The Shasta courier., 1866-12-01
Thirty Years Captivity Among the In
dams.

Thirty years ago, when jackson was lit
tie hamlet of two or three hundred persons,
young woman might have been seen, one
sultry day in August, accompanied by a
little boy five years old, vending her way
towards grove in the neighboring town of
blackman, for the purpose of engaging in
the then common pastime of picking berries
The young woman after toiling away for
while, became annoyed with the ceaseless
opportunities of the child, and sent him
home. She thought nothing more of the
matter till, upon her return in the evening,
she was surprised to find that the boy had
not returned. In reply to the queries of
the anxious parents the girl related the cir
cumstances narrated above. and added that
she knew nothing Of the whereabouts of the
child Day after day passed, and still the
missing member of that distracted family
dld not return, nor could any tidings of
him be heard by his agOnized parents
Finally, after every searching party who
went u1t To lind the missing one, hal re
turned and reported their mission fruitless.
and after all hope of ever seeing their darling
boy again had vanished from the minds of
the ali .c;eI parents, suspicion began to fasten
upon tie young woman, who was Il servant
in the family. She again asserted her limo
ceGcc, and stated that she knew nothing of
the missing boy from the time she had sent
him homeward. In site of her protesta-
tioas, however. she was arrested for the
murder of the boy and incarcerated in the
rude lock up which had been erected by the
early settlers. Here she was kept for a
time, till 1t became apparent that no evi.
dcnce against her could be obtained. when
she was discharged from custody. still as.
serting her innocence to the parents of the
child who longcd for some tidinps that
would disrel the uncertainty which hung over
them like cloud. Their hopes We're doom
ed to disappointment, however, as nothing
could be heard of the missing one. and he
was finally numbered with the dead, the
parents giving up all hope of ever hearing
from their lost boy again.
Years passed, and the little hamlet became
large and hourishing city. The solitude
which formerly reigned on the banks of the
Grand River was broken by the mechanic
and the artisan, and the busy hum of indus
try. Nearly all the old settlers had passed
away, and another generation succeeded
them. Among The many new comers was a
son in law of the afflicted family, Mr.. J. Il.
Ballard, our fellow townsman, who was
greatly surprised, few days since, to learn
that the boy who had long been numbered
with the dead had arrived in the southern
part Of this State and was making inquiries
after his family. The boy had grown to be
a s;alwart man of thirty five His counte-
nance had become bronzed by continuous
exposure to the elements, and his sinewy
frame hardened by repeated adventures in
the Western wilds. He stated that he had
but a dim recollection of his former home,
but vlvldly rememb bered the time when two
stlwart forms with red visages crossed his
path snatched him up in their arms, and
carried him off amidst his piteous cries for
his loving mother Since that time he has
been constantly with the Indians-joined
them IN their hunting expeditions, and fol-
lowed their trail as they journeyed toward
the setting sun. He learned to speak the
language Of the Pottawatomies for that was
the name OF the tribe with whom the great
er part of his life had been spent-and in
answer to bis repeated inquiries, his captors
told him that they had stolen him from Jack
son county, and that his name Was Wiley
The Indians confounded this name with
FlIly, which is the real name of his father.
MI. Ballard went in quest Of the missing
one, and upon arriving at the place where
he had been making inquiries, was told that
he had gone away, but would return in
few days, when he vii! proceed to the home
OF his aged parents, to make glad the hearts
of an afflicted father and mother Truly,
" Truth is stranger than fiction. ."-Jackson,
(Mch.) Citizen.