Show A candle in the wilderness ol a 01 tale of the beginning of new england low EN a rk EBB ESO bacheler Bac heHer service by nv oy irving copyright by irving irvine E bacheller CHAPTER X continued 20 the party broke camp next day leaving leading two dead and one who was so III that he fie could not travel they went northward in a path between nicked trees tile the younger men under packs camping nt at nightfall deep snows and bitter winds tell fell upon them in the high country and halted the caravan the indians put on their moccasins and buckskins soon the white men were sorely put to it to keep from freezing in a mountain valley the warriors wallowed a moose in deep snow ai and 1 I d slew him with their javelins they lie ate all this great creature as big as an ox in one feast escape being impossible the white men were left unguarded they had dug a deep pit in the snow until they uncovered a flat rock on this amos built a alre when the th rock was well heated he put out the fire the metal having cooled till he could put his hand band upon it with no disco discomfort m he covered its surface w with th ba balsam boughs on these they I 1 lay do down wn for the night after the feast and a with wa ti I 1 a sense of comfort old had been worried by the early coming of deep snow he immediately put his braves to the tusk task of making racquets to sustain them in travel for which lie had the needed tools and fiber they were ready to go forward next day the main force of the iroquois were still two marches below in the northeast had sent out his scouts two of whom had been slain by a big force of at al gon goil quins coming from the west guided by the tracks of one of the scouts in the moonlight this force of one hundred and two algonquin warriors equipped with racquets for their feet descended on the sleeping Ble camp at midnight A revolting massacre followed many of the glutted iroquois stupid with meat were slain on their backs A few that did not perish broke through the cordon and got away in the black thickets when the white men in their pit about ten fathoms aside heard the uproar and tumult of this deviltry amos knew its meaning theres no use in he said the camp Is surrounded it if we got away wed freeze to death well have to shift kings and take a chance they came out and surrendered the Algon quins had taken possession of the camp around which the snow was streaked with red there were we re the grim realities of indian warfare yet it was not unlike scenes which the eyes ees of amos had beheld belfeld in the battles of white men in war he was wont to say all men are savages but a time had come when he be was to know the difference between fixed savagery and that born in the raging passions of an hour tile the old wrinkled chief still proud and haughty was tied to a tree with one of his braves the invading warriors were like wolves who have tasted blood the white men were seized and roughly handled in a moment they were stripped and tied to trees near the unfortunate Tawan dobi and his brave the fire was kindled the warriors who bound them stepped aside and indulged in devilish laugh ter as they whetted their knives 1 I reckon torture us said amos nut but dont crack yer nut till they begin they may wait to get meat for a feast if you have any influence with god now Is the time to use it often the hand of tile the hist historian orinn falters in the task of describing the primitive savage the unrestrained lewdness of the young brutal details in the torture of captives may well be hid in the dusty darkness of old records made by many witnesses and known only to those who love the truth the cruel cruelties ties of that night shall not be here described it Is enough to record the central fact that the wise old chief and tits his brave were sin singing ing their death son sons until I 1 their voices failed in the morning light before the tortures began robert recognized the algonquin chief lie he called out to amos this chief la Is our friend we met him in father Cau vets tent on the island so we did and god be praised for it ill amos amog answered knowing a number of words in the algonquin and huron tongues lie he cried out nie cants canis cauvet lantican AcIl awat Int Ican the calef understood and came to amos and touched his chin and shoulders lie he turned and spoke to tits his warriors one of whom hurriedly went cavay away it was evident that he be remembered the beard and broad shoulders of amos it happened that old was with this war party although on account of ills his age lie he had had no part in the raid ile he knew those of the pale face and when they ft were ere in question he fie was the wise counselor of the tribe the algonquin chief had sent bent a brave for Ach awat the interpreter ild ad arged that the white men be spared till the friend of god could open minds and give we hi counsel he who had gone down to the island with amos and robert having finished bu on the tarin aria of madame hebert cam came e and greeted them robert fioke with him in french the old warrior made a speech in th their air behalf he told of their coming coining to gebec that they were friends of the good men who talked with god and friends of the children of the north wind the palefaces were going down to their brothers in the south he told how they had been left in a sudden attack on the spitting ial 1 water and been captured by iroquois ills words tits hla gestures his tones rising and falling failing like gusts of wind in the tree tops impressed the listeners the white captives were beleal released sed the algonquin party learning of the great force of df their enemies in the east turned westward amos and robert traveled with them there were women and children in the camp the women hauled the loaded sleds as they went on and put up the tepees at night the weather grew colder the snow deeper every morning hunters went out to get food for days they would have nothing to eat then the hunters would come in with the meat of wallowed deer or a mouse the carcasses would be consumed in hours of gluttonous feeding with no thought of the future the sick when the sorcerer advised that they would dle die were given no food cold water was poured upon the their ir breasts to hasten what their friends regarded as the inevitable end 40 r mitt I 1 if you have any influence with god now Is the time to use it one savage atho who had been hauling his aged and infirm mother on a sled sent her sliding at breakneck speed down a steep hill she was hurled over a drop near the bottom and was stone dead when he found her these details of that journey and many that are more revolting are in the diaries of the two men gods bodyl amos exclaimed one day 1 I feel like a horse with the bots weve got to do something desperate or well die 0 the scurvy any night a band ol 01 0 iroquois may come down on us and we know its unsafe to be caught in bad company ive got some meat saved saed up and hid in a snow bank and ive contrived some runners for our feet when we ire get a chance well slip away for days amos had been whittling on long strips of dry spruce dime bime by ill show ye what im a doln doin of he said to robert at nightfall the camp was in a panic came to the white alte men with news scouts had find come in and reported a great force of iroquois coming only one march in the east the camp would move moe that night better you go lie he said pointing to the south the sorcerer had had bad dreams amos nodded ile he linew that the dream was to red men a revelation the sorcerer had only to dream that the great spirit was offended by the presence pie sence of the white men and that he had clogged their paths with snow as a warning that other troubles would follow if these unwelcome guests were not put away it Is likely that they would not have seen the light of another day save for the h kindness of old Ach awat their packs pack s and blankets were always with them or they would have been quickly appropriated without exciting suspicion in the hurry burry scurry of the camp they put on their racquets and prepared to move amos tied ills his strips of spruce together and carried them under his arm as they slipped away in the darkness lie he st stopped a moment at tits his snowbank snow bank and shoved the frozen meat into his pack the camp was a little west of a hill bared by fire the top of which commanding a long slope to the east and north was a favorable point for observation watchmen being stationed there at all hours it Is likely that tile the chief tin and tits his counselors were glad to be relieved of their guests however that may be the fugitives got to the edge of the timber apparently unobserved their weapons their hatchet and their pack saw had been given away they had only two pocket knives and a diminutive pocket saw the snowshoe snow shoe shoo moon was up and in a slash amos was able to read the compass by a big boulder in the thick wood beyond they took oft off their racquets and with them dug a deep hole in the alie snow tile the able pioneer had bad a store of tinder and kind lings in his pack for a fire which was soon crackling against the side of tile the rock they covered their pit bottom with hemlock boughs wrapped themselves in their blankets and lay down to rest the heat hant from the rock and the pure pura air gave them a welcome sense of comfort in the morning amos made a kettle out of a big roll of white birch bark and thorns and filled it with wet snow and put it on the hot coals soon he had it nearly full of boiling water in this he fie submerged the ends of the four pieces of spruce timber when the ends were penetrated by the heat and moisture he bent them in a rock crevice and stayed them there until the bends were stiff with frost amos began tits his cheerful talk were too late to ketch peggy but give ye a chance to use yer religion as the flea said when he bit the minister ill ship ye off to holland where ye can wait for her sate safe and out 0 danger she wont lot let no grass grow under her feet robert smiled but made no answer they broiled some meat and brok broat their fast before setting out standing before the fire they had a refreshing bath in worm warm water am amos os cut creases in the bottom of each runner to accommodate tile the leashes of moose hide with which it was to be fastened to the foot with rising ground ahead they put pui on their racquets they acquired great SUM skill in the use of the tha runners their course had been mostly eastward after the first days travel as amos thought it ft best to get across to the lake of the iroquois and go south on the I 1 tee level with nothing in their way in a desperate wood mood since leaving the frightened Algon quins they traveled recklessly and with little thought of their peril amos said that the iro quals warriors would be detained a while in the north by the war and that until they began to come south there would be few indians in the lower country save in and near the long house ile he reckoned that those at home were not apt to travel much in bad weather ber they camped that night on the shore of the lake of the iroquois in the morning amos amog made a sail of thick boughs of hemlock by tying the branches into a broad mass the pioneer set forth his plan tills this lake Is a kind of a blow hole in the bush the north wind has his mouth to the hole in cold weather we ve go out on the lake find and stand side alda by side with the sail on our backs each of us will have bave a tree stem in one hand to stay it all we have to do Is to face south and ride on the runners I 1 reckon well go somewhere and nigh as fast as the wind goes dont worry about old amos he keeps a they slipped out into the wind a and nd began their ride over the smooth crusted snow for long stretches the strong winds had swept the ice clear with little effort they kept the pace of horse travel it was the most agreeable adventure of these weary men near nightfall they saw smoke on the western shore not more than two bow shots away they lowered their sail and stopped amos took a look lonk lit at the smoke 1 I swear by the mercy 0 godl god I 1 he be exclaimed its a chimney white meal men oh com comrade I 1 love it as the bird loves the green tree TO BE CONTINUED |