They painted
him black, as is their custom when a victim is destined for their
torture, and informed him that he was to be burned at Chillicothe.
Meanwhile, for their own amusement, and as a prelude of his torture,
they manacled him hand and foot, and placed him on an unbridled and
unbroken horse, and turned the animal loose, driving it off at its
utmost speed, with shouts, delighted at witnessing its mode of managing
with its living burden. The horse unable to shake off this new and
strange encumbrance, made for the thickest covert of the woods and
brambles, with the speed of the winds. It is easy to conjecture the
position and suffering of the victim. The terrified animal exhausted
itself in fruitless efforts to shake off its burden, and worn down and
subdued, brought Butler back amidst the yells of the exulting savages to
the camp.
Arrived within a mile of Chillicothe, they halted, took Butler from his
horse and tied him to a stake, where he remained twenty-four hours in
one position. He was taken from the stake to "run the gauntlet." The
Indian mode of managing this kind of torture was as follows: The
inhabitants of the tribe, old and young, were placed in parallel lines,
armed with clubs and switches. The victim was to make his way to the
council house through these files, every member of which struggled to
beat him as he passed as severely as possible. If he reached the council
house alive, he was to be spared. In the lines were nearly six hundred
Indians, and Butler had to make his way almost a mile in the endurance
of this infernal sport.
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