Volume 1

72 THE WOMAN IN THE CASE.
brandy, which I made her swallow at one draught ; but
whether it actually choked her or she was feigning, she fell
down as if senseless and lay like a corpse. I was anxious
to get her away, but my endeavors were in vain ; it was
totally dark and I began to believe her dead. I thought to
draw her to the tent door, and woke up my servant, whom
I desired to assist me. I sent him for a kettle of water,
which I poured over her head while he held her up ; a
second was applied in the same manner, but to no purpose.
I became uneasy about her, and sent for a third kettle, the
contents of which I dashed in her face with all my strength.
She groaned, and began to speak. I lost no time before
sending the man to conduct her to her canoe. In a half an
hour she returned, having shifted her clothes and dressed
very fine ;
her husband being an excellent hunter and without
children, she had always plenty of finery.
in plain terms that she had left
She told me
her husband and come to
live with me. This was news I neither expected nor
desired. I represented to her the impropriety of her doing
so, her husband being fond of her and extremely jealous.
Her answer was, that she did not care for him or any other
Indian, and was determined to
her life.
stay with me at the risk of
Just then we heard a great bustle across the river,
and the Indians bawling out " take care "
! We were going
to be fired on. We saw the flash of a gun, but it appeared to
miss fire. I had no doubt the woman was the cause of this,
and I insisted on her returning to her husband ; but she
would not. Observing that the men had made a fire, I
called my servant and desired him to take her to the fire
and keep her from troubling me again. This he did much
against her inclination, being compelled to use main
strength, and by good luck got her on board a canoe that
was crossing. The noise we had heard on the other side
was made by the husband, who, knowing of his wife's intention,
had determined to shoot at my tent ;
but his gun only
flashed, and his brothers took it from him. On his wife's
return he asked her where she had been. She made no