"But, whatever you do to me, be merciful to my wife an'-- " "'The dull thud of the tomahawk cut short my father's dying prayer, an' his brains were spattered on the bush where I was concealed; an', a'most at the same moment, another of the band buried his knife in my mother's heart.' "Old Bill could go no further.

He buried his face in his hands an' cried like a child.

At length, by a strong effort, he choked down his sobs, and went on.
"'I knew no more until I found myself lyin' in the cabin of an ole hunter, who lived about ten miles from where we used to live.

He had been out huntin', an' had found me lyin' close beside my father an' mother.

He thought I was dead, too, at first, but he found no wounds on me; so, arter buryin' all my relatives in one grave, he took me home with him.