The War in the Northwest 283 



on a pillow in front of his saddle, for they were all 

 mounted. Suddenly a horseman crossed the road 

 close in front of them, and was recognized by one 

 of the party as a noted tory. Upon being chal- 

 lenged, he rode off at full speed. Instantly Camp- 

 bell handed the baby to a negro slave, struck spur 

 into his horse, and galloping after the fugitive, over- 

 took and captured him. The other men of the party 

 came up a minute later. Several recognized the 

 prisoner as a well-known tory ; he was riding a stolen 

 horse; he had on him letters to the British agents 

 among the Cherokees, arranging for an Indian ris- 

 ing. The party of returning church-goers were ac- 

 customed to the quick and summary justice of lynch 

 law. With stern gravity they organized themselves 

 into a court. The prisoner was adjudged guilty, 

 and was given but a short shrift ; for the horsemen 

 hanged him to a sycamore tree before they returned 

 to the road where they had left their families. 



On another occasion, while Campbell was in com- 

 mand of a camp of militia, at the time of a Cherokee 

 outbreak, he wrote a letter to his wife, a sister of 

 Patrick Henry, that gives us a glimpse of the way 

 in which he looked at Indians. His letter began, 

 "My dearest Betsy" ; in it he spoke of his joy at re- 

 ceiving her "sweet and affectionate letter" ; he told 

 how he had finally got the needles and pins she 

 wished, and how pleased a friend had been with 

 the apples she had sent him. He urged her to buy 

 a saddle-horse, of which she had spoken, but to be 

 careful that it did not start or stumble, which were 



