Page:History of Delaware County (1856).djvu/145

 DELAWARE COUNTY. 121 suggest. Accordingly, Powell told liis wife that her uncle was among the prisoners of Brant, who had sent him word, and that the warriors must be seut away; to whom he gave a quantity of rum, as they thought, to aid in the celebration of their infernal pow-wows, at the Nine Mile Landing, having obtained the consent of his superior. Col. Butler, to do so. Brant had concealed, from both his Indians and tories, as well as from the prisoners, that Powell, at the fort, was Har- per's relative, or that he had made the above arrangement. The reader may probably wish to know why the warriors in those two camps must be sent away, in order to save the lives of the prisoners. All persons acquainted with Indian customs in time of war, know very well that the unhappy wretch who falls into their hands, at such a time, is compelled to run what is called the gauntlet, between two rows of Indians, composed of warriors, old men, women and children, who, as the prisone flies between, if possible to reach a certain point assigned, called a council-house or fort, receives, from every one who can reach him, a blow with the fist, club, hatchet, or knife, and even wadding fired into their bodies, so that they gene rally die with their wounds before they can reach the appointed place, though they struggle with all the violence of hope and despair. We had now, on the fourth day after the runner had been sent, arrived within about two miles of Niagara, when the tories began to tell us the danger we were soon to be exposed to, in passing those two Indian encampments, which, till then, we knew nothing of; this difiiculty they were careful to de- scribe in the most critical manner, so that every step, although so near our journey's end, when we hoped at last to have our hunger satisfied, was as the steps of the wretch condemned to die. But on coming to the first encampment, what was our surprise and joy at finding nothing there capable of injuring us but a few old women and children, who had, indeed, formed 11