The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-08-06
Worcester's Early Co.
lonial Life De-
picted.
DOOM OF THE WAsHAKIMs
Exciting Scenes Described
in a Manner to
Please All.

y.
be surprised to see the new directio
his talents have taken on reading hi
just issued historical novel, 1.-THE Doom
of Washakim." Few historians eve
attempt, or if they do attempt it, eve
make a success in the lighter realm o
romance. But the Worcester autho
in his preface explains that histor,
and romance are twin arts lust a,
much as painting and sculpture, so per
haps the domains of fact and fiction
are closer allied than some would think
The Doom Of Washakimn is an his
torlcal novel of early Worcester, vir.
gin field for romancers. The events de-
scribed take place in the year 1902 dur.
Ing the stirring times incident to Kins
Philips rebellion. Those were the dav,
when white men were few in thes,
parts and red men of the Quinsiga
mond, Washakim, Tahassit and Asne
bumskits tribes furnished the sole ex
element. Mill brook was then {
brook, not a sewer, and Kettle brool
was a mere stream and not a cause TO,
litigation.
In writing the novel the author ha,
drawn upon his large stock of anti
quarian knowledge. The book is dedi
Gated ITO the city of Worcester. which
as town of 5000 inhabitants. was nv
godmother, and which by proxy or IL
person, | have been habitant bet.
tern two hunerd'n fort year.
AFTER that long personal acquaintance
with the city who will doubt that the
author knows whereof he speaks?
AS to the plot the author follows
Demothenes' maxim of action, action
action. There is more action crowded
into its three hundred odd pages than
INTO the hind hoofs of an excited mule
In the first chapter Wandee, the Quin-
sigamond brave. gets in medals res by
plunging his tomahawk into Shonto
the Washakim chieftain. In the sec
ond chapter the action consists of SIP
ping nip and rum sours in the castle
tavern, and in the third we all go to
meeting where Parson Meekman. alias
Mike Rafferty,, breaches the ortho-
dox doctrine of deDriving the heather
In their lands a doctrine quite ortho-
dox today as it was in the
times the anti-imperiaIists delight to
refer to-
Capt. John Wing is the ostensible he
no. He is six feet high in his stock
ings," and has no facial adornment of
hair. He has all the homely virtue
of a pioneer although we are told he
can shine in the swagger circles of
Boston. But he is a singularly mac
tive hero. He is sort of fidus Achates
TO Wandee. He stands calmly by while
lne lndlan brave rescues his lady love.
He did one good thing, however. in
preventing Wandee from getting hang
ed. He occasionally shoots a redskin
in the course of the book, but that is
loo common an incident to make him
conspicuous in Mr. Rice's book,
Now we come to the heroine. "that
large-eyed, sweet-mouthed piece OF
femininity, Susan of Sagatabscot, .
who had about her eyes "a tinge of
iily concealed distress which belied her
laughing mouth and CHEEKY volubilitv
of tongue" She was an edneateS
daughter of the wilderness, having had
the advantages of Boston boarding
schools
That "tinge of lily concealed distress
IS must be explained, was caused bv
Eugene Archer, the villain. He was a
dashing blade who had gone the rounds
OF dissipation in the Boston clubs. He
is described as having wavy hair, clip
ped short
He, unlike John Wing, had "silken
piack moustache, the badge of bud
ding aristocracy" THE graceful col
umn of his wide-based neck extended
to the chest and shoulder without the
Indication of an angle" He was an in
inmate comminglement of good breed
ing and bad morals of forward polite
hess and lurking vulgarity, of presunn-
tive innocence, assumption of integri-
~ and covert rascality. Surely Eugene
nad IN his makeup sufficient ingredients
to make a whole chorus of villains
Archer soon began to plot against
the HSweet-mouthed glory of Sagatab.
Bcot." He Is unsuccessful. for she love;
Capt Wing. Then the trouble begins,
Events march fast. Philips rebellion
breaks out. Wandee and Cant. Wing
are made prisoners by the hated Wash.
atkins. The Worcesterites fly to the
larger city of Marlborough for safety
all except Digory Sergent father of the
lady Of Sagatabscot, and his family
Nothing suits Archer better. He dons
war paint and Joins the Washakim.
and scalps the troublesome father, no
TO mention a few other relations. Fl,
then takes Susan and her sister Mar
tha' away. "Insatiate Archer, was no
one enough?' the reader is tempted Il
excla1m with William Tell. But Wan
dee and Wing effect a timely escape
ana the former steals Susan away from
Archer. Unlike the villain, Wing care,
little for the sister, and left her In cap
tivity But the lady of Sagatabscot
troubles are not at an end. She is zap
tured for the third time, and the tient
Archer binds her to stake, and a hal
of q squaw with yellow hair an
"scraggy teeth" sets fire to the pyre
The pyre was as elaborate an ar
rangement as ever sent a witch's sou
with a martyrs carte blanche int
paradise
Already the flame leaped upwar
snake-like." Just then "the sharI
crack of rife was heard close a
hand. There was a yell, a groan, sup
plemented by an English curse, fly
ing tread and a swash-like crashing
through bones" After the beauty o
Sagatabscot had been rescued for III
fourth time, 1t was seen that a fey
Indians were lying dead with bullet
and tomahawks inserted in their per
sons.
But the book does not end with thi
climax. A still greater is in store whe
the bag with the 'scraggy teeth
mines the interior of hill with gun
powder and blows up the whole noun
tain on which the Washakir
tribe was camping, destroyin
every vestige of the noun
tain. the Washakims and Archer Tha
ls their DOOM Feminine readers VIII
hope that Susan viii marry Wandee ar
ucetlllSu 10 uiSdppOluluicut. olS me.
ries nobody, although 1t is made plat
that she seriously entertains an en-
gagement to Wing.
Mr.. Rice's style Is Of a richness Dor
dering on the forid Here are fe'
samples: "The sun rose beautiful
over Shrewsbury hills, and fixing q
crimson eye upon the fiat under OF
Wigwam HILL vainly sought for IN
gallant young chief of the Quinsiga
monds, and in default OF finding hin
screened 1t in q cloud-tear, the POI
tend of day of weeping"
Extreme watchfulness even In sleel