Page:Life and astonishing adventures of Peter Williamson (1).pdf/14

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they immediately, without the least remorse, and with more than brutal cruelty, scalped the tender parents and the unhappy children; nor could the tears, the shrieks, or cries of these unhappy victims prevent their horrid massacre; for having thus scalped them, and plundered the house of every thing that was moveable, they set fire to the same, where the poor creatures met their final doom amidst the flames, the hellish miscreants standing at the door, or as near the house as the flames would permit them, rejoicing and echoing back, in their diabolical manner, the piercing cries, heart-rending groans, and paternal and affectionate soothings, which issued from this most horrid sacrifice of an innocent family, not contented with what they had already done they still continued their inordinate villiany, in making a general conflagration of the barn and stables, together with all the corn, horses, cows and every thing on the place.

Thinking the young man belonging to the unhappy family would be of some service to them in carrying part of their plunder, they spared his life, and loaded him and myself with what they had here got, and again marched to the Black Hills, where they stowed their goods as before. My fellow-sufferer could not long bear the cruel treatment which we were both obliged to suffer and complaining bitterly to me of being unable