the woods, and got below them on the
river in order to head off the canoe as it came down.

"Eastman was on shore, and Stinson and my brother William were in the
canoe. Just after daybreak they caught Eastman as he was walking along
the bank. The Indians told me to hail the others, and call them to the
shore. I shouted to them: 'The Indians have got Eastman and me. Go down
the further shore.' They paddled away, and the Indians rose and fired. I
knocked up the muzzles of the guns of those near me, and as the rest
fired, I hit all the guns I could. One shot killed Stinson, and a bullet
went through the paddle which my brother held.

"I cried out, 'They've all fired, Bill. Get away as quick as you can.'
He paddled off, and the Indians gave me a good pounding, for which I
could not blame them."

"They must have been pretty angry with you."

"They were just boiling over, and at the same time they kind of liked me
for it, too.

"They were St. Francis Indians. There were ten of them under their
chief, Francis Titigaw. They took us up to the Connecticut River, where
we were joined by two Indians who had been left there. Then we went to
the upper Coos Intervale. Three of the Indians were sent with Eastman to
the village of St. Francis. The rest of us hunted on a small creek. They
let me do a little trapping, and gave me the skins of a couple of
beavers that I killed.

"Early in June we arrived at St. Francis, and they made Eastman and me
run the gauntlet. The young Indians formed two lines, and we were to run
down between them. Each Indian had a club or stick, and they gave
Eastman and me two poles about eight feet long, with the skin of an
animal or bird tied to the end.

"They taught us some words to sing as we passed down the line, and
pretty sassy words they were. Eastman sang, 'I'll beat all your young
men.' This made the young braves angry and every one struck at him, so
that he was pretty well used up when he got through the lines.

[Sidenote: RUNNING THE GAUNTLET]

"When my turn came, I sang, 'I'll kiss all your young women.' I had a
good, strong pole, and made up my mind that I would not be the only one
who got the blows. As I ran through the lines, I whacked away, right and
left, and this surprised them so much that I got through with but little
harm. Perhaps you think, as others do, that there is no fun in an
Indian. But the old men who sat near by were immensely tickled as their
young men went down, and th