The Republican journal., 1871-11-09

mltted letters to be sent away from the
tort without first having been read by the
factor, and that if undertook to send the
letter the LADY had given me, it would not
only be confiscated. but would Get me
into very serious trouble / had, how
ever promised that l would forward the
letter to its destination, and determined
to do so. Several months passed away
before an opportunity presented itself to
fulfill my trust. In company with several
others, | was sent down to Vancouver
island for supplies, and finding, on our
arrival, one. of the Companys ships on
the eve Of sailing for Europe, | made the
acquaintance of one of the crew, and be-
coming convinced that he could be trust
| ed, gave him the letter, with instructions
to post it upon arriving in England.
returned to the fort and continued my
routine Of duties, frequently catching
| glmpses of the lady, but never getting an
| opportunity to address a single word to
! her for the old Scotcnman never, for a
single moment, relaxed his vigilance.
At first, | thought | could observe q
brighter look in the tace of the poor girl,
as if hope was tanning her heart, and
lmparting more strength to her body.
| This continued for more than year; and
! then, as month after month rolled away,
could detect a redness about her eyes,
which indicated that she had begun to
lose her grasp upon the anchor, grow
respondent, and gave way to tears. Two
years and q half had marked their events
( in the worlds history since the letter had
been intrusted to my hands, when infor-
nation was brought to the fort by the
Indians that Il ship had entered the Sound.
| The arrival Of a vessel was an event of
\ so rare an occurrence that it attracted q
great deal Of attention. Rival traders
were looked upon by the Hudson Bay Com
pany pretty much in the same light that
other people regarded thieves, and the
factors generally treated them as game
keepers treated poachers. In the present
instance, scouts were sent out to watch
the actions Of the strangers, and to re-
port to the commander Of our fort. The
scouts, after q short absence, returned,
and reported that the vessels had dropped
her anchor at the mout. of the river, and
that those on board were making in
quiries in regard to the fort. This infor-
nation was no sooner communicated to
the factor than he ordered his canoe, and
proceeded to visit the ship.
What took place on board the ship is
also Il mystery to me, for never heard
word spoken about it, 1t is propable.
however, that the factor was kindly en-
tertained, tor on his return to the fort
noticed his footsteps were irregular, and
that his face was flushed and his eyes
heavy, as il he had been drinking pretty
.reelY.
The following day three young men
| rom the vessel visited the fort and were
entertained by the factor They claimed
70 be young gentlemen of fortune, travel
ng around the world in their own vessel,
tor no other purpose than seeing it; but
one OF them was soon found to be very
| mQuisitlye, asking questions of the en-
| ployes about the fort. the country, the
Indians, and the inclosed cottage. His
conduct was reported to the factor, who
| Dluntly informed him that his actions
were dIstastetul, and unbecoming a gem
| tleman and guest.
The arrival Of the strangers had caused
| the fair prisoner to be kept strictly con-
| fined within her enclosed cottage She
was forbidden TO take her accustomed
ride over the PRAIRIE while the old Scot
appeared to redouble his vigilance at the
! gate. Whether the factor suspected that
! the strangers would attempt to rescue his
| prisoner, or desired to keep her concealed
! from Wow, | never knew
! The vessel remained at the mouth OF
the river for several weeks, during which
| time the strangers visited the trading post
quite frequently, cultivated the acquaint-
ance Of the Indians, and endeavored to
secure their friendship. The behavior Of
the factor WAS observed, by those familiar
with him, to undergo a change. lie be-
| came nervous. suspicious and i'll at ease
! Upon one preteXt or another, he sent the
! white men away from the fort some We're
sent in one direction, some in another,
\ but all upon journeys that would require
| their absence for a number of days. In
company with two others | was directed
| to 90 to Vancouver, on the Columbia
| River. Two days after our 9departure an
accident happened which necesstated our
/ returning to the fort
! Whether the strangers had deemed the
| absence Of tilc white men from the fort as
Il fit time for them to carry their plans in
/ to execution, OF whether they had only
then natured them, and determined to
waste no more time, is something that L
cannot explain; but it matters very little.
The fact is that during ny absence an
attack had been made upon the fort by a
| party from the ship. They had gained an
entrance, had captured and secured the
! Old Scot opened the cottage gate, and
carried away the prisoner without making
any noise, or at least, not sufficient to
arouse the slumberIng inmates of the
| large inclosure. After having secured
what they had evidently come for the
party silently departed and returned to
their vessel. On getting under sail, they
released the old Scot and sent him ashore,
bidding him to be sure and apologize to
| the factor for their unceremonious de-
parture, The old guard FASTENED back,
awakened the sleeping factor and told him
what had happened. With a deep curse
he Jumped from his bed, rushed to the
door aroused every sleeping Indian about
the fort and in q very short time two or
three hundred had gathered in front
of the house. In few words he gave
them TO understand what had taken
place, and that he desired their assistance
who had carried ler away The Indians
mission to destroy the ship kill all on
board, and appropriate everything found
IN her to their own use, and that he would
SlllClu tHcul IlOlu itlI consequences. Liz
Indians were only too glad of an oppCr-
tunity to engage in such an enterprise.
Unfortunately for those on board the YES
sci, the wind had died out almost imme-
diately after the old Scot had been reeas-
ed. When the Indians reached the waters
Of the Sound the white sails of the DOOM
ed vessel We're idly tapping the mast a
short distance away. Silently, but rapid
y, the Indians approached the vessel un-
I'll they came within few hundred yards.
when they were warned to keep off; but
disregarding the warning, volley of
grapeshot was discharged among the
canoes, crushing one or two and killing
several of the Indians. Raising their bat
tle-cry and singing their war-songs, the
remainder Of the red skins were soon en-
gagged in a hand to hand combat with those
on board the ship. The contest was so
unequal that Notwithstanding the whites
fought with courage and desperation, they
We're quickly overpowered and cut down
by the invaders. At this moment the chief
factor and the Scotchman reached the yes
sci and made their way to the cabin, the
door of which thpv broke omen and dis