American Scenery, Vol. 2 (of 2): or, Land, lake, and river illustrations of transatlantic natureWillis, Nathaniel Parker
General
American Scenery, Vol. 2 (of 2): or, Land, lake, and river illustrations of transatlantic nature
Willis, Nathaniel Parker
United States -- Description and travel
Between some of its beautiful islands, and between the islands and the
main, Lake George assumes the character of calm river scenery. From the
undisturbed state of the vegetation on the shore, however, and the
absence of the deposit left by the freshets, to which running streams
are liable, the scenery is lovelier than that of most rivers, and
differs from them, as the shores of the tideless Mediterranean differ
from those of the disturbed Atlantic. There is scarce one of these
beautiful islands that has not some association or legend of interest,
and this story is recorded of Diamond Island, the one most visited and
admired:—A party of pleasure had been visiting the island on a little
sailing excursion, and having lingered longer upon that beautiful spot
than they were conscious of, as night drew on, concluded to encamp for
the night,—it being already too late to return to the fort. “From the
shore where we lay hid,” said Cane, “it was easy to watch their motions;
and perceiving their defenceless situation, as soon as it was dark we
set off for the island, where we found them asleep by their fire, and
discharged our guns among them. Several were killed, among whom was one
woman, who had a sucking child, which was not hurt. This we put to the
breast of its dead mother, and so we left it. But Major Hopkins was only
wounded, his thigh-bone being broken; he started from his sleep to a
rising posture, when I struck him,” said Barney Cane, “with the butt of
my gun, on the side of his head; he fell over, but caught on one hand; I
then knocked him the other way, when he caught with the other hand; a
third blow, and I laid him dead. These were all scalped except the
infant. In the morning, a party from the fort went and brought away the
dead, together with one they found alive, although he was scalped, and
the babe, which was hanging and sobbing at the bosom of its lifeless
mother.”
Even this tale of barbarity to a mother, yields in horror to the
sufferings of Massy Harbisson, from whose journal of captivity, take for
example the following passages;—“The Indians, when they had flogged me
away along with them, took my oldest boy, a lad of about five years of
age, along with them, for he was still at the door by my side. My middle
little boy, who was about three years of age, had by this time obtained
a situation by the fire in the house, and was crying bitterly to me not
to go, and making bitter complaints of the depredations of the savages.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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