Page:Eventful life, and curious adventures of Peter Williamson.pdf/12

 19

27 the Life of Peter Williamson.

20

soon send him to the'blissful then cut in pieces, and given mansions of the just, to be a to the swine, which devoured partaker of blessings there. them. I shall give another And during such his pious instance of the numberless and ejaculations, his infernal plaguers unheard-of barbarities they rewould come round him, mi- lated of these savages, and promicking his heart-rending groans, ceed to their own tragical end. and piteous wailings. One night, In short, one of the substanafter he had been thus tor- tial traders belonging to the mented, whilst he and I were province, having business that sitting together condoling each called him some miles up the other at the misfortunes and country, fell into the hands of miseries we daily suffered, twen- these devils, who not only ty scalps and three prisoners scalped him, but immediately were brought in by another roasted him before he was party of Indians. These pri- dead: then, like cannibals for soners gave us some shock- want of other food ate his ing accounts of the murders and whole body, and of his head devastations committed in their made what they called an Inparts. This party, who now dian pudding. The three prisoners that were joined us, had it not, I found, in their power to begin their brought with these additional wi( kedness as soon as those w ho forces, constantly repining at visited my habitation; the first their lot, and almost dead with of their tragedies being on the their excessive hard treatment, iJ5th day of October 1765, contrived at last to make their when John Lewis, with his escape; but being far from wife, and three small children, their own settlements, and not fell sacrifices to their cruelty, knowing the country, were soon and were miserably scalped and after met by some others of the murdered ; his house, barn, and tribes or nations at war with every thing he possessed, being us, and brought back to their burnt and destroyed. On the diabolical masters, who greatly 28th, Jacob Miller, with his rejoiced at having them again wife and six of his family, to- in their infernal power. The gether with every tiling on his poor creatures almost famished plantation, underwent the same for want of sustenance, having fate. The 50th, the house, had none during the time "of mill, barn, twenty head of cat- their elopement, were no soontle, two teams of horses, and er in the clutches of the barevery thing belonging to the un- barians, than two of them were happy George Folke, met with tied to a tree, and a great fire the like treatment; himself, made round them,^where they wife, and all his miserable fa- remained till they were terrimily, consisting of nine in num- bly scorched and burnt; when ber, being iuuuinanly scalded, one of the viibiae, with his