USA > Pennsylvania > Luzerne County > Wilkes-Barre > A history of Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania : from its first beginnings to the present time, including chapters of newly-discovered early Wyoming Valley history, together with many biographical sketches and much genealogical material. Volume II > Part 98
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Ebenezer Slocum died suddenly of apoplexy on the street in Wilkes-Barre, while here on a visit, July 25, 1832. An obituary of him and his brother Benjamin (who had died twenty days pre- viously), written by Charles Miner, was published in the Village Record (West Chester, Pennsylvania) August 10, 1832, and republished in the Wyoming Republican (Kingston, Pennsylvania) August 22, 1832. Mrs. Sarah (Davis) Slocum died November 1, 1842.
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The children of Ebenezer and Sarah (Davis) Slocum were as follows: (1) Ruth, born in Wilkes- Barré September 13, 1791; married at "Slocum Hollow," July 24, 1811, by Cornelius Courtright, Esq., of Wilkes-Barre, to Elisha Hitchcock, who was born in Clermont, New Hampshire, January 21, 1778, and died at Scranton October 16, 1858. (For his obituary, see the Record of the Times, Wilkes-Barre, December 8, 1858.) Mrs. Ruth (Slocum) Hitchcock died at Scranton about 1882. (2) Sidney, born March 17, 1794; married July 1, 1813, to Jane La France; died January 20, 1825. (3) Ebenezer, born June 6, 1796; married to Sarah Mills. (4) Benjamin, born July 19, 1798; married August 1, 1819, to Matilda Griffin; died at Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania, October 19, 1832. (5) Joseph, born in Wilkes-Barre July 15, 1800; married December 22, 1830, to Edilda Bingham; elected the first Burgess of Scranton in 1856; died in June, 1890. (6) Samuel, born May 13, 1802; married May 13, 1830, to Mary Dings; died August 18, 1851. (7) Thomas, born May 21, 1804; married December 14, 1837, to Sarah S. Jenkins; died in Marion, Iowa, December 26, 1879. (8) Sarah, born December 24, 1806; married September 5, 1832, to Alva Heermans; died November 28, 1878. (9) Charles Miner, born December 24, 1808; died August 27, 1877, unmarried. (10) William, born December 20, 1810; mar- ried March 30, 1843, to Jane Lockwood; died subsequently to 1881. (11) Mary, born December 3, 1812; died January 2, 1875, unmarried. (12) Esther, born March 20, 1816; married September 23, 1841, to Lester Bristol; died subsequently to 1881. (13) Giles, born December 11, 1820; married to Sarah Decker; died subsequently to 1881.
(v) Mary Slocum, born December 22, 1768, was nearly ten years old at the time her sister Frances was carried into captivity, and it was she who, when that event occurred, ran from her home towards Fort Wyoming with her young brother in her arms. She was married at Wilkes-Barre about 1790 to Joseph C. Towne, who was a carpenter by trade, and is said to have come to Wyoming from Connecticut. As early as 1793 he was located at Wyalusing, and in 1798 he erected a grist-mill on Wyalusing Creek. Some years later the Townes removed to Ohio and located near Circleville. Mrs. Mary (Slocum) Towne died at Wilkes-Barre April 5, 1848. See The Wilkes-Barre Advocate of April 12, 1848, for her obituary.
(vi) Benjamin Slocum, born December 7, 1770, came to Wilkes-Barré from Rhode Island with the other members of his father's family. In 1790 he was a private in the Light Infantry company (commanded by Lieut. Elisha Blackman) attached to the 1st Regiment of Militia in Luzerne County. Later in life he attained the rank of Major in the Pennsylvania militia. As previously related he became a business partner of his brother Ebenezer, and removed from Wilkes-Barre to Deep Hollow, or Unionville, in 1800. The first postoffice in Lackawanna Valley was established at Unionville Jan- uary 10, 1811, under the name of "Providence," and Benjamin Slocum was appointed postmaster. He held the office continuously until 1829. About 1830 he removed to the township of Tunkhannock (which comprehended a part, or the whole, of the old township of Putnam), in what is now Wyoming County, Pennsylvania, where he took up his residence on the farm which had formerly been in the possession of his brother Isaac. When the borough of Tunkhannock was erected in 1841 a large part of the Benjamin Slocum farm was included within its limits; and in May, 1842, Thomas Truxton Slocum, son and heir of Benjamin Slocum, donated two acres of the farm as a site for the Wyoming County court-house. Benjamin Slocum was married about 1805 to Phebe La France of Providence Township. He died at Tunkhannock July 5, 1832. Benjamin and Phebe (La France) Slocum were the parents of the following-named children: (1) Maria, who became the wife of Dr. Silas B. Rob- inson of Providence Township. (2) Ruth, who became the wife of Henry Stark of Tunkhannock. (3) Frances, married October 2, 1834, to Samuel T. Nicholson of Wilkes-Barre. (4) Thomas Truxton, born in 1813; married to Ann, daughter of Col. Jacob J. and Abi K. (Fell) Dennis of Wilkes-Barré; died at Platte Canon, Colorado, May 29, 1887.
(viii) Isaac Slocum, born March 4, 1775, came with his parents in 1777 to Wilkes-Barré. Here he spent the following twenty-three years of his life, and here he was married (1st) January 11, 1799, to Elizabeth (born at Norwalk, Connecticut, April 26, 1780), daughter of Abel and Elizabeth (Hurl- but) Patrick, originally of Norwalk, but then of Kingston, Wyoming Valley. About 1800 Isaac Slocum and his wife removed to the township of Tunkhannock, and settled on land which had been owned by his father, Jonathan Slocum, deceased, as one of the original proprietors of The Susquehanna Company's township of Putnam. Isaac Slocum cleared up and farmed this land, and also erected an inn, which he successfully conducted for a number of years. In 1814 he built a more substantial and pretentious hotel in what is now the borough of Tunkhannock. The first postoffice at Tunkhan- nock was established April 1, 1801, and Isaac Slocum was appointed postmaster. He held the office until July, 1811. At this period he was very active as an officer of the Pennsylvania militia, and in Munsell's "History of Luzerne, Lackawanna and Wyoming Counties" we read the following: "Just after the close of the War of 1812 we find Major Slocum, one of the earliest hotel-keepers of Tunk- hannock, clearing and 'grubbing' a parade-ground of forty acres for his regiment." In 1824 Major Slocum, his wife and ten children removed from Tunkhannock to York Township, Sandusky County, Ohio, locating near the village of Bellevue in Huron County. There Mrs. Elizabeth (Patrick) Slocum died September 16, 1839, from injuries received in an accident. Major Slocum was married (2d) at Clyde, Ohio, December 24, 1839, to Mrs. Lydia (Chase) Norton. He died at his home near Bellevue August 26, 1858. In a sketch of his life printed in The Witness at Indianapolis, Indiana, occurred the following paragraph: "Mr. Slocum was a prominent and active citizen, and held successively sev- eral military commissions, * and was several years postmaster. * He was a man of great energy and enterprise, and * accumulated a handsome fortune. He outlived all his father's family."
The children of Maj. Isaac Slocum (all by his first wife) were: (1) Jonathan, born July 25, 1800; died May 4, 1802. (2) Mary, born March 13, 1802; married (1st) August 30, 1818, to John Harding, (2d) to L. H. Rced; died April 1, 1859. (3) John Forseman, born December 13, 1803; married April 14, 1830, to Minerva Kellogg; died June 27, 1879. (4) Charles, born March 18, 1806; died January 13, 1832, unmarried. (5) Ruth Ann, born May 13, 1808; married June 4, 1826, to James Stevens; died in September, 1847. (6) Isaac, born September 30, 1810; married (1st) April 5, 1836, to Juliette Hubbell, (2d) to Mary Ann Barker; died subsequently to 1881. (7) Elizabeth, born June 14, 1812; married September 12, 1833, to Mason Kinney; died subsequently to 1881. (8) Hannah, born March 21, 1814; married November 18, 1835, to Samuel E. Walter; died May 6, 1880. (9) William Sawyer, born March 13, 1816; married September 20, 1837, to Mary A. Knapp; died subsequently to 1881. (10) Abel Patrick, born December 18, 1817; married October 1, 1840, to Mary C. Haskins; died subsequently to 1881. (11) Giles, born January 18, 1820; married in April, 1842, to Lucinda Booth; died subsequently to 1881.
(ix) Joseph Slocum was born in Warwick Township, Rhode Island, April 9, 1777, and conse- quently was only an infant in arms when he came to Wilkes-Barre with his parents in the Autumn of the same year. It was he who, when his sister Frances was captured by the Indians, was snatched up by his sister Mary and carried away to a place of safety. He early learned the trade of a black- smith, and before the year 1800 had opened a shop of his own on the west side of North Main Street near the present Jackson Street. In addition to carrying on this trade in an energetic and a successful manner, he engaged to some extent in farming. In the year 1800 he was married at Wilkes-Barre to Sarah (born July 25, 1781), third child of Judge Jesse and Hannah (Welding) Fell (see a subsequent chapter for a sketch of the Fell family), and they took up their residence in a house owned by Mr. Slocum at the north-east corner of Union and Main Streets. Early in 1803 Joseph Slocum was elected Captain of the "Wyoming Blues," and served in that capacity until 1808, at least.
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In 1807, the year following the erection of the borough of Wilkes-Barre, Joseph Slocum was elected one of the two As- sessors of the borough. In this same year he became one of the incorporators of the Wilkes-Barré Academy, and sub- sequently served as a member of its Board of Trustees from 1807 till 1838 -for twenty-five years of this time holding the office of Treasurer of the Academy. He was a member of the Town Council of the borough of Wilkes- Barré in 1818, 1819, 1829 and 1830.
Early in 1807 Mr. Slocum began the erection on the south side of Public Square of a brick residence three and a-half stories high, which was not only the first building of such a height, but was the first brick building, to be erected in north-eastern Pennsylvania. This building was completed in March or April, 1808, and to it Mr. Slocum and his family immediately removed from their North Main Street home. At the same time Mr. Slocum removed his blacksmithing business from North Main Street to a shop either in the rear, or at a short distance to the west, of his new residence. In The Luzerne Fed- eralist (Wilkes-Barré) of May 6, 1808, he published the following advertise- ment: "To RENT-Two DWELLING HousEs in the borough of Wilkes-Barre. One situate on the corner of Main and Union Streets, about 100 rods easterly from the Court House. The house is large, and appertaining to it are a good garden, well of water, smoke-house, RESIDENCE OF JOSEPH SLOCUM, south side of Public Square. The first brick building erected in Wilkes-Barre. (From a photograph taken in 1858.) stables, hog-house and corn-house. The other house is situate in Union Street, and is a convenient building for a small family. A well of excellent water, a good garden and a barn are on the premises. Possession will be given immediately. The subscriber respectfully informs the Public that he has removed from his old place to a new stand on the Public Square, within a few rods of the Court House, where he continues the BLACKSMITHING BUSINESS. His customers may depend upon hav- ing their work done with usual punctuality. A healthy, active lad, of fourteen or fifteen years of age, will be taken as an apprentice to the above business.
"May 6, 1808.
"JOSEPH SLOCUM."
Mr. Slocum occupied his brick residence on Public Square till his death; then, for a number of years, it was occupied as a residence by his son-in-law, Lord Butler, and his family, after which the building was given over to business uses. Later it was remodeled, and continued to be used for shop and office purposes until its demolishment in April, 1906, to make way for the erection of the present First National Bank building.
Joseph Slocum was appointed and commissioned by the Governor of Pennsylvania, April 28, 1851, one of the two Associate Judges of the Courts of Luzerne County. Some years prior to this he had given up his blacksmithing business, and was devoting his time to his farming and general business interests. In 1854 a new township was erected out of Newport Township, Luzerne County, and was named Slocum Township in honor of Judge Joseph Slocum. Mrs. Sarah (Fell) Slocum died suddenly at her home in Wilkes-Barre February 25, 1823, and Judge Slocum died here September 27, 1855.
The children of Joseph and Sarah (Fell) Slocum were as follows: (1) Hannah Fell, born April 16, 1802; married by the Rev. George Peck, D. D., November 25, 1824, to Ziba Bennett, formerly of Newtown, New York, but then of Wilkes-Barre; died February 5, 1855. (See sketch of Ziba Bennett in a subsequent chapter.) (2) Ruth Tripp, born December 5, 1804; married December 1, 1825, to William Sterling Ross of Wilkes-Barre; died Tune 23, 1882. (See sketch of the Ross family in a sub- sequent chapter.) (3) Deborah, born August 6, 1806; married (1st) January 17, 1827, to Anning O. Chahoon, (2d) September 28, 1851, to Sharp D. Lewis; died January 19, 1878. (See sketch of Sharp D. Lewis in a subsequent chapter.) (4) Abi Welding, born June 22, 1808; married February 2, 1832, to Lord Butler, Jr .; died March 11, 1887. (See sketch of Lord Butler in a subsequent chapter.) (5) George Fell, born August 10, 1812; died March 19, 1856. (See below.) (6) Jonathan Joseph, born January 27, 1815; died February 25, 1860. (See page 1118.) (7) Mary, died in youth. (8) Har- riet Elizabeth, born June 26, 1819; married (1st) October 6, 1841, to Charles B. Drake, and (2d) April 28, 1868, to Henry Lewis; died December 29, 1898. (See sketch of Charles B. Drake in a subsequent chapter.)
(x) Jonathan Slocum, youngest child of Jonathan and Ruth (Tripp) Slocum, was born in Wilkes- Barre September 12, 1778, and was less then two months old when his sister Frances was carried into captivity. He was a farmer and a tax-payer in Wilkes-Barre in 1799, and in 1800 was married to Martha Underwood, probably of Kingston Township. Some years later they left Wilkes-Barre, and for a time resided near Havana, New York. He died in September, 1842. His children (per- haps not born in the order here given) were: (1) Zebulon Butler, (2) Isaac, (3) Joseph Beach, (4) Benjamin Franklin, (5) John F., (6) Ebenezer Phineas, (7) Anna Maria, (8) Phebe P., (9) William H., (10) Laton, (11) Joel.
(5) George Fell Slocum, born in Wilkes-Barré August 10, 1812, younger son of Joseph and Sarah (Fell) Slocum, spent 'his whole life here. In November, 1838, in partnership with Elijah W. Reynolds, he engaged in mercantile business-opening "a new stock of dry goods, groceries, hardware, glass- ware, etc., at the stand lately occupied by Charles B. Drake, next door to Butler's steam-mill, on the east side of Public Square." At Clinton, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, January 19, 1842, Mr. Slocum was married to Mary N. (born in 1820), daughter of John Grandin of that place. She died at Wilkes-Barre August 8, 1845, being survived by her husband and one son. At that time Mr. Slo- cum was still engaged in mercantile business in Wilkes-Barre, and was also a Major in the Pennsyl- vania militia. In 1847 he began the erection, on the south side of the Public Square, of a three and a-half story brick building for hotel purposes. The building was not completed until the Spring of 1851, when it was named the "American House." It was separated from the residence of Joseph
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sons and three daughters-the eldest child being nearly nineteen years of age, and the age of the youngest being one and a-half years. Mr. Slocum had been in Wyoming Valley previously ; first, in 1762, when he and his brother-in-law, Job Tripp, came here as part of the body of original settlers under the auspices of The Susquehanna Company-as noted on page 404, Vol. I. It is quite probable that both these men were here also in October, 1763, at the time of the massacre of some of the New England settlers and the dispersal of the others, as related on page 430, Vol. I.
It is doubtful if Jonathan Slocum visited Wyoming again until the Autumn of 1775, when he was here for a short time. In October of that year he became one of the original proprietors of the township of Putnam, the agent for which was his father-in-law, Isaac Tripp, as related on page 467, Vol. I. In the subsequent allotment of the lands of that township Jonathan Slocum received Lot No. 17. At Wilkes- Barré, November 6, 1775, Jonathan Fitch conveyed to " Jonathan Slo- cum, blacksmith, of Warwick, Kent County, Rhode Island," Lot No. 50 in the town-plot of Wilkes-Barre. Subsequently Mr. Slocum acquired Lot No. 38 (adjoining No. 50) in the town-plot, as well as lands in the other "divisions " of the township of Wilkes-Barré. Referring to page 655, ante, it will be seen that Lot No. 50 was at the east corner of the town-plot, or at the west corner of the present Pennsylvania Avenue (originally Back Street, and later Canal Street) and Northi Street. The lot contained three acres and 136 perches, and extended along North Street from Pennsylvania Avenue to the middle of the present Wasli- ington Street.
Whether or not there were any buildings on this lot when it came into the possession of Jonathan Slocum cannot now be stated with cer-
Slocum by an alley, and the east end of the building is shown in the picture on page 1117. In May, 1855, Major Slocum was appointed by Governor Pollock of Pennsylvania an aide on his staff, with the rank of Lieut. Colonel. Colonel Slocum died at the home of his brother-in-law, Charles B. Drake, on South Main Street, Wilkes-Barre, March 19, 1856, and was buried in Hollenback Cemetery-his remains being the first to be interred "in this City of the Dead," as the inscription on bis tombstone states.
(6) Jonathan Joseph Slocum, born in Wilkes-Barre January 27, 1815, younger son of Joseph and Sarah (Fell) Slocum, was educated at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and at Kenyon Col- lege, Gambier, Ohio. He then read law with Ebenezer W. Sturdevant, Wilkes-Barre, and was admit- ted to the. Bar of Luzerne County August 12, 1837-being then in the twenty-third year of his life. In 1838 he was Clerk of the Town Council of the borough of Wilkes-Barre. He was married at Wilkes-Barré, September 12, 1840, by the Rev. Bethell Claxton, to Elizabeth Cutter (born September 7, 1821), daughter of Joseph Philip and Rachel Manning (Cutter) Le Clerc of Wilkes-Barre.
Joseph Philip Le Clerc, who was of French descent, was married about 1817 to Rachel Manning (born in New York City August 24, 1794), daughter of Ford Cutter. They took up their residence in Philadelphia, whence, in 1830, they removed to Wilkes-Barre. Their home here was in a large frame house, painted white, located at the north-east corner of Union and Franklin Streets, and which stood there until its demolition in 1887. Joseph P. Le Clerc was Burgess of the borougb of Wilkes- Barre from May, 1839, to May, 1841, and then for several years was a member of the Town Council -being President of the body in 1846 and '47. From 1843 to 1845 he was postmaster of Wilkes- Barré. Mrs. Rachel M. (Cutter) Le Clerc died in Wilkes-Barré September 11, 1856, and the next day her remains were conveyed to Philadelphia for burial in Laurel Hill Cemetery. Shortly after- wards Joseph P. Le Clerc removed from Wilkes-Barre to Philadelphia, and, at a meeting of the sur- viving soldiers of the War of 1812 held in the Philadelphia Court House December 22, 1856, he was one of the Vice Presidents. Edward Emilius Le Clerc (born in Philadelphia August 19, 1819, and died there August 12, 1849) was a son of Joseph P. and Rachel M. (Cutter) Le Clerc. He was graduated at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, July 19, 1838, and, after studying law witb Jonathan J. Slocum, was admitted to the Bar of Luzerne County November 3, 1840. About that per- iod he wrote many pleasing poems of considerable merit, which were published then and later. He served as a Lieutenant of the "Columbia Guards" (Danville, Pennsylvania) in the Mexican War, and, shortly after his return home, his death resulted from the hardships which he had endured in the ser- vice. He was unmarried.
After his marriage Jonathan J. Slocum resided on North Main Street below Union until about 1851, when, having erected a handsome residence on South River Street (where the residence of John N. Conyngham now stands), he moved there and lived there until the latter part of 1859, when he removed to Philadelphia, where he died February 25, 1860. Subsequently his widow and children returned to Wilkes-Barre, and lived here for the next seven or eight years. Later his widow was married to - Nyce. She died December 7, 1890. The children of Jonathan J. and Eliza- betb C. (Le Clerc) Slocum were: (1) Sarah L., born May 8, 1842; married January 21, 1869, to Jobn B. Love of Philadelphia. (2) Edward Le Clerc, born August 19, 1853; married to Emily Car- penter.
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tainty, but it is quite probable that there was a dwelling-house standing there, and perhaps certain outbuildings ; for when Mr. Slocum and his family removed to Wilkes-Barre they established themselves on Lot No. 50. In 1778 the house which they occupied there was a two-story framne or log structure facing North Street, and near by was the blacksmith shop of Mr. Slocum. On the east and north sides, and probably also on the remaining sides, of Lot No. 50 was a log fence. Back (later Canal) Street-which bounded the lot on the east-extended no farther north than North Street, and the latter street ended at Back Street. There was no road or path leading from that locality either northwardly or eastwardly ; and there was no use for one, inasmuch as there were not any cultivated or cleared fields adjoining the town-plot at that point, nor were there any dwelling-houses in the township east or north-east of the town-plot. Above North Street there was a long stretch of woods, extending towards the hills east of the town-plot, while for some dis- tance along Back Street lay a swamp, or mnorass, through whichi ran the little brook described on page 59, Vol. I.
Jonathan Slocum was a conscientious believer in the doctrines of the Society of Friends, and therefore, as an opposer of strife and blood- shed, he did not take part in the battle of Wyoming. However, liis eldest son, Giles, fought in the ranks of the Americans, escaped in safety from the battle-field when the rout began, and afterwards made his way out of the Valley-only to return a month later in the detachment of militia under the command of Lieut. Colonel Butler. It is doubtful if Jonathan Slocum removed his family to the shelter of Fort Wilkes- Barré when it was announced, on the first of July, 1778, that the Indians and " Rangers " were on the march towards Wyoming ; and it is certain that, in the general exodus of the inhabitants from the Valley on the 3d, 4th and 5th days of July, the Slocums (with the exception of Giles) remained at their home in the town-plot.
Various writers have stated that "Mr. Slocum, on account of his non-combative principles and the many acts of kindness he had bestowed on the Indians, considered himself and family comparatively free from danger," and therefore did not hesitate to remain in Wilkes-Barré when nearly all his neighbors were fleeing therefromn. This would be inter- esting if true ; but the fact is that Jonathan Slocum came to Wilkes- Barré from a State where there were no Indians in his day, and after his settlement here (considerably less than a year before the battle of Wyoming) there were no Indians in Wyoming Valley, and none nearer than at Sheshequin and Tioga Point. Now and then some of these Indians of the upper Susquehanna came down to Wyoming to trade with the white people, or to spy upon their doings, but it is not at all probable that Jonathan Slocum came in contact with them or had any opportunity to do them "acts of kindness." The real reasons for the Slocums remaining at their home after the capitulation of Forty Fort were simply these : Mrs. Ruth ( Tripp ) Slocum was soon to become a mother,* and in the meantime her husband desired, if possible, to save her from unnecessary hardships. Moreover, being a man of peace and not familiar with the ways of savage warfare, Mr. Slocum believed that under the terms of the capitulation signed at Forty Fort the inhabitants
* JONATHAN SLOCUM, youngest child of Jonathan and Ruth (Tripp) Slocum, was born at Wilkes- Barré September 12, 1778-two months and nine days subsequently to the battle of Wyoming.
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of Wyoming-particularly those who had not taken up arms-would be safe and secure as to their persons and property. Within two or three weeks, however, he found that this was a delusion, and therefore he and his family departed from the Valley (as related on page 1056), probably going to Fort Penn. About the iniddle, or the latter part, of August, 1778, they returned to their home on North Street, which had not been disturbed by prowling Tories and Indians during their absence.
On Monday, November 2, 1778, Jonathan Slocum and his sons William and Benjamin were at work on the Wilkes-Barré flats complet- ing their corn harvest; Giles Slocum was either aiding them in this work, or was on duty as a militia-man at Fort Wyoming. At the Slo- cum home were the other members of the family, together with Mrs. Nathan Kingsley* and her two sons-the elder, Nathan, Jr., aged about fifteen years. About midday the Kingsley boys were engaged in sharp- ening a knife on a grindstone in the front yard of the Slocum house, while Mrs. Slocum and the other members of the household who were at home were within doors. Suddenly the sharp crack of a rifle was heard outside the house, aud almost immediately Mrs. Slocum hastened to the front door. Flinging it open she was horrified at seeing on the ground before her the lifeless body of young Nathan Kingsley. He had just been shot down by a lurking savage, who had quickly run to the spot from his place of hiding, and, as Mrs. Slocum appeared on the scene, was preparing to scalp his victim with the very knife which the two boys had been grinding but a few moments before.
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