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days, until he was able to attend at the council-house and receive the announcement of his final doom.

After a violent discussion, the council by a large majority, determined that he should be made a public sacrifice to the vengeance of the nation; and the decision was announced by a burst of savage joy, with yells and shouts which made the welkin ring. The place of execution was Wappatomica, the present site of Zanesfield, in Logan county, Ohio. On his route to this place, he was taken through Pickaway and Mackacheck, on the Scioto, where he was again compelled to undergo the torture of the gantlet, and was Scourged through the line. At this place, smarting under his wounds and bruises, he was detained several days, in order that he might recuperate preparatory to his march to Wappatomica. At length, being carelessly guarded, he determined, if possible, to make his escape from the impending doom. In this attempt he had proceeded two miles from the place of confinement, when he was met by two Indians on horseback, who in a brutal manner drove him back to the village. The last ray of hope had now expired, and, loathing a life of continual suffering, he in despair resigned himself to his fate.

His late attempt to escape had brought upon him a repetition of savage torture, which had well-nigh closed his sufferings forever, and he verily believed himself a "God-forsaken wretch." Taken to a neighboring creek, he was thrown in, and dragged through mud and water, and submerged repeatedly, until life was nearly extinct, when he was again left in a dying state; but the constitutional vigor within him revived, and a few days afterward he was taken to Wappatomica for execution. At Wappatomica he first saw, at a British trading-post, his old friend Simon Girty, who had become a renegade, in all the glory of his Indian life, surrounded by swarms of Indians, who had come to view the doomed prisoner and to witness his torture. Yet Girty suspected not the presence of his old acquaintance at Fort Pitt. Although well acquainted with Kenton only a few years before, his present mangled condition and his blackened face left no traces of recognition in Girty's mind. Looking upon him as a doomed victim, beyond the reach of pity or hope, he could view him only as the victim of sacrifice; but so soon as Kenton succeeded in making himself known to Girty, the hard heart of the latter at once relented; and sympathizing with his miserable condition and still more horrid doom, he resolved to make an effort for his release. His whole personal influence, and his eloquence, no less than his intrigue, were put in requisition for the safety of his fallen friend. He portrayed, in strong language, the policy of preserving the life of the prisoner, and the advantage which might accrue to the Indians from the possession of one so intimately acquainted with all the white settlements. For a time Girty's eloquence prevailed, and a respite was granted; but suspicions arose, and he was again summoned before the council. The death of Kenton was again decreed. Again the influence of

Girty prevailed, and through finesse he accomplished a further respite, together with a removal of the prisoner to Sandusky.

Here again the council decreed his death, and again he was compelled to submit to the terrors of the gantlet, preliminary to his execution. Still Girty did not relax his efforts. Despairing of his own influence with the council, he secured the aid and influence of Logan, "the friend of white men." Logan interceded with Captain Drouillard, a British officer, and procured through him the offer of a liberal ransom to the vindictive savages for the life of the prisoner. Captain Drouillard met the council, and urged the great advantage such a prisoner would be to the commandant at Detroit, in procuring from him such information as would greatly facilitate his future operations against the rebel colonies. At the same time, appealing to their avarice, he suggested that the ransom would be proportionate to the value of the prisoner.

Drouillard guaranteed the ransom of one hundred dollars for his delivery, and Kenton was given to him in charge for the commandant at Detroit. As soon as his mind was out of suspense, his robust constitution and iron frame recovered from the severe treatment which they had undergone. Kenton passed the winter and spring at Detroit. Among the prisoners were Captain Nathan Bullit and Jesse Coffer. They had the liberty of the town, and could stroll about at pleasure.

With these two men, Kenton began to meditate an escape. They had frequent conferences on the subject; but the enterprise was almost too appalling for even these hardy, enterprising pioneers. If they should make this bold push, they would have to travel nearly four hundred miles through the Indian country, where they would be exposed to death by starvation, by flood, by the tomahawk, or to capture, almost at every step. But the longer they brooded over the enterprise, the stronger their resolutions grew to make the attempt. They could make no movement to procure arms, ammunition or provision without exciting suspicion; and should they be once suspected, they would be immediately confined. In this situation, they could only brood over their wished flight in secret and in silence. Kenton was a fine looking man, with a dignified and manly deportment, and a soft, pleasing voice, and was everywhere he went a favorite among the ladies. A Mrs. Harvey, the wife of an Indian trader, had treated him with particular respect ever since he came to Detroit, and he concluded if he could engage this lady as a confidant, by her assistance and countenance, ways and means could be prepared to aid them in their meditated flight. Kenton approached Mrs. Harvey on this delicate and interesting subject with as much trepidation and coyness as ever maiden was approached in a love affair. The great difficulty with Kenton was to get the subject opened with Mrs. Harvey. If she should reject his suit, and betray his intentions, all his fond hopes would be at once blasted. However at length

he concluded to trust this lady with the scheme of his meditated flight, and the part he wished her to act for him. He watched an opportunity to have a private interview with Mrs. Harvey. An opportunity soon offered, and he, without disguise or hesitation, in full confidence infornied her of his intention, and requested her aid and secrecy. She appeared at first astonished at his proposal, and observed that it was not in her power to afford him any aid. Kenton told her he did not expect or wish her to be at any expense on their account; that they had a little money for which they had labored; and that they wished her to be their agent to purchase such articles as would be necessary for them in their flight; that if they should go to purchasing, it would create suspicion; but that she could aid them in this way without creating any suspicion; and if she would be their friend, they had no doubt they could effect their escape. This appeal from such a fine-looking man as Kenton was irresistible. There was something pleasing in being the selected confidant of such a man; and the lady, though a little coy at first, surrendered at discretion. After a few chit chats, she entered into the views of Kenton with as much earnestness and enthusiasm as if she had been his sister. She began to collect and conceal such articles as might be necessary in the journeypowder, lead, moccasins and dried beef were procured in small quantities, and concealed in a hollow tree some distance out of town. Guns were still wanting, and it would not do for a lady to trade in them. Mr. Harvey had an excellent fowling-piece, if nothing better should offer, that, she said, should be at their servica. They had now everything that they expected to take with them in their flight ready, except guns.

At length the third day of June, 1779, came, and a large concourse of Indians were in the town engaged in a drunken frolic; they had stacked their guns near Mrs. Harvey's house. As soon as it was dark, Mrs. Harvey went quietly to where the Indians' guns were stacked, and selected the three best looking rifles, carried them into her garden, and concealed them in a patch of peas. She next went privately to Kenton's lodging, and conveyed to him the intelligence where she had hid the Indians' guns. She told him she would place a ladder at the back of the garden (it was picketed), and that he could come in and get the guns. No time was to be lost. Kenton conveyed the good news he had from Mrs. Harvey to his companions, who received the tidings in ecstasies of joy; they felt as if they were already at home. It was a dark night; Kenton, Bullit and Coffer gathered up their little all and pushed to Mrs. Harvey's garden. There they found the ladder; Kenton mounted over, drew the ladder over after him, went to the pea-patch, found Mrs. Harvey sitting by the guns; she handed him the rifles, gave a friendly shake of the hand, and bid a safe journey to his friends and countrymen. She appeared to Kenton and his comrades as an angel. When a woman engages to do an action, she will risk limb, life or character to serve th se

whom she respects or wishes to befriend. How differently the same action will be viewed by different persons! By Kenton and his friends her conduct was viewed as the benevolent action of a good angel; while if the part she played in behalf of Kenton and his companions had been known to the commander at Detroit, she would have been looked upon as a traitress, who merited the scorn and contempt of all honest citizens. This night was the last time that Kenton ever saw or heard of her.

A few days before Kenton left Detroit, he had a conversation with an Indian trader, a Scotchman, by the name of M'Kenzie, who was well acquainted with the geography of the country, and range of the Indians, between the lakes and the Ohio and Mississippi. The Scotchman slily observed to Kenton, that if he was going to Kentucky, and did not wish to meet with the Indians, he would steer more west than the common route, and get into Wabash prairies as soon as possible. Kenton did not know what to think of the remarks of the Scotchman. He began to think that perhaps Mrs. Harvey had divulged his secret to this man, and that he was pumping Kenton; or probably he wished to aid him, and this was offering him friendly advice. As no more was said, he did not pretend to notice what the Scotchman said, but treasured the remarks in his mind.

As soon as Kenton and his companions took their leave of their friend and benefactress, Mrs. Harvey, they made their way to the little store in the hollow tree, bundled up and pushed for the wood, and steered a more westerly, than the direct course to Kentucky. They had no doubt but every effort would be made to retake them; they were, consequently, very circumspect and cautious in leaving as few traces, by which they might be discovered, as possible. They went on slowly, traveling mostly in the night, steering their course by the cluster, called the seven stars, until they reached the prairie country, on the Wabash. In this time, though they had been very sparing of their stock of provisions, it was now exhausted, and their lives depended on their guns. In these large prairies there was but little game, and they were days without provision. They, like the Hebrews of old, began to wish themselves again with the flesh-pots at Detroit. One day as they were passing down the Wabash, they were just emerging out of a thicket of brushwood, when an Indian encampment suddenly presented itself to their view, and not more than one hundred and fifty or two hundred yards from them. No ghastly visit could have set their hair on end sooner. They immediately dodged back into the thicket, and concealed themselves until night. They were now almost exhausted with fatigue and hunger-they could only travel a few miles in a day. They lay still in the thicket, consulting with each other the most proper measures to pursue in this their precarious situation. Bullit and Coffer thought the best plan to save their lives, would be voluntarily to surrender themselves to the Indians. The Indians who had taken them had not treated

them so roughly as Kenton had been handled. Kenton wished to lay still until night, and make as little sign as possible, and as soon as it was dark they would push ahead, and trust the event to Providence. After considerable debate, Kenton's plan was adopted. The next morning, Kenton shot a deer. They made a fire and went to cooking; and never did food taste more delicious. They then pursued their toilsome march, and arrived, without farther adventure, at the Falls of the Ohio (now Louisville) on the thirty-third day of their escape.

Until the close of the war, he continued an active partisan. From 1784 to 1792, he was in many severe encounters with the savages, and on one occasion with Tecumseh, then a young chief rapidly rising into notice. Kenton was with Wayne, in the capacity of Major, in the early part of his campaign.

When the war was over, he settled on his farm, near Maysville, where he possessed extensive lands, and was considered one of the wealthiest men in Kentucky. His house was the abode of hospitality, and he began to enjoy the comforts of a green old age in peace and competence, but a dark cloud was lowering upon his prospects. Ignorant of the technicalities of the law, he had failed to render his title secure, and, like Boone and Clarke, he was robbed in successive law-suits, of one piece of land after another, until he found, in his declining age, himself and family reduced to poverty and want.

About the year 1802, he settled in Urbana, Ohio, where he remained some years, and was elected brigadier-general of militia. In the war of 1812, he joined the army of Gen. Harrison, and was at the battle of the Moravian town, where he displayed his usual intrepidity. About the year 1820, he moved to the head of Mad River. A few years after, through the exertions of Judge Burnet and General Vance, a pension of twenty dollars per month was granted to him, which secured his declining age from want. He died in 1836, at which time he had been a member of the Methodist church over a quarter of a century. The frosts of more than eighty winters had fallen on his head without entirely whitening his locks, notwithstanding he had passed through more dangers, privations, perils and hair-breadth escapes than any man living or dead.

INCIDENTS OF THE FUR TRADE.

THE French were the pioneers in the Fur Trade. It was in fact the great source which gave early sustenance and vitality to their Canadian provinces, and of no less importance to them than the precious metals of the South to the Spanish colonies. At an early period, long before the English had crossed the Alleghanies, their colonies, missionary stations, trading-posts and forts were located in

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