The Settlers | Page 4

They were expecting
assistance from England, when one night the fort was stormed; most of
the people were put to the sword, but the life of our father was
preserved by a chief whom he had befriended when, on a former
occasion, that chief had fallen into the hands of the English. The chief,
carrying him to his canoe, concealed him from his companions and
conveyed him far away up the river. Here landing, he concealed him in
his own wigwam, where he was cured of his hurts; but our father had
not from that time seen a white face till he met with Batten.
"Batten's life, as our father promised, was saved; though the Indians
showed otherwise but little regard for him, and this made him wish to

escape should he have the opportunity. He told his purpose to our
father, and promised, should he succeed, to carry home the intelligence
to his friends of his being alive. Some time afterwards, Batten said, he
managed to escape from the Indians, when he made his way towards
the seashore. Lying hid in a thick bush for fear of being discovered by
the natives, he one day caught sight of a party of Englishmen
advancing at no great distance off. Delighted at the thoughts of meeting
his countrymen, he was about to rush out of his place of concealment,
when he saw a large body of Indians coming towards them. He waited
to see the result, when to his horror the Indians drew their bows, and
before the strangers were aware of their danger, every man among them
was pierced by an arrow. Some fell dead; others drew their swords; but
with terrific war-whoops the Indians, setting on them, killed the whole
with their tomahawks.
"Batten gave up all hopes of saving his life, but, wishing to put off the
fatal moment, he remained concealed till near nightfall, when the
Indians cutting off the scalps of the slain, went away inland, singing a
song of triumph. He now stole out of his hiding-place, and ran on all
night, intending to build a raft and make his way along the coast, when
just at day-break, as he reached the shore, great was his joy to discover
an English boat with two men in her. He rushed towards them, and
gave an account of the way he had seen the Englishmen murdered. No
sooner did they hear this than they shoved off from the shore and
pulled with all their might down the river. For several days they
continued toiling, till they reached their bark, the Sally Rose which lay
some way down towards its mouth; but the master, on hearing that the
pilot and all the officers had been killed, forthwith weighed anchor, and,
setting sail, stood for England. The Sally Rose sprang a leak, and
scarcely could she be kept afloat till, coming up Channel, they entered
the port of Dartmouth. Here landing, Batten was making his way
without a groat in his pocket to London, when Providence directed him
to our door.
"On hearing this strange narrative, I sent Gilbert to fetch our mother
and sister Lettice, who listened to it with breathless interest; and getting
such answers as we could from the seaman to the questions put to him,

we were all convinced that he had given us a faithful account, and that
our father was really alive. We now earnestly consulted with him what
to do; not forgetting to seek for guidance from on high as to the best
means for recovering our father. Gilbert was for setting out forthwith,
taking Batten as his companion, and getting on board the first ship
sailing for America; but even had our mother agreed to Gilbert's
proposal, it was impracticable, as the old sailor was becoming worse
and worse. We sent for the apothecary, and did all we could to restore
his waning strength; but all was in vain, and before the next day was
over he had breathed his last.
"We were now much troubled, for the means on which we had
depended for discovering our father had thus been lost. We had no one
with whom to consult; we talked and talked, but could come to no
conclusion. `We will pray to God for guidance,' said our mother, `we
will now, my children, go to rest; and to-morrow morning we will meet,
with the hope that light will be afforded us to direct our course.'
"Her first words the following morning when she entered the parlour
were: `Praise be to God--he has not left me any longer in doubt what to
do--I have bethought me of Captain Amyas Layton, who resides not far
from Plymouth. He and your father have often been shipmates, and he
is among the oldest of his