sudden and perceivable as lightning, an assurance of my peace made with God, sprung up in my mind. The following words were the subject of my meditation-" In peace thou shalt see God. Fear not those who can kill the body. In peace shalt thou depart." I was on this occasion by a confidence in mind not to be resisted, fully assured of my salvation. This being the case I was willing, satisfied, and glad to die. I was tied to the post, as I have already said, and the flame was now kindled. The day was clear, not a cloud to be seen. If there were clouds low in the horizon, the sides of the house prevented me from seeing them, but I heard no thunder, or observed any sign of approaching rain; just as the fire of one pile began to blaze, the wind rose, from the time they began to kindle the fire and to tie me to the post, until the wind began to blow, was about fifteen minutes. The wind blew a hurricane, and the rain followed in less than three minutes. The rain fell violent; and the fire, though it began to blaze considerably, was instantly extinguished. The rain lasted about a quarter of an hour. When it was over the savages stood amazed, and were a long time silent. At last one said, we will let him. alone till morning, and take a whole day's frolic in burning him. The sun at this time was about three hours high. It was agreed upon, and the rope about my neck was untied, and making me sit down, they began to dance around me. They continued dancing in this manner until eleven o'clock at night; in the mean time, beating, kicking and wounding me with their tomahawks and clubs. At last one of the warriors, the Half Moon, asked me if I was sleepy? I answered, Yes. The head warrior then chose out three warriors to take care of me. I was taken to a block house; my arms were tied until the cord was hid in the flesh; they were tied in two places, round the wrist and above the elbows. A rope was fastened about my neck and tied to a beam of the house, but permitting me to lie down on a board. The three warriors were constantly harassing and troubling me, saying, “How will you like to eat fire to morrow-you will kill no more Indians now." I was in expectation of their going to sleep; when at length, about an hour before daybreak, two laid down; the third smoked a pipe, talked to me and asked the same painful questions. About half an hour after, he also laid down and I heard him begin to snore. Instantly I went to work, and as my arms were perfectly dead with the cord, I laid myself down upon my right arm which was behind my back, and keeping it fast with my fingers, which had still some life and strength, I slipped the cord from my left arm over my elbow and my wrist. One of the warriors now got up and stirred the fire: I was apprehensive that I should be examined, and thought it was over with me; but my hopes revived when now he lay down again. I then attempted to unloose the rope about my neck; tried to gnaw it, but in vain, as it was as thick as my thumb and as hard as iron, being made of a buffaloe hide: I wrought with it a long time, gave it out, and could see no relief. At this time I saw day break and heard the cock crow: I made a second attempt, almost without hope, pulling the rope by putting my fingers between my neck and it, and to my great surprise it came easily untied: it was a noose with two or three knots tied over it. I stept over the warriors as they lay, and having got out of the house, looked back to see if there was any disturbance; I then run through the town into a corn field; in my way I saw a squaw with four or five children lying asleep under a tree: going a different way into the field, I untied my arm, which was greatly swelled and turned black: having observed a number of horses in the glade as I ran through it, I went back to catch one, and on my way found a piece of an old rug or quilt hanging on a fence, which I took with me: having caught the horse, the rope with which I had been tied. served for a halter, I rode off: the horse was strong and swift, and the woods being open and the country level, about ten o'clock that day I crossed the Sciota river at a place, by computation, fifty full miles from the town. I had rode about twenty-five miles on this side of the Sciota by three o'clock in the afternoon, when the horse began to fail, and could no longer go on a trot. I instantly left him, and on foot, ran about twenty miles farther that day, making in the whole the distance of near one hundred miles. In the evening I heard hallooing behind me, and for this reason did not halt until about ten o'clock at night, when I sat down, was extremely sick and vomited; but when the moon rose, which might have been about two hours after, I went on and travelled until day. During the night I had a path, but in the morning judged it prudent to forsake the path and take a ridge for a distance of fifteen miles, in a line at right angles to my course, putting back as I went along, with a stick, the weeds which I had bended, lest I should be tracked by the enemy. I lay the next night on the waters of Muskingum; the nettles had been troublesome to me after my crossing the Sciota, having nothing to defend myself but the piece of a rug which I had found, and which while I rode I used under me by way of saddle; the briers and thorns were now painful to and prevented me from travelling in the night until the moon appeared. In the mean time I was prevented from sleeping by the musketoes, for even in the day I was under the necessity of travelling with a handful of bushes to brush them. from my body. The second night I reached Cushakim; next day came to Newcomer's town, where I got about seven rasberries, which were the first thing I ate from the morning on which the Indians had taken me to burn me until this time, which was now about three o'clock the fourth day. I felt hunger very little, but was extremely weak. I swam Muskingum river at Oldcomer's town, the river being two hundred yards wide; having reached the bank, I sat down, looked back and thought I had a start of the Indians if any should pursue. That evening I travelled about five miles; next day came to Stillwater, a small river, in a branch of which I got two small crawfish to eat: next night I lay within five miles of Wheeling, but had not slept a wink during this whole time, being rendered impossible by the musketoes, which it was my constant employment to brush away. Next day came to Wheeling, and saw a man on the island in the Ohio opposite to that post, and calling to him and asking for particular persons who had been on the expedition, and telling him I was Slover, at length, with great difficulty, he was persuaded to come over and bring me across in his canoe. A NARRATIVE of the Captivity and Escape of Mrs. FRANCES ΟΝ N Wednesday the 29th day of June, 1785, late in the evening, a large company of armed men passed the house, on their way to Kentucky: Some part of whom encamped within two miles. Mr. Scott living on a frontier part, generally made the family watchful; but on this calamitous day, after so large a body of men had passed, shortly after night he lay down in his bed, and imprudently left one of the doors of the house open; the children were also in bed, and asleep. Mrs. Scott was nearly undressed, when, to her unutterable astonishment and horror, she saw rushing in through the door that was left open, painted savages with presented arms, raising a hideous shriek-Mr. Scott being awake, instantly jumped out of his bed, but was immediately fired at; he forced his way through the middle of the enemy and got out of the door, but fell a few paces from thence. An Indian seized Mrs. Scott, and ordered her to a particular spot, and not to move: others stabbed and cut the throats of the three youngest children in their bed, and afterwards lifted them up and dashed them down on the floor, near the mother; the eldest a beautiful girl of eight years old, awoke, escaped out of the bed, ran to her parent, and with the most plaintive accents, cried, "Oh mama! mama! save me;"the mother, in the deepest anguish of spirit, and with a flood of tears, entreated the savages to spare her child; but, with a brutal fierceness, they tomahawked and stabbed her in her mother's arms. Adjacent to Mr. Scott's dwelling house another family lived, of the name C |