Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1890-09-09

not "a be- thought of. llis comrades
therefore, built q small fort or palisad'
cabin at the edge of the water. and her'
the sick man WAS left In care Of the doc
tor, together With guard of seven men
with their commander, Sergeant Woods
The rcst, now reduced to thlrty-four
continued their march through the for
eat northeastwari toward Peauawket
while the savage heights of the Whlts
Mountains, still covered with snow, ro.'
above th. dismal, bare forests on theiI
left. They crossed the ssco just below tlis
site Of fryeburg. aud In the night OF
MAY :, as they lay In the woods near the
north end of iyoyewell's Pond, the men on
guard heard sound. like Indians prowline
about thcm. h daybrcak the nexi
morning, as they stood bsr-beadcd,
listening to q prayer from the young
chaplain, they heard the rrpor'
~ q gun. and soon after discovered an
Indian on the shorr of'tbe pond at con-
siderabl. distance. Apparently b. VA.
shooting ducks, but Lo,ewell, su.pccting
q device a. lur- them Into an ambuscatis,
asked the men whether they were Tor
pushing forward, or falling back. and
With on. ,Olc. they called upon him "a
lead them on. They were then In piece
of oten pine wood. tra,ersei by small
brook. lie ordered them to lay down
their pack. aud advance With extreme
caution. They hal moved forward
about mile, when they met an Indian
coming toward them through the dense
trres and bushes. lie no sooner saw
them than u. firr,l at the leading men.
IIi. gun WAS charged with beaver shot,
bat be- va. az near hl. mark that the
effect was equal Ia that ~ Q bullet, and
he .e,erIy wounded Iyo,cwell aud . man
namc,i Whiting. on which seth Wym,n
.ho, him dead, and the chaplain and an'
other man .calpcd him. l.o,ewell,
though believed to b. morally hurt, wa'
.tIlI able to walk .and the party fell back "a
the place whsr, they had left their packs.
The pack. hail disappeared, aud sudden
IN, with frightful yrll., the whole body
of the Ieluawkrt warrior. rushed from
their hlding-place., flring ss they adNanc-
ei. IN. survivor. say that they were
more than twice the number of the
whites, which I. probably an exaggcra.
tIon, though their conduct, .o unusual
With Indians, In rushing forward instead
II fifing from their ambush shows q re-
narkable confidence In their numer.
ical strength. They no doubt exPccie
90 strike their enemle. with panic
to,.welI received another mortal wound,
bat d. fired mor- than once ou th" In
dian. a. h. lay diving. lIl. two lleutsn-
ant, ,Farwrll and Robbins, were also bad
In hurt. Eight other. fell, but the rrs,
stood their ground and pushed the In
dian. .o har,i that they drove them back
90 cover with heavy lo... one man
plsyci the coward. ilenjamln Iias.sll 81
PUNISHABLE, Who ran Oh, escaped In the
conf. .lon, aud mad. with hi. best speed
for IN. fort AZ Lake O.slpec.
The situation of the party va. de.per-
ate, and nothing sayci thcm from de-
struction bat the prompt action ~ their
surviving officers, only one ~ whom.
Ensign Wyman, had e.capei unhurt. u
an. probably under hi. direction that
IN. men fell back steadily "a the shore
of the pond. which was only few rods
distant. Herr the water protected their
rear 40 that they could not be surround
.d and now followed one ~ the most OBJ
.tinat. aud deadly bush fights la th. an
nal. of New England. IL ~as about ~
o'clock when the light began, AMI "
lasted until night. The Indian. hal th.
greater agility aud skill la hiding ani
sheltrring Themselves, aud the whites
the greater .teadlne.s and coolness IN
using their guns. They fought Ia tho
shade. for the forest Va. dense, and all
alike covered themselves az they be.'
could behind trcc., busbe. or fallen
trunks, where each man crouchei Win
eve. aud mind intent, hring whenever
be .aw, or thought d. saw, the head,
limb. ar body of an enemy exposed Va
.lght for an Instant. The Indians howl.
I'll like wolves, yell.d like cnrag~i
cougars, aud made the forest ring with
their whoop., while the whites replied
With shouts and cheers. NJ Que time
the Indian. ceased firing and drew bach
among IN. tree. aud undergrowth
where, by the noise they made, they
...med to b. holding a"pow-wow
or incantstion to procure victory
but ia. Keen aud fearless seth Wynsr
cr,pt up among the bushes, sho'
tb. chief conluror. aud broke up th'
meeting. About the middle of the after
noon Young Frye rcceiyci morta
wound. Unable Ia fight longer, he lay 10
hi. blood, praying from time Ia TIM
for his comrades In n faint but anhio''
voice.
solomon keyes 10 iIillerica recel,~
two wounds, but fought on Gill the thirt
.bot struck him. lie ethen crawled up q
Wyman In the heat of the fight aud toll
him ,ha, he (k.yes) was q dead man, bu
tina, the Indians .hould not ge, his scalp
he could helplt. Creeping along the sand!
edge of the pond, he chancrd to hnd
stranded canoe, pushed IL ahoat, roll-'
himself into u, aud drifted away peior'
the wind.
Soon after sunset the Indian. drew OF
and left the field to their enemies, i'inS
and dead, not even stopping 10 scalp tn
faIIen-a remarkable proof of the com
pletsne.. Of their discontinue. Exhaust
Ell with fatigue aud hunger.-for, hayin'
Io.t their pack. Ia the morning, they ha'
no fooi,-th. surviving white men ei
plored the scene of the fight. Jaco'
Farrar Law gasplng his last by the edg
of the water. Robert Usber aud Lieut.
Robb,n. we're unable To move. Of ti'
- men, nine had escaped Without 'eriou
injury. II were badly wounded, and th'
rest were dead or dying, except TN
coward who had run on.
About midnight, such .. hal strengt
Ia walk left the ground. Robbins, a. u
Law helpless, asked one OF them to loa
nj. gun. saving: .1he Indians VII
come In the morning To scalp me, an
| III kill another of 'en II ] can Ihe
loaded the gun and left HIN. :, :,
To make ones way even by dayllgh
through the snares and pitfalls OF Ne'
England forest l. often difficult task
| Il was trebly so la the gloom of nlgt
aud er.ha,iowins bough., among W
fallen tree. aud the snarl OF underbru'i
Any but the most skillful woodsme
would infsilibly have lost their va,
The Indians, slck of lighting, did nc
mole.t them. After struggling ON ~
a mile or more farweli, Frye an
two other wounded men, Josiah Jons
and Eleayer Davis, could 90 no farthel
and. with their consent, the others iel
them, with a promise 10 send them bel
"a soou ne they should reach the for
In the morning the men divided ini
several smail parties, the better To elud
pursult. One of these parties was tracl
"a for some time by the Indians, an
Eiias barron, becoming separated fro'
hls COMPANIONS, Was never heard
though the case of his gun VAS afferwAI
found by the bank OF the little NV
Osslpee.
ed the fort, and to their amafemel