"The 'great captain,' " he said, "and two of his men had
been surprised in the Chicka-hominy swamps by the chief
O-pe-chan-ca-nough and two hundred braves. The two men were
killed by the chief, but the 'captain,' seeing himself thus
entrapped, seized his Indian guide and fastened him before as a
shield, and thus sent out so much of his magic thunder from his
fire-tube that he killed or wounded many of the Indians, and yet
kept himself from harm though his clothes were torn with
arrow-shots. At last, however," said the runner, "the 'captain'
had slipped into a mud-hole in the swamps, and, being there
surrounded, was dragged out and made captive, and he, Ra-bun-ta,
had been sent on to tell the great news to the chief.
The Indians especially admired bravery and cunning. This device
of the white chieftain and his valor when attacked appealed to
their admiration, and there was great desire to see him when next
day he was brought into the village by the chief of the
Pa-mun-kee, or York River Indians, O-pe-chan-ca-nough, brother of
the chief of the Pow-ha-tans.
The renowned prisoner was received with the customary chorus of
Indian yells, and then, acting upon the one leading Indian
custom, the law of unlimited hospitality, a bountiful feast was
set before the captive, who, like the valiant man he was, ate
heartily though ignorant what his fate might be.
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