her up
nearly high and dry.

By this time the privateer had seen our disaster stood boldly in, and
anchored within less than gun shot of the beach; they then very
foolishly opened a brisk cannonade; but every shot was spent in vain.
This exasperated the Indians, and particularly the one who had taken
possession of my pistols. Casting my eye round, I saw him creeping
toward me with one pistol presented, and when about five yards off, he
pulled the trigger. But as Providence had, no doubt, ordered it, the
pistol snapped; at the same moment, a shot from the privateer fell a few
yards from us, when the Indian rose upon his feet, cocked the pistol,
and fired it at the privateer; turning round with a most savage yell, he
threw the pistol with great violence, which grazed my head, and then,
with a large stick, beat and cut me until I was perfectly senseless.
This was about ten o'clock, and I did not recover my consciousness
until, as I supposed, about four o'clock in the afternoon. I perceived
there were four squaws around me, one of whom, from her
appearance,--having on many gewgaws and trinkets,--was the wife of a
chief. As soon as she discovered signs of returning consciousness, she
presented me with a gourd, the contents of which appeared to be Indian
meal mixed with water; she first drank, and then gave it to me, and I
can safely aver that I never drank any beverage, before or since, which
produced such relief.

Night was now coming on; the privateer had got under weigh, and was
standing off-and-on, with a flag of truce flying at her mast-head. The
treacherous Indian with whom I had first conversed came, and with a
malignant smile, gave me the dreadful intelligence that, at twelve
o'clock that night, we were to be roasted and eaten.

Accordingly, at sunset, I was unloosed and conducted, by a band of about
half a dozen savages, to the spot, where I found the remainder of our
men firmly secured, by having their hands tied behind them, their legs
lashed together, and each man fastened to a stake that had been driven
into the ground for that purpose. There was no possibility to elude the
vigilance of these miscreants. As soon as night shut in, a large
quantity of brushwood was piled around us, and nothing now was wanting
but the fire to complete this horrible tragedy. Then the same malicious
savage approached us once more, and, with the deepest malignity, taunted
us with our coming fate. Having some knowledge of the India