they had never before been actually threatened by the Indians who had occasionally visited them, they had sometimes used a little caution when they suspected a party of Indians were anywhere in the vicinity. One day shortly after the visit of the two warriors, the younger of the brothers returned from an excursion on the mountain, with the somewhat startling intelligence that he had crossed in his way down the trail of an Indian party, and he should judge from its appearance that the number was something considerable. He further stated that he had, from the summit of an adjoining hill, carefully surveyed the forests all around, but no curling smoke rose above the green foliage (for it was summer) to denote their hunting fires, neither had he heard the report of fire-arms during the whole day. To those acquainted with the subtlety of the Indian character, this report was somewhat alarming, and the lone family determined to be circumspect in all their movements. Their arms consisted of three rifles-one used by each of the brothers, and the remaining one by the eldest son, a stout youth of nineteen. It was agreed that they should keep watch during the night, the brothers and the son taking it by turns, and the fire was extinguished before it became quite dark. Some hours after midnight, and while the father of the family was keeping watch, he thought he perceived a bright spark of fire advancing slowly across the small piece of meadow in the direction of the house; and as it came nearer, he distinctly saw part of the body of a naked Indian. There was no mistaking the intention of the incendiary; and as all was parched and dry with the scorching sun of July, a fire once kindled against the time-seasoned logwalls of their dwelling, the whole building would be in a blaze in a few minutes. Larner was in the upper storey, at an opening in one end of the building; but as the Indian came nearer, he changed his course a little, as if he intended to make his fire in the rear of the house. It was a moment of extreme anxiety with Larner. If he permitted the villain to pass the rear of the building, they were all in a short time to be burnt out, and most probably massacred by the merciless beings no doubt in ambush close by. If he fired and shot him, retribution would certainly await them all, and in either case he considered them a doomed family. But he did fire; and long before the reverberations were silent in the adjoining mountains, the Indian had given one lofty bound and shrieked the shriek of death. The report of his rifle brought the whole family to his side, and he related to them all that had taken place; and it seemed a matter of uncertainty whether the Indians would attack them under cover of the yet remain ing darkness, or postpone their onset until the return of day. It seems they did wait for daylight, and when it returned they commenced firing at the different windows or openings, wherever they imagined they might reach the inmates. This plan, however, had not much effect: one of the younger children received its death-wound; but the rest escaped unharmed for the pre sent. the house, and had made one of them bite the dust. Yet, after all, what availed it? Should the Indians instantly set fire to the house, they would all be burnt alive. The brothers, therefore, immediately resolved upon the family quitting the premises and making for the woods. But this plan was nearly fatal to the whole party; for before they had crossed the slight hollow in front of the woods, the two brothers and three of the children fell to rise no more. The eldest son was singled out by a tall, powerful Indian, who pursued him across a field of growing rye. They were each armed with a rifle, but neither of them stopped to fire. Young Larner, perceiving that the Indian gained rapidly upon him, for his knee had been slightly injured by a ball, bethought himself of a stratagem which ultimately saved him. Some of the party near the house were yet occasionally firing at the fugitives that made for the woods; so young Larner, as if he had received a deathwound, fell amongst the tall grain. The Indian instantly squatted in the rye also, being apparently suspicious of some trick in his intended victim; but in a short time he raised himself upon his knees, in order to scrutinize the place where young Larner lay, when the 'As I before stated, in the back part of the building there was no opening. The Indians finding the plan of firing at the windows not likely to produce much effect, determined upon making a circuit through the neighbouring woods, and thereby gain the defenceless rear of the dwelling. This plan, how ever, was anticipated by the besieged; for when the firing ceased, the Larners suspected they would be making this movement. The two brothers, therefore, without much difficulty, contrived to make two small openings in the shingled roof; and when the assailants emerged from the woods behind the building, the two leaders were instantly shot down. The rest, unappalled, rushed forward; and before the brothers could reload their pieces, there were a score of the savages under the shelter of the building. The son, too, had not been idle; for by thrusting one half of his per-young fellow, who had been son through the end window, arranging his piece for such an he had been enabled to fire occasion, fired at the Indian upon them as they rushed for and shot him through the brain. He did not wait to reload; but in spite of the soreness of his knee, pushed for the woods, which were but at a short distance. Once behind a sheltering tree, he reloaded his rifle, and having done so, had the satisfaction to find that none of the surviving Indians pursued him; they were many of them engaged in scalping his father and uncle, and a younger brother and two sisters, while others were in pursuit of his mother and eldest sister, who had succeeded in reaching the woods. 'For two nights he continued to wander in the forest; but during the day he remained hidden in some hollow tree. At last, hungry and weary, he reached a distant settlement on the river Delaware, the inhabitants of which immediately formed themselves into an armed party, and set off for the scene of slaughter. On reaching the place, they presently discovered the dead bodies of nine Indians, the two Larners, and the remainder of the family, except the eldest daughter and the mother. The two last mentioned, it was evident, had been carried off by the surviving Indians, for their bodies were nowhere to be found. This party remained three or four days in the vicinity of these late scenes of blood; but the mother and daughter returned not. From this period, the place was deserted for some years; but the surviving young Larner marrying, he and his wife took possession of the lone and blood-stained dwelling. The tribe of Indians had removed far away to the vicinity of the Seneca and Ciaaga lakes, so that there was no longer any danger to be apprehended from such rude and barbarous neighbours. Years rolled on, and brought with them a new generation of that devoted family; but more than twenty years passed away without any tidings of the missing females. About this period, some settlers from the part of the country where the Larners originally resided, located themselves in the vicinity of the above-mentioned lakes, where they lived in peace and goodwill with their neighbours the Indians, and from whom they learned the fate of the missing mother and daughter. 'They stated that they were pursued and soon captured in the woods; and although they would only submit to be dragged along by force, in that manner they proceeded for a portion of two days. But this mode of proceeding was found so inconvenient to the party, that when they reached the caves in the Moose Mountain, a council was held on their prisoners, when they were adjudged to die. They were then tomahawked, according to the custom of those barbarians; and they had no doubt but their skeletons might be found there still. This information was some time afterwards imparted to the son and brother of the deceased, who, embracing the first opportunity, accompanied by three friends, repaired to Moose Mountain, sought out the caves, that were almost entirely unknown to the white men, and found the two skeletons in the very position they had fallen beneath the tomahawks of their murderers. They were then removed with much care and labour to the residence of the son, who, with true filial affection, interred them in the same grave with the mouldering bodies of their departed kindred. At the time I visited this lone dwelling, the son, who had escaped the family massacre, was still occupying it. He was now old and greyheaded; but he still occasionally took his rifle into the woods in pursuit of game. He, too, had been the father of a family of sons and daughters, now all grown up, and all except one, I believe, married and settled, one or two in his own district; but the others had been induced to wander away to the Far West. He is still looked upon with a sort of veneration; and scarce a lone traveller ever visits him, to whom he does not relate the lamentable fate of his family.' COLTER'S ADVENTURE. 'Colter came to St. Louis in May 1810, in a small canoe, from the head waters of the Missouri, a distance of 3000 miles, which he traversed in thirty days. I saw him on his arrival, and received from him mount of his adventures, after he had separated from Lewis and Clark's party. I shall relate one anecdote for its singularity :— 'On the arrival of the party at the head waters of the Missouri, Colter, observing an appearance of abundance of beaver being there, got permission to remain and hunt for some time, which he did in company with a man of the name of Dixon, who had traversed the immense tract of country from St. Louis to the head waters of the Missouri alone. Soon after, he separated from Dixon, and trapped in company with a hunter named Potts; and aware of the hostility of the Blackfeet Indians, one of whom had been killed by Lewis, they set their traps at night, and took them up early in the morning, remaining concealed during the day. 'They were examining their traps early one morning, in a creek about six miles from that branch of the Missouri called Jefferson Fork, and were ascending in a canoe, when they suddenly heard a great noise, resembling the trampling of animals; but they could not ascertain the fact, as the high perpendicular banks on each side of the river impeded their view. Colter immediately pronounced it to be occasioned by Indians, and advised an instant retreat, but was accused of cowardice by Potts, who insisted that the noise was caused by buffaloes; and they proceeded on. In a few minutes afterwards, their doubts were removed by a party of Indians making their appearance on both sides of the creek, to the number of five or six hundred, who beckoned them to come ashore. As retreat was now impossible, Colter turned the head of the canoe; and, at the moment of its touching, an Indian seized the rifle belonging to Potts; but Colter, who is a remarkably strong man, immediately retook it, and handed it to Potts, who remained in the canoe, and, on receiving it, pushed off into the river. shoulder, asked him if he could run fast. Colter, who had been some time amongst the Keekatso or Crow Indians, had in a considerable degree acquired the Blackfoot language, and was also well acquainted with Indian customs. He knew that he had now to run for his life, with the dreadful odds of five or six hundred against him, and those armed Indians; he therefore cunningly replied that he was a very bad runner, although he was considered by the hunters as remarkably swift. 'The chief now commanded the party to remain stationary, and led Colter out on the prairie three or four hundred yards, and released him, bidding him save himself if he could. At this instant the horrid war-whoop sounded in the ears of poor Colter, who, urged with the hope of preserving life, ran with a speed at which he himself was surprised. He proceeded towards the Jefferson Fork, hav 'He had scarcely quitted the shore, when an arrow was shot at him, and he cried out, "Colter, I am wounded!" Colter remonstrated with him on the folly of attempting to escape, and urged him to come ashore. Instead of complying, he instantly levelled his rifle at the Indian, and shot him dead on the spot. This conduct, situated as he was, may appear to have been an act of madness, but it was doubtless the effect of sudden but sounding to traverse a plain six miles reasoning; for, if taken alive, he must have expected to be tortured to death, according to their custom. He was instantly pierced with arrows so numerous, that, to use Colter's words, "he was made a riddle of." 'They now seized Colter, stripped him entirely naked, and began to consult on the manner in which he should be put to death. They were at first inclined to set him up as a mark to shoot at, but the chief interfered, and, seizing him by the in breadth, abounding with the prickly pear, on which he was every instant treading with his naked feet. He ran nearly halfway across the plain before he ventured to look over his shoulder, when he perceived that the Indians were very much scattered, and that he had gained ground to a considerable distance from the main body; but one Indian, who carried a spear, was much before all the rest, and not more than one hundred yards from him. A faint gleam of hope |
