"Though I did not believe a word they said, it had a very different effect upon my Indians, who were already tired of the voyage. It was only too evident that they were determined to return. They said that, according to the information they had received, there were very few animals in the country beyond us, and that as we proceeded the scarcity would increase, and that we would perish from hunger. Seeing that this had no effect upon me, they said that some treacherous design was meditated against me. A panic had seized them, and any further prosecution of the voyage, or of means of escape, was considered by them as altogether hopeless and impracticable. "Without paying the least attention to the opinions or surmises of my Indians, I ordered them to take everything out of the canoe, which had become so leaky that we did not consider it safe to continue our journey in it. To add to the perplexity of the situation we had not an ounce of gum to repair it, and not one of the men had sufficient courage to venture into the woods to collect it. I dared not leave the crew with the canoe lest they might prove deserters. We were under the necessity of making a smoke to keep off the swarms of mosquitoes, which would otherwise have tormented us to death, but we did not venture to excite a blaze, as it would have been a mark for the arrows of the Red Knives. Though almost prostrated with weariness, I dared not sleep, but spent the night from sunset at 10 p.m. till nearly daylight at 2 a.m. in plotting and planning means to bring about a reconciliation with the natives, which alone would enable me to procure guides, without whose assistance it would be impossible for me to proceed. "Just before sunrise, while sitting quietly in my tent, from which I could observe the crew, I heard a slow, stealthy movement in the rear of the tent. Turning hastily to investigate, I could see the dim figure of a man, dagger in hand, creeping under the canvas. In a moment I jumped on him, disarmed him, and secured his hands and feet with the fathoming-line, which fortunately was within reach. During the scuffle my whole crew fled to the canoe and escaped, leaving me at the mercy of the natives." By this time the Chief had become an interested listener, and had beckoned to the others, who joined the little group and were listening intently to George as he related his adventures with the Red Knives. "How shall I find words," he said, "to depict the fiendish atrocities perpetrated by that tribe during the months and years which followed. Their greatest cruelty lay in torturing their victim to the verge of insanity, and in stopping short of the final act, which would have proved a most blessed release. Escape was impossible. Suicide, which seemed so desirable, was forbidden by Divine law.