On the 11th of August, the traders arrived from the _Mississippi_, and brought an account of an extraordinary escape which a Mr. Ramsay and his brother had from a tribe of the nation of the Poes, in their way to St. Joseph. The Poes are a very wild savage people, have an aversion to Englishmen, and generally give them as much trouble as possible in passing or repassing the Fort of St. Joseph’s, where some French traders are settled by their permission.[89] It seems the Canadians were invited by the Savages to land, and Mr. Ramsay supposing they had some furs to dispose of, ordered his men to go on shore; when standing up in his canoe just before his debarkation, three of the warriors waded through the water neck-high, dragged him out of his canoe, and carried him on shore. Mr. Ramsay’s men immediately landed, and were preparing to follow their master, but observing eleven Indians near at hand, and perceiving the bad intention of the chiefs, got again into their canoes, leaving the one in which Mr. Ramsay and his son were, on the beach, and paddled to an adjacent {145} island, waiting the event of a circumstance which threatened death to their masters. Mr. Ramsay being tied to the stump of a tree, and his son narrowly watched, the Indians rummaged the canoe, and brought up as much rum as they thought they could drink; they then began to sing their war songs; and making a large fire near the stump to which Mr. Ramsay was tied, they sat down on the ground, and began to insult him, telling him he was an old woman, and obliged his brother to join in the derision. The usual mode of execution among the Savages, is as follows: When a warrior is taken, he is brought into a hut, and tied with small cords made of the bark of trees, about the size of a cod-line: he is then fastened to a stump, and a small rattle put into his hand, called _chessaquoy_, which he shakes while he sings the dead war song: “_Wabindan payshik shemagonish kitchee mannitoo; nee wee waybenan nee yoe Matchee Mannitoo._” “Master of Life, view me well as a warrior; I have thrown away my body against the bad spirit.” When the song is finished, the prisoner is untied, and made to run the gauntlet through two ranks of women, who are provided with small sticks to beat him. After this punishment a dog-feast is prepared with bear’s grease and huckleberries, of which he is obliged to eat. He {146} is then brought again to the stake, when wood is placed round him. He now sings his war song, and the women set fire to the pile, the prisoner singing as it burns. The bones are then collected and fixed to the war-standard, which is a high pole painted with vermillion. It is said that the nation of the _Followens_, or Wild Oats,[90] kill their wives and children before they go to battle, that in case of a defeat the enemy shall not have any prisoners of their nation.