r leader, we may readily
suppose that the station might have surrendered. Flushed, however, with
the capture of their prisoners, they seem not to have thought of it any
longer.

The prisoners were marched immediately to Old Chilicothe, the principal
Indian town on the Little Miami, where they arrived on the 18th. There
was great rejoicing over them when they reached this old settlement of
the savages, though Boone says they were "treated as kindly as prisoners
could expect." Early in the next month Boone with ten of his men was
marched off to Detroit by forty Indians. Here Governor Hamilton, the
British commander of that post, treated them with much kindness. The ten
men were soon delivered up for a small ransom. But when the Governor
offered them one hundred pounds to give up Boone, that he might allow him
to return home, they refused to part with him; they looked upon him as
too dangerous an enemy to be allowed to go free upon any terms. Several
English gentlemen were moved with pity when they saw Boone thus a
helpless prisoner, and offered to supply his wants. He thanked them for
their feeling, but refused to receive any aid, stating that he never
expected to be able to return their kindness, and therefore was unwilling
to receive it. The truth was, he was not disposed to receive assistance
from the enemies of his country.

With no other prisoner than Boone, the party now started again for Old
Chilicothe. As they drew near, after a very fatiguing march, Boone
thought he understood why they had refused to part with him. Before they
entered the village, they shaved his head, painted his face, and dressed
him like themselves; they then placed in his hands a long white staff,
ornamented with deers' tails. The chief of the party then raised a yell,
and all the warriors from the village answered it, and soon made their
appearance. Four young warriors commenced singing as they came toward
him. The two first, each bearing a calumet, took him by the arms and
marched him to a cabin in the village; here he was to remain until his
fate was made known to him. Of all strange customs of the Indians (and he
had seen many of them), this was the strangest to him. It is not
wonderful that he thought he was now to die.

Yet this was a common custom (it is said) among the Shawanese, who
inhabited this village. Prisoners were often thus carried to some cabin,
and then the Indian living in the cabin decided what should be
done--whether