Page:Eventful life, and curious adventures of Peter Williamson.pdf/10

 15 The Life of Peter Williamson. 16

the unhappy children : nor could the tears, the shrieks, or cries of these unhappy victims pre- vent their horrid massacre : for having thus scalped them, and plundered the house of e- very thing that was moveable, they set fire to the same, where the poor creatures met their final doom amidst the flames, the hellish miscreants standing at the door, or as near the house as the flames would per- mit them, rejoicing, and echo- ing back in their diabolical manner, the piercing cries, heart- rending groans, and paternal and affectionate soothings, which issued from this most horrid sacrifice of an innocent family, Not contented with what these infernals had already done, they still continued their inordinate villany in making a general conflagration of the barn, sta- bles, together with all the corn, horses, cows, and every thing on the place. Thinking the young man belonging to this unhappy family would be of some service to them, in car- rying part of their hellish ac- quired plunder, they spared his life, and loaded him and myself with what they had here got, and again marched to the

pies or scull, live in horrid tor- ments many hours, sometimes a day or two after. The scalps, or skins taken off, they preserve and carry home in triumph, where they receive a consider- able sum fur every one.

Blue Hills, where they stowed their goods as before. My fel- low-sufferer could not long bear the cruel treatment which we were both obliged to suffer and complaining bitterly to me of his being unable to pro- ceed any further, I endeavour- ed to condole him as much as lay in my power, to bear up under his afflictions, and wait with patience, till, by the Di- vine assistance, we should be delivered out of their clutches; but all in vain, for he still continued his moans and tears, which one of the savages per- ceiving as he travelled on, in- stantly came up to us, and with his tomahawk, gave him a blow on the head, which fel- led the unhappy youth to the ground, where they immediate- ly scalped and left him. The suddenness of this murder shock- ed me to that degree that I was in a manner like a statue, being quite motionless, expect- ing my fate would soon be the same; however, recovering my distracted thoughts, I dissent bled the uneasiness and an— guish which I felt as well as I could from the barbarian but still, such was the terrors that I was under, that for some time I scarce knew the days of the week, or what I did; so that at this period, life indeed became a burden to me. The horrid fact being com- pleted, they kept on their course near the mountains, where they lay sculking four or five days, rejoicing at the plunder