The Plymouth Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1878-1901, 1901-09-12
Angus Corb|y's Captivity
Story of Early Indian Life and Adventure in the Territory
Northwest of the Ohio River.
eyA WRITER OF MARSHALL COUNTY

blood, he was not seriously hurt. ano
the ranger placed bandage on the
wounded shoulder while Totega and
PIER OF the canoe afloat and placed
the : gage in it, not forgetting tC
gather up the rifles of the vanquished
foe and load them into the boat with
the rest.
1t had been Angus's intention to gC
up to the head of Yellow river and
make long portage of about twenty
miles to the st. Joseph, as he told the
Indians at Mux-sen-kuck-ee but it was
now a certainty, almost, thata party
would be sent to intercept him or
that route and he was exceedingly anx.
ious to have no more fighting. They
shaped their course down stream,
therefore, the two Indians sullen and
disconted because they were prevented
from Scalping their fallen foes, and
rowed until far in the night, having
much difficulty in avoiding the many
trees and snags that INSTRUCTED the
narrow river. They encamped on dry
ground and remained i'm cOncealment
the next day and night awaiting pos
sible developments, after which they
felt safe in continuing the voyage in
the direction they were taking.
The young sergeant was not ia
miliar with the confluence of Yellow
river with its parent stream, the Kan
kakee, else he might have preferred
taking his chances with the savages
on his original route. The bright
yellow water on which the. canoe
drifted between low, sandy. barren
moors or sedgy fenS was placid and
innocent enough and the voyagers
padded all unSuspectingly while the
fens broadened. then gave way to tan
gled bayOus and they to boundless
marsh in which the slender reeds
stood higher than mans head, but
presently it came over them that
there was no more river or current.
nothing but shoreless swampy lake
with nothing to guide their course.
They padded on and on through end
less reeds and weeds, with nothing
else in sight except the blue and hope
full sky above and the yellow water be
meath, and if perchance they came
upon dead, gnarled tree they found
it standing only on submerged hum
mock; if they came to shallow water
they could perceive no shore beyond
The air was filled with myriadS of Of
fensive insects which they could not
brush from the food they ate or keep
from the foul and tepid water they
tried to drink. At night the breeze
less, lonely silence filed them with
vague dread and the hopeless day
brought no relief.
Angus knew that somewhere to the
west was land and that somewhere to
the north there must be-a river. but
not until the third day did the boat
bump against ground that stood above
water and then it was too soft To
admit of landing. Piercing their way
through the bending reeds the lost
travellers followed this springy bank
in its sinuous course toward the north
and east and at length there came an
opening in their reedy prison and
their eager eyes looked out upon a
narrow reach of turbid water flowing
toward them with perceptible cur
rent. Refrigerated by this blessed
sight the tired men FASTENED to
escape from the great lagoon out in
to the open air. A camping place
was soon found and there being no
fear of Indians in such a region rest
of several days was taken, by the end
of which time the knife-wound was
healed and Angus was whole again
and strong.
Following the narrow stream
through the broad Kankakee marshes
miles upon miles the carrying place to
the south bend of st. Joseph river
was reached and passed, the same
path being followed that La Sale
trod nearly two centuries before, and
here, on a fertile plain watered by the
beautiful river, stood number of
Pottawattomie villages that must be
investigated. This river is the st.
Joseph of the LAKE and is not the
same stream that by its confluence
with the ST. Mary at Fort Wayne
forms the Maumee, though there is a
place near the boundary line between
Ohio and Indiana that both streams,
by tributaries, draw water from the
sap.s square mile of land.
Knowing that they carried their
lies in their hands at every stage of
their progress the four messengers
drifted down the river, stopping at
many villages, and in the latter part
or June arrived at the ancient forti-
fication at its mouth overlooking Lake