Rensselaer Gazette, Volume 3, Number 12, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 July 1859 — THE BLOODY CROSS! [ARTICLE]

THE BLOODY CROSS!

AN INCIDENT OF THE FLORIDA WAR. Around a camp the, which was burning quite low, for it was after midnight, were seated two or three survivors of Major Dade’s unfo. lunate brigade—two brothers named' Stone. For nearly a week subsequently to their escape had they been eluding the Indians of the Everglades; feeding upon berries, trying to cure their wounds, and looking forward to the time when they should be able to leave the vast marsh thus entitled, but now their hopes were nearly gon . Weak, emaciated, with inflamed wounds, the brothers had sent

their comrade, one Joseph Andrews, to seek for berries or some other food, and were now awaiting his return with breathless interest, and yet with terrible foreboding, for daily had the red-skins been prowling near. From sunset until midnight, hour after hour, in almost unbroken silence, bad the brothers waited the comingof their comrade, and yet no sound, save the passage of an affrightened night-bird, or the hootitfg of a distant owl. The anxiety was in itself enough to keep them watchful, to say nothing of the pain occasioned by their wounds; and final'y their fear became so dominant that they arose, drew nearer to the fire, and gazed upon each other. “There seems to be no help for it, John,” remarked the younger of the brothers. “We must die where we are. Joe has been met and slain by the savages, who, doubtless, are now searching for us.” “And I am as hopeless as yourself, Tom,” replied the elder. “I can think of nothing but the terrible Indian woman, said to live in the Everglades, who has slain so many whites. You remember what poor Dan Wilson said about her, as we were marching down the road on the night of the attack! that she kills every white man that she can get in her power, and makes two deep gashes, the shape of a cross, on the victim's breast?” Ere the other could reply, a groan and wild exclamation of anguish reached their ears, and as they started to their feet, they saw the figure of John Andrews emerge from the brakes. His steps were unsteady, bis manner fearfully excited, his face and fr;nt covered with blood, and he came on 9lowly, is if barely able to stand; still moaning and staring wildly on his companions, while be threw out his arms imploringly, be continued to advance. “In God's name! what has happened! ’ isked the younger of the brothers. “I have seen her! seen her!” he gasped in reply, as for a moment he reeled to and fro, and then sank to the ground. “That Indian woman—killed.” And then, even as the brothers bent down and raised his head in heir hands, they saw a sight that made them tremble. “Look!” they exclaimed, simultaneously, as they glanced at the victim. Through and through his thick coat, which had been cut or torn off, a heavy knife had est two frightfal gashes on the b east, in the form of a cross. Before the brothers had time to more than realize the fact, and ere Ihev could inquire what should be done, the sufferer was dead. For a few moments the brothers looked at each other in silence, and then, Tom said: “We must get out of this at once, or we ire doomed. I fear that this female avenger is earfully near, and we must avoid her. The mournful task was soon accomplished, and they hastened from the scene. After some two hours of toil, much to their surprise, as well as delight, they came out on the bank of Green River, on the southwest side of the Everglades. As they hastened down to the edge of the water, they saw a female figure sitting on the shore, looking toward them, beckoning and smiling, and then pointing at a little canoe at her feet, as if it was her office to row all travelers across the stream. As the brothers reached her side, they saw that she was an Indian .woman of extreme beauty, but with dishevered hair, wildlygleaming eyes, and a dress which clung | closely to a bea tilul form, as if she had just i emerged from the river. Her whole appearance was that of some luring enchantress o» the sea. “Will you cross in my boat!” she asked, in low, pleasant tones, but with a sadness that seemed almost unearthly. “ It is the fiend,” said John to his brother—“the woman of the bloody cross! There’s a large knife half concealed in that belt at her wais'!” “Come!” pleaded tho female, arising and attempting to take each of the soldiers by the hand. The crackling of a dry stick, in the bushes behind them, caused John to send a sharp glance in that direction, but not a moment too soon. A tall, broad-shouldered savage had just arisen from the brakes, and was stealthily advancing, with an uplifted tomahawk in his hand! The truth flashed upon his mind in an instant —that these Indians were seeking redress from some real or imaginary wrongs, and that the woman enticed men into these oecluded wilds, while the men killed them. “Back!” he cried to tiie savage, drawing his knife and a h irse-pistol. A yell from both was the only reply, close ly followed by the report of the pistol; and, as the worrior fell with the bullet in his heart, the hatchet which he hurled, missing i its aim, laid the woman a corpse at the feet of the brothers. The soldiers proceeded to secure their weapons, and, what was more welcome, a little beef and bread, which they found n the boat, and then the bout itself, in wh : i they floated down the river to a place cf safety.. OCI~ An exchange says, that the pe.:< e most coveted by Europe, n monarchs, at (ho present time, is a piece of their neighbor's territory.