The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1872-06-01

but, after running great risk, by putting
himself within the power of Tory,
whose chief excellence seems to have been
the possession of most kind and fearless
wife, he was so lucky as to find a canoe,
OF which he took charge, and in which
he made good headway towards home,
Until, in one of the narrow passes of
Champlsin, the British Notifications on
both sides forced him to leave his vessel
and take TO the woods again.
''He was without shoes, food, or gun,
and had to find his way to Albany,
through an unknown wilderness, along
the Vermont shore. For four days he
lived on birch-bark. Then he caught q
few fish, and managed also to secure a
wild duck. The fish and duck he ate
raw. Thus he labored on during ten
days. His feet, meanwhile, had become
so badly cut, and so intolerably sore, that
he could scarce crawl, and swarms of
mosquitoes made every moment of rest q
moment of misery. While thus wretched
and worn out, he was bitten upon the calf
of the leg by a rattlesnake. And what
did this young hero do then! Yield and
die I Not he. With one stroke of his
Jack-knife he laid his leg open, producing
plenteous flow of blood, and with
another slew the poissRous reptile. And
then came day or two of such experts
ence as few meet with in this life. Sam
mons, worn TO a skeleton, with feet rag
ged from wear and tear-his leg wounded,
and not soul within twenty miles to
hoin-iov fhara ,,DAor ho ,x,ho he
had been bitten, little fire burning by
him, which he had kindled by the aid of
dry fungus, living on the rattlesrake
which he had slain. He eat the heart
and fat first, and felt strengthened by the
repast. There he lay, under that log,
for three days-patient and surgeon, sick
man, hunter, cock, and nurse, all in one.
On the third day bis snake was nearly
picked to the bones, and he was too weak
10 fetch wood to cook the remainder.
jacob made up his mind that death could
not be postponed; and having already
shown how little division of labor was
needed in such cases, determined 10 essay
one more office, and with his knife pro-
ceeded to carve his epitaph on the log by
his side. Bat God was not far off from
that brave man. He fell asleep, and
strength from unknown sources flowed
into his limbs. On the fourth day he
rose refreshed, and having made sandles
of his hat and waistcoat, proceeded to
hObbie on his way once more, taking with
him, as stores. the unconsumed portion of
his snake That night, agais, he was
comforteG, being assured, by some means
unknown TO him, that he was near fellow
men Rising with this faith, he strug-
gled on till the afternoon, when he reached
n house and was safe. It was the 2Sth
of June, 1880. Such were the fortunes
of Jacob Sammons.
His brother Frederick was less fortu-
nate. He had made many efforts, to no
purpose, to find Jacob, who, when he fell,
would not permit Frederick to stop and
help him, and in seeking him had run
many risks. At length be crossed the
Sorel killed an OK; made some jerked
beef and for seven days travelled along
the eastern shore Of the Champlain with
out ill.luck. But on the morning of the
eighth day he awoke sick pleurisy was
upon him-a fever in his veins-pain in
every limb. 1t began to rain also, and
there he lay, this other young hero, not
Tar from his brother, who at that very
moment, in that very neighborhood, was
nursing his ra.tlesnake bite-there he lay,
knowing not that any ono was near him,
for three days, on the earth, in the sum-
mer rain, and his blood all on fire For
three days, ne say, he lay thus helpless
On the fourth day he was better, and
tried to eat little of his beef, but it was
spoiled. He managed, however, to crawl
to frog>pond near by, put aside the green
coating OF the pool, and drink. lie caught
frogs, too, and feasted, though not a
Frenchman in any of his tastes probably
There he lay, for fourteen days and
nights; and having resigned all hope OF
life, be put his hat upon a polo, so thai
If might be seen from the lake. II was
seen by an enemy and he was found
senseless and speechless, and carried
shame on the inhuman creature that bore
him-back to his prison again. And
not to his prison only, but to the darkest
dungeon; and there for fourteen months,
in utter darkness, he lay in irons-iD irons
SO heavy and SO tight, that they ate into
the flesh of his legs, SO that the flesh
came off to the bone. Ard for fifty-six
years afterwards-for he was living IN
1S37-the wounds then made did not
heal. The British officer, whose beart
enabled him, knowing, to do this thing,
was capita in in the 32d regiment. May
God bave mercy upon his soul.
.'But Frederick's adventures were not
yet ended for neither was his captivity
over, nor hisspirit broken. In Novem-
Der. 1871, he, with others, was transfer
red TO an island above Montreal, in the
rapids of the st. Lawrence. There, as a
first step, he organized another plot for
escape, which failed, and, as a second
step, jumped, with companion, from
the islands into the rapids of the great
river Our hero and his comrade swan
for four miles through those rapids, navi