Page:The Annual Register 1758.djvu/317

 EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES. 303

food, they boiled him fome chpco- lacc, and Teemed pleafed when they perceived that he cat it.

But there were other circum- flances, beliues cold, and naked- nefs, and ficknef?, and fatigue, v/hich made this march ftill more dreadful to poor Eaftburn. He was appointed to march behind an Indian, who had a large bunch of green fcalps hanging at his back, which was increaied as often as fome draggling wretch was over- taken, whofefc alp was immediately added to the rell. This objecl being perpetually before his eyes, while his ears were frequently wounded with the infernal yell which they called the dead (hout, and which they never fail to utter when a vi(Slim fails into their hands, filled him at once with grief and horror, and aggravated the lufferings of his body by iuch anguiili of mind as thofe only can conceive who have felt.

After a march of f-^ven d?.ys they arrived at Lake Ont;irio, where they were met by fome French batteaus with a large fupply of provifions, of which they had been in fo much want th.it th'ry had fubfiiled during rome part of their march upon horfe fieih, and had even devoured a porcupi le with- out any Ocfier drefTing thun fufficed jufl: to fcorch off the hair and quills.

Eallburn, after a tedious voyage with part of this company, ar- rived at OAvegotchy, an Indian town, where he hoped to continue till warm weather, but to his inexpreliible dilappointment, he was ordered the next day to pro- ceed 200 miles farther down the flream.

To aggravate this miifortune.he

was appointed to go in a batteaa with eight Indians, one of whom Wcis the very man he had wounded, when he fired from, behind the pine the day he was taken. He con- trived to efcape the notice of this man by wrapping himfelf up in the old blanket that had been given him to fleep under while they were in the boat, but when they went on Ihore he was difcovered. The In- dian call his eyes upon him with 9 kind of malignant joy, and imme- diately taking away his blanket or- dered him to dance round the fire barefoot, and dug the prlfoners fong. With this order Eafiburn ab- folutely refufed to comply, becaufe, as he fays, he thought ihe compli- ance finful ; this fo enraged the In- dian, that he endeavoured many times to pufh him alive into the fire, which he av ided by jumping over it ; and iiis enemy being weak witk his wound, and not being feconded by his afibciates, at length defifted fron^. hisaitempts; and after a pain- ful journey, fometimes on the w/a- t(r, and fometimes on the fnow, they came at length to the upper part of Canada. Here it was Eaft- burri'5 hard fortune to be quartered at a Frenchman's houfe, where his old ene^my, the wounded Indian, again appeared, and related to the Frenchm.an the circumilance of his refuling to dance and fing. Uoont this the good Frenchman affifled his friend thelndian to flrip poor Eaft- burn of his flannel veil without fleeves, !t^|e only garment that was then left him. It was then infifted both by the Frenchman and Indian that he fhould abfoluteiy dance and fmg, and upon his refufal they ufed him with great cruelty, and would probably have murdered him, if he had not been refcucd from liis per- fect tcr:.