t he would continue in their company, and thus they would
be able to meet the Indians better if they should be attacked; the
stronger the party, the better, in such a condition. But Hubbel refused
to do this, and proceeded onward. He had not gone far, when a man on the
shore began to make signs of distress, and begged that the boat might
come and take him off. Hubbel knew well enough that this was an Indian
disguised as a white man, and therefore took no notice of him. In a
little time, a party of savages pushed off in their boats, and attacked
him fiercely. The fight was hot on both sides. The savages tried to board
Hubbel's boat, but the fire was too hot for this. Hubbel received two
severe wounds, and had the lock of his gun shot off by an Indian; still
he fought, touching off his broken gun from time to time with a
firebrand. The Indians found the struggle too hard, and were glad to
paddle off. Presently they returned, and attacked the other boat; this
they seized almost without an effort, killed the captain and a boy, and
took all the women as prisoners to their own boats. Now they came once
more against Hubbel, and cunningly placed the women on the sides of
their boats as a sort of bulwark. But this did not stop Hubbel: he saw
that his balls must strike the women; but it was better that they should
be killed now, rather than suffer a death of torture from the savages,
and the fire was at once opened upon them again. They were soon driven
off once more. In the course of the action, however, Hubbel's boat
drifted near the shore, and five hundred savages renewed the fire upon
them. One of the emigrants, more imprudent than the rest, seeing a fine
chance for a shot, raised his head to take aim, and was instantly killed
by a ball. The boat drifted along, and at length reached deep water
again. It was then found, that of the nine men on board, two only had
escaped unhurt; two were killed, and two mortally wounded. A remarkable
lad on board showed great courage. He now asked his friends to extract a
ball that had lodged in the skin of his forehead; and when this was done,
he begged that they would take out a piece of bone that had been
fractured in his elbow by another ball. His poor frightened mother,
seeing his suffering, asked him why he had not complained before; to
which the little fellow replied that he had been too busy, and, besides
that, the captain had told them all to make no noise.

It was idle to attempt now