St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1894-07-12
Correspondence.
HANNAH DUSTAN.

The following particulars respect
ing the capture of Mrs. Elizabeth
Dustan by the Indians, and her
escape from captivity, with the
incidents connected Herewith, were
obtained from Mrs. Elizabeth Eel
lows Kimball of Peacham. Gale
donia county, Vermont. Mrs. E. F.
Kimball is a descendant of Mrs.
Dustan. the heroine Of that eventful
occasion.
Mr.. and Mrs. Dustan, with their
three children, resided in Haverhill.
Mass, on a farm about one mile
from the garrison. Mr. Dustan was
out on his farm at work when he
discovered a party of Indians APP
preaching. He Immediately return
ed to the house where his wife and
children were, hoping to secure their
escape to the garrison. At this time
Mrs. Dustan had a babe only hve
DAYS old-the day before she was un-
able to walk from the bed to the IRE.
She told her husband that she must
fall into the hands of the merciless
for she was unable to walk
to the fort. At the same time she
urged him to take the children and if
possible make his escape with them.
Mr.. Dustan and his wife both knew
that if their children were taken
by the Indians they would all have a
long captivity and great suffering,
with but little prospect Of escaping.
Mr.. Dustan Immediately started
with their children, seven in number,
for the fort, he being on horseback,
with his children on foot before him.
He was followed some distance by
two of the Indians, who fired at him
several times without effect. He re-
turned their fire, at the same time
urging on his children to a place of
safety. The Indians soon returned
to the house where the rest of their
party were engaged in plundering.
When they had accomplished this
part of their work, they ordered Mrs.
Dustan to arise from her bed and
dress herself, for she had got to go
with them. Mrs. Dustan said that
at this time she had a web of cloth
in her loom. The Indians being un-
acquainted with looms, did not
IL AO" ~ * hS 1olNA ~ IL
cloth beam and unroll the cloth from
it, so they rolled off short pieces with
their hands, cutting it off in narrow
strips.
After plundering the house of
everything they wanted they set it
on fire. They then started with
Mrs. Dustan and her infant child,
and FASTENED through the woods,
for fear of being overtaken by some
of the men from the fort. After a
short time, the Indians thinking the
infant a burden and that it might
prevent their escape, one OF their
number took it from Mrs. Dustan's
arms, and killed it by dashing its
head against a tree in sight of its
mother. They then scalped it and
hung the body up in a tree. After
witnessing this act of cruelty, Mrs.
Dustan thought she would like to be
avenged.
The Indians, ten in number. con-
tinued their journey through the
woods for FIVE days in succession,
when they camped near Concord, N.
H. Mrs. Dustan frequently remark
ed, after her return from captivity,
that she could not have endured
what she did at this trying time, had
she not been sustained by a kind
Providence.
The place where the Indians camp
ed was on an island in the Merrimac
river. They had a quantity of
liquor with them, of which they all
partook freely. One night, after a
drunken frolic they lay down and
went to sleep, leaving Mrs. Dustan
unbound. This appeared to her a
favorable time to avenge herself for
the terrible acts of cruelty they had
committed. She had previously in
quired of one of the squaws where the
Indians struck the white man on the
head to kill him so quick. The
squaw replied by putting he finger
on her temple. After the Indians
had all fallen into a sound sleep,
Mrs. Dustan arose, and taking one
of their tomahawks she killed the
whole party. One of the first that
she struck began to revive an . made
some efforts to get up. She gave
him a second blow on his head
which laid him ~lifeless at her feet.
The day before she killed the Indians
one of them who claimed her as his
property told her that they were 60
ing to an Indian settlement, that
when they arrived there she would
be stripped, beaten. and compelled
to run the gauntlet naked between
two files of Indians containing the
whole number in the settlement.
Mrs. Dustan nov started for the
river, but thinking that her daring
act would not be credited, she re-
turned and scalped the ten Indians.
Tying these proofs of her valor in a
piece of the cloth taken from her
loom by the Indians-being the same
piece as is now in Mrs. E. A. K.
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