University of Virginia Library

12. CHAPTER XII.

As you ascend the Miami from its mouth at the present day, you come
almost immediately upon what are termed the Bottoms, or Bottom Lands,
which are rich and fertile tracts of country, of miles in extent, and sometimes
miles in breadth, almost water level, with the stream in question slowly
winding its course through them, like a deep blue ribbon carelessly
unrolled upon a dark surface. They are now mostly under culture, and
almost entirely devoted to the production of maize, which, in the autumn
of the year, presents the goodly sight of a golden harvest. At the time of
which we write, there were no such pleasant demonstrations of civilization,
but a vast unbroken forest instead, some vestiges of which still remain, in
the shape of old decaying trees, standing grim and naked,

like the ruins of ancient structures, to remind the beholder of former days.

On these Bottoms, about ten miles above the mouth of the Miami, Wild-cat
and his party, with their prisoners, encamped on the evening the attack
was made upon the renegade, as shown in the preceding chapter. Possessing
caution in a great degree, and fearful of the escape of his prisoners, Wild-cat
spared no precautions which he thought might enhance the security of
Younker and Reynolds. Accordingly, when arrived at the spot where he
intended to remain for the night, the chief ordered stakes to be driven deep
into the earth, some distance apart, to which the feet of the two in question—after
being thrown flat upon their backs, in opposite directions—were
tightly bound, with their hands still corded to the cross-bars as before. A
rope was next fastened around the neck of each, and secured to a neighboring
sapling, in which uncomfortable manner they were left to pass the
night; while their captors, starting a fire, threw themselves upon the earth
around it, and soon, to all appearance, were sound asleep.

To the tortures of her older companions in captivity, little Rosetta was
not subjected; for Oshasqua—the fierce warrior to whom Girty had consigned
her, in the expectation, probably, that she would long ere this have
been knocked on the head and scalped—had, by one of those strange mysterious
phenomena of nature, (so difficult of comprehension, and which
have been known to link the rough and bloody with the gentle and innocent,)
already began to feel towards her a sort of affection, and to treat her with
great kindness, whenever he could do so unobserved by the others. The
apparel of which he had at first divested her, to ornament his own person,
had been restored, piece by piece; and this, together with the change in his
manner, had at length been observed by the child, with feelings of gratitude.
Poor little thing! to whom could she look for protection now? Her
father and mother were dead—had been murdered before her own eyes—
her brother was away, and she herself a captive to an almost merciless
foe;—could she feel other than grateful for an act of kindness, from one at
whose hands she looked for nothing but abuse and death? Nay, more: So
strange and complex is the human heart—so singular in its developments—
that we see nothing to wonder at, in her feeling for the savage, under the
circumstances—loathsome and offensive as he might have been to her under

others—a sort of affection,—or rather, a yearning toward him as a
protector. Such she did feel; and thus between two human beings, as much
antagonistical perhaps, in every particular, as Nature ever presented, was
already established a kind of magnetic sympathy—or, in other words, a
gradual blending together of opposites. The result of all this, as may be
imagined, was highly beneficial to Rosetta, who, in consequence, fared as well
as circumstances would permit. At night she slept unbound, beside Oshasqua,
who secured her from escape by passing his brawny arm under her
head, which also, in a measure, served her for a pillow. So slept she on
the night in question.

With Younker and Reynolds, there was little that could be called sleep—
the minds of both being too actively employed with the events which had
transpired, and with thoughts of those so dear to them, who had been left
behind, for what fate God only knew. Besides, there was little wherewithal
to court the drowsy god, in the manner of their repose—each limb being
strained and corded in a position the most painful,—and if they slept at all, it
was that feverish and fitful slumber, which, though it serve in part the design
of nature, brings with it nothing refreshing to the individual himself.
To both, therefore, the night proved one of torture to body and mind; and
bad as was their condition after the encampment, it was destined to be worse
ere the gray dawn of morning, by the arrival of Girty and the only two Indians
who had escaped the deadly rifles of the Kentuckians.

“Up, warriors!” cried the renegade, with a terrible blasphemous oath, as
he came upon the detachment. “Up, warriors! and sharpen your wits to
invent the most damnable tortures that the mind of man can conceive!”
and at the sound of his voice, which was loud and hoarse, each Indian
sprang to his feet, with an anxious and troubled face.

“And you, ye miserable white dogs!” continued Girty, turning to Younker
and Reynolds, on whom he bestowed numerous kicks, as if by way
of enforcing the truth of his assertion; “were you suffering all the torments
of hell, you might consider yourselves in perfect bliss, compared to
what you shall yet undergo, ere death snatches you from me!”

“What new troubles ha' ye got, Simon Girty?” asked Younker, composedly.
“But you needn't answer; I can see what's writ on your face;
thar's bin a rescue—you've lost your prisoners—for which the Lord be
praised! I can die content now, with all your tortures.”

“Can you, by—!” cried the renegade, in a paroxism of rage; “we shall seel”

As he concluded, he bestowed upon Younker a kick in the face, so violent
that a stream of blood followed it. The old man uttered a slight groan, but
made no other answer, and Girty turned away to communicate to the others
the intelligence of what had transpired since their parting; for although
they believed it to be of the utmost consequence, and tragical in all its bearings,
yet so far there had not been a question asked nor an event related
concerning it, on either side—such being the force of habit in all matters of
grave importance, and the deference to his superiors shown by the Indian
on all similar occasions.

As soon as Girty had made known the sad disaster that had befallen his
party, there was one universal yell of rage, accompanied by violent demonstrations
of grief and anger—such as beating their bodies, stamping
fiercely on the ground, and brandishing their tomahawks over their heads
with terrific gestures. They then proceeded to dance around Younker and
Reynolds, uttering horrid yells, accompanied with kicks and blows; after
which, a consultation was held between Girty and Wild-cat, wherein it was
agreed to take them to Piqua, a Shawanoe settlement on the Miami, and
there have them put to the tortures. Accordingly, without further delay

they unbound their prisoners, with the exception of their hands, and forced
them to set forward at a fast pace—treating them, meanwhile, in the most
brutal manner. Oshasqua, however, took good care there should be no
violence done to Rosetta; for he kept her closely by his side, and occasionally,
when he saw her little limbs growing weary, raised and bore her forward,
for a considerable distance, in his arms.

It was a strange, but by no means unpleasing sight, to behold that dark,
bloodstained warrior—whose very nature was cruel and ferocious, and who
probably had never before loved or sought to protect aught bearing the human
form—now exhibiting such tender regard for a weak, trembling prisoner,
placed in his hands for a speedy sacrifice. It was withal an affecting
sight, to Younker and Reynolds, who looked upon it with moistened eyes,
and felt in it the force of a revelation from Heaven, that He, who sees the
sparrow fall, was even now moving through the wilderness, and teaching
one lesson of mercy, at least, to the most obdurate heart of the savage race.

To the renegade, however, this conduct of Oshasqua was far from being
agreeable; for so much did he delight in cruelty, and so bitterly did he hate
all his race—particularly now, after having been foiled by them so lately—
that be would a thousand times rather have heard the dying groans of the
child, and seen her in the last agonies of death, than in the warriors arms.
At length he advanced to the side of the Indian, and said in the Shawanoe
dialect, with a sneer:

“Is Oshasqua a squaw, that he should turn nurse?”

Probably from the whole vocabulary of the Indian tongue, a phrase more
expressive of contempt, and one that would have been more severely felt
by the savage warrior, who abhors any thing of a womanly nature, could not
have been selected; and this Girty, who understood well to whom he was
speaking, knew, and was prepared to see the hellish design of his heart
meet with a ready second from Oshasqua. For a moment after he spoke,
the latter looked upon the renegade with flashing eyes, and then seizing
Rosetta roughly, he raised her aloft, as if with the intention of dashing
her brains out at his feet. She doubtless understood from his fierce movement
the murderous intent in his breast, and uttered a heart-rending cry of
anguish. In an instant the grim features of the Indian softened, and lowering
her again to her former position in his arms, he turned coldly to Girty,
and smiting his breast with his hand, said with dignity:

“Oshasqua a warrior above suspicion. He can save and defend with his
life whom he loves!”

Girty bit his lips, and uttering a deep malediction in English, turned away
to consult with Wild-cat on the matter; but finding the chief would not join
him in interfering with the rights of the other, he growled out another
dreadful oath, and let the subject drop.

Late at night the party encamped within something like a mile of Piqua,
and by daylight a warrior was despatched with information of their
approach, their prisoners, and the sad disaster they had experienced
on their journey. In the course of an hour the messenger returned, bringing
with him a vast number of savages of both sexes and all ages, who
immediately set up the most horrid yells danced around Younker and Algernon
like madmen, not unfrequently beating and kicking them unmercifully.
They then departed for the town, taking the prisoners with them, where their
fate was to be decided by the council.[1] But ere sentence should be pro

nounced, it was the unanimous voice of all, that they should have some
amusement, by forcing the prisoners to run the gauntlet. This, to the women
and children, as well as the warriors themselves, was a most delightful
sport, and they at once made the welkin ring with yells of joy.

“It's a hard task we've got to undergo new, Algernon,” said Younker, in
a low voice, “and God send it may be my last; for I'd much rayther die
this way, nor at the stake. I don't at all calculate on escaping—but something
tells me you will—and ef you do—”

Here the old man was interrupted by Girty, who forced himself between
the two and separated them. Younker being the first selected to run the gauntlet,
was immediately unbound, and stripped to the skin,[2] preparatory to the
race. The assemblage now formed themselves into two lines, facing each
other, only a few feet apart, and extending the distance of a hundred yards,
terminating near the council-house, which stood in the center of the village.
Through these lines, the old man was informed by Girty, that he must run;
while the savages on either side, armed with clubs, were at liberty to inflict
as many blows upon him as they could in passing; and therefore it would
stand him in hand to reach the other extremity as soon as possible.

“I'm an old man, Simon Girty,” said Younker, in reply, “and can't run
as I once could—so you needn't reckon on my gitting through alive.

“But, by—! you must get through alive, or else not at all; for we
can't spare you quite so soon, as we want you to try the pleasures of the
stake,” answered the renegade with a laugh.

“God's will be done—not yourn nor mine!” rejoined Younker, solemnly.
“But tell me, Simon Girty, as the only favor I'll ever ask o' ye—war my
wife and Ella rescued?”

“Why,” said Girty, “if it will do you any good to know it, I will tell
you they were; but I will add, for your particular benefit, that they will
again be in my power; for I will excite every tribe of the Six Nations to
the war path; and then, wo to the pioneers of Kentucky!—for desolation.
rapine and blood shall mark our trail, until the race become extinct.
I have sworn, and will fulfil it. But come—all is ready.”

“For the first o' your information, I thank you,” returned Younker;
“for the last on't, I'll only say, thar's a power above ye. I'm ready—
lead on!”

Girty now conducted the old man to the lines, and having cautioned the
savages in a loud voice, to beware of taking his life, gave the signal for him
to start. Instantly Younker darted forward, and with such speed, that the
nearest Indians neglected to strike until he had passed them, by which
means he gained some six or eight paces, without receiving a blow; but now
they fell hard and fast upon him, accompanied with screams and yells of
the most diabolical nature; and ere he had gone thirty yards, he began to
stagger, when a heavy stroke on the head laid him senseless on the earth.
In a moment the renegade, who had kept him company outside, burst
through the lines, just in time to ward off the blow of a powerful warrior,
aimed at the skull of Younker, which, without doubt, would have been fatal.

“Fool!” cried Girty, fiercely, to the Indian. “Did I not tell you his life
must be spared for the stake?”

The savage drew himself up with dignity, and walked away without reply;
while the renegade, examining the bruises of the fallen man for a moment or
two, ordered him to be taken to the council-house, and, if possible, restored
to consciousness. He then returned to Algernon, who had been left standing
a sad spectator of the whole proceedings, and said, in a gruff voice:

“Now, by —!” young man, it's your turn; and let me tell you, it will
stand you in hand to do your best—ha, ha, ha! Come, let us see what sort
of a figure you will cut.” As he concluded, he severed the thongs around
the hands of our hero, and unceremoniously began to strip him, in which he
was aided by a couple of old squaws.

The features of Algernon were pale, but composed, and he allowed himself
to be handled, as one who felt an escape from his doom to be impossible,
and who had nerved himself to undergo it, with as much stoicism as he
could command. As his vestments were rent from his body, the wound in
his side was discovered to be nearly healed; and would have been entirely
so, probably, but for the irritation occasioned it of late by his long marches,
exposure and fatigue, which had served to render it at present not a little
painful. As his eye for a moment rested upon it, his mind instantly reverted
to its cause—recalled, with the rapidity of thought, which is the swiftest
comparison we can make, the many and important events that had since
transpired up to the present time, wherein the gentle Ella Barnwell held no
second place—and he sighed, half aloud:

“I would to God it had been mortal!—how much misery had then been
spared me?”

As he said this, one of the squaws, who had been observing it intently,
struck him thereon a violent blow with her fist, which started it to bleeding
afresh, and, in spite of himself, caused Algernon to utter a sharp cry of
pain, at which all laughed heartily. Thinking doubtless this species
of amusement as interesting as any, the old hag was on the point of repeating
the blow, when Girty arrested it, by saying something to her in the Indian
tongue, and all three turned aside, as if to consult together, leaving our
hero standing alone, unbound.

A wild thought now suddenly thrilled him. He was free, perchance
he might escape; at least he could but die in the attempt; and that, at all
events, was preferable to a lingering death of torture! He looked hurriedly
around. Only the renegade and the squaws were close at hand, and they
engaged in conversation. The main body of the Indians were at a distance,
awaiting him to run the gauntlet. He needed no second thought to prompt
him to the trial; and wheeling about, he placed his hand upon the wound,
and bounded away with the fleetness of the deer. In a moment the yells of
an hundred savages in pursuit, sounded in his ear, and urged him onward
to the utmost of his strength. He was no mean runner at any time; now
he was flying to save his life, and every nerve did its duty. Before him was
a slope, that stretched away to the river Miami, and down this he fled with
a velocity that astonished himself, while yell after yell of the demons behind,
now in full chase, were to him only so many death cries, to stimulate to renewed
exertions. At last he gained the river and rushed into the water.
It was not deep, and he struggled forward with all his might. On the opposite
side was a steep hill and thicket. Could he but gain that, hope whispered
he might elude his pursuers and escape. Again he redoubled his exertions;
and, joy—joy to his heart!—he reached it, just as the foremost of his
adversaries, a powerful and fleet young warrior, dashed into the stream from
the opposite bank. He now for the first time began to feel weak and fatigued;
but his life was yet in danger, and he still pressed onward. Alas!
alas! just on the point of escape, his strength was failing him fast, the blood
was trickling too from his wound, and a sharp, severe pain afflicted him in
his side. Oh God! he thought—what would he not give for the strength
and soundness of body he once possessed! The thicket he had entered was
dense and dark, so that it was impossible to move through it with much velocity,

or see ahead any distance; and as the thought just recorded, rushed
through his brain, he came suddenly upon a high steep rock. By this time
his nearest pursner was also entering the thicket, and in a minute or two
more he felt capture would be certain, unless he could instantly secrete himself
till his strength should be again renewed. Fortune for once now seemed
to stand his friend; for stooping down at the base of the rock, he discovered
it to be shelving and projecting somewhat over the declivity; so that
by dropping upon the ground and crawling up under it, he would, owing to
the density and darkness of the thicket, as before mentioned, be wholly concealed
from any one standing upright. To do this was the work of a moment,
and the next he heard his pursuing foe rush panting by, with much
the same sense of relief that one experiences on awaking from a horrible
dream, where death seemed inevitable, and finding oneself lying safely and
easily in a comfortable bed.

We say Algernon experienced much the same sense of relief as the awakened
dreamer; but unlike the latter, his was only momentary; for yell upon
yell still sounded in his ear, and plunge after plunge into the stream, followed
quickly by a rustling of the bushes around, the tramping of many feet close
by, and the war-whoops of his enemies, warned him, that if he had escaped
one, there were hundreds yet to be eluded before he could consider himself
as safe. Wildly his heart palpitated, as now one stirred the bushes within
reach of his hand, and slightly pausing, as if to examine the spot of his concealment,
uttered a horrid yell, as of discovery, and then, just as he fancied
all was lost, to his great relief darted suddenly away.

Thus one after another passed on, and their fierce yells gradually sounding
more and more distant, renewed his hope, that he might yet escape their
vigilant eyes, and again be free to roam the earth at will. O, potent, joyful
thought!—how it made his very heart leap, and the blood course swiftly
through his heated veins!—and then, when some sound was heard more near,
how his heart sickened at the fear he might again be captured, and forced
to a lingering, agonizing death!—how he shuddered as he thought, until his
flesh felt chill and clammy, and cold drops of perspiration, wrung forth by
mental agony, stood upon his pale features! Even death before his escape,
possessed not half the terrors for him it would have now; for then he had
nerved himself to meet it, and prepared himself for the worst; but now he
had again had a taste of freedom, and would feel the reverse in a thousand
accumulated horrors.

Thus for a few minutes he lay, in painful thought, when he became aware,
by the different sounds, that many of the savages were returning. Presently
some two or three paused by the rock, and beat back the bushes around
it. Then, dropping upon his knees, one of the Indians actually put his head
to the ground, and peered up into the cavity. It was a horrible moment of
suspense to Algernon, as he beheld the hideous visage of the savage so near,
and evidently gazing upon him; and thinking himself discovered, he was on
the point of coming forth, when a certain vagueness in the look of the Indian,
led him to hope he was not yet perceived; and he lay motionless, with
his breath suspended. But, alas! his hope was soon changed to despair;
for after gazing a moment longer, the Indian suddenly started, his features
expressed satisfaction, he uttered a significant grunt, and, springing to his
feet, gave a loud, long, peculiar whoop. The next moment our hero was
roughly seized, and, ere he could exert himself at all, dragged forth by the
heels, by which means his limbs and body became not a little bruised and
lacerated.

The savages now come running towards their prisoner from all quarters,

in high glee at his recapture—being attracted hither, probably, by the signal
whoop of success made by the one who first discovered him. Among the
rest came Girty, who, as he approached Algernon, burst into a loud laugh,
saying, in a jocular manner:

“Well, my fine bird, so you are caught again, eh? I was most infernally
afraid you had got away in earnest; I was, by —! But we'll soon fix you
now, so that you won't run away again in a hurry—ha, ha, ha!”

Then turning to the savages around him, the renegade continued his remarks
in the Indian tongue, occasionally laughing boisterously, in which
they not unfrequently joined. In this manner, the whole party returned in
triumph to the village, being met on their way thither, by the women and
children, who set up yells of delight, sung and danced around their prisoner,
whom they beat with their fists and with sticks, until he became sore from
head to heel.

The gauntlet was soon again made ready, and Algernon started upon the
race; but fatigued in body and mind, from the late events—weak and faint
from the bleeding of his wound and bruises—he scarcely reached twenty
paces down the lines, ere he sunk overpowered to the earth, from which he
was immediatly raised, and borne forward to the council-house, where, according
to the Indian custom, the chiefs and warriors were to decide upon
his fate.