Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1886-07-09

body of Capt. Moore, and wrapping
it in a saddle blanket, they buried
it at the spot where he fell. His
death was much regretted. He was
a christian, a patriot, and Il brave
man. In the memorable battle of
Guilford, he commanded one Of the
companies of the Virginia rifemen
with great credit.
4 short time after the Indians
reached their towns with the cap
tives, war party Of Cherokees
halted there on their return from
an attack on some of the settlements
in Pennsylvania, in which they had
been unsuccessful, and had lost
some of their party. They laid a
plan to avenge their loss, by muir
dering these captives. TO accom-
plish this, they commenced a drunk
en- frolic, taking care to get the
Slhwnees dead drunk, but to keep
i'm some measure sober themselves.
They then accomplished their pur
pose, when those to whom the cap
tives belonged were unable to pro-
tect them, Mrs. Moore and Jane
were massacred. Polly Moore and
Martha Evans escaped through the
timely care of the squaws belong
ing to the families into which they
had been adopted. When the
drinking commenced they suspect
ed the design; and secretly got
these two of, and carefully secreted
them in a thicket two or three miles
from the towns, until the Chero-
KEGS were gone. When they were
brought back, Polly was shown, in
pile of ashes, the half burnt bones
of her mother and sister. Whether
they had been put to the torture,
or whether they had been toma-
hawked, and then burnt, she never
ascertained certainly. The former
is the more probable. With an In
dian hoe she dug a hole, and gath
cred the bones ont of the ashes as
well as she could ; and having COW
cred them, rolled a stone over them.
She was at the time in the tenth
year of her age, an orphan, and an
orphan amongst sayages. Her COM
forts were her fellow captive and a
copy of the New Testament which
she had. Her parents were piOus.
They had taught her to love and
value the Bible. When the Indians
we're setting fire to the furniture
which they had taken from her
fathers house, and which they had
gathered into a pile in the yard,
she saw her copy OF the New Tesla
ment in it, and stepped up 10 the
pile and took it, and put thunder her
arm. This she carefully preserved,
and the old chief into whose family
she had been adopted, often called
her to him to read, although he
could not understand a word of
what he heard. lie was kind to
her.
In the latter part Of the following
autumn, detachment OF American
troops attacked and destroyed the
Indians towns and burning up
their whole stock of winter prOvis-
ions, reduced them to state off
treme want. AS soon as they could
the Indians set off for Detroit. In
the journey they encountered great
hardships. The country was an
unbroken wilderness, the snow
often knee deep, the weather cold,
and the game very scarce. Their
principal food was the harkberries.
They cut the trees down, gathered
the berries, and after breaking them
in their mOrtars, made broth Of
them. In the hardships of this
journey, the captives had their full
share, Sometime about the middle
of the winter, they reached De-
troit; and early in March, Martha
was sold, and about the same time
Polly was sold, in a drinking spell,
for a keg of rum, to a man by the
name of Stogwell-an American by
birth, but al unprinclpled mana
tory, and an unfeeling wretch
Whilst living with him, her suffer
ings were greater than whilst with
/ the Indians.
In one OF Mr.. AriOme's trading
excursions, James who was with
him, met with a Shawnee Indian
whom he had known whilst cap
tive, who informed him of the ruin
of his fathers family; and late in
the winter after Polly had been pur-
chased by Stogwell, he learned
where she was. The following
spring Stogwell removed to the
neighborhood in which Mr.. AriOme
lived and James and his sister met.
Tie writer OF This narrative, when
he WAS lad, has often heard them
talk over the >crnrs Ol that meet
ing. What lhcir feelings were, the
reader must conjecture. James
lodscd i complaint against Stog-
well for the cruel treatment OF his
sister, With Col. Mckee, the Indian
agent at Drnoll; and endeavored
to obtain her release. In this he
was unsuccessful, bnt it was decid-
/ ed that as soon as an opportunity
should offer for her return to Nir-
ginia, she should be given up with
outany ransom; and StOgwell, from
motives of policy, became less Sc