568 



F A R M E R S' REGISTER. 



object then appenrs lo have been to fasten ihe 

 massive trap-door by which he ascended the cu- 

 pola, and prevent their arccss to him, or know- 

 ledge of his situation. But iliey burst into the 

 house and forced their way to his retreat, and from 

 the fiendish yells of the rxulting monsters, the fa- 

 mily suppose his horrid i)utchery was here com- 

 pleted. The savages then fired tlie liouse upon 

 the top and cjiTimenccd their search (or other vic- 

 tims and plunder. JMrs. Perrine and family at 

 this juncture retreated from the bathing room 

 through the subterraneous passage leading to the 

 turtle crawl, and sought that as the only refuge (or 

 a moment's safety. In this place, in each other's 

 arms, the mother and three children, with scarcely 

 their heads above the water, lay for nine long 

 hours, still as the reinning silence of Ihe grave, 

 awaiting their fate. The savages" for a long time 

 were upon the planks over their heads, perlbrm- 

 ing their hellish orgies and glutting over their 

 plunder, and even hoisted a plank and looked 

 down towards them, but as Heaven would direct, 

 the objects of their search were undiscovered ! In 

 the mean time the house was burning to its foun- 

 dations. The plank also over the turtle crawl 

 caught fire. The smoke and heat from the burn- 

 ing house and other objects were becoming so in- 

 tense that death (rom this cause seemed inevitable. 

 Li(i3 was supported (or some time by dashing wa- 

 ter in each oiher's (aces, lo keep the air in motion, 

 and by plastering their heads with marl from the 

 bottom of the crawl to ward off the scorching 

 heat. At length it became so oppressive that 

 Henry, the young lad, could bear it no longer. 

 His mother endeavored to prevent his screams by 

 clasping his mouth with her hands, but he tore 

 away from her, declaring that he preferred death 

 by ihe tomahawk rather than in that terrible place. 

 He made his escape through an aperture of the 

 turtle crawl, but which was too small to admit the 

 egress of the others, who were now sensible that 

 an adventure offered the only chance of lile. 

 There was now no way of escat)e except by a re- 

 moval of one of tl'.e deeply imbedded piles with 

 which tlieir retreat was constructed. This could 

 only be done by removing the earth at the bottom 

 which was far under water. I\Irs. P. set herself 

 about the task and accomplished it just in time to 

 avoid the (ailing timbers under which they had 

 been sheltered. There were six hnge Indians at 

 this time plundering M r. Houseman's store a short 

 distance Irom here. Near the store was a launch, 

 or small boat drawn upon the wharf which they 

 were filling with their sfioils. Mrs. Perrine and 

 girls approached the boat — having to wade 

 through the water in lull view a hundred yards to 

 do so, (while the savages had returned to the 

 store after other an ides of plunder) — beckoned to 

 them the boy, (of whose Cafe they had been un- 

 certain,) who was slandiuir close u-ion this den of 

 murderers, and by their united strength and the 

 most desperate efforts, succeeded in tearing it from 

 its fastenings and dragi^ing if into water of su(H- 

 cient depth for it to float. They sprang in, and, 

 with one paddle, one oar, and two poles, exerted 

 as it were the last energies of li!e in widening their 

 distance from the ill-fated shore. Rv the blessing 

 of Gor» they made their escape. They were not 

 <liscovered by the Indians until beyond tlie reach 

 of their deadly rifles. A pursuit was attempted, 

 but the fortunate apfiearaiice of a schooner deter- 

 red them from persisting. 



When we consider that during all this time, 

 one of the young women was not only helpless, 

 but had to be borne by the strength of the others, 

 and that Mrs. Perrine, herself, was absolutely ill, 

 the determined fortitude, the cool calculation, the 

 great feats of strength, the daring adventure and 

 wonderful escape from butchery and the flames, 

 appear so striking as to almost stagger human 

 credulity. 



The destitute fugitives were taken up by a boat 

 from the schooner Medium, Cipt. Magee. Their 

 situation ninsl have been truly distressed — having 

 been nine hours in the mud and water at the Key 

 — and some three hours exposed, v\ith nothing 

 but tattered night-clothes — if by this time they 

 even merited that name — to the burning rays of a 

 tropical sun, they were literally wasted alive. 

 They wish to express their grateful acknowledg- 

 ments to the captain of the Medium, and his officers 

 and crew, (or their gentlemanly and generous con- 

 duct, upon this trying occasion. They wish also 

 lo express their deep-felt trratitude to Captain 

 Laughlin, of the "Flirt." His obliging kindness, 

 and that of his men, will long be held in remem- 

 brance by the sufferers. On board the Santee 

 steamer, in which they reached St. Augustine, 

 every kindness and atlennon were paid them, 

 which their wants and destitute situation required. 

 To Doctor McCreary and Midshipman Murray, 

 of the naval depot — Tea Table Key — and very 

 many gentlemen of Key West, they feel under 

 weighty obligations for their attention and kind- 

 ness. They cannot refrain from a special ac- 

 knowledgment of their gratitude to Doctor Edward 

 Worrel, of tlie U. S. A., who accompanied them 

 from Cape Florida lo Philade!|)hia, and treated 

 them in the most praiseworthy manner. And 

 they wish to say to their (riends generally, that no 

 pains have been spared wherever they have been, 

 among strangers or acquaintances, to mitigate the 

 burthen of their sufferint^s ; and that they have 

 reached their destination in salety, and are happy 

 thus to acknowledge the numerous favors heaped 

 upon them, and their gratitude to an overruling 

 Providence, whose protecting hand so signally 

 shielded them in the hour of trial and danger. 



THE MANY-HEADED WHEAT. 



The many-headed wheat is an indigenous 

 plant of California, six heads of which were pro- 

 cured by Miijor Spering, (rom a man in the Osage 

 nation of Indians, who had been trading in the 

 Pacific Ocean. The six heads produced six hun- 

 dred grains, which were planted by Mr. Pipheus 

 []aker, of Abbeville, S. C, the production of which 

 was ten thousand heads. The ground on whicli 

 the wheat grew was measured by an accurate sur- 

 veyor — the heads counted — and one head shelled 

 out, and the grain weighed; a calculation was 

 then made, the result of which was, the wheat 

 produced at the rate of two hundred and thirty 

 bushels to the acre. It was planted about the last 

 of January, and cut on the 20th of June. The 

 land on which it grew is poor and sandy, and was 

 unassisted by manure. — Wilkes County ( Georgia) 

 News. 



[From the above annunciation, the public may 

 look out for a new humbug. It is certainly a mag- 



