112

the late M^r Alexander Henry with four men, some women and Children suffered a barbarous and untimely fate, having been all most cruelly murdered by a strong Party of the Natives of that Post. No one ever entertained the most distant prospect of such an atrocious Catastrophe in that Quarter particularly. These are the excerable Beings, of whom I transmitted to you, some Years ago, such an agreeable picture. Still we must consider, that they are Savages, and if acting and entirely influenced by the motive of selfexistence or preservation, as they have subsequently loudly proclaimed, their most heinous crime is, according to their Ideas at least, in some degree palliated. Distress reduced to absolute despair for want of ammunition, exclusive of other grievances, brought on our awful misfortune. I am persuaded that some thing of this Nature must have been

[112]