Page:California Inter Pocula.djvu/113

 at night.

In the  morning,  Mrs  Fosdick,  feeling  that  she  must kiss once  more  the  cold  lips  of  her  dead,  started  back  for that purpose. In the  words  of  Mr  Thornton,  Eddy's narrator,  "two  individuals  accompanied  her;  and  when they  arrived  at  the  body,  they,  notwithstanding  the remonstrances,  entreaties,  and  tears  of  the  afflicted widow,  cut  out  the  heart  and  liver,  and  severed  the arms  and  legs  of  her  departed  husband.  Mrs  Fos- dick took  up  a  little  bundle  she  had  left,  and  returned with  these  two  persons  to  one  of  the  camps,  w^here she  saw  an  emio;rant  thrust  the  heart  throuofh  with  a stick,  and  hold  it  in  the  fire  to  roast.  Unable  to  en- dure the  horrible  sight  of  seeing  literally  devoured a  heart  that  had  fondly  and  ardently  loved  her  until it  had  ceased  to  throb,  she  turned  away,  and  went  to another  camp,  sick  and  almost  blinded  by  the  specta- cle."

On they  go,  death  even  too  slow  for  their  now ghoulish appetites;  and  as  they  reel  along,  drunk with misfortune  and  liuman  blood,  they  solace  them- selves with thoughts  of  their  next  repast. "There is Mrs  McCutcheon,"  says  Foster,  well-nigh  insane, There is  Mary  Graves  and  Mrs  Fosdick  ;  they  have no children,  what  do  you  think  of  them  ? " Some oppose,  and  then  the  men,  so  weak  that  they  can scarcely  stand,  draw  their  weapons  and  threaten  to fight  over  it.  Next  they  shoot  two  tame  Indians who  had  been  sent  by  Sutter  with  horses  to  the  relief of  the  party  when  it  was  first  told  him  by  Reed  that they  had  lost  their  cattle  in  the  desert,  and  before anything  was  known  of  their  later  great  distress  and starvation.  The  names  of  those  sacrificed  were  Lewis and  Salvador.  So  faithful  were  they  to  Sutter's  in- terests, that  a  few  days  before  they  had  refused  to abandon  the  property  of  their  master,  even  to  save their  own  lives.  When  Sutter  heard  of  it  he  was greatly  distressed,  and  turning  to  the  wretches,  ex- claimed, "You  kill  and  eat  all  my  good  Indi
 * ' she's  a  nuisance,  she  can't  keep  up ;  let  us  kill  her.