732

Our Western Border.

enraged savage now pulled out his tomahawk when Eli grew quiet. James, too, had made a terrible hullabaloo when first seized by the Indian, but the sight of the brandished tomahawk quieted him also. The redskins seized the two boys and, lifting them almost off the ground, carried them to the hills above Dirty Camp, where they were joined by another party of Indians, with three stolen horses of Mr. Lyon. On the small black mare was a feather bed, on which Eli was seated in front and James behind him.

That evening they stole from a waste field they were passing a roan mare, and after a while one of the Indians climbed up a tree which was leaning against another, looked around and then motioned the lads to get off at once. They all then squatted for some time, till the danger, whatever it was, was past, and the direction was changed ; the children being too young to tell what course they were traveling. They soon, however, struck a river, supposed to be the Allegheny, where all the horses were driven in to swim across; but the roan mare, proving refractory, was cruelly tomahawked, and the best of her cut into steaks and broiled. Some of it was handed to us; it was tough eating, but we were very hungry and glad to get it. They now examined the murdered Mr. Lyon's pocket book, and seemed specially pleased at the jingle of some gold guineas therein contained. The next day the river was crossed on a raft, the horses (all but Long's, which ran off and safely reached its old quarters,) having first been hunted up.

On that night, as well as the whole day after, a severe storm of rain and wind prevailed. A shelter was allowed James, but Eli was compelled to weather it outside. Both boys spent much of that night in tears over their forlorn situation. The next day their hair was all cut off, both lads resisting strenuously, which seemed mightily to please their captors. James' hair was unusually long and white, which procured him the name of O-pon-to-pos, or White-head. The first town they came to they were treated, before entering, with the horrid spectacle of their father's and sister's scalps stretched on small hoops and then suspended to long poles. The villagers came out to meet them, and escorted their party and the gory trophies in.

Among those Who visited them was a white man, who took little James on his knee, caressed him and treated him so kindly that when he came to go the boy wanted to go with him, and could only be pacified by the promise that he would come and see him again, but that was the last he ever saw of him; he was told by his brother that the white man was Simon Girty. They soon reached a larger town, were put on two horses, and compelled again to run the gauntlet, an Indian pointing out to them the council house. Eli whipped his horse with a ramrod, and reached the house without a touch, but not so with