During this whole time I had been raving under a cerebral fever,
death hovering over me. It appears that I had received a coup-de-soleil,
in addition to my other mischances.
When I returned to consciousness, I was astonished to see Gabriel and
Roche by my side; the expedition had returned triumphant. The Cayugas'
villages had been burnt, almost all their warriors destroyed, and those
who remained had sought a shelter in the fissures of the earth, or in
the passes of the mountains unknown to any but themselves. Two of the
Mexican girls had also been rescued, but what had become of the others
they could not tell.
The kindness and cares of my friends, with the invigorating influence of
a beautiful clime, soon restored me to comparative health, but it was a
long time before I was strong enough to ride and resume my former
exercise. During that time Gabriel made frequent excursions to the
southern and even to the Mexican settlements, and on the return from his
last trip he brought up news which caused the Indians, for that year, to
forsake their hunting, and remain at home. General Lamar and his
associates had hit upon a plan not only treacherous, but in open
defiance of all the laws of nations. But what, indeed, could be expected
from a people who murdered their guests, invited by them, and under the
sanction of a white flag.
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