Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1875-05-01
A STORY OF THE WEST.
Horrible TOrtures Inflicted Upon n Captiv,
by the COmanches.

by the COmanches.
A young Texan, who was captured by
the Comanche Indians, about a year ago,
gives the following account of his expe-
riences:
l was trying to get five beef steers
back to the herd, early one morning last
May, when I was surrounded by about
twenty-five Comanche Indians, and taken
prisoner. This happened near sunrise.
was tied on my horse, and carried some
thirty miles that day. At night we ar
rived at some sort of camp, where we
joined fifty more Indians, and I found
they had another white man prisoner.
I was not allowed to speak with this
man, but I could see from the blood ON
his face and clothes that he was
wounded.
AS soon as the Indians had kindled a
fire and eaten some meat, they began to
torture this second prisoner, though for
what reason | have never learned. They
beat him with cartridge-box strap with
a large buckle on the end of it. after
stripping him of his clothes. They cut
gashes on him with knives They saw
ed off his thumbs with an old cavalry
saber, and mashed his toes between a
rock and the butt end of carbine. After
gouging out some of his teeth with a
bayonet, and sticking cactus thorns in
his flesh, they poured powder in his
ears and burnt it. All this time the man
did pot complain or cry out, as he prob
ably expected, by his fortitude, to in
duce the indians to spare his life.
But in this he was mistaken, for they,
finding that he did not complain at all
these tortures, began to cut pieces of
flesh out of his legs and back and eat
them; or, at least, pretend to eat-I
think they only chewed up the flesh and
spit it out. Seeing that all of his torture
did not make him cry out for he had
fainted) the chief stepped up with
sharp knife and cut out one of his eyes,
and put live coal of fire in the socket.
and then put an end to his life with a
knife.
The Indians then had a grand dance.
/ was tied to small tree. I had no wa
ter or anything to eat for thirty-six
hours. The next day, about midday,
the party moved in q northwest course.
travelling about twenty miles, and after
this we moved in a northwest course
about three hundred miles, where we
met several large parties of Indians,
some of whom had been on raids in
northern Texas. [ remained in that sec
tion of the country with the Comanches
and was kept employed mostly herding
ponies, and sometimes dressing deer
skins and buffalo hides. My clothes
We're all taken away from me few days
after L was captured, and [ only had
pair of drawers and blanket afterward.
[ often had to eatraw venison and buffalo
meat without salt
After I had been with the Indians
some six months, they ceased to treat
me as prisoner, and I was allowed to
go some distance from the camp. ] think
it was about the first of February 7 left
them. I was herding ponies, and was
allowed to ride one of the best without
saddle. The second night I took my
buffalo robe and used it as a saddle, fill
ed sack with dried meat, and struck
out for the settlements, which I reached
toward the last of the month. I sold
my horse and buffalo robe, and collected
three months pay that was due me a
the time I was captured, and now, with
Gods help, I shall keep out of the way
of the Indians hereafter.