142 The Winning of the West 



else, or indeed may only have been the kind of feat 

 which might at any time have been performed by 

 men of his stamp. Thus one set of traditions 

 ascribe to Brady an adventure in which when bound 

 to a stake, he escaped by suddenly throwing an 

 Indian child into the fire, and dashing off unhurt 

 in the confusion, but other traditions ascribe the 

 feat not to Brady, but to some other wild hunter 

 of the day. Again one of the favorite tales of Brady 

 is his escape from a band of pursuing Indians, by an 

 extraordinary leap across a deep ravine, at the bot 

 tom of which flowed a rapid stream; but in some 

 traditions this leap appears as made by another 

 frontier hero, or even by an Indian whom Brady 

 himself was pursuing. It is therefore a satisfaction 

 to come across, now and then, some feat which is 

 attested by contemporaneous testimony. There is 

 such contemporary record for one of Brady's deeds, 

 which took place toward the close of the Revolu 

 tionary War. 



Brady had been on a raid in the Indian country 

 and was returning. His party had used all their 

 powder and had scattered, each man going toward 

 his own home, as they had nearly reached the set 

 tlements. Only three men were left with Brady, 

 the four had but one charge of powder apiece, and 

 even this had been wet in crossing a stream, though 

 it had been carefully dried afterward. They had 

 with them a squaw whom they had captured. When 

 not far from home they ran into a party of seven 

 Indians, likewise returning from a raid, and carry- 



