along the shore,
and all the men, save fye--s0me seventy in
numher-to advance cautiously through the
wood, aud completely surround the spot
where the sayages we're,
We all set of in fine spirits, thinking only
of the surprise We should give the enemy
Quietly, stohllhily, We pushed onward spread
ing out as We advanced, I'M At length We
reached and fairly enCircled the fatal spot
when, just as the order was being given 10
rush IN upon the foe, we were startled aud
thrown into the greatest confusion, los the
uprising on every side Of ~, Of s,aN1F4l,kl,.,
drcd yelling Indians,
We had been drawn into complete am
huscudc--had been taken by our enemies in
the very trap We had set for them. Instant
ly they poured IN destructive fire, aud then
fell upon us with knife aud tomahawk when
the panic on our part became fearful, and the
| slaughter tremendous Like frightened
sheep We huddicd together, aud finding our,
selves hcmmcd IN by our foes, who hcwcd us
down ns fast aS they rea,hcd uS, We turned
nt bay, aud poured back ypllcy from our
side. Then with yclls As wild aud savage "a
their own, We broke through their lines, and
rushed for our boats. But the Indians com
pretending our design, reached them before
us, and made capture of oil save one, in
which the men lell Ia charge had made their
escape Our only chance now was 10 break
their lines again, and start through the for
cat to the station Of llaUodshurgh. Favor
ed by the gathering shades Of night, some
twenty Of our whole party escaped though
hotly pursued by our blood thirsty foes.
Hut was not Of that fortunate few for ~
1 was IN the nc, Of clearing some five 81 six
Of the enemy, who barred my way 10 a dense
thicket, and Just as | had cut down q couple
Of the nearest, ball passed through my hips
shhtcring the bones. At once | fell but
luckily among some thick bushes which Ifor
the moment concealed me, aud the others
probably thinking me dead or escaped, immc.
/ diatcly dartcd Oh ia pursuit oi my Hling
. friends. | had my rifle still in my hands,
and wounded and suffering az | was, / pro-
cccdcd to load IL as ! lay on the grouud-my
only hope now being that ! should succeed
in killing one more of the Wrttshcs be-
fore terminus should be put TO m! own cN-
istcnccr
As minute after minute went by, however,
and the wells of the sayngcs grew more and
more distant, and night began to envelope
me IN her welcome pail of darkness, a new
hope sprung up ia my breast, that | might
| possibly so bccrCic myself hs To escape the
observation of The enemy altogether. Slowly
dragging myself through the bushes TO cal.
/ len tree, which las within a few feet of me, I,
with the most cNcruciating pnin crcpt under
the branches VIII eh f1li,poscd above my per-
Z 5,iTi III yii1u hgE; JgJzFsE5zg- : ii-----
Here for hours | lay, suffering ngonics OF
/ body aud mind which no language has power
To describe | dare not stir again, scarcely
/ to breathe. | heard the Indians return, and
/ | could tell by the sound. that they were go
| ing over the ground and butchcring all the
wounded they could find. About midnight,
as near rs could Judge they once more
drew off and liz their camp fires, the glimmcr-
! ing of which could family perceive through
the thick foliage which surrounded me.
Let me pass over that night Of horror IL
any one would have the faintcst idea Of what
| suffered, he must imagine himself in my sit
uation--thcrc IN the branches Of that tree
with both hips shattcrcd--surroundcd by my
dead friends--and still worse my living foes. /
!
to single groanj and at times it seemed
that nature must compel from me some cx-
preston of pain, in spite Of my utmost
will. o, il was horrible night and may
God deliver me from ever passing such an.
other.
But the end was not yet. Horrible as
that was, dreaded to see the morrow. How
could expect 70 escape the lynx eyes Of so
many savages, when they should begin TO |
beat over the ground for punder? And nt
| times the thought of this so worked upon I
my feelings that was more than once temp |
ted 10 shrek out and let my position be |
known, and thus bring upon myself the re-
lief of n speedy death, for | knew from my
disabled condition, that the Indians would .
not think of taking me prisoner, but butcher
me at once. And vet the instincts Of life .
were greater than the temp tation | speak of .
And these same instincts, by the way, seem .
wisely sent for our preservation to act when |
reason tells us that hope is lost, and we had .
better end our woes at once.
How painfully | watched the dawning Of .
the day. How eagerly and tremblingly lis
tened to every sound. At length | could .
hear the Indians astir, and soon after, they
began TO traverse the scene Of slaughter and .
gather up the arms of my companions, aud
strip their bodies of every garment. They
were hours ut their work and TO me those
hours were ages At times when some Of
them drew near the spot where lay, / felt
my heart in my very throat, and it seemed
as il should die of suiiocation. Twice a
small party of them were so close that saw
their halfnaked, hideousy painted forms
through the leaves, and once n single war
rior Stufkrd by me, Within reach of my rifle.
Up and down, and over the ground they
passed and repassed many times, till they
were evidently satisfied that none of the dead
or wounded had escaped their notice. They
then drew off in body along the bank Of
the river, where they remained for hours-in
fact, till late in the dny--when being joined
by the rest of their companions, who had
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