Thrilling adventures among the early settlers, embracing desperate encounters with Indians, Tories, and refugees; daring exploits of Texan rangers and others .. . as more or less suspected, and I believe, that, had any manbeen arrested on the following day, he would have been hung first,and tried afterward. I said less than any, for I had my own suspi-cions, and I contrived my plot in secret, and made a confidant of noone. The murdered young man was as decently buried as surroundingcircumstances would permit, and his companion, my superstitious friend, grew moremoody with grief,refused to work
Thrilling adventures among the early settlers, embracing desperate encounters with Indians, Tories, and refugees; daring exploits of Texan rangers and others .. . as more or less suspected, and I believe, that, had any manbeen arrested on the following day, he would have been hung first,and tried afterward. I said less than any, for I had my own suspi-cions, and I contrived my plot in secret, and made a confidant of noone. The murdered young man was as decently buried as surroundingcircumstances would permit, and his companion, my superstitious friend, grew moremoody with grief,refused to work his lead any more,and proposed sell-ing off think he wouldhave gone at once,__^_ _ only that I told THERE WAS A HOWL OF FURY, AND A RUSH LIKE WOLVES him it WOUld UOtUPON THEIR PREY. look well to leavewithout an effort to discover the murderer, as some people might bemalicious enough to say he knew something of the matter, and soget him into trouble. He turned very pale, and declared he wouldstay a year, if he thought by that means he could discover theassassin of his dear friend. On the second afternoon following the tragedy, almost every in-. THE murderers ORDEAL. 36T dividual in tne vicinity, the friend of the murdered man among therest, assembled at my store at my request. I had told them I hadsomething to communicate concerning the foul deed, and I thoughtit not unlikely I would give them some clue to the assassin. When all had collected and arranged themselves as I naddirected, in a semicircle before my door—eager, expectant, excited—I came forward, holding in my hand an egg. Then I made them ashort speech on the various superstitions of mankind, which I con-tended had their origin in mysterious facts revealed from the otherworld by Gods good providence, for the protection of the innocent,and the punishment of the guilty; and among other things, I men-tioned how the ghosts of their victims would often haunt the mur-derers, compelling them to reveal their
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1860, booksubjectfrontierandpioneerli
