rushing round it like so many angry wolves. Finally they seized it,
dragged it out of the water, and laid it on the beach, where I was told
the naked men would commence tearing it to pieces with their teeth. The
two bands of men immediately surrounded them, and so hid their horrid
work. In a few minutes the crowd broke again in two, when each of the
naked cannibals appeared with half of the body in his hands. Separating
a few yards, they commenced, amid horrid yells, their still more horrid
feast. The sight was too terrible to behold."

Just at the same time another feature in the character of the Indians
was painfully illustrated. On October 7th he wrote:--

"Immediately after dinner the second officer of the Fort, who had not
been absent more than a minute, came rushing back, to report that an
Indian had just been murdered close to the Fort gates. On repairing to
the gallery, I saw this shocking sight. Several Indians, with muskets
in their bands, were hovering about the dying man, and one or two
ventured to go near and assist him. He was shot in the right breast,
and apparently dying, but seemingly conscious of what had happened. In
a few minutes two Indians, looking as fierce as tigers, carrying
muskets, came bounding to the spot, and, after ordering all away, one
of them immediately fired at the poor fellow as he lay on the ground,
and shot him in the arm. They then as quickly bounded away. The head
chief was the murderer. Being irritated by some other chiefs while
partly intoxicated, he vented his rage upon the first stranger that
came in his way, and, after shooting him, ordered two of his men to
finish the horrible deed."

But the young missionary, though saddened, was not discouraged. The
more barbarous and degraded he found the Indians to be, the more vivid