they could toward New Amsterdam. They therefore started away
as soon as possible. But Penelope's husband was too sick to go any
farther at that time, and his wife was too good a woman to leave her
husband in that lonely spot; and so these two were left behind, while
the rest of the company started for New Amsterdam, promising, however,
that they would send help to the unfortunate couple.

The fears of these immigrants in regard to the Indians were not without
foundation; for the main party had not long departed, when a band of red
men, probably having heard in some way of the wreck of the ship,
appeared upon the scene, and discovered poor Penelope and her sick
husband. It is unfortunately the disposition of most savages to show
little pity for weakness and suffering, and the fact that the poor young
man could not do them any possible harm had no effect upon them, and
they set upon him and killed him; very much as a boy would kill a little
harmless snake, for no reason whatever, except that he was able to do
it.

Then they determined to kill Penelope also, and, attacking her with
their tomahawks, they so cut and wounded her that she fell down bleeding
and insensible. Having built a fire, these brave warriors cooked
themselves a comfortable meal, and then departed. But Penelope was not
killed, and, coming to her senses, her instincts told her that the first
thing to do was to hide herself from these bloodthirsty red men: so,
slowly and painfully, she crawled away to the edge of a wood, and found
there a great hollow tree, into which she crept.

This made but narrow and doleful quarters for a wounded woman, but it
was preferable at that time to the blue sky and fresh air. She did not
leave the tree until nightfall, and then she made her way to the place
where the fire was still glimmering; and by great care, and with what
must have been painful labor, she kept this fire from going out, and so
managed to get a little warmth.

In this way, living in the tree the greater part of the time, and
depending for food chiefly upon the fungous excrescences and gum which
grew on the outside of it,--for she was not able to go in search of
berries and other food,--poor Penelope lived for a few days, with her
dead husband on the beach, and her almost dead self in that cavern-like
tree. The hours must have passed mournfully indeed to this young woman
who had set out for the New World with such bright hopes.

That she survived her ter