Adventures of Five Kentucky Boys.

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tribe and domesticated in families. Wells, however, fell to the lot of an Indian belonging to some distant town, whither he was taken, and thus separated from his comrades, saw them no more. He remained with the Indians all his life; married a sister of the celebrated chief Little Turtle, and became the father of a family. We have already sketched him at length. The other four adapted themselves so completely to their new mode of life, and seemed so well satisfied with the employments and sports of the savage youth; with fishing and hunting, wrestling, racing and riding Indian ponies, that all suspicion in regard to them was quieted, and they were allowed to roam about unregarded. They were "biding their time;" with a watchfulness that never slept they sought an opportunity to make their escape.

The hour of deliverance came at last. In the Autumn of their capture the warriors set out upon their annual hunt, roaming far off from home, in parties, and leaving their village in the care of the old men, the women and the children. The four boys found themselves <->ne day at a camp, at some distance from the village, engaged in fishing, with no other companions but an old Indian and a squaw. A severe conflict of mind took place. The long-sought opportunity for escape was at hand; but they could regain their liberty only by the death of a woman and an old man, with whom they were associating as companions. To be the captives of a race in hostility with their countrymen, of a people they had been taught from infancy to fear and hate, and who had been the murderers of the father of two of them, was not to be tolerated. To leave their companions alive was to insure an early discovery of their flight, and a pursuit which must probably result in their capture and death. All their scruples yielded to a stern necessity; the bold resolve was taken; they killed the man and woman, and directed their steps homeward.

Pursuing the nearest course, with the unerring sagacity of Indians themselves, they struck for home through the wilderness. Traveling by night, and lying concealed during the day in coverts and hiding places, living upon wild fruits and nuts, and upon such small game as could be taken with the least noise and the least delay, and practicing all the cunning, the patience and the self-denial of the savage warrior, they reached the bank of the Ohio river, directly opposite to Louisville, after a journey of three weeks. Having no means of crossing the river, which here, at the head of the falls, is wide and rapid, they endeavored to attract the attention of the people at Louisville by firing their guns; but the Indians having lately been very troublesome, those who heard these signals, not understanding them, were unwilling to cross the river to ascertain their meaning.