Shanks set out on his errand immediately,--and
John, fearing that he should be apprehended and punished for the crime he
had committed, at the same time went off towards Caneadea.
Thomas was decently interred in a style corresponding with his rank.
The Chiefs soon assembled in council on the trial of John, and after
having seriously examined the matter according to their laws, justified
his conduct, and acquitted him. They considered Thomas to have been the
first transgressor, and that for the abuses which he had offered, he had
merited from John the treatment that he had received.
John, on learning the decision of the council, returned to his family.
Thomas (except when intoxicated, which was not frequent,) was a kind and
tender child, willing to assist me in my labor, and to remove every
obstacle to my comfort. His natural abilities were said to be of a
superior cast, and he soared above the trifling subjects of revenge, which
are common amongst Indians, as being far beneath his attention. In his
childish and boyish days, his natural turn was to practise in the art of
war, though he despised the cruelties that the warriors inflicted upon
their subjugated enemies.
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