Page:Life and astonishing adventures of Peter Williamson (2).pdf/15

15 to proceed any farther, I endeavoured to condole him as mueh as lay in my power, to bear up un- der his afflictions, and wait with patienee till, by the divine assistanee, we should be delivered out of their clutehes ; but in vain, for he still contin- ued his moans and tears, which one of the sava- ges perceiving as we travelled on, instantly eame up to us, and with his tomahawk gave him a blow on the head, whieh felled the unhappy youth to the ground, where they immediately sealped and left him. The suddenness of this murder shoeked me to that degree, that I was in a man- ner like a statue, being quite motionless, expect- ing my fate would soon be the same ; however, recovering my distraeted thoughts, I dissembled the uneasiness and anguish whieh I felt, as well as I could, from the barbarians ; but such was the terror that I was under, that for some time I searee knew the days of the week, or what I did, so that, at this period, life indeed beeame a bur- den to me, and I regretted being saved from my first perseeutors, the sailors. The horrid fact being eompleted, they kept on their eourse near the mountains, where they lay seulking four or five days, rejoieing at the plun- der and store they had got. When provisions became searce, they made their way towards Susquehana, where still, to add to the many bar- barities they had already eommitted, passing near