ertheless I
find that these wild men doe naught butt what they resolve out of their
bloodie mindedness. We passed the Point going out of ye Lake St. Peter,
when ye Barbars appeared on ye watter-side discharging their muskets at
us, and embarquing for our pursuit.
"Kohe--kohe!"--came nearer ye fearsome warre cry of ye Iriquoit, making
ye hearts of ye poore Hurron & ffrench alike to turn to water in their
breasts. 2 of my savages weare strook downe at ye first discharge &
another had his paddle cutt in twain, besides shott holes through with
the watter poured apace. Thus weare we diminished and could not draw
off.
The Barbars weare daubed with paint, which is ye signe of warre. They
coming against our boat struck downe our Hurrons with hattchetts, such
as did not jump into the watter, where also they weare in no wise saved.
But in my boat was a Hurron Captayne, who all his life-time had killed
many Iriquoits & by his name for vallor had come to be a great Captayne
att home and abroad. We weare resolved some execution & with our gunns
dealt a discharge & drew our cutlasses to strike ye foe. They environed
us as we weare sinking, and one spake saying--"Brothers, cheere up and
assure yourselfe you shall not be killed; thou art both men and
Cap-taynes, as I myself am, and I will die in thy defense." And ye
afforesaid crew shewed such a horrid noise, of a sudden ye Iriquoit
Captayne took hold about me--"Thou shalt not die by another hand than
mine."
Ye savages layd bye our armes & tyed us fast in a boat, one in one boat
and one in another. We proceeded up ye river, rather sleeping than
awake, for I thought never to escape.
Att near sunsett we weare taken on ye shore, where ye wild men encamped
bye making cottages of rind from off ye trees. They tyed ye Hurron
Captayne to a trunk, he resolving most bravely but dessparred to me, and
I too dessparred. Nevertheless he sang his fatal song though ye fire
made him as one with the ague. They tooke out his heart and cut off some
of ye flesh of ye miserable, boyled it and eat it. This they wished not
to doe att this time, but that ye Hurron had been shott with a ball
under his girdle where it was not seen, though he would have died of his
desperate wound. That was the miserable end of that wretch.
Whilst they weare busy with ye Hurron, they having stripped me naked,
tyed me above ye elbows, and wrought a rope about my middle. They afked
me several questions, I not being abl
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