Beck Center English Dept. University Libraries Emory University
Emory Women Writers Resource Project Collections:
Women's Genre Fiction Project

Adventures of the Merton Family, an electronic edition

by Anne Bowman [Bowman, Anne]

date: 1868
source publisher: Quaker City Publishing House.
collection: Genre Fiction

Table of Contents

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CHAPTER XXIX.
The Return of the Douglas Family across the Andes. Encounter with the Araucanian Indians, Loss of Property, and Strange Admission to the Cave of Refuge. Restoration of Esperanza. New Perils and Converts. The Harvest. The Pampero and its fearful Results.

AFTER supper the old friends drew round the fire, and Mr. Douglas explained to them the cause of their reappearance in the wilderness.

"Almagro would relate to you," he began, "our fatal journey and the disappointment of all our proposed plans in Chili. Our miners were dispersed, much of our valuable machinery was entirely lost, and the delay and misfortunes we had experienced discouraged our hopes, and sickened us of the undertaking. Henry sailed to England from Valparaiso immediately, promising to return to us within the year; and I made the most I could of the remainder of my mining utensils and machinery; but I had invested a great part of my property in these preparations; I had advanced considerable sums to the miners who had disappeared, and had been robbed of a great deal by the rascally guides.

"I was now a poor man; and my cheerful Margaret, ever ready to accommodate herself to circumstances, proposed that we should return to you, with some laborers; cultivate the soil, and live contentedly on the produce of it. I did not see that we could do better; for Henry and his child were all the relations we had left; and we immediately set about selling the useless, and buying the useful.

"Just at this time, two of my best Yorkshire mechanics, hearing that we had arrived at Santiago, returned honestly to us, to offer their services, or to restore their advanced wages. I knew them to be ingenious hard-working fellows, and used to agricultural labors, in the pastoral dales of their native home; and finding that one had married a respectable woman of Chili, and that Joe wished to marry an English laundress in the establishment of the consul, I explained to them our | | 345 intentions and offered them service with us. They had no wish to return to England, were all quiet, sober, honest folks, so we concluded our bargain.

"About six weeks since Henry returned, all anxiety to see his babe, if it were living; our preparations were complete. and with two experienced guides, and twenty mules, loaded with our whole fortune, we set out to cross the Cordilleras. You may conceive our journey was but melancholy from painful associations; but our guides brought us without loss or hindrance across the snowy summit, and we saw below us the ocean-like Pampas.

"On that day our spirits revived, we talked cheerfully of our future plans, and Margaret, for the first time, described to me all the pretty presents she was bringing for her young friends."

"Which I desire you will not allude to, William," interrupted his good lady. "It is a painful and vexatious subject. There is not a jot for you, my dears! If they had only left me the black trunks! Well! no matter; go on, my love."

"As we turned the angle of a narrow pass," continued Mr. Douglas, "I was confounded to see a long line of mounted Indians approaching. They were warlike noble-looking fellows, with gay-colored ponchos and plumed caps, glittering dirks in their belts, and long lances trailing after them. Resistance seemed madness; but some effort must be made to save our property, and probably our lives. I rode forward, waving a white handkerchief; towards the leader; and addressed him in Spanish, feeling encouraged by seeing there were not more than a dozen men. I requested him politely to allow us to pass unmolested. He looked on me with astonishment, and replied in very good Spanish: 'The free hordes of Araucania allow no pale Christian to cross the mountains, to scatter desolation over the plains of freedom.'

"'The Araucanians are brave people,' I said. 'I know their history; but we are no plunderers or traitors, we are harmless travellers; and if you refuse to let us pass peacefully, we must force our way; for we have women with us, whom Christian warriors are bound to protect.'

"'Your women shall be our slaves,' he said, scornfully | | 346 'but the bodies of you and your men shall be left to feed the vultures.'

"This was no pleasant prospect; I drew hack under the protection of my white flag to consult my friends. We were well armed, and could soon have dispersed the men on open ground; but besides my reluctance to shed blood, the attack would be difficult on a pass where not more than three could safely ride abreast.

"The guides were of opinion that a vigorous charge would enable us to pass in safety, and we planned and formed our procession. My brother, John and I rode first, followed by the women and four baggage-mules, driven forward by our two men, who also led six mules attached in pairs behind them. Lastly came the two guides conducting the ten remaining mules, which were the most heavily laden. "As soon as we, the vanguard, were within a few yards of our foes, we lowered our rifles, pointing them at the horses of the Indians, and fired. In the smoke and confusion, we galloped forward so suddenly that they had not time to gain their lances before Jem and Joe came up, who fired their pieces in the same way, and by good fortune we all passed in safety till the two guides reached the foe, when either from fear, or from wantonness, they fired both barrels of their pieces upon the Indians, and two of the number fell. But in a moment the Araucanians revenged themselves.

"The unfortunate guides, pierced by many mortal wounds, were hurled over the precipice, into a dark and fathomless abyss. We stood for a moment in dismay, and saw the Indians ride off with our ten valuable mules, carrying with them their wounded or dead friends. We thought of pursuing them, but our number was now diminished, the Indians were swift, and the females were so terrified, till we finally agreed to put up with our loss, and make the best of our way, lest we should be overtaken by a reinforced party.

"We had no longer any guide; but for some time we followed the track of the Indians, till the fears of the women induced me to deviate, lest we should meet another party on the beaten road. I fancied we could not be lost while the Pampas lay visibly below us; but these bewildering basins and ridges, rocks rising here and there, shutting out the way you have come, and the way you have to go, confounded all | | 347 my plans. We got into a perfect maze of mountains, and I thought we should wander there till our provision was exhausted, till at length having ascended a ridge, we looked into a gorge where a little stream was gurgling downwards. I fancied if we could reach this rivulet, and keep on its banks, we must arrive at the plain; and we scrambled down, at the risk of our lives, and to the great damage of our baggage. We rested and refreshed ourselves at the cool and pleasant stream; we followed it for about fifty yards, when it suddenly disappeared beneath a wall of rock."

"That was our river," said Tom. "I know you would like the water; it is excellent."

"Doubtless it is, my dear lad," continued Mr. Douglas; "but I had no patience with the river just then for its treachery in leading us into such a trap, for we actually wandered two days in the valley, endeavoring in vain to escape from it; for to ascend again the precipice we had come down would have been impossible with the laden mules. We were resting before the dark hole in the rock, which we concluded was some deep chasm, when one of the mules grazing near the opening, the earth suddenly gave way under it, and it disappeared. "I was sorely vexed to lose another mule, and Jem Anderson, who had worked in mines, looking down the shaft, declared that he could see the bottom; and that if we would hand him a rope, he would go down and save the baggage. I was unwilling, till I convinced myself the descent was not dangerous; then we saw him safely down, but the appearance of Matilda terrified him so much that he renounced the attempt; and we owe our present happy meeting, to the bravery of Joe."

It was a happy meeting, and thanksgivings mingled with the prayers which the reunited friends offered up that night.

"Now we are all ready for work," said Mrs. Douglas, next morning, when they arose from their breakfast table. "How are we to get out of this vault to go to Esperanza?"

The stone was rolled away, and the strangers introduced to the little green valley with its rocky boundaries, which had afforded the family a winter's refuge.

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"If we had never known the beautiful shades of Esperanza," said Mr. Merton, "I could have been content to finish my days here; but Dr. Lewis advises we should dwell in houses built by the hands of man."

"The doctor shows his judgment," replied Mrs. Douglas. "Who ever heard of people living in a cave, that had the use of their hands? Come along, good folks, and let us see how we can restore our old hall. I can work as well as any of you."

The horses were saddled, the stranger mules, brought through the tortuous passages of the cave, were again restored to day; and leaving Nanny with the two women to assist her in her increased household duties, the whole family set out, Tom now being able to ride.

"A pretty labyrinth!" cried Mrs. Douglas, as they wound down the wood. "Would that our houses were ready for us; but then, to think of my lost treasures, for when one does settle for life, one does like to have things comfortable. Oh! my dears! you have no conception of the pretty collection those grand looking brigands carried off. Henry preaches resignation, and William laughs and says we can do without the things; and we must do without them here, for they can never be replaced. Just attend, my dears! there was pretty nearly my whole wardrobe. To be sure, I can go in a blanket, like our savage neighbors; but there were such nice silk dresses for mamma, such pretty muslins for you, girls, and gay prints for Nanny. Two large trunks, my dears--that's my first irreparable loss. Then came Mr. Douglas' mule load of hampers of wine and brandy for good Mr. Merton, who needs something comfortable at his age."

"I thank you, my considerate friend," said Mr. Merton, "but the loss of the fermented liquors distresses me not. I love pure water, or the nourishing milk our cows so bounteously afford us."

"But I understand these things," replied the lady, "and I say, a glass of good wine would not have been a bad thing for you; but the robbers have swallowed it all before this time. Can we make our own wine, William?"

"I see no difficulty, my dear," answered he. "I have brought the vine cuttings in safety, and the climate and | | 349 situation promise us success; but we cannot expect to drink our own wine for some years."

"I envy you your patience, William," said his restless lady; "I own my foible; I do love to see the grass grow. Well, at all events, there will be employment in the vineyard. Now, let me consider what more the robbers took. There was a large crate of china and glass, and a case of mirrors; for I knew you had no glass to show you how to smooth your pretty hair as it ought to be."

"Mamma has a small glass," said Matilda, "that has escaped all disasters; and Charles, when we put on our holiday dresses, lends us one from his dressing-case. So never regret he mirrors."

"You are good girls," continued Mrs. Douglas, "and are quite right. It is wrong to lament the loss of such luxuries; especially as we have saved a crate of window-glass for our buildings. But I must regret the books. Books to suit everybody; even new volumes of sermons for good Mr. Merton, and new medical works for our excellent doctor; and all the newspapers of the last year, with toys and trifles innumerable. But now I will think no more of my losses, for here is the river; and now for Esperanza."

As they crossed, with some risk, the swollen river, Mr. Douglas and Lewis consulted on the practicability of laying down a temporary bridge to facilitate the necessary and incessant communication with their present residence, and they agreed that they must immediately do it.

Mrs. Douglas wept over the ruins of her dear old hall, and then called on William to begin work; and Mr. Douglas proposed, that as the colony had increased so much they should inclose twenty acres; but Lewis proved the impossibility of their completing such vast labors in one season and as every man would still have his acre to support him, it was decided that they should abide by the original plan.

Then the mountains of bricks were surveyed, and the mortar of clay inspected by the practical workman Jem, who suggested the improvement of a mixture of the fine sand from the floor of their cave with the mortar; finally, the whole party turned to the bridge. It did not require much time to fell three trees, tall enough to span the river, even in its present overflowed state. These were soon stripped of their | | 350 branches, and laid across the stream a few inches apart from each other. A number of flat pieces of wood, collected from the ruins, were sawed the right length to be laid transversely and form a platform; all to be completed next morning, as weariness drove the workmen home before evening.

"Now we are progressing," said Mrs. Douglas, as they assembled in the cave. "Let me see, how many houses shall we want? The two Yorkshiremen must have their cottages; but as to John, it was in vain that his master requested him to select a wife, of any nation, when we were at Santiago. I assure you, Nanny, that he declared not one of them was fit to hold the candle to you. You are his choice."

"That's as I please," said Nanny. "I have plenty to do without looking after him, poor wafflin body! Let him bide as he is; he'll get on, I'll warrant him."

"But, Nanny," resumed Mrs. Douglas, "John is a good fellow, and I have set my mind on your being Mrs. Armstrong."

"Me, Mistress Armstrong !" cried the maiden. "Nay! Nanny I have been, and Nanny I mun to be to the end of my days."

In fact, Nanny was right, everybody had too much to engage them at this time to think about such trivial matters as marriages. The next day the bridge was completed by stretching a rope across, about four feet above the platform, to assist the timid; and now even the females crossed fearlessly, and no time was lost in fording the rapid and deep river. The brick wall was commenced; Jem was a famous, builder, and though Joe excelled more in cabinet-making and turning, he was willing to take any work. While the wall progressed, Tom, unable to bear hard labor, worked in the carpenter's shop, and Mrs. Douglas, with the young ladies, laid out the garden. The vines had been planted in pots immediately on their arrival, upon a sunny slope facing the south and apart from the building.

After the labor of many days had raised a wall four feet in height, the completion was deferred, arid the untiring workmen began the houses. Three small huts near the entrance, each surrounded by a garden, were soon built, and made habitable. One was for Jem Anderson and Isabella, | | 351 the girl from Chili; the second for Joe and Mary Raine; and the third for Almagro and John.

The rubbish was then entirely cleared from the unroofed house, where Mr. and Mrs. Douglas had formerly resided; and the outer walls being firm and uninjured it was soon restored, and finished with boarded floors, with glass windows, and iron stoves brought from Chili; and so much pleased was Mrs. Douglas with her English-looking house, that but for the pain of separating from her friends, she would have taken immediate possession of it; for she had an insuperable aversion to a cave, the gloom of which did not accord with her vivacious spirits. But she usually spent the day at Esperanza, arranging curtains and carpets, with small remnants of crockery saved from the spoilers, or planning the places for the tables and seats which were yet to be made.

In the mean time the great house was rising. To save time, it was built on the old plan, with substantial mud walls, but brick chimneys were introduced, and much greater accommodation made than in the old hut. There were a number of little dormitories, to enable them even to lodge visitors, and each had its small glass pane to admit light. The hall was large, with good glass windows; and a commodious kitchen and large brick oven, built by the master hand of Jem, completed the family mansion. The floors were laid and the windows fitted in, and then the family began to think of leaving the cave.

A day's labor repaired the corral, to which the horses, mules and llamas were brought, and the cows each with a calf, were to come with the family. A strong door, plated with iron, and fastened by an iron chain secured the entrance into the enclosure; and the female part of the community now began to fit up the new habitation.

They once more withdrew from the mountain cave the hidden hoards, which created much mirth as they were brought to light. The wheels of the wagons, iron pans and kettles, boxes of linen and clothes, garden-seeds, maize, beans, dried peaches, and honey. A light cart was soon made, and mounted on the wheels, and they were thus enabled to remove all their property from the cave of refuge with less difficulty than it cost to transport it to that happy retreat | | 352 Once more they slept in a light airy dwelling, and returned to the various occupations of a large household. Tom brought forward all the productions of his long confinement; bed-frames of bamboo, chairs, work-tables, chicken-coops, and many useful articles, besides the incomparable bee-hive, which was to be tried in the summer. To complete their furniture, they had materials and good workmen, and from day to day something was produced.

But now the grass was ready for the scythe, and while Tom looked after the garden and trellised the vines, John and Almagro, with some aid from the busy carpenters, brought within the inclosure hay to form two large stacks. The bean-field in the mean time was fragrant, and the flax brilliant in blossom; the potatoes were abundant, and the crops of wheat, maize, and oats progressing.

While the husbandmen pursued their labors, Jem and Joe erected the frame of the third house, on the same plan as time others with a colonnade along the front, the pillars of which were to be entwined by creeping plants, or by Mrs. Douglas' imported roses, if they would condescend to flourish at Esperanza.

The progress of this building was interrupted by many causes--hunting, bringing home cattle to supply the lost stock, laying out the inclosure in gardens and shrubberies, and inclosing and sowing fields for meadow and pasture, corn or flax. And thus busily and happily time summer passed away the evening being devoted to rational and improving pursuits, and ever concluded by united and earnest prayer.

Returning one evening from walking, they encountered a cavalcade, which, being led by their friend Pedro, created no alarm--Zara rode by his side, and the young Albert was also mounted on his own horse. Behind them rode four Indians; but, confiding in Pedro's discretion, the gate was opened to admit them all.

"See, good father," said Zara, displaying a pretty babe to Mr. Merton, "I have brought to you another young claimant to be admitted into the church of Christ. You must baptize my boy: and these young people also wish to become Christians, like their cacique."

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Two young men, of intelligent countenances, and two females, came forward to Mr. Merton, with whom they could converse, as they knew a little Spanish. The softened manners of their cacique, and the gentle lessons of Zara, had induced the youths to desire to seek the good teacher who had changed the stern nature of their chief, and to hear from his mouth the wonderful truths of Christianity; as the women were to be their wives, Zara decided that they must also be Christians, and the girls readily consented to share the instruction of their intended husbands.

The Indian men were lodged in the unfinished house, a the women, placed under the care of Isabella, who knew something of Indian habits, were astonished with the sight of the order, neatness, and industry that pervaded the kitchen of the pale people; and they ate with great relish the cooked meats and bread.

"I have been able to do little, my reverend friend," said Pedro, "since we parted, to prove that I am a son of God, and a ruler among men. I have said to my warriors that the great God has forbidden man to war with man, except to defend his property or life. They listen to my words, for I am their oracle; they obey me, for I am their cacique but they thirst for action; they say to each other, 'Did God make man to sit in the tents with the women--to dry the skins and nurse the children? The old warriors scoff in their hearts at the peaceful doctrines of Christianity. I see in their eyes the fire of scorn. A message must come to them direct from the great Father of Heaven; you are his minister; come to my unbelieving people, and speak the words of Truth and Peace."

"Permit me to undertake this mission, dear Mr. Merton," said Henry Carruthers. "Though not eloquent, I am zealous. I am young and active, and besides the Spanish, I acquired front Paul some acquaintance with the Indian language, spoken by the tribes of the Pampas. I am a solitary being save this little treasure, I have no one to cling to me; and should I fall a martyr in the holy cause, I can safely leave her to her foster parents; she will feel no loss. My plan would he to turn the desire for action among the Indians to useful labors to induce them to build permanent and comfortable huts to enclose and cultivate the ground; to fill | | 354 their corrals with cattle; and to adopt the habits, as well as the arts, of civilized life. The early Christian missionaries on the eastern coast contended against greater difficulties and dangers, and, by God's blessing, had happy success, till the hand of tyranny drove them from their field of labor. I have wasted much time; let me now endeavor to fulfil some of the duties of life."

When Pedro understood that Mr. Carruthers was really a minister of the Church, he eagerly accepted him in the place of the aged and timid Mr. Merton; and though grieved for the gap it would make in the family circle, all agreed that Mr. Carruthers ought to go. The visitors remained several days, in which time the Indians not only received religious instruction, but were shown the means of being usefully and happily employed. They were astonished with the skill of Joe, who turned on his lathe boxes and wooden cups for them; they saw the fruits of the earth repaying bounteously the labor of cultivation, and were inflamed with the desire to acquire the useful knowledge of their hosts. The women, in the mean time, after assisting Nanny as mere hewers of wood and drawers of water, aspired to learn the higher culinary arts; and when the visit of the chief expired, his people begged to be left some time to acquire the wonderful arts of the Christians, that they might become teachers in their turn.

Mr. Merton considering the Indians sufficiently instructed, they were baptized at the same time as the babe of Zara, who was named Christopher, after the great Columbus, who first opened a way into that new world to admit the light of Christian truth.

The parents were at length induced to leave Albert for a short time, to receive the rudiments of education and the child was delighted to remain at Esperanza to play with Cecilia, to watch the workmen, and to listen to the nursery stories of his young teachers.

Before the autumn came on, the third house was ready to be inhabited, new stables had been built, and barns for the promised harvest. The flax was cut, steeped, and made ready for combing; then the abundant crops of maize were reaped and stored in the barns one plot of wheat was already housed, and all the rest of the corn and beans was cut | | 355 and left out to dry before the Indians departed. Then the two marriages were solemnized; and the young people, with many presents, and much good advice, went to carry to their chief the tidings of his sun's health, and to communicate to the tribe the vast knowledge they had acquired at Esperanza.

On the day that the Indians departed, all the peaches were gathered, with the intention of drying or preserving a large part; and the family proposed the next day to conclude the glorious harvest; but, on rising early for the task, they saw the sun rising behind lurid clouds, the atmosphere was gloomy and sultry, every one felt languid, and they remembered with sinking hearts the thunder-storm of the preceding autumn, which had swept away so much of their precious harvest. Heavy clouds rolled over the half-hidden Cordilleras, occasionally irradiated by vivid lightning, and the air was darkened by myriads of insects, all appearing to fly or be driven by some imperceptible wind towards the east.

The massy clouds grew darker and darker; and then Lewis with a vigorous effort roused himself from the oppressive languor that had seized on him, and intreated the able hands to assist him in preparations to save their property from the inevitable storm of the season. Two large skin tent covers, which Mr. Douglas had used on the journey, were drawn over the stacks and fastened down with heavy stones. The cattle were all housed, and a good supply of food placed in their cribs. The young vines, which were all potted, were placed in the shelter of the barn and, finally, Nanny would have called together and secured her feathered family; but they had wandered off to the corn-fields, and it was too late to bring them back.

Then the whole community, including Wallace, whom they could not bear to leave out in the storm, assembled in Mr. Merton's large hall, determined to remain together till the storm passed. They looked anxiously from the windows; the lightning grow brighter as the sky darkened, while hollow gusts of wind rolled down the mountains, heard before they were felt or the effects seen; but soon they perceived more sensibly the rush of the hot gale, as it whirled from the forest above the lighter leaves and branches, and showered them on | | 356 the ground. To this succeeded a furious blast, tearing away huge boughs and fragments of rock, and overwhelming the blooming garden with scattered wood and stones, to the great sorrow of the fair gardeners.

A few minutes all was still then a noise was heard like the roaring of artillery from the mighty mountains. It was the Pampero! which, bursting from the mountain holds, swept forward with terrible and restless violence, marking its course with destruction, till it should reach the Atlantic.

The family crowded together, the weak clinging to the strong; but, though pale and trembling, they were resigned; for they knew that it was the hand of God that directed the whirlwind and ruled the storm.

"I feel the walls totter and the earth shake," said Maria, as gust after gust shook the house. "Do you not think, good father, that the end of the world is at hand?"

"It may be so, my child," said the venerable man. "The inscrutable wisdom of God has hidden from us the hour appointed for that dreadful event. But tremble not, my children; put all your trust in him, and in the hour of death, and in the day of judgment, he will deliver you."

At that moment a noise, as if the mountains were torn from their foundation, was heard; a shock, as if from an earthquake, was felt by all, and total darkness followed. They were buried living!

For a few moments the silence of death prevailed, then the screams of the children and the low sobs of the females were heard; but no one spoke. Lewis first recovered from the shock; he drew from his pocket a match-box with a taper, which he lighted, and then asked Nanny to produce some candles to relieve the fearful darkness.

"I'll bring no candles, Mr. Doctor," said Nanny, in a low voice. "Folks want no candles in their graves. Let us say our prayers, and then lie quietly down till he sends his angels for us, for here we are buried till the day of doom."

"But, my good Nanny," answered Lewis, "God has not commanded us to lie down and die supinely, while he grants us strength and understanding; we will use the energy he has bestowed on us. Let me have the candles to see if all are uninjured, and what is the extent of the danger."

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The candles were produced, and Almagro and Lewis raised the glass windows at the front of the house, and found that a wall of rock lay close against them, excluding light and air. Against the end windows, and those of the kitchen which opened westward, lay earth and stones, intercepting every ray of light. The doors they did not attempt to open, lest they should bring destruction on themselves, for they could not but believe that some mighty fall of the mountain had buried them in a mound of earth and rocks. It was impossible to think of any mode of escape, nor was it prudent to make the attempt now, for still the roaring of the wind was heard, though the sound was muffled by the mass around them; but the walls no longer shook, nor did the earth tremble beneath them, for they were now below the earth; and Lewis shuddered to think that another fall might bring the walls, so astonishingly firm till now, upon their heads.

"Read to us, good and holy friend," said he to Mr. Merton. "Read to us passages that may employ our thoughts on subjects beyond the perils in which it has pleased Almighty God to plunge us."

Amidst the dull howling of the unsubdued tempest the good man read the penitential psalms, the glorious prophecies, the passion, the death, and the resurrection of the Son of God; and from that sepulchre of the living rose the incense of prayer, breathed in resignation to the will of God, and trust in his mercy; and every heart responded as the reverend man concluded by the words, "Lord, thy will be done!"

They waited patiently for hours. The roaring of the wind sunk into hollow moans: a little longer and all was still: darkness and silence brooded over them. Again they examined the windows, even attempting to raise one in the kitchen; but the rush of earth through the opening showed the danger of the experiment. That the roof was covered was evident from the strain upon the rafters; and it appeared marvellous that they had not given way.

Lewis and Mrs. Douglas, both of sanguine and active minds, cheered the rest, and pointed out faint rays of hope. It was necessary to prop the sinking rafters, they looked round for the means, and, finding some large chests of linen, | | 358 they piled them on end till they reached the rafters, and effectually supported the back of the roof. In the front part Lewis observed that the rafters were unwarped, and he concluded that the rock which lay before the windows was higher than the walls, and had protected that side of the roof. This afforded some little consolation; and he now insisted that the family should take food and rest; for though their situation was painful and perilous, he did not think it desperate. They reluctantly complied with his desire, took some refreshment, and sought a short repose from their terrible anxiety.

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