Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1866-11-17
Thirty Years Captivity among the Indians.

hamlet of two or three hundred persons, a
young woman might have been seen, one sui
try day in August, accompanied by little
boy iivc years old, vending her way toward a
grove in the neighboring town of Blucku,an,
Tor the purpose OF engaging in the then com
mon pustimo Of picking berries. The Young
woman after toilng away for while, became
annoyed with the ccaselcss opportunities Of
the child, and sent him home. She thought
nothing more OF the matter until upon her re-
turn in the evening, she was surprised to find
that the boy had not returned. In rcply TO
tho queries Of the anxious parents, the girl
reI,tcd tue circumstances narrated above and
added that she knew nothing of the where
"bonts of the child Day after day passed,
and sui! the missing member Of that distract.
ca family did not return, nor could any tidinys
OF him be heard by his agomizcd parents. III
nalIy' after every searching party who went
out to lind the missing one had returned and
reported their mission fruitlcss, and after all
hope OF ever seeing their darling Loy again
had vanished from the unds Of the afflicted
parents, suspicion began to fi,stcn upon tho
young woman, who was servant in the fam
NY. She again asserted her Innocence and
stated that she knew nothin. of the missing
BOY troh the time she had sent him home
wafd In spite uf her protcstntions however,
she was arrested for the murder of the boy.
and II :arccratcd in the rude lockup which
had been erected by the early settlers Here
she was kept Tor 4 time, till it became apm-
rent that no evidence against her could be ob-
tanned, when she was discharged from custody.
still ass r,lng her Innocence to the parents of
the chlld, who lnn"cd for some tidngs that
would dispcl the uncertainty which hung over
them like a cloud Their hopes were doomed
to disappointment, however, as nothing could
be heard Of the mis,:n" orc, and lie was final
y numbered with the dead the parents giving
up all hopes Of ever hearing from the lost bow
again
cars passed, and the little hamlet became
a large and flourishing city. The solitude
which formerly rcignod on the banks of the
Grand River was broken by the mechanic and
the artl%an, and the air rcsoundcd with the
busy hum Of industry Nearly all the old set
tiers had passed away, and another generation
succeeded them. Among the many new com
crs was son-naw Of the afflicted family,
Mr.. j. Il. Ballard, our fellow -towusran, who
was greatly surprised, a 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 hoy had grown to be a
stalwart man of 80. His countcnance had
become bron"ed by continuous exposure to the
elements, and his sinewy frame hardened by
repeated adventures in the Western wills-
tle stated that lie had but dim recollection
OF his former home, but wildly remembered
the time when two stalwa,t forms with rcd
visagcs crossed his path, snatchetl him up in
their arms, and carried him off amidst the
pltcous cries of his loving mother Since that
t'mc nc has been constantly with the Indians
-loinod them in their hunting expeditions,
ana followed their trail us they iourncycd to-
ward the setting sun. lie learned to speak
the language of the Pottawatames for thu,
was the name OF the tribe with whom the
greater part Of his lie had been sper,t--and
III answer to his repeated inquiries, his cap
tors told HIM they had stolen him from jack
son county, and that his name was Wicy.-
lhc Indians ronfoundcd this name with kily
wh,ch Is the real maze of his father MI
ballard went in quest of the missing one. and
upon arriving ut the place where he had bcon
making inquiries, was told that he had gone
away, but woa!d return III a few days, when
he will proceed to he home of his aged pa-
rents to make glad the hearts of an afflicted
father and mother Truly, Truth il stranger
"'i h'''o"' -"nrHSoH NilCH. } C1tittH.
<~
WANT OF DECISION Sidney Smith says
great deal of talent is lost to the world for
the want of little courage. Every day sends
to their graves a number of obscure men, who
nave only remained in obscurity because their
tlmldlty had prevented them from making
l,rst effort, and who, if they had only been in
duccd to begin, would in all probability have
gone great lengths in the career of fame. The
TACT IS, that in doing anything in the world
worth dong, we must not stand shiverinc on
the bank, thinking of the cold and danger
but jump nnnd scramble through as well ny
we can will not do to be pcrpetually cal
c,u!iating risks and adjusting nice chances it
did well before the flood, when a man could
consult his friends upon an intended pubica-