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the Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions.
TWO MONTHS IN THE CAMP OF BIG BEAR.
The Life and Adventures
Of
Theresa Gowanlock and Theresa Delaney.
CONTENTS.
PART I.
INTRODUCTION
WE LEAVE ONTARIO
INCIDENTS AT BATTLEFORD
ON TO OUR HOME
AT HOME
WOOD AND PLAIN INDIANS
THE MASSACRE
WITH THE INDIANS
PROTECTED BY HALF-BREEDS
THEY TAKE FORT PITT
COOKING FOR A LARGE FAMILY
INCIDENTS BY THE WAY
DANCING PARTIES
ANOTHER BATTLE
INDIAN BOYS
HOPE ALMOST DEFERRED
OUT OF BIG BEAR'S CAMP
RESCUED
WE LEAVE FOR HOME
AT HOME
TO ONE OF THE ABSENT
SHOT DOWN.
J. A. GOWANLOCK.
W. C. GILCHRIST.
PART II.
PREFACE.
MY YOUTH AND EARLY LIFE.
MY MARRIAGE LIFE.
THE NORTH-WEST TROUBLES.
CONCLUSION.
FATHER FAFARD.
THE SASKATCHEWAN STREAM.
MR. DILL.
ILLUSTRATIONS.
THE SCENE OF THE MASSACRE.
MRS GOWANLOCK.
SQUAW CARRYING WOOD.
WANDERING SPIRIT.
MR GOWANLOCK'S HOUSE, STORE AND MILL.
MR. GOWANLOCK.
MR. GILCHRIST.
THE WAR DANCE.
FROG LAKE SETTLEMENT.
MRS DELANEY.
MR DELANEY.
THE RESCUE.
FATHER FAFARD.
MR. DILL.
PART I.
INTRODUCTION.
It is not the desire of the author of this work to publish the
incidents which drenched a peaceful and prosperous settlement in
blood, and subjected the survivors to untold suffering and privations
at the hands of savages, in order to gratify a morbid craving for
notoriety. During all my perils and wanderings amid the snow and ice
of that trackless prairie, the hope that nerved me to struggle on,
was, that if rescued, I might within the sacred precincts of the
paternal hearth, seek seclusion, where loving hands would help me to
bear the burden of my sorrow, and try to make me forget at times, if
they could not completely efface from my memory, the frightful scenes
enacted around that prairie hamlet, which bereft me of my loved one,
leaving my heart and fireside desolate for ever. Prostrated by fatigue
and exposure, distracted by the constant dread of outrage and death, I
had well-nigh abandoned all hope of ever escaping from the Indians
with my life, but, as the darkness of the night is just before the
dawn, so my fears which had increased until I was in despair, God in
his inscrutible way speedily calmed, for while I was brooding over and
preparing for my impending fate, a sudden commotion attracted my
attention and in less time than it takes to write it, I was free. From
that moment I received every kindness and attention, and as I
approached the confines of civilization, I became aware of how
diligently I had been sought after, and that for weeks I had been the
object of the tenderest solicitude, not only of my friends and
relations, but of the whole continent.
There have appeared so many conflicting statements in the public press
regarding my capture and treatment while with the Indians, that it is
my bounden duty to give to the public a truthful and accurate
description of my capture, detention and misfortunes while captive in
the camp of Big Bear. The task may be an irksome one and I might with
justice shrink from anything which would recall the past. Still it is
a debt of gratitude I owe to the people of this broad dominion. To the
brave men who sacrificed their business and comfort and endured the
hardships incident to a soldier's life, in order to vindicate the law.
And to the noble men and women who planned for the comfort and
supplied the wants of the gallant band who had so nobly responded to
the call of duty and cry for help. And I gladly embrace this
opportunity of showing to the public and especially the ladies, my
appreciation of their kindness and sympathy in my bereavement, and
their noble and disinterested efforts for my release. In undertaking a
task which has no pleasures for me, and has been accomplished under
the most trying difficulties and with the greatest physical suffering,
I have embodied in the narrative a few of the manners and customs of
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