This was the secret of neither
party's having appeared in the subsequent struggle; Hutter having
been literally disabled, and his conqueror being ashamed to be
seen with the traces of blood about him, after having used so many
injunctions to convince his young warriors of the necessity of
taking their prisoners alive. When the three Hurons returned from
the chase, and it was determined to abandon the castle and join the
party on the land, Hutter was simply scalped to secure the usual
trophy, and was left to die by inches, as has been done in a
thousand similar instances by the ruthless warriors of this part
of the American continent. Had the injury of Hutter been confined
to his head, he might have recovered, however, for it was the
blow of the knife that proved mortal. There are moments of vivid
consciousness, when the stern justice of God stands forth in colours
so prominent as to defy any attempts to veil them from the sight,
however unpleasant they may appear, or however anxious we may be
to avoid recognising it. Such was now the fact with Judith and
Hetty, who both perceived the decrees of a retributive Providence,
in the manner of their father's suffering, as a punishment for his
own recent attempts on the Iroquois.
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