ercy. His captors were, however, inexorable, and he began to cry
bitterly, and besought them to spare his life; these manifestations had,
however, no effect on his deadly foes, who now threatened to fell him
with the butt end of a fusee if he did not comply: this had the effect,
and the poor captive reluctantly pulled off the jacket and threw it on
the ground; this was immediately picked up by one of the party, to avoid
its being stained with the life-blood of the victim. Withdrawing now a
few paces, one of the Americans took a deliberate aim; the young soldier
instantly turned to run, but as he wheeled round for the purpose (for
his enemies were facing him), a ball entered his left side, just under
the armpit, and springing frantically several feet into the air, he fell
dead to the ground. He was then stripped, and left on the spot.

This horrid relation I should have thought, for the credit of his
country, an American would have kept secret; but as I before observed,
he was by no means disposed to take the part of these so-called
patriots, although he stated that many atrocities were committed by the
British, some of which he related, and which were, he said, never
recorded; these, I fear, if exposed, would not much redound to their
credit with the present generation.

At first I could not understand why the soldier was ordered before being
shot to pull his jacket off; this he explained by saying, that a rent in
the garment made by the ball of a fusee, would have lessened its value;
and further, that the American soldiers were averse, from superstitious
fear at the time, to wearing any article of dress in which an enemy had
yielded his breath; notwithstanding which repugnance, the American
soldiers not long after dismissed the objection, from the extreme
scantiness of the clothing afforded them.

On my intimating the abhorrence I felt at the relation, my entertainer
informed me that it was impossible at the time to prevent such
occurrences, the annihilation of the invaders was the _primum mobile_ of
all Americans, and many citizens harassed the enemy on their own
account, the principle being the same on which European vessels bearing
letters of marque, are suffered to waylay and seize, for the purpose of
private gain, the merchant vessels belonging to the country with which
they are at war. Such atrocities, as he remarked, however horrifying in
times of peace, are of every-day occurrence between contending armies.