398 



SEIZE thieves' family. 



without risk of discovery, get near enough to ascertain : but, 

 in case we should find them, we went armed, each with a pistol 

 or gun, a cutlass, and a piece of rope to secure a prisoner. We 

 landed at some distance from the cove, and, leaving two men 

 with our boat, crept quietly through the bushes for a long 

 distance round, until we were quite at the back of the new wig- 

 wams ; then closing gradually in a circle, we reached almost 

 to the spot undiscovered ; but their dogs winded us, and all at 

 once ran towards us barking loudly. Further concealment was 

 impossible, so we rushed on as fast as we could through the 

 bushes. At first the Indians began to run away ; but hearing 

 us shout on both sides, some tried to hide themselves, by 

 squatting under the banks of a stream of water. The foremost 

 of our party, Elsmore by name, in jumping across this stream, 

 slipped, and fell in just where two men and a woman were con- 

 cealed: they instantly attacked him, trying to hold him down 

 and beat out his brains with stones ; and before any one could 

 assist him, he had received several severe blows, and one eye 

 was almost destroyed, by a dangerous stroke near the temple. 

 Mr. Murray, seeing the man's danger, fired at one of the Fue- 

 gians, who staggered back and let Elsmore escape ; but imme- 

 diately recovering himself, picked up stones from the bed of the 

 stream, or was supplied with them by those who stood close to 

 him, and threw them from each hand with astonishing force and 

 precision. His first stone struck the master with m.uch force, 

 broke a powder-horn hung round his neck, and nearly knocked 

 him backwards : and two others were thrown so truly at the 

 heads of those nearest him, that they barely saved themselves by 

 dropping down. All this passed in a few seconds, so quick was 

 he with each hand : but, poor fellow, it was his last struggle ; 

 unfortunately he was mortally wounded, and, throwing one 

 more stone, he fell against the bank and expired. After 

 some struggling, and a few hard blows, those who tried 

 to secrete themselves were taken, but several who ran away 

 along the beach escaped : so strong and stout were the females, 

 that I, for one, had no idea that it was a woman, whose arms 

 I and my coxswain endeavoured to pinion, until I heard some 



