Page:The History of the American Indians.djvu/396

 384 General Obfervations on

in the paths and woods, he ought to have obferved a ftrict neutrality. The youth of the town, by order of their head-men, carried on their noify public diverfions in their ufual manner, to prevent their foes from having any fufpicion of their danger, while runners were fent from the town to their neighbours, to come filently and aflift them to fecure the prey, in its ftate of fecurity. They came like filent ghofts, concerted their plan of operation, paffed over the river at the old trading ford, oppofite to the late Fort, which lay between two contiguous commanding hills, and proceeding downward over a broad creek, formed a large femi-circle from the river bank, while the town feemed to be taking its ufual reft. They then clofed into a narrower compafs, and at laft difcovered the two brave unfortunate men lying clofe under the tops of fome fallen young pine- trees. The company gave the war fignal, and the Mohawks bounding up, bravely repeated it : but, by their fudden fpring from under thick cover, their arms were ufelefs ; they made defperate efforts however to kill or be killed, as their fituation required. One of the Cheerake, the noted half breed of Iftanare town, which lay two miles from thence, was at the firft onfet, knocked down and almoft killed with his own cutlafs, which was wrefted from him, though he was the ftrongeft of the whole nation. But they were overpowered by numbers, captivated, and put to the moft exquifite tortures of fire, amid ft a prodigious crowd of exulting foes.

One of the prefent Choktah traders who was on the fpot, told me, that when they were tied to the ftake, the younger of the two difcovering our traders on a hill pretty near, addrefled them in Englifh, and entreated them to redeem their lives. The elder immediately fpoke to him, in his own lan guage, to defift on this, he recollected himfelf, and became compofed like a ftoic, manifefting an indifference^o life or death, pleafure or pain, accord ing to their ftandard of martial virtue ; and their dying behaviour did not reflect the leaft dishonour on their former gallant actions. All the pangs of fiery torture ferved only to refine their manly fpirits : and as it was out of the power of the traders to redeem them, they according to our ufual cuftom retired, as foon as the Indians began the diabolical tragedy.

The common number of an Indian v/ar company, is only from twenty to forty, left rheir tracks (hould be difcovered by being too numerous :

but

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