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diff --git a/16298.txt b/16298.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5c042e2 --- /dev/null +++ b/16298.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10800 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Historic Tales, Vol. 1 (of 15), by Charles Morris + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Historic Tales, Vol. 1 (of 15) + The Romance of Reality + +Author: Charles Morris + +Release Date: July 15, 2005 [EBook #16298] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTORIC TALES, VOL. 1 (OF 15) *** + + + + +Produced by David Kline, David Cortesi and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + +Transcriber's note: in this pure-ASCII edition, a small number of +non-ASCII characters have been encoded as follows: ['e] and [`e] +for accented E; [^e] and [^o] for E and O with circumflex; and +[:i] for I with an ulaut. + + + + ['E]dition d'['E]lite + + + Historical Tales + + The Romance of Reality + + By + + CHARLES MORRIS + + Author of "Half-Hours with the Best American Authors," + "Tales from the Dramatists," etc. + + IN FIFTEEN VOLUMES + + Volume I + + American + + I + + J.B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY + PHILADELPHIA AND LONDON + + + Copyright, 1893, by J.B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY. + Copyright, 1904, by J.B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY. + Copyright, 1908, by J.B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY. + + +[Illustration: WASHINGTON CROSSING THE DELAWARE.] + + + + +PREFACE. + + +It has become a commonplace remark that fact is often +stranger than fiction. It may be said, as a variant of this, +that history is often more romantic than romance. The pages +of the record of man's doings are frequently illustrated by +entertaining and striking incidents, relief points in the +dull monotony of every-day events, stories fitted to rouse +the reader from languid weariness and stir anew in his veins +the pulse of interest in human life. There are many +such,--dramas on the stage of history, life scenes that are +pictures in action, tales pathetic, stirring, enlivening, +full of the element of the unusual, of the stuff the novel +and the romance are made of, yet with the advantage of being +actual fact. Incidents of this kind have proved as +attractive to writers as to readers. They have dwelt upon +them lovingly, embellished them with the charms of rhetoric +and occasionally with the inventions of fancy, until what +began as fact has often entered far into the domains of +legend and fiction. It may well be that some of the +narratives in the present work have gone through this +process. If so, it is simply indicative of the interest +they have awakened in generations of readers and writers. +But the bulk of them are fact, so far as history in general +can be called fact, it having been our design to cull from +the annals of the nations some of their more stirring and +romantic incidents, and present them as a gallery of +pictures that might serve to adorn the entrance to the +temple of history, of which this work is offered as in some +sense an illuminated ante-chamber. As such, it is hoped that +some pilgrims from the world of readers may find it a +pleasant halting-place on their way into the far-extending +aisles of the great temple beyond. + + + + +CONTENTS + + +VINELAND AND THE VIKINGS 9 +FROBISHER AND THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE 26 +CHAMPLAIN AND THE IROQUOIS 34 +SIR WILLIAM PHIPS AND THE SILVER-SHIP 53 +THE STORY OF THE REGICIDES 69 +HOW THE CHARTER WAS SAVED 80 +HOW FRANKLIN CAME TO PHILADELPHIA 90 +THE PERILS OF THE WILDERNESS 98 +SOME ADVENTURES OF MAJOR PUTNAM 111 +A GALLANT DEFENCE 128 +DANIEL BOONE, THE PIONEER OF KENTUCKY 138 +PAUL'S REVERE'S RIDE 157 +THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS 172 +THE BRITISH AT NEW YORK 180 +A QUAKERESS PATRIOT 189 +THE SIEGE OF FORT SCHUYLER 195 +ON THE TRACK OF A TRAITOR 211 +MARION, THE SWAMP-FOX 223 +THE FATE OF THE PHILADELPHIA 237 +THE VICTIM OF A TRAITOR 249 +HOW THE ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH WAS INVENTED 259 +THE MONITOR AND THE MERRIMAC 275 +STEALING A LOCOMOTIVE 285 +AN ESCAPE FROM LIBBY PRISON 298 +THE SINKING OF THE ALBEMARLE 314 +ALASKA, A TREASURE HOUSE OF GOLD, FURS, AND FISHES 327 +HOW HAWAII LOST ITS QUEEN AND ENTERED THE UNITED STATES 338 + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. + +AMERICAN. VOLUME I. + +WASHINGTON CROSSING THE DELAWARE. _Frontispiece._ +VIKING SHIPS AT SEA. 11 +LAKE CHAMPLAIN AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 41 +POND ISLAND, MOUTH OF THE KENNEBEC. 54 +THE CAVE OF THE REGICIDES. 76 +THE CHARTER OAK, HARTFORD. 85 +PRINTING-PRESS AT WHICH FRANKLIN WORKED WHEN A BOY. 90 +WASHINGTON'S HOME AT MT. VERNON. 98 +SHORE OF LAKE GEORGE. 118 +INDIAN ATTACK AND GALLANT DEFENCE. 128 +THE OLD NORTH CHURCH, BOSTON. 158 +THE SPIRIT OF '76. 166 +ETHAN ALLEN'S ENTRANCE, TICONDEROGA. 172 +THE OLD STATE HOUSE, PHILADELPHIA. 191 +THE BENEDICT ARNOLD MANSION. 220 +THE MONITOR AND THE MERRIMAC. 280 +LIBBY PRISON, RICHMOND. 298 +SINKING OF THE ALBEMARLE. 319 +MUIR GLACIER IN ALASKA. 328 +A NATIVE GRASS HUT, HAWAII. 340 + + + + +VINELAND AND THE VIKINGS. + + +The year 1000 A.D. was one of strange history. Its advent +threw the people of Europe into a state of mortal terror. +Ten centuries had passed since the birth of Christ. The +world was about to come to an end. Such was the general +belief. How it was to reach its end,--whether by fire, +water, or some other agent of ruin,--the prophets of +disaster did not say, nor did people trouble themselves to +learn. Destruction was coming upon them, that was enough to +know; how to provide against it was the one thing to be +considered. + +Some hastened to the churches; others to the taverns. Here +prayers went up; there wine went down. The petitions of the +pious were matched by the ribaldry of the profligate. Some +made their wills; others wasted their wealth in revelry, +eager to get all the pleasure out of life that remained for +them. Many freely gave away their property, hoping, by +ridding themselves of the goods of this earth, to establish +a claim to the goods of Heaven, with little regard to the +fate of those whom they loaded with their discarded wealth. + +It was an era of ignorance and superstition. Christendom +went insane over an idea. When the year ended, and the world +rolled on, none the worse for conflagration or deluge, green +with the spring leafage and ripe with the works of man, +dismay gave way to hope, mirth took the place of prayer, +man regained their flown wits, and those who had so +recklessly given away their wealth bethought themselves of +taking legal measures for its recovery. + +Such was one of the events that made that year memorable. +There was another of a highly different character. Instead +of a world being lost, a world was found. The Old World not +only remained unharmed, but a New World was added to it, a +world beyond the seas, for this was the year in which the +foot of the European was first set upon the shores of the +trans-Atlantic continent. It is the story of this first +discovery of America that we have now to tell. + +In the autumn of the year 1000, in a region far away from +fear-haunted Europe, a scene was being enacted of a very +different character from that just described. Over the +waters of unknown seas a small, strange craft boldly made +its way, manned by a crew of the hardiest and most vigorous +men, driven by a single square sail, whose coarse woollen +texture bellied deeply before the fierce ocean winds, which +seemed at times as if they would drive that deckless vessel +bodily beneath the waves. + +This crew was of men to whom fear was almost unknown, the +stalwart Vikings of the North, whose oar-and sail-driven +barks now set out from the coasts of Norway and Denmark to +ravage the shores of southern Europe, now turned their prows +boldly to the west in search of unknown lands afar. + +Shall we describe this craft? It was a tiny one in which to +venture upon an untravelled ocean in search of an unknown +continent,--a vessel shaped somewhat like a strung bow, +scarcely fifty feet in length, low amidships and curving +upwards to high peaks at stem and stern, both of which +converged to sharp edges. It resembled an enormous canoe +rather than aught else to which we can compare it. On the +stem was a carved and gilt dragon, the figurehead of the +ship, which glittered in the bright rays of the sun. Along +the bulwarks of the ship, fore and aft, hung rows of large +painted wooden shields, which gave an Argus-eyed aspect to +the craft. Between them was a double row of thole-pins for +the great oars, which now lay at rest in the bottom of the +boat, but by which, in calm weather, this "walker of the +seas" could be forced swiftly through the yielding element. + +[Illustration: VIKING SHIPS AT SEA.] + +Near the stern, on an elevated platform, stood the +commander, a man of large and powerful frame and imposing +aspect, one whose commands not the fiercest of his crew +would lightly venture to disobey. A coat of ring-mail +encircled his stalwart frame; by his side, in a +richly-embossed scabbard, hung a long sword, with hilt of +gilded bronze; on his head was a helmet that shone like pure +gold, shaped like a wolf's head, with gaping jaws and +threatening teeth. Land was in sight, an unknown coast, +peopled perhaps by warlike men. The cautious Viking leader +deemed it wise to be prepared for danger, and was armed for +possible combat. + +Below him, on the rowing-benches, sat his hardy crew, their +arms--spears, axes, bows, and slings--beside them, ready +for any deed of daring they might be called upon to perform. +Their dress consisted of trousers of coarse stuff, belted at +the waist; thick woollen shirts, blue, red, or brown in +color; iron helmets, beneath which their long hair streamed +down to their shoulders; and a shoulder belt descending to +the waist and supporting their leather-covered +sword-scabbards. Heavy whiskers and moustaches added to the +fierceness of their stern faces, and many of them wore as +ornament on the forehead a band of gold. + +They numbered thirty-five in all, this crew who had set out +to brave the terrors and solve the mysteries of the great +Atlantic. Their leader, Leif by name, was the son of Eirek +the Red, the discoverer of Greenland, and a Viking as fierce +as ever breathed the air of the north land. Outlawed in +Norway, where in hot blood he had killed more men than the +law could condone, Eirek had made his way to Iceland. Here +his fierce temper led him again to murder, and flight once +more became necessary. Manning a ship, he set sail boldly to +the west, and in the year 982 reached a land on which the +eye of European had never before gazed. To this he gave the +name of Greenland, with the hope, perhaps, that this +inviting name would induce others to follow him. + +Such proved to be the case. Eirek returned to Iceland, told +the story of his discovery, and in 985 set sail again for +his new realm with twenty-five ships and many colonists. +Others came afterwards, among them one Biarni, a bold and +enterprising youth, for whom a great adventure was +reserved. Enveloped in fogs, and driven for days from its +course by northeasterly winds, his vessel was forced far to +the south. When at length the fog cleared away, the +distressed mariners saw land before them, a low, level, +thickly-wooded region, very different from the ice-covered +realm they had been led to expect. + +"Is this the land of which we are in search?" asked the +sailors. + +"No," answered Biarni; "for I am told that we may look for +very large glaciers in Greenland. + +"At any rate, let us land and rest." + +"Not so; my father has gone with Eirek. I shall not rest +till I see him again." + +And now the winds blew northward, and for seven days they +scudded before a furious gale, passing on their way a +mountainous, ice-covered island, and in the end, by great +good fortune, Biarni's vessel put into the very port where +his father had fixed his abode. + +Biarni had seen, but had not set foot upon, the shores of +the New World. That was left for bolder or more enterprising +mariners to perform. About 995 he went to Norway, where the +story of his strange voyage caused great excitement among +the adventure-loving people. Above all, it stirred up the +soul of Leif, eldest son of Eirek the Red, then in Norway, +who in his soul resolved to visit and explore that strange +land which Biarni had only seen from afar. + +Leif returned to Greenland with more than this idea in his +mind. When Eirek left Norway he had left a heathen land. +When Leif visited it he found it a Christian country. Or at +least he found there a Christian king, Olaf Tryggvason by +name, who desired his guest to embrace the new faith. Leif +consented without hesitation. Heathenism did not seem very +firmly fixed in the minds of those northern barbarians. He +and all his sailors were baptized, and betook themselves to +Greenland with this new faith as their most precious +freight. In this way Christianity first made its way across +the seas. And thus it further came about that the ship which +we have seen set sail for southern lands. + +This ship was that of Biarni. Leif had bought it, it may be +with the fancy that it would prove fortunate in retracing +its course. Not only Leif, but his father Eirek, now an old +man, was fired with the hope of new discoveries. The aged +Viking had given Greenland, to the world; it was a natural +ambition to desire to add to his fame as a discoverer. But +on his way to the vessel his horse stumbled. Superstitious, +as all men were in that day, he looked on this as an evil +omen. + +"I shall not go," he said. "It is not my destiny to discover +any other lands than that on which we now live. I shall +follow you no farther, but end my life in Greenland." And +Eirek rode back to his home. + +Not so the adventurers. They boldly put out to sea, turned +the prow of their craft southward, and battled with the +waves day after day, their hearts full of hope, their eyes +on the alert for the glint of distant lands. + +At length land was discovered,--a dreary country, +mountainous, icy; doubtless the inhospitable island which +Biarni had described. They landed, but only to find +themselves on a shore covered with bare, flat rocks, while +before them loomed snow-covered heights. + +"This is not the land we seek," said Leif; "but we will not +do as Biarni did, who never set foot on shore. I will give +this land a name, and will call it Helluland,"--a name which +signifies the "land of broad stones." + +Onward they sailed again, their hearts now filled with +ardent expectation. At length rose again the stirring cry of +"Land!" or its Norse equivalent, and as the dragon-peaked +craft glided swiftly onward there rose into view a long +coast-line, flat and covered with white sand in the +foreground, while a dense forest spread over the rising +ground in the rear. + +"Markland [land of forest] let it be called," cried Leif. +"This must be the land which Biarni first saw. We will not +be like him, but will set foot on its promising shores." + +They landed, but tarried not long. Soon they took ship +again, and sailed for two days out of sight of land. Then +there came into view an island, with a broad channel between +it and the mainland. Up this channel they laid their course, +and soon came to where a river poured its clear waters into +the sea. They decided to explore this stream. The boat was +lowered and the ship towed up the river, until, at a short +distance inland, it broadened into a lake. Here, at Leif's +command, the anchor was cast, and their good ship, the +pioneer in American discovery, came to rest within the +inland waters of the New World. + +Not many minutes passed before the hardy mariners were on +shore, and eagerly observing the conditions of their +new-discovered realm. River and lake alike were full of +salmon, the largest they had ever seen, a fact which +agreeably settled the question of food. The climate seemed +deliciously mild, as compared with the icy shores to which +they were used. The grass was but little withered by frost, +and promised a winter supply of food for cattle. Altogether +they were so pleased with their surroundings that Leif +determined to spend the winter at that place, exploring the +land so far as he could. + +For some time they dwelt under booths, passing the nights in +their leather sleeping-bags; but wood was abundant, axes and +hands skilful to wield them were at hand, and they quickly +went to work to build themselves habitations more suitable +for the coming season of cold. + +No inhabitants of the land were seen. So far as yet +appeared, it might be a region on which human foot had never +before been set. But Leif was a cautious leader. He bade his +men not to separate until the houses were finished. Then he +divided them into two parties, left one to guard their homes +and their ship, and sent the other inland to explore. + +"Beware, though," he said, "that you risk not too much. We +know not what perils surround us. Go not so far inland but +that you can get back by evening, and take care not to +separate." + +Day after day these explorations continued, the men plunging +into the forest that surrounded them and wandering far into +its hidden recesses, each evening bringing back with them +some story of the marvels of this new land, or some sample +of its productions strange to their eyes. + +An evening came in which one of the explorers failed to +return. He had either disobeyed the injunctions of Leif and +gone too far to get back by evening, or some peril of that +unknown land had befallen him. This man was of German birth, +Tyrker by name, a southerner who had for years dwelt with +Eirek and been made the foster-father of Leif, who had been +fond of him since childhood. He was a little, +wretched-looking fellow, with protruding forehead, unsteady +eyes, and tiny face, yet a man skilled in all manner of +handicraft. + +Leif, on learning of his absence, upbraided the men bitterly +for losing him, and called on twelve of them to follow him +in search. Into the forest they went, and before long had +the good fortune to behold Tyrker returning. The little +fellow, far from showing signs of disaster, was in the +highest of spirits, his face radiant with joy. + +"How now, foster-father!" cried Leif. "Why are you so late? +and why have you parted from the others?" + +Tyrker was too excited to answer. He rolled his eyes wildly +and made wry faces. When words came to him, he spoke in his +native German, which none of them understood. Joy seemed to +have driven all memory of the language of the north from his +mind. It was plain that no harm had come to him. On the +contrary, he seemed to have stumbled upon some landfall of +good luck. Yet some time passed before they could bring him +out of his ecstasy into reason. + +"I did not go much farther than you," he at length called +out, in their own tongue "and if I am late I have a good +excuse. I can tell you news." + +"What are they?" + +"I have made a grand discovery. See, I have found vines and +grapes," and he showed them his hands filled with the purple +fruit. "I was born in a land where grapes grow in plenty. +And this land bears them! Behold what I bring you!" + +The memory of his childhood had driven for the time all +memory of the Norse language from his brain. Grapes he had +not seen for many years, and the sight of them made him a +child again. The others beheld the prize with little less +joy. They slept where they were that night, and in the +morning followed Tyrker to the scene of his discovery, where +he gladly pointed to the arbor-like vines, laden thickly +with wild grapes, a fruit delicious to their unaccustomed +palates. + +"This is a glorious find," cried Leif. "We must take some of +this splendid fruit north. There are two kinds of work now +to be done. One day you shall gather grapes the next you +shall cut timber to freight the ship. We must show our +friends north what a country we have found. As for this +land, I have a new name for it. Let it be called Vineland, +the land of grapes and wine." + +After this discovery there is little of interest to record. +The winter, which proved to be a very mild one, passed away, +and in the spring they set sail again for Greenland, their +ship laden deeply with timber, so useful a treasure in their +treeless northern home, while the long-boat was filled to +the gunwale with the grapes they had gathered and dried. + +Such is the story of the first discovery of America, as told +in the sagas of the North. Leif the Lucky was the name given +the discoverer from that time forward. He made no more +visits to Vineland, for during the next winter his father +died, and he became the governing head of the Greenland +settlements. + +But the adventurous Northmen were not the men to rest at +ease with an untrodden continent so near at hand. Thorvald, +Leif's brother, one of the boldest of his race, determined +to see for himself the wonders of Vineland. In the spring of +1002 he set sail with thirty companions, in the pioneer ship +of American discovery, the same vessel which Biarni and Leif +had made famous in that service. Unluckily the records fail +to give us the name of this notable ship. + +Steering southward, they reached in due time the lake on +whose shores Leif and his crew had passed the winter. The +buildings stood unharmed, and the new crew passed a winter +here, most of their time being spent in catching and drying +the delicious salmon which thronged river and lake. In the +spring they set sail again, and explored the coast for a +long distance to the south. How far they went we cannot +tell, for all we know of their voyage is that nearly +everywhere they found white sandy shores and a background of +unbroken forest. Like Leif, they saw no men. + +Back they came to Vineland, and there passed the winter +again. Another spring came in the tender green of the young +leafage, and again they put to sea. So far fortune had +steadily befriended them. Now the reign of misfortune began. +Not far had they gone before the vessel was driven ashore by +a storm, and broke her keel on a protruding shoal. This was +not a serious disaster. A new keel was made, and the old one +planted upright in the sands of the coast. + +"We will call this place Kial-ar-ness" [Keel Cape], said +Thorvald. + +On they sailed again, and came to a country of such +attractive aspect that Thorvald looked upon it with longing +eyes. + +"This is a fine country, and here I should like to build +myself a home," he said, little deeming in what gruesome +manner his words were to be fulfilled. + +For now, for the first time in the story of these voyages, +are we told of the natives of the land,--the Skroelings, as +the Norsemen called them. Passing the cape which Thorvald +had chosen for his home, the mariners landed to explore the +shore, and on their way back to the ship saw, on the white +sands, three significant marks. They were like those made by +a boat when driven ashore. Continuing their observation, +they quickly perceived, drawn well up on the shore, three +skin-canoes turned keel upward. Dividing into three parties, +they righted these boats, and to their surprise saw that +under each three men lay concealed. + +The blood-loving instinct of the Norsemen was never at fault +in a case like this. Drawing their swords, they assailed the +hidden men, and of the nine only one escaped, the other +being stretched in death upon the beach. + +The mariners had made a fatal mistake. To kill none, unless +they could kill all, should have been their rule, a lesson +in practical wisdom which they were soon to learn. But, +heedless of danger and with the confidence of strength and +courage, they threw themselves upon the sands, and, being +weary and drowsy, were quickly lost in slumber. + +And now came a marvel. A voice, none knew whence or of whom, +called loudly in their slumbering ears,-- + +"Wake, Thorvaldt! Wake all your men, if you would save your +life and theirs! Haste to your ship and fly from land with +all speed, for vengeance and death confront you." + +Suddenly aroused, they sprang to their feet, looking at each +other with astounded eyes, and asking who had spoken those +words. Little time for answer remained. The woods behind +them suddenly seemed alive with fierce natives, who had been +roused to vengeful fury by the flying fugitive, and now came +on with hostile cries. The Norsemen sprang to their boats +and rowed in all haste to the ship; but before they could +make sail the surface of the bay swarmed with skin-boats, +and showers of arrows were poured upon them. + +The warlike mariners in turn assailed their foes with +arrows, slings, and javelins, slaying so many of them that +the remainder were quickly put to flight. But they fled not +unrevenged. A keen-pointed arrow, flying between the ship's +side and the edge of his shield, struck Thorvald in the +armpit, wounding him so deeply that death threatened to +follow the withdrawal of the fatal dart. + +"My day is come," said the dying chief. "Return home to +Greenland as quickly as you may. But as for me, you shall +carry me to the place which I said would be so pleasant to +dwell in. Doubtless truth came out of my mouth, for it may +be that I shall live there for awhile. There you shall bury +me and put crosses at my head and feet, and henceforward +that place shall be called Krossanes" [Cross Cape]. + +The sorrowing sailors carried out the wishes of their dying +chief, who lived but long enough to fix his eyes once more +on the place which he had chosen for his home, and then +closed them in the sleep of death. They buried him here, +placing the crosses at his head and feet as he had bidden, +and then set sail again for the booths of Leif at Vineland, +where part of their company had been left to gather grapes +in their absence. To these they told the story of what had +happened, and agreed with them that the winter should be +spent in that place, and that in the spring they should obey +Thorvald's request and set sail for Greenland. This they +did, taking on board their ship vines and an abundance of +dried grapes. Ere the year was old their good ship again +reached Eireksfjord, where Leif was told of the death of his +brother and of all that had happened to the voyagers. + +The remaining story of the discoveries of the Northmen must +be told in a few words. The next to set sail for that +far-off land was Thorstein, the third son of Eirek the Red. +He failed to get there, however, but made land on the east +coast of Greenland, where he died, while his wife Gudrid +returned home. Much was this woman noted for her beauty, and +as much for her wisdom and prudence, so the sagas tell us. + +In 1006 came to Greenland a noble Icelander, Thorfinn by +name. That winter he married Gudrid, and so allied himself +to the family of Eirek the Red. And quickly he took up the +business of discovery, which had been pursued so ardently by +Eirek and his sons. He sailed in 1007, with three ships, for +Vineland, where he remained three years, having many +adventures with the natives, now trading with them for furs, +now fighting with them for life. In Vineland was born a son +to Thorfinn and Gudrid, the first white child born in +America. From him--Snorri Thorfinnson he was named--came a +long line of illustrious descendants, many of whom made +their mark in the history of Iceland and Denmark, the line +ending in modern times in the famous Thorwaldsen, the +greatest sculptor of the nineteenth century. + +The sagas thus picture for us the natives: "Swarthy they +were in complexion, short and savage in aspect, with ugly +hair, great eyes, and broad cheeks." In a battle between the +adventurers and these savages the warlike blood of Eirek +manifested itself in a woman of his race. For Freydis, his +daughter, when pursued and likely to be captured by the +natives, snatched up a sword which had been dropped by a +slain Greenlander, and faced them so valiantly that they +took to their heels in affright and fled precipitately to +their canoes. + +One more story, and we are done. In the spring of 1010 +Thorfinn sailed north with the two ships which he still had. +One of them reached Greenland in safety. The other, +commanded by Biarni Grimolfson, was driven from its course, +and, being worm-eaten, threatened to sink. + +There was but one boat, and this capable of holding but half +the ship's company. Lots were cast to decide who should go +in the boat, and who stay on the sinking ship. Biarni was of +those to whom fortune proved kindly. But he was a man of +noble strain, fit for deeds of heroic fortitude and +self-sacrifice. There was on board the ship a young +Icelander, who had been put under Biarni's protection, and +who lamented bitterly his approaching fate. + +"Come down into the boat," called out the noble-hearted +Viking. "I will take your place in the ship; for I see that +you are fond of life." + +So the devoted chieftain mounted again into the ship, and +the youth, selfish with fear, took his place in the boat. +The end was as they had foreseen. The boat reached land, +where the men told their story. The worm-eaten ship must +have gone down in the waves, for Biarni and his comrades +were never heard of again. Thus perished one of the world's +heroes. + +Little remains to be told, for all besides is fragment and +conjecture. It is true that in the year 1011 Freydis and her +husband voyaged again to Vineland, though they made no new +discoveries; and it is probable that in the following +centuries other journeys were made to the same land. But as +time passed on Greenland grew colder; its icy harvest +descended farther and farther upon its shores; in the end +its colonies disappeared, and with them ended all +intercourse with the grape-laden shores of Vineland. + +Just where lay this land of the vine no one to-day can tell. +Some would place it as far north as Labrador; some seek to +bring it even south of New England; the Runic records simply +tell us of a land of capes, islands, rivers, and vines. It +is to the latter, and to the story of far-reaching +forest-land, and pasturage lasting the winter through, that +we owe the general belief that the Vikings reached New +England's fertile shores, and that the ship of Biarni and +Leif, with its war-loving crews, preceded by six centuries +the Mayflower, with its peaceful and pious souls. + + + + +FROBISHER AND THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE. + + +Hardly had it been learned that Columbus was mistaken in his +belief, and that the shores he had discovered were not those +of India and Cathay, when vigorous efforts began to find +some easy route to the rich lands of the Orient. Balboa, in +1513, crossed the continent at its narrow neck, and gazed, +with astounded eyes, upon the mighty ocean that lay +beyond,--the world's greatest sea. Magellan, in 1520, sailed +round the continent at its southern extremity, and turned +his daring prows into that world of waters of seemingly +illimitable width. But the route thus laid out was far too +long for the feeble commerce of that early day, and various +efforts were made to pass the line of the continent at some +northern point. The great rivers of North America, the +James, the Hudson, and others, were explored in the eager +hope that they might prove to be liquid canals between the +two great seas. But a more promising hope was that which +hinted that America might be circumnavigated at the north as +well as at the south, and the Pacific be reached by way of +the icy channel of the northern seas. + +This hope, born so long ago, has but died out in our own +days. Much of the most thrilling literature of adventure of +the nineteenth century comes from the persistent efforts to +traverse these perilous Arctic ocean wastes. Let us go back +to the oldest of the daring navigators of this frozen sea, +the worthy knight Sir Martin Frobisher, and tell the story +of his notable efforts to discover a Northwest Passage, "the +only thing left undone," as he quaintly says, "whereby a +notable mind might become famous and fortunate." + +As an interesting preface to our story we may quote from +that curious old tome, "Purchas his Pilgrimage," the +following quaintly imaginative passage,-- + +"How shall I admire your valor and courage, yee Marine +Worthies, beyond all names of worthinesse; that neither +dread so long either presense nor absence of the Sunne, nor +those foggie mists, tempestuous windes, cold blasts, snowes +and haile in the aire; nor the unequal Seas, where the +Tritons and Neptune's selfe would quake with chilling feare +to behold such monstrous Icie Islands, mustering themselves +in those watery plaines, where they hold a continuall civill +warre, rushing one upon another, making windes and waves +give back; nor the rigid, ragged face of the broken landes, +sometimes towering themselves to a loftie height, to see if +they can finde refuge from those snowes and colds that +continually beat them, sometimes hiding themselves under +some hollow hills or cliffes, sometimes sinking and +shrinking into valleys, looking pale with snowes and falling +in frozen and dead swounes: sometimes breaking their neckes +into the sea, rather embracing the waters' than the aires' +crueltie," and so on with the like labored fancies. "Great +God," he concludes, "to whom all names of greatnesse are +little, and lesse than nothing, let me in silence admire thy +greatnesse, that in this little heart of man (not able to +serve a Kite for a break-fast) hast placed such greatness of +spirit as the world is too little to fill." + +Thus in long-winded meed of praise writes Master Samuel +Purchas. Of those bold mariners of whom he speaks our worthy +knight, Sir Martin, is one of the first and far from the +least. + +An effort had been made to discover a northwest passage to +the Pacific as early as 1527, and another nine years later; +but these were feeble attempts, which ended in failure and +disaster, and discovered nothing worthy of record. It was in +1576 that Frobisher, one of the most renowned navigators of +his day, put into effect the project he had cherished from +his youth upward, and for which he had sought aid during +fifteen weary years, that of endeavoring to solve the +ice-locked secret of the Arctic seas. + +The fleet with which this daring adventure was undertaken +was a strangely insignificant one, consisting of three +vessels which were even less in size than those with which +Columbus had ventured on his great voyage. Two of these were +but of twenty tons burden each, and the third only of ten, +while the aggregate crews numbered but thirty-five men. With +this tiny squadron, less in size than a trio of +fishing-smacks, the daring adventurer set out to traverse +the northern seas and face the waves of the great Pacific, +if fortune should open to him its gates. + +On the 11th of July, 1576, the southern extremity of +Greenland was sighted. It presented a more icy aspect than +that which the Norsemen had seen nearly six centuries +before. Sailing thence westward, the land of the continent +came into view, and for the first time by modern Europeans +was seen that strange race, now so well known under the name +of Eskimo. The characteristics of this people, and the +conditions of their life, are plainly described. The captain +"went on shore, and was encountered with mightie Deere, +which ranne at him, with danger of his life. Here he had +sight of the Savages, which rowed to his Shippe in Boates of +Seales Skinnes, with a Keele of wood within them. They eate +raw Flesh and Fish, or rather devoured the same: they had +long black hayre, broad faces, flat noses, tawnie of color, +or like an Olive." + +His first voyage went not beyond this point. He returned +home, having lost five of his men, who were carried off by +the natives. But he brought with him that which was sure to +pave the way to future voyages. This was a piece of +glittering stone, which the ignorant goldsmiths of London +confidently declared to be ore of gold. + +Frobisher's first voyage had been delayed by the great +difficulty in obtaining aid. For his new project assistance +was freely offered, Queen Elizabeth herself, moved by hope +of treasure, coming to his help with a hundred and +eighty-ton craft, the "Ayde," to which two smaller vessels +were added. These being provisioned and manned, the bold +navigator, with "a merrie wind" in his sails, set out again +for the desolate north. + +His first discovery here was of the strait now known by his +name, up which he passed in a boat, with the mistaken notion +in his mind that the land bounding the strait to the south +was America, and that to the north was Asia. The natives +proved friendly, but Frobisher soon succeeded in making them +hostile. He seized some of them and attempted to drag them +to his boat, "that he might conciliate them by presents." +The Eskimos, however, did not approve of this forcible +method of conciliation, and the unwise knight reached the +boat alone, with an arrow in his leg. + +But, to their great joy, the mariners found plenty of the +shining yellow stones, and stowed abundance of them on their +ships, deeming, like certain Virginian gold-seekers of a +later date, that their fortunes were now surely made. They +found also "a great dead fish, round like a porepis +[porpoise], twelve feet long, having a Horne of two yardes, +lacking two ynches, growing out of the Snout, wreathed and +straight, like a Waxe-Taper, and might be thought to be a +Sea-Unicorne. It was reserved as a Jewell by the Queens' +commandment in her Wardrobe of Robes." + +A northwest wind having cleared the strait of ice, the +navigators sailed gayly forward, full of the belief that the +Pacific would soon open to their eyes. It was not long +before they were in battle with the Eskimos. They had found +European articles in some native kyacks, which they supposed +belonged to the men they had lost the year before. To +rescue or revenge these unfortunates, Frobisher attacked the +natives, who valiantly resisted, even plucking the arrows +from their bodies to use as missiles, and, when mortally +hurt, flinging themselves from the rocks into the sea. At +length they gave ground, and fled to the loftier cliffs, +leaving two of their women as trophies to the assailants. +These two, one "being olde," says the record, "the other +encombred with a yong childe, we took. The olde wretch, whom +divers of our Saylors supposed to be eyther the Divell, or a +witch, had her buskins plucked off, to see if she were +cloven-footed; and for her ougly hewe and deformitie, we let +her goe; the young woman and the childe we brought away." + +This was not the last of their encounters with the Eskimos, +who, incensed against them, made every effort to entrap them +into their power. Their stratagems consisted in placing +tempting pieces of meat at points near which they lay in +ambush, and in pretending lameness to decoy the Englishmen +into pursuit. These schemes failing, they made a furious +assault upon the vessel with arrows and other missiles. + +Before the strait could be fully traversed, ice had formed +so thickly that further progress was stopped, and, leaving +the hoped-for Cathay for future voyagers, the mariners +turned their prows homeward, their vessels laden with two +hundred tons of the glittering stone. + +Strangely enough, an examination of this material failed to +dispel the delusion. The scientists of that day declared +that it was genuine gold-ore, and expressed their belief +that the road to China lay through Frobisher Strait. Untold +wealth, far surpassing that which the Spaniards had obtained +in Mexico and Peru, seemed ready to shower into England's +coffers. Frobisher was now given the proud honor of kissing +the queen's hand, his neck was encircled with a chain of +gold of more value than his entire two hundred tons of ore, +and, with a fleet of fifteen ships, one of them of four +hundred tons, he set sail again for the land of golden +promise. Of the things that happened to him in this voyage, +one of the most curious is thus related. "The Salamander +(one of their Shippes), being under both her Courses and +Bonets, happened to strike upon a great Whale, with her full +Stemme, with suche a blow that the Shippe stood still, and +neither stirred backward or forward. The whale thereat made +a great and hideous noyse, and casting up his body and +tayle, presently sank under water. Within two days they +found a whale dead, which they supposed was this which the +Salamander had stricken." + +Other peril came to the fleet from icebergs, through the +midst of which they were driven by a tempest, but they +finally made their way into what is now known as Hudson +Strait, up which, filled with hope that the continental +limits would quickly be passed and the route to China open +before them, they sailed some sixty miles. But to their +disappointment they found that they were being turned +southward, and, instead of crossing the continent, were +descending into its heart. + +Reluctantly Frobisher turned back, and, after many +buffetings from the storms, managed to bring part of his +fleet into Frobisher Bay. So much time had been lost that it +was not safe to proceed. Winter might surprise them in those +icy wilds. Therefore, shipping immense quantities of the +"fools' gold" which had led them so sadly astray, they +turned their prows once more homeward, reaching England's +shores in early October. + +Meanwhile the "ore" had been found to be absolutely +worthless, the golden dreams which had roused England to +exultation had faded away, and the new ship-loads they +brought were esteemed to be hardly worth their weight as +ballast. For this disappointment the unlucky Frobisher, who +had been appointed High Admiral of all lands and waters +which he might discover, could not be held to blame. It was +not he that had pronounced the worthless pyrites gold, and +he had but obeyed orders in bringing new cargoes of this +useless rubbish to add to the weight of Albion's rock-bound +shores. But he could not obtain aid for a new voyage to the +icy north, England for the time had lost all interest in +that unpromising region, and Frobisher was forced to employ +in other directions his skill in seamanship. + +With the after-career of this unsuccessful searcher for the +Northwest Passage we have no concern. It will suffice to say +that fortune attended his later ventures upon the seas, and +that he died in 1594, from a wound which he received in a +naval battle off the coast of France. + + + + +CHAMPLAIN AND THE IROQUOIS. + + +On a bright May morning in the year 1609, at the point where +the stream then known as the Rivi[`e]re des Iroquois--and which +has since borne the various names of the Richelieu, the +Chambly, the St. Louis, the Sorel and the St. John--poured +the waters of an unknown interior lake into the channel of +the broad St. Lawrence, there was presented a striking +spectacle. Everywhere on the liquid surface canoes, driven +by the steady sweep of paddles wielded by naked and dusky +arms, shot to and fro. Near the shore a small shallop, on +whose deck stood a group of armed whites, had just cast +anchor, and was furling its sails. Upon the strip of open +land bordering the river, and in the woodland beyond, were +visible great numbers of savage warriors, their faces +hideously bedaubed with war-paint, their hands busy in +erecting the frail habitations of a temporary camp. + +The scene was one of striking beauty, such as only the +virgin wilderness can display. The river ran between walls +of fresh green leafage, here narrowed, yonder widened into a +broad reach which was encircled by far sweeping forests. The +sun shone broadly on the animated scene, while the whites, +from the deck of their small craft, gazed with deep interest +on the strange picture before them, filled as it was with +dusky natives, some erecting their forest shelters, others +fishing in the stream, while still others were seeking the +forest depths in pursuit of game. + +The scene is of interest to us for another reason. It was +the prelude to the first scene of Indian warfare which the +eyes of Europeans were to behold in the northern region of +the American continent. The Spaniards had been long +established in the south, but no English settlement had yet +been made on the shores of the New World, and the French had +but recently built a group of wooden edifices on that +precipitous height which is now crowned with the walls and +the spires of Quebec. + +Not long had the whites been there before the native hunters +of the forests came to gaze with wondering eyes on those +pale-faced strangers, with their unusual attire and +surprising powers of architecture. And quickly they begged +their aid in an expedition against their powerful enemies, +the confederated nations of the Iroquois, who dwelt in a +wonderful lake-region to the south, and by their strength, +skill, and valor had made themselves the terror of the +tribes. + +Samuel de Champlain, an adventurous Frenchman who had +already won himself reputation by an exploration of the +Spanish domain of the West Indies, was now in authority at +Quebec, and did not hesitate to promise his aid in the +coming foray, moved, perhaps, by that thirst for discovery +and warlike spirit which burned deeply in his breast. The +Indians had told him of great lakes and mighty rivers to the +south, and doubtless the ardent wish to be the first to +traverse these unknown waters was a moving impulse in his +ready assent. + +With the opening season the warriors gathered, Hurons and +Algonquins, a numerous band. They paddled to Quebec; gazed +with surprise on the strange buildings, the story of which +had already been told in their distant wigwams, and on their +no less strange inmates; feasted, smoked, and debated; and +shrank in consternation from the piercing report of the +arquebuse and the cannon's frightful roar. + +Their savage hearts were filled with exultation on learning +the powers of their new allies. Surely these wonderful +strangers would deal destruction on their terrible foes. +Burning with thirst for vengeance, they made their faces +frightful with the war-paint, danced with frenzied gestures +round the blaze of their camp-fires, filled the air with +ear-piercing war-whoops, and at the word of command hastened +to their canoes and swept in hasty phalanx up the mighty +stream, accompanied by Champlain and eleven other white +allies. + +Two days the war-party remained encamped at the place where +we have seen them, hunting, fishing, fasting, and +quarrelling, the latter so effectually that numbers of them +took to their canoes and paddled angrily away, scarce a +fourth of the original array being left for the march upon +the dreaded enemy. + +It was no easy task which now lay before them. The journey +was long, the way difficult. Onward again swept the +diminutive squadron, the shallop outsailing the canoes, and +making its way up the Richelieu, Champlain being too ardent +with the fever of discovery to await the slow work of the +paddles. He had not, however, sailed far up that +forest-enclosed stream before unwelcome sounds came to his +ears. The roar of rushing and tumbling waters sounded +through the still air. And now, through the screen of +leaves, came a vision of snowy foam and the flash of leaping +waves. The Indians had lied to him. They had promised him an +unobstructed route to the great lake ahead, and here already +were rapids in his path. + +How far did the obstruction extend? That must be learned. +Leaving the shallop, he set out with part of his men to +explore the wilds. It was no easy journey. Tangled vines, +dense thickets, swampy recesses crossed the way. Here lay +half-decayed tree-trunks; there heaps of rocks lifted their +mossy tops in the path. And ever, as they went, the roar of +the rapids followed, while through the foliage could be seen +the hurrying waters, pouring over rocks, stealing amid +drift-logs, eddying in chasms, and shooting in white lines +of foam along every open space. + +Was this the open river of which he had been told; this the +ready route to the great lake beyond? In anger and dismay, +Champlain retraced his steps, to find, when he reached the +shallop, that the canoes of the savages had come up, and now +filled the stream around it. + +The disappointed adventurer did not hesitate to tell them +that they had lied to him; but he went on to say that though +they had broken their word he would keep his. In truth, the +vision of the mighty lake, with its chain of islands, its +fertile shores, and bordering forests, of which they had +told him, rose alluringly before his eyes, and with all the +ardor of the pioneer he was determined to push onward into +that realm of the unknown. + +But their plans must be changed. Nine of the men were sent +back to Quebec with the shallop. Champlain, with two others, +determined to proceed in the Indian canoes. At his command +the warriors lifted their light boats from the water, and +bore them on their shoulders over the difficult portage past +the rapids, to the smooth stream above. Here, launching them +again, the paddles once more broke the placid surface of the +stream, and onward they went, still through the primeval +forest, which stretched away in an unbroken expanse of +green. + +It was a virgin solitude, unmarked by habitation, destitute +of human inmate, abundant with game; for it was the +debatable land between warring tribes, traversed only by +hostile bands, the battle-ground of Iroquois and Algonquin +hordes. None could dwell here in safety; even +hunting-parties had to be constantly prepared for war. +Through this region of blood and terror the canoes made +their way, now reduced to twenty-four in number, manned by +sixty warriors and three white allies. The advance was made +with great caution, for danger was in the air. Scouts were +sent in advance through the forests; others were thrown out +on the flanks and rear, hunting for game as they went; for +the store of pounded and parched maize which the warriors +had brought with them was to be kept for food when the +vicinity of the foe should render hunting impossible. + +The scene that night, as described by Champlain was one to +be remembered. The canoes were drawn up closely, side by +side. Active life pervaded the chosen camp. Here some +gathered dry wood for their fires; there others stripped off +sheets of bark, to cover their forest wigwams; yonder the +sound of axes was followed by the roar of falling trees. The +savages had steel axes, obtained from the French, and, with +their aid, in two hours a strong defensive work, constructed +of the felled trunks, was built, a half-circle in form, with +the river at its two ends. This was the extent of their +precautions. The returning scouts reported that the forest +in advance was empty of foes. The tawny host cast themselves +in full security on the grassy soil, setting no guards, and +were soon lost in slumber, with that blind trust in fortune +which has ever been one of the weak features of Indian +warfare. + +They had not failed, however, to consult their oracles, +those spirits which the medicine-man was looked upon as an +adept at invoking, and whose counsel was ever diligently +sought by the superstitious natives. The conjurer crept +within his skin-covered lodge, where, crouched upon the +earth, he filled the air with inarticulate invocations to +the surrounding spirits; while outside, squatted on the +ground, the dusky auditors looked and listened with awe. +Suddenly the lodge began to rock violently, by the power of +the spirits, as the Indians deemed, though Champlain fancied +that the arm of the medicine-man was the only spirit at +work. + +"Look on the peak of the lodge," whispered the awed savages. +"You will see fire and smoke rise into the air." Champlain +looked, but saw nothing. + +The medicine-man by this time had worked himself into +convulsions. He called loudly upon the spirit in an unknown +language, and was answered in squeaking tones like those of +a young puppy. This powerful spirit was deemed to be present +in the form of a stone. When the conjurer reappeared his +body streamed with perspiration, while the story he had to +tell promised an auspicious termination of the enterprise. + +This was not the only performance of the warriors. There was +another of a more rational character. Bundles of sticks were +collected by the leading chief, which he stuck in the earth +in a fixed order, calling each by the name of some warrior, +the taller ones representing the chiefs. The arrangement of +the sticks indicated the plan of battle. Each warrior was to +occupy the position indicated by his special stick. The +savages gathered closely round, intently studied the plan, +then formed their ranks in accordance therewith, broke them, +reformed them, and continued the process with a skill and +alacrity that surprised and pleased their civilized +observer. + +With the early morning light they again advanced, following +the ever-widening stream, in whose midst islands leagues in +extent now appeared. Beyond came broad channels and extended +reaches of widening waters, and soon the delighted explorer +found that the river had ended and that the canoes were +moving over the broad bosom of that great lake of which the +Indians had told him, and which has ever since borne his +name. It was a charming scene which thus first met the eyes +of civilized man. Far in front spread the inland sea. On +either side distant forests, clad in the fresh leafage of +June, marked the borders of the lake. Far away, over their +leafy tops, appeared lofty heights; on the left the Green +Mountains lifted their forest-clad ridges, with patches of +snow still whitening their tops; on the right rose the +clustering hills of the Adirondacks, then the +hunting-grounds of the Iroquois, and destined to remain the +game-preserves of the whites long after the axe and plough +had subdued all the remainder of that forest-clad domain. + +[Illustration: LAKE CHAMPLAIN AND ITS SURROUNDINGS.] + +They had reached a region destined to play a prominent part +in the coming history of America. The savages told their +interested auditors of another lake, thickly studded with +islands, beyond that on which they now were; and still +beyond a rocky portage over which they hoped to carry their +canoes, and a great river which flowed far down to the +mighty waters of the sea. If they met not the foe sooner +they would press onward to this stream, and there perhaps +surprise some town of the Mohawks, whose settlements +approached its banks. This same liquid route in later days +was to be traversed by warlike hosts both in the French and +Indian and the Revolutionary Wars, and to be signalized by +the capture of Burgoyne and his invading host, one of the +most vital events in the American struggle for liberty. + +The present expedition was not to go so far. Hostile bands +were to be met before they left the sheet of water over +which their canoes now glided. Onward they went, the route +becoming hourly more dangerous. At length they changed their +mode of progress, resting in the depths of the forest all +day long, taking to the waters at twilight, and paddling +cautiously onward till the crimsoning of the eastern sky +told them that day was near at hand. Then the canoes were +drawn up in sheltered coves, and the warriors, chatting, +smoking, and sleeping, spent on the leafy lake borders the +slow-moving hours of the day. + +The journey was a long one. It was the 29th of July when +they reached a point far down the lake, near the present +site of Crown Point. They had paddled all night. They hid +here all day. Champlain fell asleep on a heap of spruce +boughs, and in his slumber dreamed that he had seen the +Iroquois drowning in the lake, and that when he tried to +rescue them he had been told by his Algonquin friends to +leave them alone, as they were not worth the trouble of +saving. + +The Indians believed in the power of dreams. They had beset +Champlain daily to learn if he had had any visions. When now +he told them his dream they were filled with joy. Victory +had spoken into his slumbering ear. With gladness they +re-embarked when night came on, and continued their course +down the lake. + +They had not far to go. At ten o'clock, through the shadows +of the night, they beheld a number of dark objects on the +lake before them. It was a fleet of Iroquois canoes, heavier +and slower craft than those of the Algonquins, for they were +made of oak-or elm-bark, instead of the light paper-birch +used by the latter. + +Each party saw the other, and recognized that they were in +the presence of foes. War-cries sounded over the shadowy +waters. The Iroquois, who preferred to do their fighting on +land and who were nearer shore, hastened to the beach and +began at once to build a barricade of logs, filling the air +of the night with yells of defiance as they worked away like +beavers. The allies meanwhile remained on the lake, their +canoes lashed together with poles, dancing with a vigor that +imperilled their frail barks, and answering the taunts and +menaces of their foes with equally vociferous abuse. + +It was agreed that the battle should be deferred till +daybreak. As day approached Champlain and his two followers +armed themselves, their armor consisting of cuirass, or +breast-plate, steel coverings for the thighs, and a plumed +helmet for the head. By the side of the leader hung his +sword, and in his hand was his arquebuse, which he had +loaded with four balls. The savages of these woods were now +first to learn the destructive power of that weapon, for +which in the years to come they would themselves discard the +antiquated bow. + +The Iroquois much outnumbered their foes. There were some +two hundred of them in all, tall, powerful men, the boldest +warriors of America, whose steady march excited Champlain's +admiration as he saw them filing from their barricade and +advancing through the woods. As for himself and his two +companions, they had remained concealed in the canoes, and +not even when a landing was made did the Iroquois behold the +strangely-clad allies of their hereditary enemies. + +Not until they stood face to face, ready for the battle-cry, +did the Algonquin ranks open, and the white men advance +before the astonished gaze of the Iroquois. Never before had +they set eyes on such an apparition, and they stood in mute +wonder while Champlain raised his arquebuse, took aim at a +chief, and fired. The chief fell dead. A warrior by his side +fell wounded in the bushes. As the report rang through the +air a frightful yell came from the allies, and in an instant +their arrows were whizzing thickly through the ranks of +their foes. For a moment the Iroquois stood their ground and +returned arrow for arrow. But when from the two flanks of +their adversaries came new reports, and other warriors bit +the dust, their courage gave way to panic terror, and they +turned and fled in wild haste through the forest, swiftly +pursued by the triumphant Algonquins. + +Several of the Iroquois were killed. A number were captured. +At night the victors camped in triumph on the field of +battle, torturing one of their captives till Champlain +begged to put him out of pain, and sent a bullet through his +heart. + +Thus ended the first battle between whites and Indians on +the soil of the northern United States, in a victory for +which the French were to pay dearly in future days, at the +hands of their now vanquished foes. With the dawn of the +next day the victors began their retreat. A few days of +rapid paddling brought them to the Richelieu. Here they +separated, the Hurons and Algonquins returning to their +homes by way of the Ottowa, the Montagnais, who dwelt in the +vicinity of Quebec, accompanying Champlain to his new-built +city. + +The Iroquois, however, were not the men to be quelled by a +single defeat. In June of the ensuing year a war-party of +them advanced to the mouth of the Richelieu, and a second +fierce battle took place. As another vivid example of the +character of Indian warfare, the story of this conflict, may +be added to that already given. + +On an island in the St. Lawrence near the mouth of the +Richelieu was gathered a horde of Montagnais Indians, +Champlain and others of the whites being with them. A +war-party of Algonquins was expected, and busy preparations +were being made for feast and dance, in order that they +might be received with due honor. In the midst of this +festal activity an event occurred that suddenly changed +thoughts of peace to those of war. At a distance on the +stream appeared a single canoe, approaching as rapidly as +strong arms could drive it through the water. On coming +near, its inmates called out loudly that the Algonquins were +in the forest, engaged in battle with a hundred Iroquois, +who, outnumbered, were fighting from behind a barricade of +trees which they had hastily erected. + +In an instant the air was filled with deafening cries. +Tidings of battle were to the Indians like a fresh scent to +hounds of the chase: The Montagnais flew to their canoes, +and paddled with frantic haste to the opposite shore, loudly +calling on Champlain and his fellow-whites to follow. They +obeyed, crossing the stream in canoes. As the shore was +reached the warriors flung down their paddles, snatched up +their weapons, and darted into the woods with such speed +that the Frenchmen found it impossible to keep them in +sight. It was a hot and oppressive day; the air was filled +with mosquitoes,--"so thick," says Champlain, "that we could +hardly draw breath, and it was wonderful how cruelly they +persecuted us,"--their route lay through swampy soil, where +the water at places stood knee-deep; over fallen logs, wet +and slimy, and under entangling vines; their heavy armor +added to their discomfort; the air was close and heavy; +altogether it was a progress fit to make one sicken of +warfare in the wilderness. After struggling onward till +they were almost in despair, they saw two Indians in the +distance, and by vigorous shouts secured their aid as guides +to the field of battle. + +An instinct seemed to guide the savages through that dense +and tangled forest. In a short time they led the laboring +whites to a point where the woodland grew thinner, and +within hearing of the wild war-whoops of the combatants. +Soon they emerged into a partial clearing, which had been +made by the axes of the Iroquois in preparing their +breastwork of defence. Champlain gazed upon the scene before +him with wondering eyes. In front was a circular barricade, +composed of trunks of trees, boughs, and matted twigs, +behind which the Iroquois stood like tigers at bay. In the +edge of the forest around were clustered their yelling foes, +screaming shrill defiance, yet afraid to attack, for they +had already been driven back with severe loss. Their hope +now lay in their white allies, and when they saw Champlain +and his men a yell arose that rent the air, and a cloud of +winged arrows was poured into the woodland fort. The +beleaguered Iroquois replied with as fierce a shout, and +with a better-aimed shower of arrows. At least Champlain had +reason to think so, for one of these stone-headed darts +split his ear, and tore a furrow through the muscles of his +neck. One of his men received a similar wound. + +Furious with pain, Champlain, secure in his steel armor, +rushed to the woodland fort, followed by his men, and +discharged their arquebuses through its crevices upon the +dismayed savages within, who, wild with terror at this new +and deadly weapon, flung themselves flat upon the earth at +each report. + +At each moment the scene of war grew more animated. The +assailing Indians, yelling in triumph, ran up under cover of +their large wooden shields, and began to tug at the trees of +the barricade, while other of them gathered thickly in the +bushes for the final onset. And now, from the forest depths, +came hurrying to the scene a new party of French allies,--a +boat's crew of fur-traders, who had heard the firing and +flown with warlike eagerness to take part in the fight. + +The bullets of these new assailants added to the terror of +the Iroquois. They writhed and darted to and fro to escape +the leaden missiles that tore through their frail barricade. +At a signal from Champlain the allies rushed from their +leafy covert, flew to the breastwork, tore down or clambered +over the boughs, and precipitated themselves into the fort, +while the French ceased their firing and led a party of +Indians to the assault on the opposite side. + +The howls of defiance, screams of pain, deafening +war-whoops, and dull sound of deadly blows were now +redoubled. Many of the Iroquois stood their ground, hewing +with tomahawks and war-clubs, and dying not unrevenged. Some +leaped the barrier and were killed by the crowd outside; +others sprang into the river and were drowned; of them all +not one escaped, and at the end of the conflict but fifteen +remained alive, prisoners in the hands of their deadly foes, +destined victims of torture and flame. + +On the next day a large party of Hurons arrived, and heard +with envy the story of the fight, in which they were too +late to take part. The forest and river shore were crowded +with Indian huts. Hundreds of warriors assembled, who spent +the day in wild war-dances and songs, then loaded their +canoes and paddled away in triumph to their homes, without a +thought of following up their success and striking yet +heavier blows upon their dreaded enemy. Even Champlain, who +was versed in civilized warfare, made no attempt to lead +them to an invasion of the Iroquois realm. He did not dream +of the deadly reprisal which the now defeated race would +exact for this day of disaster. + +Of the further doings of Champlain we shall relate but one +incident,--a thrilling adventure which he tells of his being +lost in the interminable woodland depths. Year after year he +continued his explorations; now voyaging far up the Ottawa; +now reaching the mighty inland sea of Lake Huron, voyaging +upon its waters, and visiting the Indian villages upon its +shores; now again battling with the Iroquois, who, this +time, drove their assailants in baffled confusion from their +fort; now joining an Indian hunting-party, and taking part +with them in their annual deer-hunt. For this they +constructed two lines of posts interlaced with boughs, each +more than half a mile long, and converging to a point where +a strong enclosure was built. The hunters drove the deer +before them into this enclosure, where others despatched +them with spears and arrows. It was during this expedition +that the incident referred to took place. + +Champlain had gone into the forest with the hunters. Here he +saw a bird new to him, and whose brilliant hue and strange +shape struck him with surprise and admiration. It was, to +judge from his description, a red-headed woodpecker. Bent on +possessing this winged marvel, he pursued it, gun in hand. +From bough to bough, from tree to tree, the bird fitted +onward, leading the unthinking hunter step by step deeper +into the wilderness. Then, when he surely thought to capture +his prize, the luring wonder took wing and vanished in the +forest depths. + +Disappointed, Champlain turned to seek his friends. But in +what direction should he go? The day was cloudy; he had left +his pocket-compass at the camp; the forest spread in endless +lines around him; he stood in helpless bewilderment and +dismay. + +All day he wandered blindly, and at nightfall found himself +still in a hopeless solitude. Weary and hungry, he lay down +at the foot of a great tree, and passed the night in broken +slumbers. The next day he wandered onward in the same blind +helplessness, reaching, in late afternoon, the waters of a +forest pond, shadowed by thick pines, and with water-fowl on +its brink. One of these he shot, kindled a fire and cooked +it, and for the first time since his misadventure tasted +food. At night there came on a cold rain, drenched by which +the blanketless wanderer was forced to seek sleep in the +open wood. + +Another day of fruitless wandering succeeded; another night +of unrefreshing slumber. Paths were found in the forest, but +they had been made by other feet than those of men, and if +followed would lead him deeper into the seemingly endless +wild. Roused by the new day from his chill couch, the lost +wanderer despairingly roamed on, now almost hopeless of +escape. Yet what sound was that which reached his ear? It +was the silvery tinkle of a woodland rill, which crept +onward unseen in the depths of a bushy glen. A ray of hope +shot into his breast. This descending rivulet might lead him +to the river where the hunters lay encamped. With renewed +energy he traced its course, making his way through thicket +and glen, led ever onwards by that musical sound, till he +found himself on the borders of a small lake, within which +the waters of his forest guide were lost. + +This lake, he felt, must have an outlet. He circled round +it, clambering over fallen trees and forcing his way through +thorny vines, till he saw, amid roots of alder-bushes, a +streamlet flow from the lakeside. This he hopefully +followed. Not far had he gone before a dull roar met his +ears, breaking the sullen silence of the woods. It was the +sound of falling waters. He hastened forward. The wood grew +thinner. Light appeared before him. Pushing gladly onward, +he broke through the screening bushes and found himself on +the edge of an open meadow, wild animals its only tenants, +some browsing on the grass, others lurking in bushy coverts. +Yet a more gladsome sight to his eyes was the broad river, +which here rushed along in a turbulent rapid, whose roar it +was which had come to his ear in the forest glades. + +He looked about him. On the rocky river-bank was a +portage-path made by Indian feet. The place seemed familiar. +A second sweeping gaze; yes, here were points he had seen +before. He was saved. Glad at heart, he camped upon the +river-brink, kindled a fire, cooked the remains of his game, +and passed that night, at least, in dreamless sleep. With +daybreak he rose, followed the river downwards, and soon saw +the smoke of the Indian camp-fires ascending in the morning +air. In a few moments he had joined his dusky friends, +greatly to their delight. They had sought him everywhere in +vain, and now chided him gently for his careless risk, +declaring that thenceforth they would never suffer him to go +into the forest alone. + + + + +SIR WILLIAM PHIPS AND THE SILVER-SHIP. + + +The story of a poor boy, born on the edge of the +wilderness,--"at a despicable plantation on the river of +Kennebec, and almost the farthest village of the eastern +settlement of New England,"--yet who ended his life as +governor and nobleman, is what we have to tell. It is one of +the most romantic stories in history. He was born in 1651, +being a scion of the early days of the Puritan colony. He +came of a highly prolific pioneer family,--he had twenty +brothers and five sisters,--yet none but himself of this +extensive family are heard of in history or biography. +Genius is too rare a quality to be spread through such a +flock. His father was a gunsmith. Of the children, William +was one of the youngest. After his father's death, he helped +his mother at sheep-keeping in the wilderness till he was +eighteen years of age, then there came "an unaccountable +impulse upon his mind that he was born to greater matters." +The seed of genius planted in his nature was beginning to +germinate. + +The story of the early life of William Phips may be told in +a few words. From sheep-tending he turned to carpentry, +becoming an expert ship-carpenter. With this trade at his +fingers' ends he went to Boston, and there first learned to +read and write, accomplishments which had not penetrated to +the Kennebec. His next step was to marry, his wife being a +widow, a Mrs. Hull, with little money but good connections. +She lifted our carpenter a step higher in the social scale. +At that time, says his biographer, "he was one tall beyond +the common set of men, and thick as well as tall, and strong +as well as thick; exceedingly robust, and able to conquer +such difficulties of diet and of travel as would have killed +most men alive. He was of a very comely though a very manly +countenance," and in character of "a most incomparable +generosity." He hated anything small or mean, was somewhat +choleric, but not given to nourish malice. + +[Illustration: POND ISLAND, MOUTH OF THE KENNEBEC.] + +To this notable young man there soon came an adventure. He +had become a master workman, and built a ship for some +Boston merchants on the river Sheepscote, a few leagues from +his native Kennebec. The vessel was finished, and ready to +be loaded with lumber; but its first cargo proved to be very +different from that which Phips had designed. For Indians +attacked the settlement; the inhabitants, flying for their +lives, crowded on board the vessel, and Phips set sail with +a shipload of his old friends and neighbors, who could pay +him only in thanks. It is not unlikely that some of his own +brothers and sisters were among the rescued. Certainly the +extensive family of Phips must have spread somewhat widely +over the coast region of Maine. + +William Phips's first adventure had proved unprofitable +except in works of charity. But he was not one to be easily +put down, having in his nature an abundance of the perilous +stuff of ambition. He was not the man to sit down and wait +for fortune to come to him. Rather, he belonged to those who +go to seek fortune. He was determined, he told his wife, to +become captain of a king's ship, and owner of a fair brick +house in the Green Lane of North Boston. It took him some +eight or nine years to make good the first of these +predictions, and then, in the year 1683, he sailed into the +harbor of Boston as captain of the "Algier Rose," a frigate +of eighteen guns and ninety-five men. + +It was by the magic wand of sunken silver that our hero +achieved this success. The treasures of Peru, loaded on +Spanish ships, had not all reached the ports of Spain. Some +cargoes of silver had gone to the bottom of the Atlantic. +Phips had heard of such a wreck on the Bahamas, had sailed +thither, and had made enough money by the enterprise to pay +him for a voyage to England. While in the Bahamas he had +been told of another Spanish wreck, "wherein was lost a +mighty treasure, hitherto undiscovered." It was this that +took him to England. He had made up his mind to be the +discoverer of this sunken treasure-ship. The idea took +possession of him wholly. His hope was to interest some +wealthy persons, or the government itself, in his design. +The man must have had in him something of that +silver-tongued eloquence which makes persuasion easy, for +the royalties at Whitehall heard him with favor and support, +and he came back to New England captain of a king's ship, +with full powers to search the seas for silver. + +And now we have reached the verge of the romance of the life +of William Phips. He had before him a difficult task, but he +possessed the qualities which enable men to meet and +overcome difficulty. The silver-ship was said to have been +sunk somewhere near the Bahamas; the exact spot it was not +easy to learn, for half a century had passed since its +demise. Sailing thither in the "Algier Rose," Phips set +himself to find the sunken treasure. Here and there he +dredged, using every effort to gain information, trying +every spot available, ending now in disappointment, starting +now with renewed hope, continuing with unflagging energy. +His frequent failures would have discouraged a common man, +but Phips was not a common man, and would not accept defeat. + +The resolute searcher had more than the difficulties of the +sea-bottom to contend with. His men lost hope, grew weary of +unprofitable labor, and at last rose in mutiny They fancied +that they saw their way clear to an easier method of getting +silver, and marched with drawn cutlasses to the quarterdeck, +where they bade their commander to give up his useless +search and set sail for the South Seas. There they would +become pirates, and get silver without dredging or drudging. + +It was a dangerous crisis. Phips stood with empty hands +before that crew of armed and reckless men. Yet choler and +courage proved stronger than sword-blades. Roused to fury, +he rushed upon the mutineers with bare hands, knocked them +down till the deck was strewn with fallen bodies, and by +sheer force of anger and fearlessness quelled the mutiny and +forced the men to return to their duty. + +They were quelled, but not conquered. The daring adventurer +was to have a more dangerous encounter with these would-be +pirates. Some further time had passed in fruitless search. +The frigate lay careened beside a rock of a Bahaman island, +some eight or ten men being at work on its barnacled sides, +while the others had been allowed to go on shore. They +pretended that they wished to take a ramble in the tropical +woods. What they wished to do was to organize a more +effectual mutiny, seize the ship, leave the captain and +those who held with him on that island, and sail away as +lawless rovers of the deep. + +Under the great trees of that Spanish island, moss-grown and +bowery, in a secluded spot which nature seemed to have set +aside for secret counsels, the mutinous crew perfected their +plans, and signed a round-robin compact which pledged all +present to the perilous enterprise. One man they needed to +make their project sure. They could not do without the +carpenter. He was at work on the vessel. They sent him a +message to come to them in the woods. He came, heard their +plans, affected to look on them favorably, but asked for a +half-hour to consider the matter. This they were not +disposed to grant. They must have an answer at once. The +carpenter looked about him; dark and resolute faces +surrounded him. Yet he earnestly declared he must have the +time. They vigorously declared he should not. He was +persistent, and in the end prevailed. The half-hour respite +was granted. + +The carpenter then said that he must return to the vessel. +His absence from his work would look suspicious. They could +send a man with him to see that he kept faith. The +enterprise would be in danger if the captain noticed his +absence. The mutineers were not men of much intelligence or +shrewdness, and consented to his return. The carpenter, who +had at heart no thought of joining the mutineers, had gained +his point and saved the ship. In spite of the guard upon his +movements he managed to get a minute's interview with +Captain Phips, in which he told him what was afoot. + +He was quickly at his post again, and under the eyes of his +guard, but he had accomplished his purpose. Captain Phips +was quick to realize the danger, and called about him those +who were still in the ship. They all agreed to stand by him. +By good fortune the gunner was among them. The energetic +captain lost no time in devising what was to be done. During +the work on the ship the provisions had been taken ashore +and placed in a tent, where several pieces of artillery were +mounted to defend them, in case the Spaniards, to whom the +island belonged, should appear. Quickly but quietly these +guns were brought back to the ship. Then they and the other +guns of the ship were loaded and brought to bear on the +tent, and the gangway which connected the ship with the land +was drawn on board. No great time had elapsed, but Captain +Phips was ready for his mutinous crew. + +To avert suspicion during these preparations, the carpenter, +at the suggestion of Phips, had gone ashore, and announced +himself as ready to join the mutineers. This gave them great +satisfaction, and after a short interval to complete their +plans they issued in a body from the woods and approached +the ship. As they drew near the tent, however, they looked +at one another in surprise and dismay. The guns were gone! + +"We are betrayed!" was the fearful whisper that ran round +the circle. + +"Stand off, you wretches, at your peril!" cried the captain, +in stern accents. + +The guns of the ship were trained upon them. They knew the +mettle of Captain Phips. In a minute more cannon-balls might +be ploughing deadly gaps through their midst. They dared not +fly; they dared not fight. Panic fear took possession of +them. They fell upon their knees in a body, begged the +captain not to fire, and vowed that they would rather live +and die with him than any man in the world. All they had +found fault with was that he would not turn pirate; +otherwise he was the man of their hearts. + +The captain was stern; they were humble and beseeching. In +the end he made them deliver up their arms, and then +permitted them to come on board, a thoroughly quelled body +of mutineers. But Captain Phips knew better than to trust +these men a third time. The moment the ship was in sailing +trim he hoisted anchor and sailed for Jamaica, where he +turned the whole crew, except the few faithful ones, adrift, +and shipped another crew, smaller, but, as he hoped, more +trustworthy. + +The treasure-ship still drew him like a magnet. He had not +begun to think of giving up the search. Discouragement, +failure, mutiny, were to him but incidents. The silver was +there, somewhere, and have it he would, if perseverance +would avail. From Jamaica he sailed to Hispaniola. There his +fluent persuasiveness came again into play. He met a very +old man, Spaniard or Portuguese, who was said to know where +the ship lay, and "by the policy of his address" wormed from +him some further information about the treasure-ship. The +old man told him that it had been wrecked on a reef of +shoals a few leagues from Hispaniola, and just north of Port +de la Plata, which place got its name from the landing there +of a boat-load of sailors with plate saved from the sinking +vessel. Phips proceeded thither and searched narrowly, but +without avail. The sea held its treasures well. The charmed +spot was not to be found. The new crew, also, seemed growing +mutinous. Phips had had enough of mutiny. He hoisted sail +and made the best of his way back to England. + +Here trouble and annoyance awaited him. He found powerful +enemies. Doubtless ridicule also met his projects. To plough +the bottom of the Atlantic, in search of a ship that had +gone down fifty years before, certainly seemed to yield fair +food for mirth. Yet the polite behavior, the plausible +speech, the enthusiasm and energy of the man had their +effect. He won friends among the higher nobility. The story +of the mutiny and of its bold suppression had also its +effect. A man who could attack a horde of armed mutineers +with his bare fists, a man so ready and resolute in time of +danger, so unflinchingly persevering in time of +discouragement, was the man to succeed if success were +possible. Finally, the Duke of Albemarle and some others +agreed to supply funds for the expedition, and Captain Phips +in no long time had another ship under his feet, and was +once more upon the seas. + +His ship was now accompanied by a tender. He had contrived +many instruments to aid him in his search. It is said that +he invented the diving-bell. There was certainly one used by +him, but it may have been an old device, improved by his +Yankee ingenuity. + +Port de la Plata was reached in due time, the year being +1684 or 1685. Here Phips had a large canoe or periago made, +fitted for eight or ten oars. It was hollowed out from the +trunk of a cotton-tree, he using "his own hands and adze" in +the work, enduring much hardship, and "lying abroad in the +woods many nights together." + +The shoals where search was to be made were known by the +name of the "Boilers." They lay only two or three feet below +the surface, yet their sloping sides were so steep that, +says one author, "a ship striking on them would immediately +sink down, who could say how many fathom, into the ocean?" + +The tender and the periago were anchored near these +dangerous shoals, and the work went on from them. Days +passed, still of fruitless labor. The men, as they said, +could make nothing of all their "peeping among the Boilers," +Fortunately they had calm weather and a quiet sea, and could +all day long pursue their labors around and among the +shoals. + +A day came in which one of them, looking far down into the +smooth water, saw what is known as a sea-feather, one of the +attractive products of those gardens of the seas, growing +out of what seemed a rock below him. He turned to an Indian +diver, and asked him to dive down and bring it up. + +"We will take it to the captain," he said. "It is tiresome +going back always empty-handed." + +The diver made the leap. In a minute he was back with the +sea-feather in his hand. There were signs of excitement on +his dusky face as he climbed into the boat. He had indeed a +surprising story to tell. + +"I saw great guns down there," he said. + +"What? guns?" was the general cry. + +"Yes, great guns, as from some ship." + +"Guns!" The despondency of the crew at once changed to +ardent enthusiasm. Had they at length hit upon the spot for +which they had so long sought in vain? The Indian was told +to dive again, and see what could be found. + +He did so. When he came up, their eyes were ready to start +from their heads, for he bore with him an object of infinite +promise to their wealth-craving souls. It was a lump of +silver,--a "sow," they called it,--worth some two or three +hundred pounds in money. + +The search was over! The spot was found! Fortune lay within +their reach! Marking the spot with a buoy, they rowed back +to the ship, on which the captain had remained. Here they, +disposed to have some sport, declared with long faces that +the affair had better come to an end. They were wasting time +and labor; the sea had no treasure to yield. + +"If we were wise, captain," said the leading speaker, "we'd +pull up stakes and sail back for merry old England. There's +nothing but failure here. As much work done in digging and +drudging at home would bring tenfold more profit." + +Phips listened in silence to him and the others, looking +from face to face. + +"Our disappointments have been many," he replied, in a calm +and resolute tone. "Yet I do not despair. I am determined to +wait patiently on God's providence. We will find the +treasure-ship yet, my lads. Do not lose courage." + +Turning his gaze to one side as he spoke, he started +violently, and then asked, in a tone so constrained that it +seemed the voice of agony,-- + +"Why, what is this? Whence comes this?" + +He had caught sight of the sow of silver, which they had +cunningly laid a little out of direct vision. + +"It is silver, Captain Phips," said the spokesman. "We did +but jest with you. That came from the bottom of the sea. All +is well; we have found the treasure-ship." + +"Then, thanks be to God, we are made!" cried the captain, +clasping his hands in fervent thankfulness. + +There was no longer any lack of energy in the labor. All +hands went to work with a hearty good-ill. Curiosity to +learn what the sea had to yield wrought upon them as much as +desire for reward. Up came the silver, sow after sow. In a +short time they had brought up no less than thirty-two tons +of this precious metal, with six tons besides that were +raised and appropriated by a Captain Adderly, of Providence, +whom Phips had engaged to help him, and who took this means +of helping himself. His crew was small, but his diligence +great. + +The silver was not all in sows. Much of it was coined, and +this coined silver was, in many cases, covered with a crust, +several inches thick, of limestone-like material. It came +out in great lumps, the crust needing to be broken with iron +tools, when out would tumble whole bushels of rusty pieces +of eight, Nor was the treasure confined to silver. There +came up gold in large quantities, and also pearls and other +precious stones. The Spaniards had gleaned actively in those +days of old, when the treasures of Peru were theirs for the +taking; and the ocean, its secret hiding-place once found, +yielded generously. In short, the treasure recovered is said +to have been worth nearly three hundred thousand pounds +sterling. They did not exhaust the deposit. Their provisions +failed, and they had to leave before the work was completed. +Others who came after them were well paid for their labor. + +The treasure on board, Captain Phips had new trouble. The +men, seeing "such vast litters of silver sows and pigs come +on board," were not content with ordinary sailors' pay. They +might even be tempted to seize the ship and take its rich +lading for themselves. Phips was in great apprehension. He +had not forgotten the conduct of his former crew. He did his +utmost to gain the friendship of his men, and promised them +a handsome reward for their services, even if he had to give +them all his own share. + +England was reached in safety, and the kingdom electrified +by the story of Captain Phips's success. The romantic +incidents of the narrative attracted universal attention. +Phips was the hero of the hour. Some of his enemies, it is +true, did their utmost to make him a wronged hero. They +diligently sought to persuade James II., then on the throne, +to seize the whole treasure as the appanage of the crown, +and not be content with the tithe to which his prerogative +entitled him. James II. was tyrannical but not unjust. He +refused to rob the mariners. "Captain Phips," he said, "he +saw to be a person of that honesty, ability, and fidelity +that he should not want his countenance." + +Phips was certainly honest,--so much so, indeed, that +little of the treasure came to him. His promises to his men +were carefully kept; his employers were paid the last penny +of their dues; in the end, out of the whole, there remained +to himself less than sixteen thousand pounds. The Duke of +Albemarle, moved by admiration for his honesty, gave him, as +a present from his wife, a gold cup of the value of nearly +one thousand pounds. As for the king, he was so pleased with +the whole conduct of the adventurer, and perhaps so charmed +by Phips's silvery speech, that he conferred on him the +honor of knighthood, and the plain Kennebec boy became Sir +William Phips, and a member of the aristocracy of England. + +Every one acknowledged that the discoverer owed his success +to merit, not to luck. He was evidently a man of the highest +capacity, and might, had he chosen, have filled high places +and gained great honors in England. But America was his +native land, and he was not to be kept from its shores. + +He became such a favorite at court, that one day, when King +James was particularly gracious to him, and asked him what +favor he desired, he replied that he asked nothing for +himself, but hoped that the king would restore to his native +province its lost liberties, by returning the charter of +which it had been deprived. + +"Anything but that!" exclaimed James, who had no idea of +restoring liberty to mother-land or colony. + +He appointed Phips, however, high sheriff of New England, +and the adventurer returned home as a man of power and +station. On his way there he visited the silver-ship again, +and succeeded in adding something of value to his fortune. +Then, sailing to Boston, he rejoined his wife after a five +years' absence, and, to complete the realization of his +predictions, immediately began to build himself a "fair +brick house in Green Lane." + +We have finished our story, which was to tell how the +sheep-boy of the Kennebec rose to be high sheriff of New +England, with the privilege of writing "Sir" before his +name. His after-life was little less memorable than the part +of it told, but we have no space left to tell it in. + +King James was soon driven from the throne, and King William +took his place, but Sir William Phips retained his power and +influence. In 1690 he led an army against Port Royal in +Acadia, took it, and came back to receive the plaudits of +the Bostonians. He next attempted to conquer all Canada from +the French, attacked Quebec with a strong force, but was +repulsed, largely in consequence of a storm that scattered +his ships. The Bostonians had now no plaudits for him. The +expedition had cost New England about forty thousand pounds, +and there was not a penny in the treasury. The difficulty +was overcome by the issue of treasury-notes, an expedient +which was not adopted in England till five years afterwards. +Charles Montagu, the alleged inventor of exchequer bills +doubtless owed his idea to the sharp-witted Bostonians. + +The beginning of 1692 found Sir William again in England, +whence he came back to his native land as captain-general +and governor-in-chief of the colony of Massachusetts. From +sheep-boy he had risen to the title of "Your Excellency." +Phips was governor of Massachusetts during the witchcraft +delusion. The part he took in it was not a very active one; +but when, in 1693, he found that grand juries were beginning +to throw out indictments, and petit juries to return +verdicts of "Not guilty," he ended the whole mad business by +emptying the prisons, then containing about one hundred and +fifty persons committed, while over two hundred more were +accused. In 1693 Governor Phips led an expedition against +the Indians of Maine, and forced them to conclude a treaty +of peace. In 1694 he went to England, to answer certain +accusations against his conduct as governor, and here was +taken suddenly sick, and died February 18, 1695. + +The noble house of Phips, thus instituted, has steadily +grown in rank and dignity since that date, bearing +successively the titles of baron, viscount, earl, until +finally, in 1838, a Phips attained the rank of marquis of +Normandy. It is a remarkable development from the life of +that poor boy, one of a family of twenty-six, whose early +life was spent in tending sheep in the wilderness of Maine. + + + + +THE STORY OF THE REGICIDES. + + +The years 1675 and 1676 were years of terrible experience +for New England. The most dreadful of all the Indian +outbreaks of that region--that known as King Philip's +War--was raging, and hundreds of the inhabitants fell +victims to the ruthless rage of their savage foes. Whole +villages perished, their inhabitants being slain on the +spot, or carried away captive for the more cruel fate of +Indian vengeance. The province was in a state of terror, for +none knew at what moment the terrible war-whoop might sound, +and the murderous enemy be upon them with tomahawk and +brand. + +Everywhere the whites were on the alert. The farmer went to +his fields with his musket as an indispensable companion. +Outlying houses were guarded like fortresses. Even places of +worship were converted into strongholds, and the people +prayed with musket in hand, and, while listening to the +exhortations of their pastors, kept keenly alive to the +sounds without, for none could tell at what moment the foe +might break in on their devotions. + +In the frontier town of Hadley, Massachusetts, then on the +northwestern edge of civilization, on a day in the summer of +1676, the people were thus all gathered at the +meeting-house, engaged in divine service. It was a day of +fasting and prayer, set aside to implore God's aid to +relieve the land from the reign of terror which had come +upon it. Yet the devout villagers, in their appeal for +spiritual aid, did not forget the importance of temporal +weapons. They had brought their muskets with them, and took +part in the pious exercises with these carnal instruments of +safety within easy reach of their hands. + +Their caution was well advised. In the midst of their +devotional exercises a powerful body of Indians made a +sudden onslaught upon the village. They had crept up in +their usual stealthy way, under cover of trees and bushes, +and their wild yells as they assailed the outlying houses +were the first intimation of their approach. + +These alarming sounds reached the ears of the worshippers, +and quickly brought their devotional services to an end. In +an instant all thought of dependence upon the Almighty was +replaced by the instinct of dependence upon themselves. +Grasping their weapons, they hurried out, to find themselves +face to face with the armed and exultant savages, who now +crowded the village street, and whose cries of triumph +filled the air with discordant sounds. + +The people were confused and frightened, huddled together +with little show of order or discipline, and void of the +spirit and energy necessary to meet their threatening foe. +The Indians were on all sides, completely surrounding them. +The suddenness of the alarm and the evidence of imminent +peril robbed the villagers of their usual vigor and +readiness, signs of panic were visible, and had the Indians +attacked at that moment the people must have been hurled +back in disorderly flight, to become in great part the +victims of their foes. + +It was a critical moment. Was Hadley to suffer the fate of +other frontier towns, or would the recent prayers of pastor +and people bring some divine interposition in their favor? +Yes; suddenly it seemed as if God indeed had come to their +aid; for as they stood there in a state of nerveless dread a +venerable stranger appeared in their midst, a tall, stately +personage, with long white hair, and dressed in strange, +old-fashioned garb, his countenance beaming with energy and +decision. + +"Quick," he cried, "into line and order at once! The Indians +are about to charge upon you. Take heart, and prepare for +them, or they will slaughter you like sheep." + +With the air of one born to command, he hastily formed the +band of villagers into military array, displaying such skill +and ardor that their temporary fright vanished, to be +succeeded by courage and confidence. Had not the Almighty +sent this venerable stranger to their aid? Should they fear +when led by God's messenger? + +"Now, upon them!" cried their mysterious leader. "We must +have the advantage of the assault!" + +Putting himself at their head, he led them on with an ardor +remarkable in one of his years. The savages, who had been +swarming together preparatory to an attack, beheld with +surprise this orderly rush forward of the villagers, and +shrunk from their death-dealing and regular volleys. And the +white-haired form who led their foes with such fearless +audacity struck terror to their superstitious souls, filling +them with dread and dismay. + +The struggle that followed was short and decisive. Animated +by the voice and example of their leader, the small band +attacked their savage enemies with such vigor and show of +discipline that in very few minutes the Indians were in full +flight for the wilderness, leaving a considerable number of +dead upon the ground. Of the villagers only two or three had +fallen. + +The grateful people, when the turmoil and confusion of the +affray were over, turned to thank their venerable leader for +his invaluable aid. To their surprise he was nowhere to be +seen. He had vanished in the same mysterious manner as he +had appeared. They looked at one another in bewilderment. +What did this strange event signify? Had God really sent one +of his angels from heaven, in response to their prayers, to +rescue them from destruction? Such was the conclusion to +which some of the people came, while the most of them +believed that there was some miracle concerned in their +strange preservation. + +This interesting story, which tradition has preserved in the +form here given, has a no less interesting sequel. We know, +what most of the villagers never knew, who their preserver +was, and how it happened that he came so opportunely to +their rescue. To complete our narrative we must go back +years in time, to the date of 1649, the year of the +execution of Charles I. of England. + +Fifty-nine signatures had been affixed to the death-warrant +of this royal criminal. A number of the signers afterwards +paid the penalty of that day's work on the scaffold. We are +concerned here only with two of them, Generals Whalley and +Goffe, who, after the death of Cromwell and the return of +Charles II., fled for safety to New England, knowing well +what would be their fate if found in their mother-land. A +third of the regicides, Colonel Dixwell, afterwards joined +them in America, but his story is void of the romance which +surrounded that of his associates. + +Whalley and Goffe reached Boston in July, 1660. The vessel +that brought them brought also tidings that Charles II. was +on the throne. The fugitives were well received. They had +stood high in the Commonwealth, brought letters of +commendation from Puritan ministers in England, and hoped to +dwell in peace in Cambridge, where they decided to fix their +residence. But the month of November brought a new story to +Boston. In the Act of Indemnity passed by Parliament the +names of Whalley and Goffe were among those left out. They +had played a part in the execution of the king, and to the +regicides no mercy was to be shown. Their estates were +confiscated; their lives declared forfeited; any man who +befriended them did so at his own peril. + +These tidings produced excitement and alarm in Boston. The +Puritans of the colony were all warmly inclined towards +their endangered guests. Some would have protected them at +all hazards; others felt inclined to help them to escape; a +few thought it might be their duty to take them prisoners. + +The illustrious fugitives settled this difficulty by +privately leaving Cambridge and making their way overland to +New Haven. Here they were well received. In truth, the Rev. +John Davenport, one of the founders of the colony, did not +hesitate to speak to his congregation in their behalf. We +quote from his bold and significant words, whose slightly +masked meaning his hearers failed not to understand. + +"Withhold not countenance, entertainment, and protection +from the people of God,--whom men may call fools and +fanatics,--if any such come to you from other countries, as +from France or England, or any other place. Be not forgetful +to entertain strangers. Hide the outcasts, betray not him +that wandereth. Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab. Be +thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler." + +Mr. Davenport was not afraid to live up to the spirit of his +words. For several weeks the regicides dwelt openly in his +house. But meanwhile a proclamation from the king had +reached Boston, ordering their arrest as traitors and +murderers. News of its arrival was quickly received at New +Haven. The fugitives, despite the sympathy of the people, +were in imminent danger. Measures must be taken for their +safety. + +They left New Haven and proceeded to Milford, where they +showed themselves in public. But by night they covertly +returned, and for more than a week lay hid in Mr. +Davenport's cellar. This cellar is still in existence, and +the place in it where the fugitives are said to have hidden +may still be seen. + +But their danger soon grew more imminent. Peremptory orders +came from England for their arrest. Governor Endicott felt +obliged to act decisively. He gave commission to two young +royalists who had recently come from England, empowering +them to search through Massachusetts for the fugitives. +Letters to the governors of the other colonies, requesting +aid in their purpose, were also given them. + +These agents of the king at once started on their mission of +death. They had no difficulty in tracing the fugitives to +New Haven. One person went so far as to tell them that the +men they sought were secreted in Mr. Davenport's house. +Stopping at Guilford, they showed their warrant to Mr. +Leete, the deputy-governor, and demanded horses for their +journey, and aid and power to search for and apprehend the +fugitives. + +Deputy Leete had little heart for this task. He knew very +well where the fugitives were, but managed to make such +excuses and find so many reasons for delay that the agents, +who arrived on Saturday, were detained until Sunday, and +then, as this was Puritan New England, could not get away +till Monday. Meanwhile a secret messenger was on his way to +New Haven, to warn the fugitives of their danger. On +hearing this startling news they hastily removed from their +hiding-place in Mr. Davenport's house, and were taken to a +secluded mill two miles away. + +The royal messengers reached New Haven and demanded the +assistance of the authorities in their search. They failed +to get it. Every obstacle was thrown in their way. They +equally failed to find any trace of the fugitives, though +the latter did not leave the immediate vicinity of the town. +After two days at the mill they were taken to a hiding-place +at a spot called Hatchet Harbor, and soon afterwards, +finding this place too exposed, they removed to a +cavern-like covert in a heap of large stones, near the +summit of West Rock, not far from the town. Here they +remained in hiding for several months, being supplied with +food from a lonely farm-house in the neighborhood. + +The royal agents, finding their search fruitless and their +efforts to get aid from the magistrates vexatiously baffled, +at length returned to Boston, where they told a bitter story +of the obstinate and pertinacious contempt of his Majesty's +orders displayed by these New Haven worthies. The chase thus +given up, the fugitives found shelter in a house in Milford, +where they dwelt in seclusion for two years. + +But danger returned. The king demanded blood-revenge for his +father's death. Commissioners from England reached Boston, +armed with extraordinary powers of search. The pursuit was +renewed with greater energy than before. The fugitives, +finding the danger imminent, and fearing to bring their +protectors into trouble, returned to their cave. Here they +lay for some time in security, while the surrounding country +was being actively scoured by parties of search. On one +occasion, when out of their place of shelter, they were so +nearly overtaken that they only escaped by hiding under a +bridge. This was what is known as Neck Bridge, over Mill +River. As they sat beneath it they heard above them the +hoof-beats of their pursuers' horses on the bridge. The +sleuth-hounds of the law passed on without dreaming how +nearly their victims had been within their reach. This was +not the only narrow escape of the fugitives. Several times +they were in imminent danger of capture, yet fortune always +came to their aid. + +[Illustration: THE CAVE OF THE REGICIDES.] + +A day arrived in which the cave ceased to serve as a safe +harbor of refuge. A party of Indians, hunting in the woods, +discovered its lurking occupants. Fearing that the savages +might betray them, to obtain the large reward offered, the +fugitives felt it necessary to seek a new place of shelter. +A promising plan was devised by their friends, who included +all the pious Puritans of the colony. Leaving the vicinity +of New Haven, and travelling by night only, the aged +regicides made their way, through many miles of forest, to +Hadley, then an outpost in the wilderness. Here the Rev. +John Russell, who ministered to the spiritual wants of the +inhabitants, gladly received and sheltered them. His house +had been lately added to, and contained many rooms and +closets. In doing this work a hiding-place had been +prepared for his expected guests. One of the closets, in the +garret, had doors opening into two chambers, while its +floor-boards were so laid that they could be slipped aside +and admit to a dark under-closet. From this there seems to +have been a passage-way to the cellar. + +With this provision for their retreat, in case the house +should be searched, Mr. Russell gave harbor to the hunted +regicides, the secret of their presence being known only to +his family and one or two of the most trusty inhabitants. +The fugitives, happily for them, had no occasion to avail +themselves of the concealed closet. Their place of hiding +remained for years unsuspected. In time the rigor of the +search was given up, and for many years they remained here +in safety, their secret being remarkably well kept. It was +in 1664 that they reached Hadley. In 1676, when Colonel +Goffe so opportunely served the villagers in their +extremity, so little was it known that two strangers had +dwelt for twelve years concealed in their midst, that some +of the people, as we have said, decided that their rescuer +must be an angel from heaven, in default of other +explanation of his sudden appearance. + +There is little more to say about them. General Whalley died +at Hadley, probably in the year of the Indian raid, and was +buried in the cellar of Mr. Russell's house, his secret +being kept even after his death. His bones have since been +found there. As for General Goffe, his place of exit from +this earth is a mystery. Tradition says that he left +Hadley, went "westward towards Virginia," and vanished from +human sight and knowledge. The place of his death and burial +remains unknown. + +It may be said, in conclusion, that Colonel Dixwell joined +his fellow-regicides in Hadley in 1665. He had taken the +name of Davids, was not known to be in America, and was +comparatively safe. He had no reason to hide, and dwelt in a +retired part of the town, where his presence and intercourse +doubtless went far to relieve the monotony of life of his +fellows in exile. He afterwards lived many years in New +Haven, where he spent much of his time in reading,--history +being his favorite study,--in walking in the neighboring +groves, and in intercourse with the more cultivated +inhabitants, the Rev. Mr. Pierpont being his intimate +friend. He married twice while here, and at his death left a +wife and two children, who resumed his true name, which he +made known in his last illness. His descendants are well +known in New England, and the Dixwells are among the most +respected Boston families of to-day. + + + + +HOW THE CHARTER WAS SAVED. + + +Not until James II. became king of England was a determined +effort made to take away the liberties of the American +colonies. All New England, up to that time, had been +virtually free, working under charters of very liberal +character, and governing itself in its own way and with its +own elected rulers. Connecticut, with whose history we are +now concerned, received its charter in 1662, from Charles +II., and went on happily and prosperously until James +ascended the throne. This bigoted tyrant, who spent his +short reign in seeking to overthrow the liberties of +England, quickly determined that America needed +disciplining, and that these much too independent colonists +ought to be made to feel the dominant authority of the king. +The New England colonies in particular, which claimed +charter rights and disdained royal governors, must be made +to yield their patents and privileges, and submit to the +rule of a governor-general, appointed by the king, with +paramount authority over the colonies. + +Sir Edmund Andros, a worthy minion of a tyrant, was chosen +as the first governor-general, and arrived at Boston in +December, 1686, determined to bring these rampant colonists +to a sense of their duty as humble subjects of his royal +master. He quickly began to display autocratic authority, +with an offensiveness of manner that disgusted the citizens +as much as his acts of tyranny annoyed them. The several +colonies were peremptorily ordered to deliver up their +charters. With the response to this command we are not here +concerned, except in the case of Connecticut, which +absolutely refused. + +Months passed, during which the royal representative aped +kingly manners and dignity in Boston, and Connecticut went +on undisturbed except by his wordy fulminations. But in +October of the next year he made his appearance at Hartford, +attended by a body-guard of some sixty soldiers and +officers. The Assembly was in session. Sir Edmund marched +with an important air into the chamber, and in a peremptory +tone demanded that the charter should be immediately placed +in his hands. + +This demand put the members into an awkward dilemma. The +charter was in Hartford, in a place easy of access; Sir +Edmund was prepared to seize it by force if it were not +quickly surrendered; how to save this precious instrument of +liberty did not at once appear. The members temporized, +received their unwelcome visitor with every show of respect, +and entered upon a long and calm debate, with a wearisome +deliberation which the impatience of the governor-general +could not hasten or cut short. + +Governor Treat, the presiding officer of the Assembly, +addressed Sir Edmund in tones of remonstrance and entreaty. +The people of America, he said, had been at the greatest +expense and had suffered the most extreme hardships in +planting the country; they had freely spent their blood and +treasure in defending it against savage natives and foreign +aggressors; and all this had been done for the honor and +glory of the motherland. He himself had endured hardships +and been environed by perils, and it would be like giving up +his life to surrender the patent and privileges so dearly +bought and so long enjoyed. + +Argument of this kind was wasted on Sir Edmund. Remonstrance +and appeal were alike in vain. It was the charter he wanted, +not long-winded excuses, and he fumed and fretted while the +slow-talking members wasted the hours in what he looked upon +as useless argument. + +Night had been drawing near on his entrance. Darkness +settled upon the Assembly while the debate went on. Lights +were now brought in,--the tallow candles of our colonial +forefathers,--and placed upon the table round which the +members sat. By this time Sir Edmund's impatience at their +procrastination had deepened into anger, and he demanded the +charter in so decided tones that the reluctant governor gave +orders that it should be produced. The box containing it was +brought into the chamber and laid upon the table, the cover +removed, and there before their eyes lay the precious +parchment, the charter of colonial liberty. + +Still the members talked and procrastinated. But it is not +easy to restrain the hound when within sight of the game +which it has long pursued. Before the eyes of Sir Edmund lay +that pestiferous paper which had given him such annoyance. +His impatience was no longer to be restrained. In the midst +of the long-drawn-out oratory of the members he rose and +stepped towards the table to seize the object in dispute. + +At that critical instant there came an unexpected diversion. +During the debate a number of the more important citizens +had entered the room, and stood near the table round which +the members sat. Suddenly, from the midst of those people, a +long cloak was deftly flung, with such sure aim that it fell +upon the circle of blazing candles, extinguishing them all, +and in a moment throwing the room into total darkness. + +Confusion followed. There were quick and excited movements +within the room. Outside, the crowd which had assembled set +up a lusty cheer, and a number of them pushed into the +chamber. The members stirred uneasily in their seats. Sir +Edmund angrily exclaimed,-- + +"What means this, gentlemen? Is some treachery at work? +Guard the charter! Light those candles instantly!" + +The attendants hastened to obey; but haste in procuring +light in those days had a different meaning than now. The +lucifer-match had not yet been dreamed of. The +flint-and-steel was a slow conception. Several minutes +elapsed before the candles again shed their feeble glow +through the room. + +With the first gleam of light every eye was fixed upon the +box which had contained the charter. It was empty! The +charter was gone! + +Just what Sir Edmund said on this occasion history has not +recorded. Those were days in which the most exalted persons +dealt freely in oaths, and it is to be presumed that the +infuriated governor-general used words that must have sadly +shocked the pious ears of his Puritan auditors. + +But the charter had vanished, and could not be sworn back +into the box. Where it had gone probably no one knew; +certainly no one was willing to say. The members looked at +one another in blank astonishment. The lookers-on manifested +as blank an ignorance, though their faces beamed with +delight. It had disappeared as utterly as if it had sunk +into the earth, and the oaths of Sir Edmund and his efforts +to recover it proved alike in vain. + +But the mystery of that night after-history has revealed, +and the story can now be told. In truth, some of those +present in the hall knew far more than they cared to tell. +In the darkness a quick-moving person had made a lane +through the throng to a neighboring window whose sash was +thrown up. Out of this he leaped to the ground below. Here +people were thickly gathered. + +"Make way," he said (or may have said, for his real words +have not been preserved), "for Connecticut and liberty. I +have the charter." + +The cheers redoubled. The crowd separated and let him +through. In a minute he had disappeared in the darkness +beyond. + +Sir Edmund meanwhile was storming like a fury in the hall; +threatening the colony with the anger of the king; +declaring that every man in the chamber should be searched; +fairly raving in his disappointment. Outside, the bold +fugitive sped swiftly along the dark and quiet streets, +ending his course at length in front of a noble and imposing +oak-tree, which stood before the house of the Honorable +Samuel Wyllys, one of the colonial magistrates. + +This tree was hollow; the opening slender without, large +within. Deeply into this cavity the fugitive thrust his arm, +pushing the precious packet as far as it would go, and +covering it thickly with fine d['e]bris at the bottom of the +trunk. + +[Illustration: THE CHARTER OAK, HARTFORD.] + +"So much for Sir Edmund," he said. "Let him now rob +Connecticut of the charter of its liberties, if he can." + +Tradition--for it must be acknowledged that this story is +traditional, though probably true in its main +elements--tells us that this daring individual was Captain +Joseph Wadsworth, a bold and energetic militia-leader who +was yet to play another prominent part in the drama of +colonial life. + +As for the Charter Oak, it long remained Hartford's most +venerated historical monument. It became in time a huge +tree, twenty-five feet in circumference near the roots. The +cavity in which the charter was hidden grew larger year by +year, until it was wide enough within to contain a child, +though the orifice leading to it gradually closed until it +was hardly large enough to admit a hand. This grand monument +to liberty survived until 1856, when tempest in its boughs +and decay in its trunk brought it in ruin to the earth. + +What followed may be briefly told. The charter lost, Sir +Edmund Andros assumed control, declared the privileges +granted by it to be annulled, and issued a proclamation in +which the liberties of the colonies were replaced by the +tyranny of autocratic rule. The colonists were forced to +submit, but their submission was one of discontent and +barely-concealed revolt. Fortunately the tyranny of Sir +Edmund lasted not long. The next year the royal tyrant of +England was driven from his throne, and the chain which he +had laid upon the neck of Britannia and her colonies was +suddenly removed. + +The exultation in America knew no bounds. Andros was seized +and thrown into prison in Boston, to preserve him from a +ruder fate from the mob. Early in the next year he was +shipped to England. Captain Wadsworth withdrew the charter +from the hiding-place which had safely kept its secret until +that hour, and placed it in the hands of the delighted +governor. Jurists in England had declared that it was still +in force, and the former government was at once resumed, +amid the most earnest manifestations of joy by the populace. + +Yet the liberties of Connecticut were soon again to be +imperilled, and were to be save once more by the intrepid +daring of Captain Wadsworth. + +It was now the year 1693. William of Orange had been for +some years on the English throne. While far more liberal +than his predecessor, his acts had somewhat limited the +former freedom of the New England colonies. He did not +attempt to appoint royal governors over these truculent +people, but on Governor Fletcher, of New York, were +conferred privileges which went far to set aside the charter +rights of the neighboring colony. + +In brief, this royal governor was given full power of +command over the militia of Connecticut, an act in direct +contravention of the charter, which placed the military +control in the hands of the colonial authorities. Fletcher +pressed his claim. The governor indignantly refused to yield +his rights. The people ardently supported him. + +Filled with blustering indignation, Governor Fletcher left +New York and came to Hartford, determined that his authority +should be acknowledged. He reached there on October 26, +1693. + +He called upon the governor and other authorities, armed +with the royal commission, and sternly demanded that the +command of the militia should be handed over to him. + +"You have played with me in this matter," he asserted. "Now +I demand an answer, immediate, and in two words, Yes or No. +And I require that the militia of Hartford shall be +instantly ordered under arms." + +"As for the latter, it shall be as you wish," answered the +governor "As for the former, we deny your authority. Nor +will I, as you suggest, consent to hold command as your +representative." + +The train-bands were ordered out. The demand had been +expected, and no long time elapsed before these +citizen-soldiers were assembled on the drill-ground of +Hartford,--an awkward squad, probably, if we may judge from +the train-bands of later days, but doubtless containing much +good soldierly material. + +At their head stood their senior officer, Captain Wadsworth, +the same bold patriot who had so signally defeated a royal +governor six years before. He was now to add to his fame by +as signally defeating another royal governor. + +When the New York potentate, accompanied by the governor and +a number of the assemblymen, and by the members of his +staff, reached the place, they found the valiant captain +walking up and down before his men, busily engaged in +putting them through their exercises. + +Governor Fletcher stepped forward importantly, produced his +commission and instructions, and ordered them to be read to +the assembled troops. The person to whom he handed them +unfolded the commission, advanced to the front of the line, +and prepared to read. He did not know with whom he had to +deal. + +"Beat the drums!" cried Captain Wadsworth, in a stentorian +voice. + +Instantly there broke out a roar that utterly drowned the +voice of the reader. + +"Silence!" exclaimed Fletcher, angrily advancing. + +The drums ceased their rattling uproar. Silence once more +prevailed. The reader began again. + +"Drum! drum, I say!" thundered Wadsworth. + +Again such an uproar filled the air as only drum-heads +beaten by vigorous arms can make. + +"Silence! silence!" cried Fletcher, furiously. The drums +ceased. + +"Drum! drum, I say!" roared Wadsworth. Then, turning to the +governor, and handling his sword significantly, he +continued, in resolute tones, "If I am interrupted again I +will make the sun shine through you in a minute." + +This fierce threat ended the business. Governor Fletcher had +no fancy for being riddled by this truculent captain of +militia. King William's commission doubtless had its weight, +but the king was three thousand miles away across the seas, +and Captain Wadsworth and his trainbands were unpleasantly +near. Governor Fletcher deemed it unwise to try too strongly +the fiery temper of the Hartford militiaman; he and his +suite returned hastily to New York, and that was the last +that was heard of a royal commander for the militia of +Connecticut. + + + + +HOW FRANKLIN CAME TO PHILADELPHIA. + + +To-day we may make our way from New York to Philadelphia in +a two-hour "Flyer," with palace-car accommodations. +To-morrow, perhaps, the journey will be made in ninety +minutes. Such, at least, is the nearly-realized dream of +railroad-men. A century and a half ago this journey took +considerably more time, and was made with much less comfort. +There is on record an interesting narrative of how the trip +was made in 1723, which is worth giving as a contrast to +present conditions. + +The traveller was no less notable a personage than Benjamin +Franklin, who, much to the after-advantage of the Quaker +City, had run away from too severe an apprenticeship in +Boston, failed to obtain employment in New York, and learned +that work might be had in Philadelphia. The story of how he +came thither cannot be told better than in his own homely +language, so we will suffer him to speak for himself. + +[Illustration: PRINTING-PRESS AT WHICH FRANKLIN WORKED WHEN +A BOY.] + +"Philadelphia was one hundred miles farther; I set out, +however, in a boat for Amboy, leaving my chest and things to +follow me round by sea. In crossing the bay, we met with a +squall that tore our rotten sail to pieces, prevented our +getting into the Kill, and drove us upon Long Island. In our +way a drunken Dutchman, who was a passenger too, fell +overboard; when he was sinking, I reached through the water +to his shock pate and drew him up, so that we got him in +again. His ducking sobered him a little, and he went to +sleep, taking first out of his pocket a book, which he +desired I would dry for him." + +The book proved to be the "Pilgrim's Progress," in Dutch, +well printed, and with copper-plate illustrations, a fact +which greatly interested the book-loving traveller. + +"On approaching the island, we found it was a place where +there could be no landing, there being a great surge on the +stony beach. So we dropped anchor, and swung out our cable +towards the shore. Some people came down to the shore, and +hallooed to us, as we did to them; but the wind was so high, +and the surge so loud, that we could not understand each +other. There were some small boats near the shore, and we +made signs, and called to them to fetch us; but they either +did not comprehend us, or it was impracticable, so they went +off. + +"Night approaching, we had no remedy but to have patience +till the wind abated, and in the mean time the boatman and +myself concluded to sleep, if we could; and so we crowded +into the hatches, where we joined the Dutchman, who was +still wet, and the spray, breaking over the head of our +boat, leaked through to us, so that we were soon almost as +wet as he. In this manner we lay all night, with very little +rest; but the wind abating the next day, we made a shift to +reach Amboy before night, having been thirty hours on the +water, without victuals, or any drink but a bottle of filthy +rum, the water we sailed on being salt." + +The story seems hard to credit. The travellers had already +spent fifteen times the period it now takes to make the +complete journey, and were but fairly started; while they +had experienced almost as much hardship as though they were +wrecked mariners, cast upon a desolate coast. The remainder +of the journey was no less wearisome. The traveller thus +continues his narrative: + +"In the evening I found myself very feverish, and went to +bed; but having read somewhere that cold water drunk +plentifully was good for a fever, I followed the +prescription, and sweat plentifully most of the night. My +fever left me, and in the morning, crossing the ferry, I +proceeded on my journey on foot, having fifty miles to go to +Burlington, where I was told I should find boats that would +carry me the rest of the way to Philadelphia. + +"It rained very hard all the day; I was thoroughly soaked, +and by noon a good deal tired; so I stopped at a poor inn, +where I stayed all night, beginning now to wish I had never +left home. I made so miserable a figure, too, that I found, +by the questions asked me, I was suspected to be some +runaway indentured servant, and in danger of being taken up +on that suspicion. However, I proceeded next day, and in the +evening got to an inn, within eight or ten miles of +Burlington, kept by one Dr. Brown. He entered into +conversation with me while I took some refreshment, and, +finding I had read a little, became very obliging and +friendly. Our acquaintance continued all the rest of his +life. He had been, I imagine, an ambulatory quack doctor, +for there was no town in England, nor any country in Europe, +of which he could not give a very particular account. He had +some letters, and was ingenious, but he was an infidel, and +wickedly undertook, some years after, to turn the Bible into +doggerel verse, as Cotton had formerly done with Virgil. By +this means he set many facts in a ridiculous light, and +might have done mischief with weak minds if his work had +been published, but it never was. + +"At his house I lay that night, and arrived the next morning +at Burlington, but had the mortification to find that the +regular boats were gone a little before, and no other +expected to go before Tuesday, this being Saturday, +wherefore I returned to an old woman in the town, of whom I +had bought some gingerbread to eat on the water, and asked +her advice. She proposed to lodge me till a passage by some +other boat occurred. I accepted her offer, being much +fatigued by travelling on foot. Understanding I was a +printer, she would have had me remain in that town and +follow my business, being ignorant what stock was necessary +to begin with. She was very hospitable, gave me a dinner of +ox-cheek with great good-will, accepting only of a pot of +ale in return; and I thought myself fixed till Tuesday +should come. + +"However, walking in the evening by the side of the river, a +boat came by which I found was going towards Philadelphia, +with several people in her. They took me in, and, as there +was no wind, we rowed all the way; and about midnight, not +having yet seen the city, some of the company were confident +we must have passed it, and would row no farther; the others +knew not where we were; so we put towards the shore, got +into a creek, landed near an old fence, with the rails of +which we made a fire, the night being cold, in October, and +there we remained till daylight. Then one of the company +knew the place to be Cooper's Creek, a little above +Philadelphia, which we saw as soon as we got out of the +creek, and arrived there about eight or nine o'clock on the +Sunday morning, and landed at Market Street wharf." + +The closing portion of this na[:i]ve narrative is as +interesting in its way as the opening. The idea that +Philadelphia could be passed in the darkness and not +discovered seems almost ludicrous when we consider its +present many miles of river front, and the long-drawn-out +glow of illumination which it casts across the stream. +Nothing could be more indicative of its village-like +condition at the time of Franklin's arrival, and its +enormous growth since. Nor are the incidents and conditions +of the journey less striking. The traveller, making the best +time possible to him, had been nearly five full days on the +way, and had experienced a succession of hardships which +would have thrown many men into a sick-bed at the end. It +took youth, health, and energy to accomplish the difficult +passage from New York to Philadelphia in that day; a journey +which we now make between breakfast and dinner, with +considerable time for business in the interval. Verily, the +world moves. But to return to our traveller's story. + +"I have been the more particular in this description of my +journey, and shall be so of my first entry into that city, +that you may in your mind compare such unlikely beginnings +with the figure I have since made there. I was in my +working-dress, my best clothes coming round by sea. I was +dirty from my being so long in the boat. My pockets were +stuffed out with shirts and stockings, and I knew no one, +nor where to look for lodging. Fatigued with walking, +rowing, and the want of sleep, I was very hungry; and my +whole stock of cash consisted in a single dollar, and about +a shilling in copper coin, which I gave to the boatmen for +my passage. At first they refused it, on account of my +having rowed, but I insisted on their taking it. Man is +sometimes more generous when he has little money than when +he has plenty; perhaps to prevent his being thought to have +but little. + +"I walked towards the top of the street, gazing about till +near Market Street, where I met a boy with bread. I had +often made a meal of dry bread, and, inquiring where he had +bought it, I went immediately to the baker's he directed me +to. I asked for biscuits, meaning such as we had at Boston; +that sort, it seems, was not made in Philadelphia. I then +asked for a three-penny loaf, and was told they had none. +Not knowing the different prices, nor the names of the +different sorts of bread, I told him to give me +three-penny-worth of any sort. He gave me, accordingly, +three great puffy rolls. I was surprised at the quantity, +but took it, and having no room in my pockets, walked off +with a roll under each arm, and eating the other. + +"Thus I went up Market Street as far as Fourth Street, +passing by the door of Mr. Read, my future wife's father, +when she, standing at the door, saw me, and thought I made, +as I certainly did, a most awkward, ridiculous appearance. +Then I turned and went down Chestnut Street, and part of +Walnut Street, eating my roll all the way, and, coming +round, found myself again at Market Street wharf, near the +boat I came in, to which I went for a draught of the +river-water, and, being filled with one of my rolls, gave +the other two to a woman and her child that came down the +river in the boat with us, and were waiting to go farther. + +"Thus refreshed, I walked again up the street, which by this +time had many cleanly-dressed people in it, who were all +walking the same way. I joined them, and was thereby led +into the great meeting-house of the Quakers, near the +market. I sat down among them, and, after looking round a +while and hearing nothing said, became very drowsy through +labor and want of rest the preceding night, I fell fast +asleep, and continued so till the meeting broke up, when +some one was kind enough to arouse me. This, therefore, was +the first house I was in, or slept in, in Philadelphia." + +There is nothing more simple, homely, and attractive in +literature than Franklin's autobiographical account of the +first period of his life, of which we have transcribed a +portion, nor nothing more indicative of the great changes +which time has produced in the conditions of this country, +and which it produced in the life of our author. As for his +journey from New York to Philadelphia, it presents, for the +time involved, as great a series of adventures and hardships +as does Stanley's recent journey through Central Africa. And +as regards his own history, the contrast between the +Franklin of 1723 and 1783 was as great as that which has +come upon the city of his adoption. There is something +amusingly ludicrous in the picture of the great Franklin, +soiled with travel, a dollar in his pocket representing his +entire wealth, walking up Market Street with two great rolls +of bread under his arms and gnawing hungrily at a third; +while his future wife peers from her door, and laughs to +herself at this awkward youth, who looked as if he had never +set foot on city street before. + +We can hardly imagine this to be the Franklin who afterwards +became the associate of the great and the admired of +nations, who argued the cause of America before the +assembled notables of England, who played a leading part in +the formation of the Constitution of the United States, and +to whom Philadelphia owes several of its most thriving and +useful institutions. Millions of people have since poured +into the City of Brotherly Love, but certainly no other +journey thither has been nearly so momentous in its +consequences as the humble one above described. + + + + +THE PERILS OF THE WILDERNESS. + + +On the 31st day of October, in the year 1753, a young man, +whose name was as yet unknown outside the colony of +Virginia, though it was destined to attain world-wide fame, +set out from Williamsburg, in that colony, on a momentous +errand. It was the first step taken in a series of events +which were to end in driving the French from North America, +and placing this great realm under English control,--the +opening movement in the memorable French and Indian War. The +name of the young man was George Washington. His age was +twenty-one years. He began thus, in his earliest manhood, +that work in the service of his country which was to +continue until the end. + +The enterprise before the young Virginian was one that +needed the energies of youth and the unyielding perseverance +of an indefatigable spirit. A wilderness extended far and +wide before him, partly broken in Virginia, but farther on +untouched by the hand of civilization. Much of his route lay +over rugged mountains, pathless save by the narrow and +difficult Indian trails. The whole distance to be traversed +was not less than five hundred and sixty miles, with an +equal distance to return. The season was winter. It was a +task calculated to try the powers and test the endurance of +the strongest and most energetic man. + +The contest between France and England for American soil was +about to begin. Hitherto the colonists of those nations had +kept far asunder,--the French in Canada and on the great +lakes; the English on the Atlantic coast. Now the English +were feeling their way westward, the French +southward,--lines of movement which would touch each other +on the Ohio. The touch, when made, was sure to be a hostile +one. + +England had established an "Ohio Company,"--ostensibly for +trade, really for conquest. The French had built forts,--one +at Presque Isle, on Lake Erie; one on French Creek, near its +head-waters; a third at the junction of French Creek with +the Alleghany. This was a bold push inland. They had done +more than this. A party of French and Indians had made their +way as far as the point where Pittsburgh now stands. Here +they found some English traders, took them prisoners, and +conveyed them to Presque Isle. In response to this, some +French traders were seized by the Twightwee Indians, a tribe +friendly to the English, and sent to Pennsylvania. The touch +had taken place, and it was a hostile one. + +[Illustration: WASHINGTON'S HOME AT MT. VERNON.] + +Major Washington--he had been a Virginian adjutant-general, +with the rank of major, since the age of nineteen--was +chosen for the next step, that of visiting the French forts +and demanding the withdrawal of their garrisons from what +was claimed to be English territory. The mission was a +delicate one. It demanded courage, discretion, and energy. +Washington had them all. No better choice could have been +made than of this young officer of militia. + +The youthful pioneer proceeded alone as far as +Fredericksburg. Here he engaged two companions, one as +French, the other as Indian, interpreter, and proceeded. +Civilization had touched the region before him, but not +subdued it. At the junction of Will's Creek with the Potomac +(now Cumberland, Maryland), he reached the extreme outpost +of civilization. Before him stretched more than four hundred +miles of unbroken wilderness. The snow-covered Alleghanies +were just in advance. The chill of the coming winter already +was making itself felt. Recent rains had swollen the +streams. They could be crossed only on log-rafts, or by the +more primitive methods of wading or swimming,--expedients +none too agreeable in freezing weather. But youth and a +lofty spirit halt not for obstacles. Washington pushed on. + +At Will's Creek he added to his party. Here he was joined by +Mr. Gist, an experienced frontiersman, who knew well the +ways of the wilderness, and by four other persons, two of +them Indian traders. On November 14 the journey was resumed. +Hardships now surrounded the little party of adventurers. +Miles of rough mountain had to be climbed; streams, swollen +to their limits, to be crossed; unbroken and interminable +forests to be traversed. Day after day they pressed onward, +through difficulties that would have deterred all but the +hardiest and most vigorous of men. In ten days they had +accomplished an important section of their journey, and +reached those forks of the Ohio which were afterwards to +attain such celebrity both in war and peace,--as the site of +Fort Duquesne and of the subsequent city of Pittsburgh. + +Twenty miles farther on the Indian settlement of Logstown +was reached. Here Washington called the Indian chiefs +together in conference. The leading chief was known as +Tanacharison (Half-King), an Indian patriot, who had been +much disturbed by the French and English incursions. He had +been to the French forts. What he had said to their +commanders is curious, and worthy of being quoted: + +"Fathers, I am come to tell you your own speeches; what your +own mouths have declared. Fathers, you in former days set a +silver basin before us, wherein was the leg of a beaver, and +desired all the nations to come and eat of it,--to eat in +peace and plenty, and not to be churlish to one another; and +that, if any person should be found to be a disturber, I +here lay down by the edge of the dish a rod, which you must +scourge them with; and if your father should get foolish in +my old days, I desire you may use it upon me as well as +others. Now, fathers, it is you who are the disturbers in +this land, by coming and building your towns, and taking it +away unknown to us, and by force.... + +"Fathers, I desire you may hear me in civilness; if not, we +must handle that rod which was laid down for the use of the +obstreperous.... Fathers, both you and the English are +white; we live in a country between; therefore, the land +belongs to neither one nor the other. The Great Being above +allowed it to be a place of residence for us; so, fathers, I +desire you to withdraw, as I have done our brothers the +English: for I will keep you at arms' length. I lay this +down as a trial for both, to see which will have the +greatest regard for it, and that side we will stand by, and +make equal sharers with us. Our brothers, the English, have +heard this, and I now come to tell it to you; for I am not +afraid to discharge you off this land." + +The poor Half-King was to find that he had undertaken a task +like that of discharging the wolves out of the sheep-cote. +The French heard his protest with contempt, and went on +building their forts. He thereupon turned to the English, +whom he, in the simplicity of his heart, imagined had no +purpose save that of peaceful trade. His "fathers" had +contemned him; to his "brothers" he turned in amity. + +Washington told his purposes to his dusky auditors. He had +come to warn the French intruders off the Indian lands. He +desired a guide to conduct him to the French fort, one +hundred and twenty miles distant. His statement pleased the +Indians. Their English "brothers" were in sympathy with +them. They would help them to recover their lands. The +generosity of their white brothers must have seemed highly +meritorious to the simple savages. They had yet to learn +that the French and the English were the two millstones, and +they and their lands the corn to be ground between. + +The Half-King, with two other chiefs (Jeskakake and White +Thunder by name), volunteered to guide the whites. A hunter +of noted skill also joined them. Once more the expedition +set out. The journey was a terrible one. Winter had set in; +rain and snow fell almost unceasingly; the forest was next +to impassable; great were their toils, severe their +hardships. On December 5 they reached the French outpost at +Venango (now Franklin), where French Creek joins the +Alleghany. Here they were met by Captain Joncaire, the +French commandant, with a promising show of civility. +Secretly, however, the astute Frenchman sought to rob +Washington of his Indians. Fortunately, the aborigines knew +the French too well to be cajoled, and were ready to +accompany Washington when he set out on his remaining +journey. Their route now led up French Creek to Fort Le +Boeuf, on the head-waters of that stream. This they reached +on the 12th, after a wearisome experience of frontier +travel. Forty-one days had passed since Washington left +Williamsburg. + +The commandant here was M. de St. Pierre, an elderly man, of +courteous manners, a knight of the order of St. Louis. He +received Washington cordially, treated him with every +hospitality while in the fort, did everything except to +comply with Governor Dinwiddie's order to leave the works. + +Washington's instruction were conveyed in a letter from the +governor of Virginia, which asserted that the lands of the +Ohio and its tributaries belonged to England, declared that +the French movements were encroachments, asked by whose +authority an armed force had crossed the lakes, and demanded +their speedy departure from English territory. + +St. Pierre's reply was given in a sealed letter. It declared +that he was a soldier, his duty being to obey orders, not to +discuss treaties. He was there under instructions from the +governor of Canada, here he meant to stay. Such was the +purport of the communication. The tone was courteous, but in +it was no shadow of turning. + +While the Frenchman was using the pen, Washington was using +his eyes. He went away with an accurate mental picture of +the fort, its form, size, construction, location, and the +details of its armament. His men counted the canoes in the +river. The fort lay about fifteen miles south of Lake Erie. +A plan of it, drawn by Washington, was sent to England. + +At the time fixed for their return, Washington found the +snow falling so fast that he decided to make his journey to +Venango by canoe, the horses, which they had used in the +outward journey, being forwarded through the forest with +their baggage. St. Pierre was civil to the last. He was as +hospitable as polite. The canoe was plentifully stocked with +provisions and liquors. But secretly artifices were +practised to lure away the Indians. The Half-King was a man +whose friendship was worth bidding for. Promises were made, +present were given, the Indians were offered every advantage +of friendship and trade. + +But the Half-King was not to be placated by fine words. He +knew the French. Delay was occasioned, however, of which +Washington complained, and hinted at the cause. + +"You are certainly mistaken, Major Washington," declared the +polite Frenchman. "Nothing of the kind has come to my +knowledge. I really cannot tell why the Indians delay. They +are naturally inclined to procrastinate, you know. +Certainly, everything shall be done on my part to get you +off in good time." + +Finally, the Indians proving immovable in their decision, +the party got off. The journey before them was no pleasure +one, even with the advantage of a water-route, and a canoe +as a vehicle of travel. Rocks and drifting trees obstructed +the channel. Here were shallows; there, dangerous currents. +The passage was slow and wearisome, and not without its +perils. + +"Many times," says Washington, "all hands were obliged to +get out, and remain in the water half an hour or more in +getting over the shoals. At one place the ice had lodged and +made it impassable by water, and we were obliged to carry +our canoe across a neck of land a quarter of a mile over." + +In six days they reached Venango, having journeyed one +hundred and thirty miles by the course of the stream. The +horses had preceded them, but had reached the fort in so +pitiable a condition as to render them hardly fit to carry +the baggage and provisions. Washington, Mr. Gist, and Mr. +Vanbraam, the French interpreter, clad in Indian walking +costume, proceeded on foot, the horses following with their +drivers. After three days' journey the poor animals had +become so feeble, the snow so deep, the cold so severe, that +Washington and Gist determined to push forward alone, +leaving Mr. Vanbraam as leader of the remainder of the +party. + +Gun in hand, and knapsack--containing his food and +papers--on back, the intrepid explorer pushed forward with +his companion, who was similarly equipped. Leaving the path +they had been following, they struck into a straight trail +through the woods, purposing to reach the Alleghany a few +miles above the Ohio. + +The journey proved an adventurous one. They met an Indian, +who agreed to go with them and show them the nearest way. +Ten or twelve miles were traversed, at the end of which +Washington grew very foot-sore and weary. The Indian had +carried his knapsack, and now wished to relieve him of his +gun. This Washington refused, whereupon the savage grew +surly. He pressed them to keep on, however, saying that +there were Ottawa Indians in the forest, who might discover +and scalp them if they lay out at night. By going on they +would reach his cabin and be safe. + +They advanced several miles farther. Then the Indian, who +had fallen behind them, suddenly stopped. On looking back +they perceived that he had raised his gun, and was aiming at +them. The next instant the piece was discharged. + +"Are you shot?" cried Washington. + +"No," answered Gist. + +"After this fellow, then." + +The Indian had run to the shelter of a large white oak, +behind which he was loading as fast as possible. The others +were quickly upon him, Gist with his gun at his shoulder. + +"Do not shoot," said Washington. "We had best not kill the +man, but we must take care of him." + +The savage was permitted to finish his loading, even to +putting in a ball, but his companions took good heed to give +him no further opportunity to play the traitor. At a little +run which they soon reached they bade the Indian to make a +fire, on pretence that they would sleep there. They had no +such intention, however. + +"As you will not have him killed," said Gist, "we must get +him away, and then we must travel all night." + +Gist turned to the Indian. "I suppose you were lost, and +fired your gun," he said, with a transparent affectation of +innocence. + +"I know the way to my cabin," replied the Indian "It is not +far away." + +"Well, then, do you go home. We are tired, but will follow +your track in the morning. Here is a cake of bread for you, +and you must give us meat in the morning." + +The savage was glad enough to get away. Gist followed and +listened, that he might not steal back on them. Then they +went half a mile farther, where they made a fire, set their +compass, and, after a short period of rest, took to the +route again and travelled all night. + +The next night they reached the Alleghany. Here they were +destined to experience a dangerous adventure. They had +expected to cross on the ice, but the river proved to be +frozen only for a short distance from the shores. That night +they slept with the snow for a bed, their blankets for a +covering. When dawn appeared the same dubious prospect +confronted them. The current of the river still swept past, +loaded with broken ice. + +"There is nothing for it but a raft," said Washington. "And +we have but one hatchet to aid us in making it. Let us to +work." + +To work they fell, but it was sunset before the raft was +completed. Not caring to spend another night where they +were, they launched the raft and pushed from shore. It +proved a perilous journey. Before the stream was half +crossed they were so jammed in the floating ice that it +seemed every moment as if their frail support would sink, +and they perish in the swift current. Washington tried with +his setting-pole to stop the raft and let the ice run by. +His effort ended unfortunately. Such was the strength of the +current that the ice was driven against the pole with a +violence that swept him from his feet and hurled him into +water ten feet deep. Only that chance which seems the work +of destiny saved him. He fell near enough to the raft to +seize one of its logs, and after a sharp scramble was up +again, though dripping with icy water. They continued their +efforts, but failed to reach either shore, and in the end +they were obliged to spring from their weak support to an +island, past which the current was sweeping the raft. + +The escape was almost like the proverbial one "from the +frying-pan to the fire." The island was destitute of +shelter. As the night advanced the air grew colder, and the +adventurers suffered severely. Mr. Gist had his hands and +feet frozen,--a disaster which Washington, despite his +wetting, fortunately escaped. The morning dawned at length. +Hope returned to their hearts. The cold of the night had +done one service, it had frozen the water between the island +and the eastern bank of the stream. The ice bore their +weight. They crossed in safety, and the same day reached a +trading-post, recently formed, near the ground subsequently +to be celebrated as that of Braddock's defeat. + +Here they rested two or three days, Gist recovering from the +effects of his freezing, Washington improving the +opportunity to pay a visit to Queen Aliquippa, an Indian +princess, whose palace--if we may venture to call it so--was +near by. The royal lady had been angry that he had neglected +her on his way out. This visit, an apology, and a present +healed her wounded feelings, and disposed her to a gracious +reception. + +Nothing could be learned of Vanbraam and the remainder of +the party. Washington could not wait for them. He hurried +forward with Gist, crossed the Alleghanies to Will's Creek, +and, leaving his companion there, hastened onward to +Williamsburg, anxious to put his despatches in Governor +Dinwiddie's hands. He reached there on January 16, having +been absent eleven weeks, during which he had traversed a +distance of eleven hundred miles. + +What followed is matter of common history. Dinwiddie was +incensed at St. Pierre's letter. The French had come to +stay; that was plain. If the English wanted a footing in the +land they must be on the alert. A party was quickly sent to +the Ohio forks to build a fort, Washington having suggested +this as a suitable plan. But hardly was this fort begun +before it was captured by the French, who hastened to erect +one for themselves on the spot. + +Washington, advancing with a supporting force, met a French +detachment in the woods, which he attacked and defeated. It +was the opening contest of the French and Indian War. + +As for Fort Duquesne, which the French had built, it gave +rise to the most disastrous event of the war, the defeat of +General Braddock and his army, on their march to capture it. +It continued in French hands till near the end of the war, +its final capture by Washington being nearly the closing +event in the contest which wrested from the hands of the +French all their possessions on the American continent. + + + + +SOME ADVENTURES OF MAJOR PUTNAM. + + +The vicinity of the mountain-girdled, island-dotted, +tourist-inviting Lake George has perhaps been the scene of +more of the romance of war than any other locality that +could be named. Fort Ticonderoga, on the ridge between that +beautiful sheet of water and Lake Champlain, is a point +vital with stirring memories, among which the striking +exploit of Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain boys is of +imperishable interest. Fort William Henry, at the lower end +of Lake George, is memorable as the locality of one of the +most nerve-shaking examples of Indian treachery and +barbarity, a scene which Cooper's fruitful pen has brought +well within the kingdom of romance. The history of the whole +vicinity, in short, is laden with picturesque incident, and +the details of fact never approached those of romantic +fiction more closely than in the annals of this interesting +region. + +Israel Putnam, best known to us as one of the most daring +heroes of the Revolution, began here his career, in the +French and Indian War, as scout and ranger, and of no +American frontiersman can a more exciting series of +adventures be told. Some of these adventures it is our +purpose here to give. + +After the Fort William Henry massacre, the American forces +were concentrated in Fort Edward, on the head-waters of the +Hudson; Putnam, with his corps of Rangers, occupying an +outpost station, on a small island near the fort. Fearing a +hostile visit from the victorious French, the commander, +General Lyman, made all haste to strengthen his defences, +sending a party of a hundred and fifty men into the +neighboring forest to cut timber for that purpose. Captain +Little, with fifty British regulars, was deputized to +protect these men at their labors. This supporting party was +posted on a narrow ridge leading to the fort, with a morass +on one side, a creek on the other, and the forest in front. + +One morning, at daybreak, a sentinel who stood on the edge +of the morass, overlooking the dense thicket which filled +its depths, was surprised at what seemed to him, in the hazy +light, a flight of strange birds coming from the leafy +hollow. One after another of these winged objects passed +over his head. After he had observed them a moment or two, +he saw one of them strike a neighboring tree, and cling +quivering to its trunk. A glance was enough for the drowsy +sentinel. He was suddenly wide awake, and his musket and +voice rang instant alarm, for the bird which he had seen was +a winged Indian arrow. He had been made a target for +ambushed savages, eager to pick him off without alarming the +party which he guarded. + +A large force of Indians had crept into the morass during +the night, with the hope of cutting off the laborers and the +party of support. The sentinel's alarm shot unmasked them. +Whooping like discovered fiends, they flew from their +covert upon the unarmed laborers, shot and tomahawked those +within reach, and sent the others in panic flight to the +fort. Captain Little and his band flew to the rescue, and +checked the pursuit of the savages by hasty volleys, but +soon found themselves so pressed by superior numbers that +the whole party was in danger of being surrounded and slain. + +In this extremity Captain Little sent a messenger to General +Lyman, imploring instant aid. He failed to obtain it. The +over-cautious commander, filled with the idea that the whole +French and Indian army was at hand, drew in his outposts +with nervous haste, shut the gates of the fort, and left the +little band to its fate. + +Fortunately, the volleys of musketry had reached the ears of +Major Putnam, on his island outpost. Immediately afterwards +his scouts brought him word that Captain Little was +surrounded by Indians, and in imminent danger of +destruction. Without an instant's hesitation the brave +Putnam plunged into the water, shouting to his men to follow +him, and waded to the shore. This reached, they dashed +hastily towards the scene of the contest. Their route led +them past the walls of the fort, on whose parapets stood the +alarmed commander. + +"Halt!" cried General Lyman. "Come into the fort. The enemy +is in overwhelming force. We can spare no more men." + +To these words, or similar ones, spoken by General Lyman, +Putnam returned a vague reply, intended for an apology, but +having more the tone of a defiance. Discipline and military +authority must stand aside when brave men were struggling +with ruthless savages. Without waiting to hear the general's +response to his apology, the gallant partisan dashed on, and +in a minute or two more had joined the party of regulars, +who were holding their ground with difficulty. + +"On them!" cried Putnam. "They will shoot us down here! +Forward! We must rout them out from their ambush!" + +His words found a responsive echo in every heart. With loud +shouts the whole party charged impetuously into the morass, +and in a minute were face to face with the concealed +savages. This sudden onslaught threw the Indians into a +panic. They broke and fled in every direction, hotly pursued +by their revengeful foes, numbers of them being killed in +the flight. The chase was not given up until it had extended +miles into the forest. + +Triumphantly then the victors returned to the fort, Putnam +alone among them expecting reprimand. He had never before +disobeyed the orders of his superior. He well knew the +rigidity of military discipline and its necessity. Possibly +General Lyman might not be content with a simple reprimand, +but might order a court-martial. Putnam entered the fort, +not fully at ease in his mind. + +As it proved, he had no occasion for anxiety. The general +recognized that alarm had led him too far. He welcomed the +whole party with hearty commendation, and chose quite to +forget the fact that Major Putnam was guilty of a flagrant +disregard of orders, in view of the fact, of more immediate +importance to himself, that his daring subaltern had saved +him from public reprobation for exposing a brave party to +destruction. + +It was not long after this scene that Putnam took the +leading part in another memorable affair, in which his +promptitude, energy, and decision have become historical. +The barracks within the fort took fire. Twelve feet from +them stood the magazine, containing three hundred barrels of +powder. The fort and its defenders were in imminent danger +of being blown to atoms. Putnam, who still occupied his +island outpost, saw the smoke and flames rising, and +hastened with all speed to the fort. When he reached there +the barracks appeared to be doomed, and the flames were +rapidly approaching the magazine. As for the garrison, it +was almost in a state of panic, and next to nothing was +being done to avert the danger. + +A glance was sufficient for the prompt and energetic mind of +the daring ranger. In a minute's time he had organized a +line of soldiers, leading through a postern-gate to the +river, and each one bearing a bucket. The energetic major +mounted a ladder, received the water as it came, and poured +it into the flaming building. The heat was intense, the +smoke suffocating; so near were the flames that a pair of +thick mittens were quickly burned from his hands. Calling +for another pair, he dipped them into the water and +continued his work. + +"Come down!" cried Colonel Haviland. "It is too dangerous +there. We must try other means." + +"There are no means but to fight the enemy inch by inch," +replied Putnam. "A moment's yielding on our part may prove +fatal." + +His cool trepidity gave new courage to the colonel, who +exclaimed, as he urged the others to renewed exertions,-- + +"If we must be blown up, we will all go together." + +Despite Putnam's heroic efforts, the flames spread. Soon the +whole barracks were enveloped, and lurid tongues of fire +began to shoot out alarmingly towards the magazine. Putnam +now descended, took his station between the two buildings, +and continued his active service, his energy and audacity +giving new life and activity to officers and men. The +outside planks of the magazine caught. They were consumed. +Only a thin timber partition remained between the flames and +fifteen tons of powder. This, too, was charred and smoking. +Destruction seemed inevitable. The consternation was +extreme. + +But there, in the scorching heat of the flames, covered with +falling cinders, threatened with instant death, stood the +undaunted Putnam, still pouring water on the smoking +timbers, still calling to the men to keep steadily to their +work. And thus he continued till the rafters of the barracks +fell in, the heat decreased, and the safety of the magazine +was insured. + +For an hour and a half he had fought the flames. His hands, +face, almost his whole body, were scorched and blistered. +When he pulled off his second pair of mittens the skin came +with them. Several weeks passed before he recovered from the +effects of his hard battle with fire. But he had the reward +of success, and the earnest thanks and kind attentions of +officers and men alike, who felt that to him alone they owed +the safety of the fort, and the escape of many, if not all, +of the garrison from destruction. + +Among Putnam's many adventures, there are two others which +have often been told, but are worthy of repetition. On one +occasion he was surprised by a large party of Indians, when +with a few men in a boat at the head of the rapids of the +Hudson, at Fort Miller. It was a frightfully perilous +situation. To stay where he was, was to be slaughtered; to +attempt crossing the stream would bring him under the Indian +fire; to go down the falls promised instant death. Which +expedient should he adopt? He chose the latter, preferring +to risk death from water rather than from tomahawk or +bullet. + +The boat was pushed from the shore and exposed to the full +force of the current. In a minute or two it had swept beyond +the range of the Indian weapons. But death seemed +inevitable. The water rushed on in foaming torrents, +whirling round rocks, sweeping over shelves, pouring down in +abrupt falls, shooting onward with the wildest fury. It +seemed as if only a miracle could save the voyagers. + +Yet with unyielding coolness Putnam grasped the helm; while +his keen eye scanned the peril ahead, his quick hand met +every danger as it came. Incessantly the course of the boat +was changed, to avoid the protruding rocks. Here it was +tossed on the billows, there it shot down inclined reaches, +now it seemed plunging into a boiling eddy, now it whirled +round a threatening obstacle; like a leaf in the tempest it +was borne onward, and at length, to the amazement of its +inmates themselves, and the astoundment of the Indians, it +floated safely on the smooth waters below, after a passage +of perils such as have rarely been dared. The savages gave +up the chase. A man who could safely run those rapids seemed +to them to bear a charmed life. + +[Illustration: SHORE OF LAKE GEORGE.] + +The other story mentioned is one indicative of Putnam's wit +and readiness. The army was now encamped in the forest, in a +locality to the eastward of Lake George. While here, the +Indians prowled through the woods around it, committing +depredations here and there, picking off sentinels, and +doing other mischief. They seemed to have impunity in this +work, and defied the utmost efforts at discovery. One +outpost in particular was the seat of a dread mystery. Night +after night the sentinel at this post disappeared, and was +not heard of again. Some of the bravest men of the army were +selected to occupy the post, with orders, if they should +hear any noise, to call out "Who goes there?" three times, +and if no answer came, to fire. Yet the mysterious +disappearances continued, until the men refused to accept +so dangerous a post. The commander was about to draw a +sentinel by lot, when Major Putnam solved the difficulty by +offering to stand guard for the coming night. The puzzled +commander promptly accepted his offer, instructing him, as +he had done the others,-- + +"If you hear any sound from without the lines, you will call +'Who goes there?' three times, and then, if no answer be +given, fire." + +Putnam promised to obey, and marched to his post. Here he +examined the surrounding locality with the utmost care, +fixed in his mind the position of every point in the +neighborhood, saw that his musket was in good order, and +began his monotonous tramp, backward and forward. + +For several hours all remained silent, save for the ordinary +noises of the woodland. At length, near midnight, a slight +rustling sound met his keen ears. He listened intently. Some +animal appeared to be stealthily approaching. Then there +came a crackling sound, as of a hog munching acorns. +Putnam's previous observation of the locality enabled him to +judge very closely the position of this creature, and he was +too familiar with Indian artifices, and too sensible of the +danger of his position, to let even a hog pass unchallenged. +Raising his musket to his shoulder, and taking deliberate +aim at the spot indicated, he called out, in strict +obedience to orders, "Who goes there? three times," and +instantly pulled the trigger. + +A loud groaning and struggling noise followed. Putnam +quickly reloaded and ran forward to the spot. Here he found +what seemed a large bear, struggling in the agony of death. +But a moment's observation showed the wide-awake sentinel +that the seeming bear was really a gigantic Indian, enclosed +in a bear-skin, in which, disguised, he had been able to +approach and shoot the preceding sentinels. Putnam had +solved the mystery of the solitary post. The sentinels on +that outpost ceased, from that moment, to be disturbed. + +Numerous other adventures of Major Putnam, and encounters +with the Indians and the French rangers, might be recounted, +but we must content ourselves with the narrative of one +which ended in the captivity of our hero, and his very +narrow escape from death in more than one form. As an +illustration of the barbarity of Indian warfare it cannot +but prove of interest. + +It was the month of August, 1758. A train of baggage-wagons +had been cut off by the enemy's rangers. Majors Putnam and +Rogers, with eight hundred men, were despatched to intercept +the foe, retake the spoils, and punish them for their +daring. The effort proved fruitless. The enemy had taken to +their canoes and escaped before their pursuers could +overtake them. + +Failing in this expedition, they camped out on Wood Creek +and South Bay, with the hope of cutting off some straggling +party of the enemy. Here they were discovered by French +scouts, and, having reason to fear an attack in force, it +was deemed most prudent to return to head-quarters at Fort +Edward. + +The route proved difficult. It lay through dense forest, +impeded by fallen trees and thick undergrowth. They were +obliged to advance in Indian file, cutting a path as they +went. When night came they encamped on the bank of Clear +River. The next morning, while the others were preparing to +resume the march, Major Rogers, with a foolhardy imprudence +that was little less than criminal in their situation, +amused himself by a trial of skill with a British officer in +firing at a mark. + +The result was almost fatal. Molang, the celebrated French +partisan, had hastily left Ticonderoga with five hundred +men, on hearing of the presence of this scouting party of +provincials, and was now near at hand. The sound of the +muskets gave him exact information as to the position of +their camp. Hastening forward, he laid an ambuscade on the +line of march of his foes, and awaited their approach. + +Onward through the thicket came the unsuspecting +provincials. They had advanced a mile, and were on the point +of emerging from the dense growth into the more open forest, +when yells broke from the bushes on both sides of their +path, and a shower of bullets was poured into the advance +ranks. + +Putnam, who led the van, quickly bade his men to return the +fire, and passed the word back for the other divisions to +hasten up. The fight soon became a hand-to-hand one. The +creek was close by, but it could not be crossed in the face +of the enemy, and Putnam bade his men to hold their ground. +A sharp fight ensued, now in the open, now from behind +trees, in Indian fashion. Putnam had discharged his piece +several times, and once more pulled trigger, with the muzzle +against the breast of a powerful Indian. His piece missed +fire. Instantly the warrior dashed forward, tomahawk in +hand, and by threat of death compelled his antagonist to +surrender. Putnam was immediately disarmed and bound to a +tree, and his captor returned to the fight. + +The battle continued, one party after the other being forced +back. In the end, the movements of the struggling foes were +such as to bring the tree to which Putnam was bound directly +between their lines. He was like a target for both parties. +Balls flew past him from either side. Many of them struck +the tree, while his coat was pierced by more than one +bullet. So obstinate was the contest that for an hour the +battle raged about him, his peril continuing extreme. Nor +was this his only danger. During the heat of the conflict a +young Indian hurled a tomahawk several times at his head, +out of mischief more than malice, but with such skilful aim +that the keen weapon more than once grazed his skin and +buried its edge in the tree beside his head. With still +greater malice, a French officer of low grade levelled his +musket at the prisoner's breast and attempted to discharge +it. Fortunately for Putnam it missed fire. The prisoner +vainly solicited more merciful treatment. The heartless +villain thrust the muzzle of his gun violently against the +captive's ribs, and in the end gave him a painful blow on +the jaw with the butt-end of his piece. + +The battle ended at length in the triumph of the +provincials. They drove the French from the field. But they +failed to rescue Putnam. Before retiring, the Indian who had +made him captive untied him, and forced him to accompany the +retreating party. When a safe distance had been reached, the +prisoner was deprived of his coat, vest, shoes, and +stockings, his shoulders were loaded with the packs of the +wounded, and his wrists were tied behind him as tightly as +they could be drawn. In this painful condition he was forced +to walk for miles through the woodland paths, until the +party halted to rest. + +By this time his hands were so swollen from the tightness of +the cord that the pain was unbearable, while his feet bled +freely from their many scratches. Exhausted with his burden +and wild with torment, he asked the interpreter to beg the +Indians either to loose his hands or knock him on the head, +and end his torture at once. His appeal was heard by a +French officer, who immediately order his hands to be +unbound and some of his burden to be removed. Shortly +afterwards the Indian who had captured him, and who had been +absent with the wounded, came up and expressed great +indignation at his treatment. He gave him a pair of +moccasins, and seemed kindly disposed towards him. + +Unfortunately for the captive, this kindly savage was +obliged to resume his duty with the wounded, leaving Putnam +with the other Indians, some two hundred in number, who +marched in advance of the French contingent of the party +towards the selected camping-place. On the way their +barbarity to their helpless prisoner continued, culminating +in a blow with a tomahawk, which made a deep wound in his +left cheek. + +This cruel treatment was but preliminary to a more fatal +purpose. It was their intention to burn their captive alive. +No sooner had they reached their camping-ground than they +led him into the forest depths, stripped him of his clothes, +bound him to a tree, and heaped dry fuel in a circle round +him. While thus engaged they filled the air with the most +fearful sounds to which their throats could give vent, a +pandemonium of ear-piercing yells and screams. The pile +prepared, it was set on fire. The flames spread rapidly +through the dry brush. But by a chance that seemed +providential, at that moment a sudden shower sent its +rain-drops through the foliage, extinguished the increasing +fire, and dampened the fuel. + +No sooner was the rain over than the yelling savages applied +their torches again to the funeral pile of their living +victim. The dampness checked their efforts for a time, but +at length the flames caught, and a crimson glow slowly made +its way round the circle of fuel. The captive soon felt the +scorching heat. He was tied in such a way that he could move +his body, and he involuntarily shifted his position to +escape the pain,--an evidence of nervousness that afforded +the highest delight to his tormentors, who expressed their +exultation in yells, dances, and wild gesticulations. The +last hour of the brave soldier seemed at hand. He strove to +bring resolution to his aid, and to fix his thoughts on a +happier state of existence beyond this earth, the +contemplation of which might aid him to bear without +flinching, a short period of excruciating pain. + +At this critical moment, when death in its most horrid form +stared him in the face, relief came. A French officer, who +had been told of what was in progress, suddenly bounded +through the savage band, kicked the blazing brands to right +and left, and with a stroke of his knife released the +imperilled captive. It was Molang himself. An Indian who +retained some instincts of humanity had informed him of what +was on foot. The French commander reprimanded his barbarian +associates severely, and led the prisoner away, keeping him +by his side until he was able to transfer him to the care of +the gigantic Indian who had captured him. + +This savage seemed to regard him with feelings of kindness. +He offered him some biscuits, but finding that the wound in +his cheek and the blow he had received on the jaw prevented +him from chewing, he soaked them in water till they could be +swallowed easily. Yet, despite his kindness, he took +extraordinary care that his prisoner should not escape. When +the camp was made, he forced the captive to lie on the +ground, stretched each arm at full length, and bound it to a +young tree, and fastened his legs in the same manner. Then a +number of long and slender poles were cut and laid across +his body from head to foot, on the ends of which lay several +of the Indians. + +Under such circumstances escape could not even be thought +of, nor was a moment's comfort possible. The night seemed +infinitely extended, the only relief that came to the +prisoner, as he himself relates, being the reflection of +what a ludicrous subject the group, of which he was the +central figure, would have made for a painter. + +The next day he was given a blanket and moccasins, and +allowed to march without being loaded with packs. A little +bear's meat was furnished him, whose juice he was able to +suck. At night the party reached Ticonderoga, where he was +placed in charge of a French guard, and his sufferings came +to an end. The savages manifested their chagrin at his +escape by insulting grimaces and threatening gestures, but +were not allowed to offer him any further indignity or +violence. After an examination by the Marquis de Montcalm, +who was in command at Ticonderoga, he was sent to Montreal, +under charge of a French officer, who treated him in a +humane manner. + +Major Putnam was a frightful object on reaching Montreal, +the little clothing allowed him being miserably dirty and +ragged, his beard and hair dishevelled, his legs torn by +thorns and briers, his face gashed, blood-stained, and +swollen. Colonel Schuyler, a prisoner there, beheld his +plight with deep commiseration, supplied him with clothing +and money, and did his utmost to alleviate his condition. + +When shortly afterwards an exchange of prisoners was being +made, in which Colonel Schuyler was to be included, he, +fearing that Putnam would be indefinitely held should his +importance as a partisan leader become known, used a skilful +artifice to obtain his release. Speaking to the governor +with great politeness and seeming indifference of purpose, +he remarked,-- + +"There is an old man here who is a provincial major. He is +very desirous to be at home with his wife and children. He +can do no good here, nor anywhere else. I believe your +excellency had better keep some of the young men, who have +no wives or children to care for, and let this old fellow go +home with me." + +His artifice was effective. Putnam was released, and left +Montreal in company with his generous friend. He took +further part in the war, at the end of which, at the Indian +village of Cochuawaga, near Montreal, he met again the +Indian whose prisoner he had been. The kindly savage was +delighted to see him again, and entertained him with all the +friendship and hospitality at his command. At a later date, +when Putnam took part in the Pontiac war, he met again this +old chief, who was now an ally of the English, and who +marched side by side with his former prisoner to do battle +with the ancient enemies of his tribe. + + + + +A GALLANT DEFENCE. + + +The relations between the Indians and the European colonists +of America were, during nearly the whole colonial and much +of the subsequent period, what we now suggestively entitle +"strained." There were incessant aggressions of the +colonists, incessant reprisals by the aborigines, while the +warring whites of America never hesitated to use these +savage auxiliaries in their struggles for territory and +power. The history of this country is filled with details of +Indian assaults on forts and settlements, ambushes, +massacres, torturings, and acts of duplicity and ferocity +innumerable. Yet every instance of Indian hostility has +ended in the triumph of the whites, the advance of the army +of colonization a step further, and the gradual subjugation +of American savagery, animate and inanimate, to the +beneficent influences of civilization. + +These Indian doings are frequently sickening in their +details. The story of America cannot be told without them. +Yet they are of one family, and largely of one species, and +an example or two will serve for the whole. In our next tale +the story of an Indian assault on the Daniel Boone +stronghold in Kentucky will be told. We purpose now to give +the interesting details of an attack on Fort Henry, a small +frontier work near where Wheeling now stands. + +This attack was the work of Simon Girty, one of the most +detestable characters that the drama of American history +ever brought upon the stage. He was the offspring of crime, +his parents being irredeemably besotted and vicious. Of +their four sons, two, who were taken prisoner by the Indian +at Braddock's defeat, developed into monsters of wickedness. +James was adopted by the Delawares, and became the fiercest +savage of the tribe. Simon grew into a great hunter among +the Senecas,--unfortunately a hunter of helpless human +beings as much as of game,--and for twenty years his name +was a terror in every white household of the Ohio country. +He is spoken of as honest. It was his one virtue, the sole +redeeming leaven in a life of vice, savagery, and cruelty. + +[Illustration: INDIAN ATTACK AND GALLANT DEFENCE.] + +In the summer of 1777 this evil product of frontier life +collected a force of four hundred Indians for an assault on +the white. His place of rendezvous was Sandusky; his +ostensible purpose to cross the Ohio and attack the Kentucky +frontier settlements. On reaching the river, however, he +suddenly turned up its course, and made all haste towards +Fort Henry, then garrisoned by Colonel Sheppard, with about +forty men. + +The movements of Girty were known, and alarm as to their +purpose was widely felt. Sheppard had his scouts out, but +the shrewd renegade managed to deceive them, and to appear +before Fort Henry almost unannounced. Happily, the coming of +this storm of savagery was discovered in time enough to +permit the inhabitants of Wheeling, then composed of some +twenty-five log huts, to fly for refuge to the fort. + +A reconnoitring party had been sent out under Captain Mason. +These were ambushed by the cunning leader of the Indians, +and more than half of them fell victims to the rifle and the +tomahawk. Their perilous position being perceived, a party +of twelve more, under Captain Ogle, sallied to their rescue. +They found themselves overwhelmingly outnumbered, and eight +of the twelve fell. These untowards events frightfully +reduced the garrison. Of the original forty only twelve +remained, some of them little more than boys. Within the +fort were this little garrison and the women and children of +the settlement. Outside raged four hundred savage warriors, +under a skilful commander. It seemed absolute madness to +attempt a defence. Yet Colonel Sheppard was not one of the +men who lightly surrender. Death by the rifle was, in his +view, better than death at the stake. With him were two men, +Ebenezer and Silas Zane, of his own calibre, while the whole +garrison was made up of hearts of oak. + +As for the women in the fort, though they were of little use +in the fight, they could lend their aid in casting bullets, +making cartridges, and loading rifles. Among them was one, +Elizabeth Zane, sister of the two men named, who was to +perform a far more important service. She had just returned +from school in Philadelphia, knew little of the horrors of +border warfare, but had in her the same indomitable spirit +that distinguished her brothers. A woman she was of heroic +mould, as the events will prove. + +It was in the early morning of September 26 that Girty +appeared before the fort. A brief period sufficed, in the +manner related, to reduce the garrison to a mere handful. +Sure now of success, Girty advanced towards the palisades +with a white flag, and demanded an unconditional surrender. + +Colonel Sheppard was ready with his answer. He had already +felt the pulse of his men, and found that it beat with the +same high spirit as his own. He mounted upon the ramparts, +stern and inflexible, and hurled back his reply,-- + +"This fort shall never be surrendered to _you_, nor to any +other man, while there is an American left to defend it." + +"Are you mad, man?" cried Girty. "Do you know our force? Do +you know your own? Resistance is folly." + +"I know _you_, Simon Girty. That is enough to know. You have +my answer." + +In a rage, Girty hurled back a volley of dark threats, then +turned away, and ordered an instant attack. Unluckily for +the garrison, some of the deserted log-huts were +sufficiently near to shelter the Indians, and enable them to +assault the fort under cover. They swarmed into these +houses, and for six hours kept up an incessant fire on the +works, wasting their bullets, as it proved, for none of them +did harm to fort or man. As for the defenders, they had no +ammunition to waste. But most of them were sharp-shooters, +and they took good care that every bullet should tell. +Nearly every report from behind the walls told a story of +wound or death. As good fortune willed, the savages had no +artillery, and were little disposed to hazard their dusky +skins in an assault in force on the well-defended walls. + +At midday the attack temporarily ceased. The Indians +withdrew to the base of Wheeling Hill, and the uproar of +yells and musketry was replaced by a short season of quiet. +It was a fortunate reprieve for the whites. Their powder was +almost exhausted. Had the assault continued for an hour +longer their rifles must have ceased to reply. + +What was to be done? The Indians had withdrawn only for rest +and food. They would soon be at their threatening work +again. Answer to them could not long be continued. When the +fire from the fort ceased all would be over. The exultant +savages would swarm over the undefended walls, and torture +and outrage be the lot of all who were not fortunate enough +to die in the assault. + +Ebenezer Zane looked wistfully at his house, sixty yards +away. + +"There is a keg of powder within those walls," he said. "If +we only had it here it might mean the difference between +safety and death." + +"A keg of powder!" cried Colonel Sheppard. "We must have it, +whatever the danger!" He looked out. The Indians were within +easy gunshot. Whoever went for the powder ran the most +imminent risk of death. The appearance of a man outside the +gates would be the signal for a fierce fusillade. "But we +must have it," he repeated. "And we can spare but one man +for the task. Who shall it be? I cannot _order_ any one to +such a duty. What man is ready to _volunteer_?" + +Every man, apparently; they all thronged forward, each eager +for the perilous effort. They struggled, indeed, so long for +the honor that there was danger of the Indians returning to +the assault before the powder was obtained. + +At this interval a woman stepped forward. It was Elizabeth +Zane. The fire of a noble purpose shone on her earnest face. + +"But one man can be spared to go, you say, Colonel +Sheppard," she remarked. "In my opinion no man can be spared +to go. Let me go for the powder. My life is of much less +importance to the garrison than that of a man." + +Colonel Sheppard looked at her with eyes of admiration, and +then peremptorily refused her request. This was work for +men, he said, not for women. She should not sacrifice +herself. + +It was every one's duty to do their share, she replied. All +were alike in danger. The walls were not half manned. If she +fell, the gap would be small; if a man fell, it would be +large. + +So earnest were her solicitations, and so potent her +arguments, that Colonel Sheppard finally yielded a reluctant +consent. It was given none too soon. There was little time +to spare. The gate was opened and the brave woman walked +fearlessly out. + +She had not gone a step beyond the shelter of the fort +before the Indians perceived her. Yet the suddenness of her +appearance seemed to paralyze them. They stood and watched +her movements, as she walked swiftly but steadily over the +space leading to her brothers' house, but not a gun was +lifted nor a voice was raised. So far the expedient of +sending a woman had proved unexpectedly successful. The +savages gazed at her in blank amazement, wondering at her +purpose. + +She entered the house. An anxious minute or two passed. The +Indians still had not stirred. The eyes of the garrison were +fixed with feverish anxiety on the door of that small hut. +Then they were relieved by the reappearance of the devoted +girl, now clasping the precious keg of powder in her arms. + +It was no time now to walk. As rapidly as she could run, +with the weight in her arms, she sped over the open space. +Speed was needed. The Indians had suddenly come to a +realizing sense of the woman's purpose, and a volley of +bullets swept the space over which she fled. + +Not one touched her. In a minute she had reached the fort. A +shout of enthusiastic welcome went up. As the gate closed +behind her, and she let fall the valuable prize from her +unnerved arms, every hand was stretched to grasp hers, and a +chorus of praise and congratulation filled the air. + +"We have a heroine among us; we will all be heroes, and +conquer or die," was the universal thought. + +It was a true one; Elizabeth Zane's was one of those rare +souls which seem sent on earth to make man proud of his +race. + +At half-past two the assailants returned to the attack, +availing themselves, as before, of the cover of the huts. +After a period spent in musketry, they made an assault in +force on the gate of the fort. They were met by the +concentrated fire of the garrison. Six of them fell. The +others fled back to their shelter. + +Until dark the fusillade continued. After darkness had +fallen the assailants tried a new device. Lacking artillery, +they attempted to convert a hollow maple log into a cannon. +They bound this as firmly as possible with chains, then, +with a ludicrous ignorance of what they were about, they +loaded it to its muzzle with stones, pieces of iron, and +other missiles. This done, they conveyed the impromptu +cannon to a point within sixty yards of the fort, and +attempted to discharge it against the gates. + +The result was what might have been anticipated. The log +burst into a thousand pieces, and sent splinters and +projectiles hurtling among the curious crowd of dusky +warriors. Several of them were killed, others were wounded, +but the gates remained unharmed. This was more than the +savages had counted on, and they ceased the assault for the +night, no little discouraged by their lack of success. + +Meanwhile tidings of what Girty and his horde were about had +spread through the settlements, and relief parties were +hastily formed. At four o'clock in the morning fourteen men +arrived, under command of Colonel Swearingen, and fought +their way into the fort without losing a man. At dawn a +party of forty mounted men made their appearance, Major +McCullough at their head. The men managed to enter the fort +in safety, but the gallant major, being unluckily separated +from his band, was left alone outside. + +His was a terribly critical situation. Fortunately, the +Indians knew him for one of their most daring and skillful +enemies, and hated him intensely. Fortunately, we say, for +to that he owed his life. They could easily have killed him, +but not a man of them would fire. Such a foeman must not die +so easily; he must end his life in flame and torture. Such +was their unspoken argument, and they dashed after him with +yells of exultation, satisfied that they had one of their +chief foes safely in their hands. + +It seemed so, indeed. The major was well mounted, but the +swift Indian runners managed to surround him on three sides, +and force him towards the river bluffs, from which escape +seemed impossible. + +With redoubled shouts they closed in upon him. The major, +somewhat ignorant of the situation, pushed onward till he +suddenly found himself on the brow of a precipice which +descended at an almost vertical inclination for a hundred +and fifty feet. Here was a frightful dilemma. To right and +left the Indian runners could be seen, their lines extending +to the verge of the cliff. What was to be done? surrender +to the Indians, attempt to dash through their line, or leap +the cliff? Each way promised death. But death by fall was +preferable to death by torture. And a forlorn hope of life +remained. The horse was a powerful one, and might make the +descent in safety. Gathering his reins tightly in his right +hand, while his left grasped his rifle, McCullough spurred +the noble animal forward, and in an instant was over the +brow of the cliff, and falling rather than dashing down its +steep declivity. + +By unlooked-for good fortune the foot of the bluff was +reached in safety. Into the creek dashed horse and man, and +in a minute or two the daring fugitive was across and safe +from his savage pursuers. + +The Indians returned disappointed to the vicinity of the +fort. Here they found that their leader had decided on +abandoning the assault. The reinforcements received, and the +probability that others were on the way, discouraged the +renegade, and Girty led his horde of savages away, first +doing all the harm in his power by burning the houses of the +settlement, and killing about three hundred cattle belonging +to the settlers. + +The defence of Fort Henry was one of the most striking for +the courage displayed, and the success of the defenders, of +the many gallant contests with the Indian foe of that age of +stirring deeds. Aside from those killed in ambush, not a man +of the garrison had lost his life. Of the assailants, from +sixty to one hundred fell. Simon Girty and his Indians had +received a lesson they would not soon forget. + + + + +DANIEL BOONE, THE PIONEER OF KENTUCKY. + + +The region of Kentucky, that "dark and bloody ground" of +Indian warfare, lay long unknown to the whites. No Indians +even dwelt there, though it was a land of marvellous beauty +and wonderful fertility. For its forests and plains so +abounded with game that it was used by various tribes as a +hunting-ground, and here the savage warriors so often met in +hostile array, and waged such deadly war, that not the most +daring of them ventured to make it their home. And the name +which they gave it was destined to retain its sombre +significance for the whites, when they should invade the +perilous Kentuckian wilds, and build their habitations in +this land of dread. + +In 1767 John Finley, a courageous Indian trader, pushed far +into its depths, and returned with thrilling stories of his +adventures and tempting descriptions of the beauty and +fertility of the land. These he told to Daniel Boone, an +adventure-loving Pennsylvanian, who had made his way to +North Carolina, and built himself a home in the virgin +forest at the head-waters of the Yadkin. Here, with his +wife, his rifle, and his growing family, he enjoyed his +frontier life with the greatest zest, until the increasing +numbers of new settlers and the alluring narrative of +Finley induced him to leave his home and seek again the +untrodden wilds. + +On the 1st of May, 1769, Finley, Boone, and three others +struck boldly into the broad backbone of mountain-land which +lay between their old home and the new land of promise. They +set out on their dangerous journey amid the tears of their +families, who deemed that destruction awaited them, and +vainly besought them to abandon the enterprise. Forward, for +days and weeks, pushed the hardy pioneers, their rifles +providing them with game, their eyes on the alert against +savages, until, after what seemed months of toil, the +mountains were passed and the fertile plains and extended +forests of Kentucky lay before them. + +"We found everywhere" says Boone, "abundance of wild beasts +of all sorts, through this vast forest. The buffalo were +more frequent than I have seen cattle in the settlements, +browsing on the leaves of the cane, or cropping the herbage +of these extensive plains, fearless, because ignorant of the +violence of man. In this forest, the habitation of beasts of +every kind natural to America, we practised hunting with +great success until the 22d day of December following." + +On that day Boone and another were taken prisoner by a party +of Indians. Seven days they were held, uncertain as to their +fate, but at length, by a skilful artifice, they escaped and +made their way back to their camp, only to find it deserted, +those whom they had left there having returned to North +Carolina. Other adventurers soon joined them, however, +Boone's brother among them, and the remainder of the winter +was passed in safety. + +As regards the immediately succeeding events, it will +suffice to say that Squire Boone, as Daniel's brother was +called, returned to the settlements in the spring for +supplies, the others having gone before, so that the daring +hunter was left alone in that vast wilderness. Even his dog +had deserted him, and the absolute solitude of nature +surrounded him. + +The movements we have described had not passed unknown to +the Indians, and only the most extraordinary caution saved +the solitary hunter from his dusky foes. He changed his camp +every night, never sleeping twice in the same place. Often +he found that it had been visited by Indians in his absence. +Once a party of savages pursued him for many miles, until, +by speed and skill, he threw them from his trail. Many and +perilous were his adventures during his three months of +lonely life in the woods and canebrakes of that fear-haunted +land. Prowling wolves troubled him by night, prowling +savages by day, yet fear never entered his bold heart, and +cheerfulness never fled from his mind. He was the true +pioneer, despising peril and proof against loneliness. At +length his brother joined him, with horses and supplies, and +the two adventurers passed another winter in the wilderness. + +Several efforts were made in the ensuing years to people the +country, but numbers of the settlers were slain by the +Indians, whose hostility made the task so perilous that a +permanent settlement was not made till 1775. The place then +settled--a fine location on the Kentucky River--was called, +in honor of its founder, Boonesborough. Here a small fort +was built, to which the adventurer now brought his family, +being determined to make it his place of abode, despite his +dusky foes. "My wife and daughter," he says, "were the first +white women that ever stood on the banks of Kentucky River." + +It was a dangerous step they had taken. The savages, furious +at this invasion of their hunting-grounds, were ever on the +alert against their pale-faced foes. In the following spring +Boone's daughter, with two other girls, who had +thoughtlessly left the fort to gather flowers, were seized +by ambushed Indians and hurried away into the forest depths. + +Their loss was soon learned, and the distracted parents, +with seven companions, were quickly in pursuit through the +far-reaching forest. For two days, with the skill of trained +scouts, they followed the trail which the girls, true +hunters' daughters, managed to mark by shreds of their +clothing which they tore off and dropped by the way. + +The rapid pursuers at length came within sight of the camp +of the Indians. Here they waited till darkness descended, +approaching as closely as was safe. The two fathers, Boone +and Calloway, now volunteered to attempt a rescue under +cover of the night, and crept, with the acumen of practised +frontiersmen, towards the Indian halting-place. Unluckily +for them they were discovered and captured by the Indians, +who dragged them exultingly to their camp. Here a council +was quickly held, and the captives condemned to suffer the +dreadful fate of savage reprisal,--death by torture and +flame. + +Morning had but fairly dawned when speedy preparations were +made by the savages for their deadly work. They had no time +to waste, for they knew not how many pursuers might be on +their trail. The captives were securely bound to trees, +before the eyes of their distracted daughters, and fagots +hastily gathered for the fell purpose of their foes. + +But while they were thus busied, the companions of Boone and +Calloway had not been idle. Troubled by the non-return of +the rescuers, the woodsmen crept up with the first dawn of +day, saw the bloody work designed, and poured in a sudden +storm of bullets on the savages, several of whom were +stretched bleeding upon the ground. Then, with shouts of +exultation, the ambushed whites burst from their covert, +dashed into the camp before the savages could wreak their +vengeance on their prisoners, and with renewed rifle-shots +sent them away in panic flight. A knife-stroke or two +released the captives, and the party returned in triumph to +the fort. + +The example of Boone and his companions in making their +homes on Kentucky soil was soon followed by others, and +within a year or two a number of settlements had been made, +at various promising localities. The Indians did not view +with equanimity this invasion of their hunting-grounds. +Their old battles with each other were now replaced by +persistent hostility to the whites, and they lurked +everywhere around the feeble settlements, seizing +stragglers, destroying cattle, and in every way annoying the +daring pioneers. + +In April, 1777, a party of a hundred of them fiercely +attacked Boonesborough, but were driven off by the rifles of +the settlers. In July they came again, now doubled in +numbers, and for two days assailed the fort, but with the +same ill-success as before. Similar attacks were made on the +other settlements, and a state of almost incessant warfare +prevailed, in which Boone showed such valor and activity +that he became the terror of his savage foes, who, in +compliment to his daring, christened him "The Great +Long-Knife." On one occasion when two Indian warriors +assailed him in the woods he manoeuvred so skilfully as to +draw the fire of both, and then slew the pair of them, the +one with his rifle, the other, in hand-to-hand fight, with +his deadly hunting-knife. + +But the bold pioneer was destined soon to pass through an +experience such as few men have safely endured. It was now +February, 1778. For three years the settlers had defied +their foes, Boone, in despite of them, hesitating not to +traverse the forest alone, with rifle and hunting-knife, in +pursuit of game. In one of these perilous excursions he +suddenly found himself surrounded by a party of a hundred +Shawnese warriors, who were on their way to attack his own +fort. He fled, but was overtaken and secured. Soon after, +the savages fell in with a large party of whites who were +making salt at the Salt Lick springs, and captured them all, +twenty-seven in number. + +Exulting in their success, the warriors gave up their +original project, and hastened northward with their +prisoners. Fortunately for the latter, the Revolutionary War +was now in full progress, and the Indians deemed it more +advantageous to themselves to sell their prisoners than to +torture them. They, therefore, took them to Detroit, where +all were ransomed by the British except Boone. The governor +offered a large sum for his release, but the savages would +not listen to the bribe. They knew the value of the man they +held, and were determined that their illustrious captive +should not escape again to give them trouble in field and +forest. + +Leaving Detroit, they took him to Chillicothe, on the Little +Miami River, the chief town of the tribe. Here a grand +council was held as to what should be done with him. Boone's +fate trembled in the balance. The stake seemed his destined +doom. Fortunately, an old woman, of the family of Blackfish, +one of their most distinguished chiefs, having lost a son in +battle, claimed the captive as her adopted son. Such a claim +could not be set aside. It was a legal right in the tribe, +and the chiefs could not but yield. They were proud, indeed, +to have such a mighty hunter as one of themselves, and the +man for whose blood they had been hungering was now treated +with the utmost kindness and respect. + +The ceremony of adoption into the tribe was a painful one, +which Boone had to endure. Part of it consisted in plucking +out all the hairs of his head with the exception of the +scalp-lock, of three or four inches diameter. But the shrewd +captive bore his inflictions with equanimity, and appeared +perfectly contented with his lot. The new son of the tribe, +with his scalp-lock, painted face, and Indian dress, and his +skin deeply embrowned by constant exposure to the air, could +hardly be distinguished from one of themselves, while his +seeming satisfaction with his new life was well adapted to +throw the Indians off their guard. His skill in all manly +exercises and in the use of arms was particularly admired by +his new associates, though, as Boone says, he "was careful +not to exceed many of them in shooting, for no people are +more envious than they in this sport." + +His wary captors, however, were not easily to be deceived. +Seemingly, Boone was left free to go where he would, but +secretly he was watched, and precautions taken to prevent +his escape. He was permitted to go out alone to hunt, but +the Indians always carefully counted his balls and measured +his charges of powder, determined that he should have none +to aid him to procure food in a long flight. Shrewd as they +were, however, Boone was more than their match. In his +hunting expeditions he cut his balls in half, and used very +small charges of powder, so that he was enabled to bring +back game while gradually secreting a store of ammunition. + +And thus the days and weeks went on, while Daniel Boone +remained, to all outward appearance, a contented Shawnee +warrior. But at length came a time when flight grew +imperative. He had been taken to the salt-licks with a party +of Indians to aid them in making salt. On returning to +Chillicothe he was alarmed to see the former peaceful aspect +of the village changed to one of threatened war. A band of +four hundred and fifty warriors had been collected for a +hostile foray, and to his horror he learned that +Boonesborough was the destined point of attack. + +In this fort were his wife and children. In the present +state of security of the inmates they might easily be taken +by surprise. He alone could warn them of their danger, and +to this end he must escape from his watchful foes. + +Boone was not the man to let the anxiety that tore his heart +appear on his face. To all seeming he was careless and +indifferent, looking on with smiling face at their +war-dances, and hesitating not to give them advice in +warlike matters. He knew their language sufficiently to +understand all they said, but from the moment of his +captivity had pretended to be entirely ignorant of it, +talking to them only in the jargon which then formed the +medium of communication between the red men and the whites, +and listening with impassive countenance to the most +fear-inspiring plans. They, therefore, talked freely before +him, not for a moment dreaming that their astute prisoner +had solved the problem of their destination. As for Boone, +he appeared to enter with whole-souled ardor into their +project and to be as eager as themselves for its success, +seeming so fully in sympathy with them, and so content with +his lot, that they absorbed in their enterprise, became less +vigilant than usual in watching his movements. + +The time for the expedition was at hand. Whatever the +result, he must dare the peril of flight. The distance to be +traversed was one hundred and sixty miles. As soon as his +flight should become known, he was well aware that a host of +Indian scouts, thoroughly prepared for pursuit and full of +revengeful fury, would be on his track. And there would be +no further safety for him if captured. Death, by the most +cruel tortures the infuriated savages could devise, was sure +to be his fate. + +All this Boone knew, but it did not shake his resolute soul. +His family and friends were in deadly peril; he alone could +save them; his own danger was not to be thought of in this +emergency. On the morning of June 16 he rose very early for +his usual hunt. Taking the ammunition doled out to him by +his Indian guards, he added to it that which he had secreted +in the woods, and was ready for the desperate enterprise +which he designed. + +Boone was now forty-three years of age, a man of giant frame +and iron muscles, possessed of great powers of endurance, a +master of all the arts of woodcraft, and one of the most +skilful riflemen in the Western wilds. Keen on the trail, +swift of foot, and valorous in action as were the Indian +braves, there was no warrior of the tribe the equal in +these particulars of the practised hunter who now meditated +flight. + +On the selected morning the daring woodsman did not waste a +moment. No sooner had he lost sight of the village than he +headed southward at his utmost speed. He could count on but +an hour or two to gain a start on his wary foes. He well +knew that when the hour of his usual return had passed +without his appearance, a host of scouts would follow in +swift pursuit. Such was the case, as he afterwards learned. +No sooner had the Indians discovered the fact of his flight +than an intense commotion reigned among them, and a large +number of their swiftest runners and best hunters were put +upon his trail. + +By this time, however, he had gained a considerable start, +and was pushing forward with all speed taking the usual +precautions as he went to avoid making a plain trail, but +losing no time in his flight. He dared not use his +rifle,--quick ears might be within hearing of its sound. He +dared not kindle a fire to cook game, even if he had killed +it,--sharp eyes might be within sight of its smoke. He had +secured a few cuts of dried venison, and with this as his +only food he pushed on by day and night, hardly taking time +to sleep, making his way through forest and swamp, and +across many streams which were swollen by recent rains. And +on his track, like blood-hounds on the scent of their +victims, came the furious pursuers now losing his trail, +now recovering it; and, as they went, spreading out over a +wide space, and pushing steadily southward over the general +route which they felt sure he would pursue. + +At length the weary fugitive reached the banks of the Ohio +River. As yet he had not seen a foe. As yet he had not fired +a gun. He must put that great stream, now swollen to a +half-mile in width by the late rains, between him and his +foes ere he could dare for a moment to relax his vigilance. + +Unluckily, expert as he was in woodcraft, Boone was a poor +swimmer. His skill in the water would never carry him across +that rushing stream. How to get across had for hours been to +him a matter of deep anxiety. Fortunately, on reaching its +banks, he found an old canoe, which had drifted among the +bushes of the shore, and stranded there, being full of water +from a large hole in its bottom. + +The skilled hunter was not long in emptying the canoe and +closing the hole. Then, improvising a paddle, he launched +his leaky craft upon the stream, and succeeded in reaching +the southern shore in safety. Now, for the first time, did +he feel sufficiently safe to fire a shot and to kindle a +fire. He brought down a wild turkey which, seasoned with +hunger, made him the most delicious repast he had ever +tasted. It was the only regular meal in which he indulged in +his flight. Safety was not yet assured. Some of his pursuers +might be already across the river. Onward he dashed, with +unflagging energy, and at length reached the fort, after +five days of incessant travel through the untrodden wilds. + +He was like a dead man returned to life. The people at the +fort looked at him with staring eyes. They had long given +him up for lost, and he learned, much to his grief, that his +wife and children had returned to their old home in North +Carolina. Just now, however, there was no time for sorrow, +and little time for greeting. The fort had been neglected, +and was in bad condition. The foe might even then be near at +hand. There was not a moment to spare. He put the men +energetically to work, and quickly had the neglected +defences repaired. Then determined to strike terror into the +foe, he led a party of men swiftly to and across the Ohio, +met a party of thirty savages near the Indian town of Paint +Creek, and attacked them so fiercely that they were put to +rout. + +This foray greatly alarmed the Indians. It put courage into +the hearts of the garrison. After an absence of seven days +and a journey of a hundred and fifty miles, Boone and his +little party returned, in fear lest the Chillicothe warriors +might reach the fort during his absence. + +It was not, however, until August that the Indians appeared. +They were four hundred and forty-four in number, led by +Captain Duquesne and other French officers, and with French +and British colors flying. There were but fifty men in the +fort. The situation seemed a desperate one, but under +Boone's command the settlers were resolute, and to the +summons to surrender, the daring commander returned the +bold reply, "We are determined to defend our fort while a +man of us lives." + +The next proposition of Duquesne was that nine of the +garrison should come out and treat with him. If they could +come to terms he would peacefully retire. The veteran +pioneer well knew what peril lurked in this specious +promise, and how little safety they would have in trusting +their Indian foes. But, moved by his bold heart and daring +love of adventure, he assented to the dangerous proposition, +though not without taking precautions for safety. He +selected nine of the strongest and most active of his men, +appointed the place of meeting in front of the fort, at one +hundred and twenty feet from the walls, and stationed the +riflemen of the garrison so as to cover the spot with their +guns, in case of treachery. + +These precautions taken, Boone led his party out, and was +met by Duquesne and his brother officers. The terms proposed +were liberal enough, but the astute frontiersman knew very +well that the Indians would never assent to them. As the +conference proceeded, the Indian chiefs drew near, and +Blackfish, Boone's adopted father, professed the utmost +friendship, and suggested that the treaty should be +concluded in the Indian manner, by shaking hands. + +The artifice was too shallow to deceive the silliest of the +garrison. It was Blackfish's purpose to have two savages +seize each of the whites, drag them away as prisoners, and +then by threats of torture compel their comrades to +surrender the fort. Boone, however, did not hesitate to +assent to the proposition. He wished to unmask his wily +foes. That done, he trusted to the strength of himself and +his fellows, and the bullets of his riflemen, to bring his +party in safety back to the fort. + +It proved as he expected. No sooner had they yielded their +hands to the Indians than a desperate attempt was made to +drag them away. The surrounding Indians rushed to the aid of +their fellows. From behind stumps and trees, a shower of +bullets was poured upon the fort. But the alert pioneers +were not taken by surprise. From the rifles of the garrison +bullets were poured back. Boone easily shook off his +assailant, and his companions did the same. Back to the fort +they fled, bullets pattering after them, while the keen +marksmen of the fort sent back their sharp response. In a +few seconds the imperilled nine were behind the heavy gates, +only one of their number, Boone's brother, being wounded. +They had escaped a peril from which, for the moment, rescue +seemed hopeless. + +Baffled in their treachery, the assailants now made a fierce +assault on the fort, upon which they kept up an incessant +fire for nine days and nights, giving the beleaguered +garrison scarcely a moment for rest. Hidden behind rocks and +trees, they poured in their bullets in a manner far more +brisk than effectual. The garrison but feebly responded to +this incessant fusillade, feeling it necessary to husband +their ammunition. But, unlike the fire of their foes, every +shot of theirs told. + +During this interval the assailants began to undermine the +fort, beginning their tunnel at the river-bank. But the clay +they threw out discolored the water and revealed their +project, and the garrison at once began to countermine, by +cutting a trench across the line of their projected passage. +The enemy, in their turn, discovered this and gave up the +attempt. Another of their efforts was to set fire to the +fort by means of flaming arrows. This proved temporarily +successful, the dry timbers of the roof bursting into +flames. But one of the young men of the fort daringly sprang +upon the roof, extinguished the fire, and returned unharmed, +although bullets had fallen like hailstones around him. + +At length, thoroughly discouraged, the enemy raised the +siege and departed, having succeeded only in killing two and +wounding four of the garrison, while their dead numbered +thirty-seven, and their wounded a large number. One of these +dead was a negro, who had deserted from the fort and joined +the Indians, and whom Boone brought down with a bullet from +the remarkable distance, for the rifles of that day, of five +hundred and twenty-five feet. After the enemy had gone there +were "picked up," says Boone, "one hundred and twenty-five +pounds' weight of bullets, besides what stuck in the logs of +the fort, which certainly is a great proof of their +industry," whatever may be said of their marksmanship. + +The remainder of Daniel Boone's life we can give but in +outline. After the repulse of the enemy he returned to the +Yadkin for his family, and brought them again to his chosen +land. He came back to find an Indian war raging along the +whole frontier, in which he was called to play an active +part, and on more than one occasion owed his life to his +strength, endurance, and sagacity. This warfare continued +for a number of years, the Indians being generally +successful, and large numbers of soldiers falling before +their savage onsets. At length the conduct of the war was +intrusted to "Mad Anthony" Wayne, whose skill, rapidity, and +decision soon brought it to an end, and forced the tribes to +conclude a treaty of peace. + +Thenceforward Kentucky was undisturbed by Indian forays, and +its settlement went forward with rapidity. The intrepid +Boone had by no means passed through the fire of war +unharmed. He tells us, "Two darling sons and a brother have +I lost by savage hands, which have also taken from me forty +valuable horses and abundance of cattle. Many dark and +sleepless nights have I been a companion for owls, separated +from the cheerful society of men, scorched by the summers' +sun, and pinched by the winter's cold, an instrument +ordained to settle the wilderness." + +One wilderness settled, the hardy veteran pined for more. +Population in Kentucky was getting far too thick for his +ideas of comfort. His spirit craved the solitude of the +unsettled forest, and in 1802 he again pulled up stakes and +plunged into the depths of the Western woods. "Too much +crowded," he declared; "too much crowded. I want more +elbow-room." + +His first abiding place was on the Great Kanawha, where he +remained for several years. Then, as the vanguard of the +army of immigrants pressed upon his chosen home, he struck +camp again, and started westward with wife and children, +driving his cattle before him, in search of a "promised +land" of few men and abundant game. He settled now beyond +the Mississippi, about fifty miles west of St. Louis. Here +he dwelt for years, hunting, trapping, and enjoying life in +his own wild way. + +Years went by, and once more the emigrant army pressed upon +the solitude-loving pioneer, but he was now too old for +further flight. Eighty years lay upon his frosted brow, yet +with little diminished activity he pursued his old mode of +life, being often absent from home for weeks on hunting +expeditions. Audubon, the famous ornithologist, met him in +one of these forays, and thus pictures him: "The stature and +general appearance of this wanderer of the Western forests," +he says, "approached the gigantic. His chest was broad and +prominent; his muscular powers displayed themselves in every +limb; his countenance gave indication of his great courage, +enterprise, and perseverance, and, whenever he spoke, the +very motion of his lips brought the impression that whatever +he uttered could not be otherwise than strictly true." + +Mr. Irving tells a similar story of him in his eighty-fifth +year. He was then visited by the Astor overland expedition +to the Columbia. "He had but recently returned from a +hunting and trapping expedition," says the historian, "and +had brought nearly sixty beaver skins as trophies of his +skill. The old man was still erect in form, strong in limb, +and unflinching in spirit; and as he stood on the river bank +watching the departure of an expedition destined to traverse +the wilderness to the very shores of the Pacific, very +probably felt a throb of his old pioneer spirit, impelling +him to shoulder his rifle and join the adventurous band." + +Seven years afterwards he joined another band, that of the +heroes who have gone to their rest. To his last year he +carried the rifle and sought the depths of the wood. At +last, in 1818, with no disease but old age, he laid down his +life, after a most adventurous career, in which he had won +himself imperishable fame as the most daring, skilful, and +successful of that pioneer band who have dared the perils of +the wilderness and surpassed the savage tenants of the +forest in their own chosen arts. + + + + +PAUL REVERE'S RIDE. + + +It was night at Boston, the birthnight of one of the leading +events in the history of the world. The weather was balmy +and clear. Most of the good citizens of the town were at +their homes; many of them doubtless in their beds; for early +hours were kept in those early days of our country's +history. Yet many were abroad, and from certain streets of +the town arose unwonted sounds, the steady tread of marching +feet, the occasional click of steel, the rattle of +accoutrements. Those who were within view of Boston Common +at a late hour of that evening of April 18, 1775, beheld an +unusual sight, that of serried ranks of armed men, who had +quietly marched thither from their quarters throughout the +town, as the starting-point for some secret and mysterious +expedition. + +At the same hour, in a shaded recess of the suburb of +Charlestown, stood a strongly-built and keen-eyed man, with +his hand on the bridle of an impatiently waiting horse, his +eyes fixed on a distant spire that rose like a shadow +through the gloom of the night. Paul Revere was the name of +this expectant patriot. He had just before crossed the +Charles River in a small boat, rowing needfully through the +darkness, for his route lay under the guns of a British +man-of-war, the "Somerset," on whose deck, doubtless were +watchful eyes on the lookout for midnight prowlers. +Fortunately, the dark shadows which lay upon the water hid +the solitary rower from view, and he reached the opposite +shore unobserved. Here a swift horse had been provided for +him, and he was bidden to be keenly on the alert, as a force +of mounted British officers were on the road which he might +soon have to take. + +[Illustration: THE OLD NORTH CHURCH, BOSTON.] + +And still the night moved on in its slow and silent course, +while slumber locked the eyes of most of the worthy people +of Boston town, and few of the patriots were afoot. But +among these was the ardent man who stood with his eyes +impatiently fixed on the lofty spire of the Old North +Church, and in the town itself others heedfully watched the +secret movements of the British troops. + +Suddenly a double gleam flashed from the far-off spire. Two +lighted candles had been placed in the belfry window of the +church, and their feeble glimmer sped swiftly through the +intervening air and fell upon the eyes of the expectant +messenger. No sooner had the light met his gaze than Paul +Revere, with a glad cry of relief, sprang to his saddle, +gave his uneasy horse the rein, and dashed away at a +swinging pace, the hoof-beats of his horse sounding like the +hammer-strokes of fate as he bore away on his vital errand. + +A minute or two brought him past Charlestown Neck. But not +many steps had he taken on his onward course before peril to +his enterprise suddenly confronted him. Two British officers +appeared in the road. + +"Who goes there? Halt!" was their stern command. + +Paul Revere looked at them. They were mounted and armed. +Should he attempt to dash past them? It was too risky and +his errand too important. But there was another road near +by, whose entrance he had just passed. With a quick jerk at +the rein he turned his horse, and in an instant was flying +back at racing speed. + +"Halt, or we will fire!" cried the officers, spurring their +horses to swift pursuit. + +Heedless of this command the bold rider drove headlong back, +his horse quickly proving his mettle by distancing those of +his pursuers. A few minutes brought him to the entrance to +the Medford Road. Into this he sharply wheeled, and was +quickly away again towards his distant goal. Meanwhile one +of the officers, finding himself distanced, turned his horse +into the fields lying between the two roads, with the +purpose of riding across and cutting off the flight of the +fugitive. He had not taken many steps, however, before he +found his horse floundering in a clay-pit, while Revere on +the opposite road shot past, with a ringing shout of triumph +as he went. + +Leaving him for the present to his journey, we must return +to the streets of Boston, and learn the secret of this +midnight ride. + +For several years previous to 1775 Boston had been in the +hands of British troops,--of a foreign foe, we may almost +say, for they treated it as though it were a captured town. +Many collisions had occurred between the troops and the +citizens, the rebellious feeling growing with every hour of +occupation, until now the spirit of rebellion, like a +contagious fever, had spread far beyond its point of origin, +and affected townsmen and farmers widely throughout the +colonies. In all New England hostility to British rule had +become rampant, minute-men (men pledged to spring to arms at +a minute's notice) were everywhere gathering and drilling, +and here and there depots of arms and ammunition had hastily +been formed. Peace still prevailed, but war was in the air. + +Boston itself aided in supplying these warlike stores. Under +the very eyes of the British guards cannon-balls and muskets +were carried out in carts, covered by loads of manure. +Market-women conveyed powder from the city in their +panniers, and candle-boxes served as secret receptacles for +cartridges. Depots of these munitions were made near Boston. +In the preceding February the troops had sought to seize one +of these at Salem, but were forced to halt at Salem bridge +by a strong body of the people, led by Colonel Pickering. +Finding themselves outnumbered, they turned and marched +back, no shot being fired and no harm done. + +Another depot of stores had now been made at Concord, about +nineteen miles away, and this General Gage had determined to +destroy, even if blood were shed in so doing. Rebellion, in +his opinion, was gaining too great a head; it must be put +down by the strong arm of force; the time for mild measures +was past. + +Yet he was not eager to rouse the colonists to hostility. It +was his purpose to surprise the patriots and capture the +stores before a party could be gathered to their defence. +This was the meaning of the stealthy midnight movement of +the troops. But the patriot leaders in Boston were too +watchful to be easily deceived; they had their means of +obtaining information, and the profound secret of the +British general was known to them before the evening had far +advanced. + +About nine o'clock Lord Percy, one of the British officers, +crossed the Common, and in doing so noticed a group of +persons in eager chat. He joined these, curious to learn the +subject of their conversation. The first words he heard +filled him with alarm. + +"The British troops will miss their aim," said a garrulous +talker. + +"What aim?" asked Percy. + +"The cannon at Concord," was the reply. + +Percy, who was in Gage's confidence, hastened to the +head-quarters of the commanding general and informed him of +what he had overheard. Gage, startled to learn that his +guarded secret was already town's talk, at once set guards +on all the avenues leading from the town, with orders to +arrest every person who should attempt to leave, while the +squad of officers of whom we have spoken were sent forward +to patrol the roads. + +But the patriots were too keen-witted to be so easily +checked in their plans. Samuel Adams and John Hancock, the +patriot leaders, fearing arrest, had left town, and were +then at Lexington at the house of the Rev. Jonas Clarke. +Paul Revere had been sent to Charlestown by the patriotic +Dr. Warren, with orders to take to the road the moment the +signal lights in the belfry of the old North Church should +appear. These lights would indicate that the troops were on +the road. We have seen how promptly he obeyed, and how +narrowly he escaped capture by General Gages' guards. + +On he went, mile by mile, rattling down the Medford Road. At +every wayside house he stopped, knocked furiously at the +door, and, as the startled inmates came hastily to the +windows, shouted, "Up! up! the regulars are coming!" and +before his sleepy auditors could fairly grasp his meaning, +was away again. + +It was about midnight when the British troops left Boston, +on their supposed secret march. At a little after the same +hour the rattling sound of hoofs broke the quiet of the +dusky streets of Lexington, thirteen miles away. + +Around the house of the Rev. Mr. Clarke eight minute-men had +been stationed as a guard, to protect the patriot leaders +within. They started hastily to their feet as the messenger +rode up at headlong speed. + +"Rouse the house!" cried Revere. + +"That we will not," answered the guards. "Orders have been +given not to disturb the people within by noise." + +"Noise!" exclaimed Revere; "you'll have noise enough before +long; the regulars are coming!" + +At these startling tidings the guards suffered him to +approach and knock at the door. The next minute a window was +thrown up and Mr. Clarke looked out. + +"Who is there?" he demanded. + +"I wish to see Mr. Hancock," was the reply. + +"I cannot admit strangers to my house at night without +knowing who they are." + +Another window opened as he spoke. It was that of John +Hancock, who had heard and recognized the messenger's voice. +He knew him well. + +"Come in, Revere," he cried; "we are not afraid of you." + +The door was opened and Revere admitted, to tell his +alarming tale, and bid the patriot leaders to flee from that +place of danger. His story was quickly confirmed, for +shortly afterwards another messenger, William Dawes by name, +rode up. He had left Boston at the same time as Revere, but +by a different route. Adams was by this time aroused and had +joined his friend, and the two patriot leaders, feeling +assured that their capture was one of the purposes of the +expedition, hastily prepared for retreat to safer quarters. +While they did so, Revere and Dawes, now joining company, +mounted again, and once more took to the road, on their +midnight mission of warning and alarm. + +Away they went again, with thunder of hoofs and rattle of +harness, while as they left the streets of Lexington behind +them a hasty stir succeeded the late silence of that quiet +village. From every house men rushed to learn the news; from +every window women's heads were thrust; some armed minute-men +began to gather, and by two o'clock a hundred and thirty of +these were gathered upon the meeting-house green. But no foe +appeared, and the air was chilly at this hour of the night, +so that, after the roll had been called, they were +dismissed, with orders to be ready to assemble at beat of +drum. + +Meanwhile, Revere and his companion had pushed on towards +Concord, six miles beyond. On the road they met Dr. Samuel +Prescott, a resident of that town, on his way home from a +visit to Lexington. The three rode on together, the +messengers telling their startling story to their new +companion. + +It was a fortunate meeting, as events fell out, for, as they +pushed onward, Paul Revere somewhat in advance, the group of +British officers of whom he had been told suddenly appeared +in the road before him. Before he could make a movement to +escape they were around him, and strong hands were upon his +shoulders. The gallant scout was a prisoner in British +hands. + +Dawes, who had been closely behind him, suffered the same +fate. Not so Prescott, who had been left a short distance +behind by the ardent messengers. He sprang over the +road-side wall before the officers could reach him, and +hastened away through the fields towards Concord, bearing +thither the story he had so opportunely learned. + +The officers had already in their custody three Lexington +men, who, in order to convey the news, had taken to the road +while Revere and Dawes were closeted with the patriot +leaders at Mr Clarke's. Riding back with their prisoners to +a house near by, they questioned them at point of pistol as +to their purpose. + +Revere at first gave evasive answers to their questions. But +at length, with a show of exultation, he said,-- + +"Gentlemen, you have missed your aim." + +"What aim?" they asked. + +"I came from Boston an hour after your troops left it," +answered Revere. "And if I had not known that messengers +were out in time enough to carry the news for fifty miles, +you would not have stopped me without a shot." + +The officers, startled by this confident assertion, +continued their questions; but now, from a distance, the +clang of a bell was heard. The Lexington men cried out at +this,-- + +"The bells are ringing! The towns are alarmed! You are all +dead men!" + +This assertion, which the sound of the bells appeared to +confirm, alarmed the officers. If the people should rise, +their position would be a dangerous one. They must make +their way back. But, as a measure of precaution, they took +Revere's horse and cut the girths and bridles of the others. +This done, they rode away at full speed, leaving their late +captives on foot in the road. But this the two messengers +little heeded, as they knew that their tidings had gone on +in safe hands. + +While all this was taking place, indeed, Prescott had +regained the road, and was pressing onward at speed. He +reached Concord about two o'clock in the morning, and +immediately gave the alarm. As quickly as possible the bells +were set ringing, and from all sides people, roused by the +midnight alarum, thronged towards the centre square. As soon +as the startling news was heard active measures were taken +to remove the stores. All the men, and a fair share of the +women, gave their aid, carrying ammunition, muskets, +cartridges, and other munitions hastily to the nearest +woods. Some of the cannon were buried in trenches, over +which a farmer rapidly ran his plough, to give it the aspect +of a newly-ploughed field. The militia gathered in all haste +from neighboring villages, and at early day a large body of +them were assembled, while the bulk of the precious stores +had vanished. + +[Illustration: THE SPIRIT OF '76.] + +Meanwhile, momentous events were taking place at Lexington. +The first shots of the American Revolution had been fired; +the first blood had been shed. It was about four o'clock +when the marching troops came within sight of the town. +Until now they had supposed that their secret was safe, and +that they would take the patriots off their guard. But the +sound of bells, clashing through the morning air, told a +different tale. In some way the people had been aroused. +Colonel Smith halted his men, sent a messenger to Boston for +re-enforcements, and ordered Major Pitcairn, with six +companies, to press on to Concord with all haste and secure +the bridges. + +News that the troops were at hand quickly reached Lexington. +The drums were beaten, the minute-men gathered, and as the +coming morning showed its first gray tinge in the east, it +gave light to a new spectacle on Lexington green, that of a +force of about a hundred armed militiamen facing five or six +times their number of scarlet-coated British troops. + +It was a critical moment. Neither party wished to fire. Both +knew well what the first shot involved. But the moment of +prudence did not last. Pitcairn galloped forward, sword in +hand, followed quickly by his men, and shouted in ringing +tones,-- + +"Disperse, you villains! Lay down your arms, you rebels, and +disperse!" + +The patriots did not obey. Not a man of them moved from his +ranks. Not a face blanched. Pitcairn galloped back and bade +his men surround the rebels in arms. At this instant some +shots came from the British line. They were instantly +answered from the American ranks. Pitcairn drew his pistol +and discharged it. + +"Fire!" he cried to his troops. + +Instantly a fusillade of musketry rang out upon the morning +air, four of the patriots fell dead, and the other, moved by +sudden panic, fled. As they retreated another volley was +fired, and more men fell. The others hid behind stone walls +and buildings and returned the fire, wounding three of the +soldiers and Pitcairn's horse. + +Such was the opening contest of the American Revolution. +Those shots were the signal of a tempest of war which was +destined to end in the establishment of one of the greatest +nations known to human history. As for the men who lay dead +upon Lexington green, the first victims of a great cause, +they would be amply revenged before their assailants set +foot again on Boston streets. + +The troops, elated with their temporary success, now pushed +on briskly towards Concord, hoping to be in time to seize +the stores. They reached there about seven o'clock, but only +to find that they were too late, and that most of the +material of war had disappeared. They did what damage they +could, knocked open about sixty barrels of flour which they +found, injured three cannon, threw some five hundred pounds +of balls into wells and the mill-pond, and set fire to the +court-house. A Mrs. Moulton put out the flames before they +had done much harm. + +The time taken in these exercises was destined to be fatal +to many of those indulging in them. Militia were now +gathering in haste from all the neighboring towns. The +Concord force had withdrawn for re-enforcements, but about +ten o'clock, being now some four hundred strong, the militia +advanced and attacked the enemy on guard at North Bridge. A +sharp contest ensued. Captain Isaac Davis and one of his men +fell dead. Three of the British were killed, and several +wounded and captured. The bridge was taken. + +Colonel Smith was in a quandary. Should he stand his ground, +or retreat before these despised provincials? Should veteran +British troops fly before countrymen who had never fired gun +before at anything larger than a rabbit? But these despised +countrymen were gathering in hordes. On every side they +could be seen hasting forward, musket or rifle in hand. +Prudence just then seemed the better part of valor. About +twelve o'clock Colonel Smith reluctantly gave the order to +retreat. + +It began as an orderly march; it ended as a disorderly +flight. The story of Lexington had already spread far and +wide and, full of revengeful fury, the minute-men hastened +to the scene. Reaching the line of retreat, they hid behind +houses, barns, and road-side walls, and poured a galling +fire upon the troops, some of whom at every moment fell +dead. During that dreadful six miles' march to Lexington, +the helpless troops ran the gantlet of the most destructive +storm of bullets they had ever encountered. On Lexington +battle-green several of them fell. It is doubtful if a man +of them would have reached Boston alive but for the cautious +demand for re-enforcements which Colonel Smith had sent back +in the early morning. + +Lord Percy, with about nine hundred men, left Boston about +nine o'clock in the morning of the 19th, and a short time +after two in the afternoon reached the vicinity of +Lexington. He was barely in time to rescue the exhausted +troops of Colonel Smith. So worn out were they with fatigue +that they were obliged to fling themselves on the ground for +rest, their tongues hanging from their mouths through +drought and weariness. + +Little time could be given them for rest. The woods swarmed +with militiamen, who scarcely could be kept back by the +hollow square and planted cannon of Lord Percy's troops. In +a short time the march was resumed. The troops had burned +several houses at Lexington, a vandalism which added to the +fury of the provincials. As they proceeded, the infuriated +soldiers committed other acts of atrocity, particularly in +West Cambridge, where houses were plundered and several +unoffending persons murdered. + +But for all this they paid dearly. The militia pursued them +almost to the very streets of Boston, pouring in a hot fire +at every available point. On nearing Charlestown the +situation of the British troops became critical, for their +ammunition was nearly exhausted, and a strong force was +marching upon them from several points. Fortunately for +them, they succeeded in reaching Charlestown before they +could be cut off, and here the pursuit ended as no longer +available. The British loss in killed, wounded, and missing +in that dreadful march had been nearly three hundred; that +of the Americans was about one hundred in all. + +It was a day mighty in history, the birthday of the +American Revolution; the opening event in the history of the +United States of America, which has since grown to so +enormous stature, and is perhaps destined to become the +greatest nation upon the face of the earth. That midnight +ride of Paul Revere was one of the turning-points in the +history of mankind. + + + + +THE GREEN MOUNTAIN BOYS. + + +Down from the green hills of Vermont came in all haste a +company of hardy mountaineers, at their head a large-framed, +strong-limbed, keen-eyed frontiersman, all dressed in the +homespun of their native hills, but all with rifles in their +hands, a weapon which none in the land knew better how to +use. The tidings of stirring events at Boston, spreading +rapidly through New England, had reached their ears. The +people of America had been attacked by English troops, blood +had been shed at Lexington and Concord, war was begun, a +struggle for independence was at hand. Everywhere the +colonists, fiery with indignation, were seizing their arms +and preparing to fight for their rights. The tocsin had +rung. It was time for all patriots to be up and alert. + +On the divide between Lakes George and Champlain stood a +famous fort, time-honored old Ticonderoga, which had played +so prominent a part in the French and Indian War. It was +feebly garrisoned by English troops, and was well supplied +with munitions of war. These munitions were, just then, of +more importance than men to the patriot cause. The instant +the news of Lexington reached the ears of the mountaineers +of Vermont, axes were dropped, ploughs abandoned, rifles +seized, and "Ticonderoga" was the cry. Ethan Allen, a leader +in the struggle which had for several years been maintained +between the settlers of that region and the colony of New +York, and a man of vigor and decision, lost no time in +calling his neighbors to arms, and the Green Mountain boys +were quickly in the field. + +[Illustration: ETHAN ALLEN'S ENTRANCE, TICONDEROGA.] + +Prompt as they had been, they were none too soon. Others of +the patriots had their eyes on the same tempting prize. +Other leaders were eagerly preparing to obtain commissions +and raise men for the expedition. One of the first of these +was Benedict Arnold, who had been made colonel for the +purpose by the governor of Massachusetts, and hastened to +the western part of the colony to raise men and take command +of the enterprise. + +He found men ready for the work, Green Mountain men, with +the stalwart Ethan Allen at their head, but men by no means +disposed to put themselves under any other commander than +the sturdy leader of their choice. + +Only a year or two before Allen, as their colonel, had led +these hardy mountaineers against the settlers from New York +who had attempted to seize their claims, and driven out the +interlopers at sword's point. The courts at Albany had +decided that the Green Mountain region was part of the +colony of New York. Against this decision Allen had stirred +the settlers to armed resistance, thundering out against the +fulminations of the lawyers the opposite quotation from +Scripture, "The Lord is the God of the hills, but He is not +the God of the valleys," and rousing the men of the hills +to fight what he affirmed to be God's battle for the right. +In 1774, Governor Tryon, of New York, offered a reward of +one hundred and fifty pounds for the capture of Allen. The +insurgent mountaineers retorted by offering an equal reward +for the capture of Governor Tryon. Neither reward had been +earned, a year more had elapsed, and Ethan Allen, at the +head of his Green Mountain boys, was in motion in a greater +cause, to defend, not Vermont against New York, but America +against England. + +But, before proceeding, we must go back and bring up events +to the point we have reached. The means for the expedition +of the Green Mountain boys came from Connecticut, whence a +sum of three hundred pounds had been sent in the hands of +trusty agents to Allen and his followers. They were found to +be more than ready, and the Connecticut agents started in +advance towards the fort, leaving the armed band to follow. +One of them, Noah Phelps by name, volunteered to enter the +fort and obtain exact information as to its condition. He +disguised himself and entered the fort as a countryman, +pretending that he wanted to be shaved. While hunting for +the barber he kept his eyes open and used his tongue freely, +asking questions like an innocent rustic, until he had +learned the exact condition of affairs, and came out with a +clean face and a full mind. + +Allen was now rapidly approaching, and, lest news of his +movement should reach the fort, men were sent out on all +the roads leading thither, to intercept passers. On the 8th +of May all was ready. Allen, with one hundred and forty men, +was to go to the lake by way of Shoreham, opposite the fort. +Thirty men, under Captain Herrick, were to advance to +Skenesborough, capture Major Skene, seize boats, and drop +down the lake to join Allen. + +All was in readiness for the completion of the work, when an +officer, attended by a single servant, came suddenly from +the woods and hurried to the camp. It was Benedict Arnold, +who had heard of what was afoot, and had hastened forward to +claim command of the mountaineers. + +It was near nightfall. The advance party of Allen's men was +at Hand's Cove, on the eastern side of the lake, preparing +to cross. Arnold joined them and crossed with them, but on +reaching the other side of the lake claimed the command. +Allen angrily refused. The debate waxed hot; Arnold had the +commission; Allen had the men: the best of the situation lay +with the latter. He was about to settle the difficulty by +ordering Arnold under guard, when one of his friends, +fearing danger to the enterprise from the controversy, +suggested that the two men should march side by side. This +compromise was accepted and the dispute ended. + +By this time day was about to break. Eighty-three men had +landed, and the boats had returned for the rest. But there +was evidently no time to lose if the fort was to be +surprised. They must move at once, without waiting for the +remainder of the party. A farmer's boy of the vicinity, who +was familiar with the fort, offered to act as guide, and in +a few minutes more the advance was begun, the two leaders at +the head, Allen in command, Arnold as a volunteer. + +The stockade was reached. A wicket stood open. Through this +Allen charged followed by his men. A sentry posted there +took aim, but his piece missed fire, and he ran back +shouting the alarm. At his heels came the two leaders, at +full speed, their men crowding after, till, before a man of +the garrison appeared, the fort was fairly won. + +Allen at once arranged his men so as to face each of the +barracks. It was so early that most of those within were +still asleep, and the fort was captured without the +commander becoming aware that any thing unusual was going +on. His whole command was less than fifty men, and +resistance would have been useless with double their number +of stalwart mountaineers on the parade-ground. + +Allen forced one of the sentries who had been captured to +show him the way to the quarters of Captain Delaplace, the +commander. Reaching the chamber of the latter, the militia +leader called on him in a stentorian voice to surrender. +Delaplace sprang out of bed, and, half dressed, appeared +with an alarmed and surprised face at the door. + +"By whose authority?" he demanded, not yet alive to the +situation. + +"In the name of the great Jehovah and the Continental +Congress!" roared out the Green Mountaineer. + +Here was a demand which backed as it was by a drawn sword +and the sound of shouts of triumph outside, it would have +been madness to resist. The fort was surrendered with +scarcely a shot fired or a blow exchanged, and its large +stores of cannon and ammunition, then sorely needed by the +colonists besieging Boston, fell into American hands. The +stores and military material captured included a hundred and +twenty pieces of cannon, with a considerable number of small +arms and other munitions of high value to the patriot cause. + +While these events were taking place, Colonel Seth Warner +was bringing the rear-guard across the lake, and was +immediately sent with a hundred men to take possession of +the fort at Crown Point, in which were only a sergeant and +twelve men. This was done without difficulty, and a hundred +more cannon captured. + +The dispute between Arnold and Allen was now renewed, +Massachusetts supporting the one, Connecticut the other. +While it was being settled, the two joined in an expedition +together, with the purpose of gaining full possession of +Lake Champlain, and seizing the town of St. Johns, at its +head. This failed, reinforcements having been sent from +Montreal, and the adventurers returned to Ticonderoga, +contenting themselves for the time being with their signal +success in that quarter, and the fame on which they counted +from their daring exploit. + +The after-career of Ethan Allen was an interesting one, and +worthy of being briefly sketched. Having taken Ticonderoga, +he grew warm with the desire to take Canada, and, on +September 25, 1775, made a rash assault on Montreal with an +inadequate body of men. The support he hoped for was not +forthcoming, and he and his little band were taken, Allen, +soon after, being sent in chains to England. + +Here he attracted much attention, his striking form, his +ardent patriotism, his defiance of the English, even in +captivity, and certain eccentricities of his manner and +character interesting some and angering others of those with +whom he had intercourse. + +Afterwards he was sent back to America and held prisoner at +Halifax and New York, in jails and prison-ships, being most +of the time harshly treated and kept heavily ironed. He was +released in 1778. + +A fellow-prisoner, Alexander Graydon, has left in his +memoirs a sketch of Allen, which gives us an excellent idea +of the man. "His figure was that of a robust, large-framed +man worn down by confinement and hard fare.... His style was +a singular compound of local barbarisms, scriptural phrases, +and Oriental wildness.... Notwithstanding that Allen might +have had something of the insubordinate, lawless, frontier +spirit in his composition, he appeared to me to be a man of +generosity and honor." + +Among the eccentricities of the man was a disbelief in +Christianity,--much more of an anomaly in that day than at +present,--and a belief in the transmigration of souls, it +being one of his fancies that, after death, his spiritual +part was to return to this world in the form of a large +white horse. + +On his release he did not join the army. Vermont had +declared itself an independent State in 1777, and sought +admittance to the Confederation. This New York opposed. +Allen took up the cause, visited Congress on the subject, +but found its members not inclined to offend the powerful +State of New York. There was danger of civil war in the +midst of the war for independence, and the English leaders, +seeing the state of affairs, tried to persuade Allen and the +other Green Mountain leaders to declare for the authority of +the king. They evidently did not know Ethan Allen. He was +far too sound a patriot to entertain for a moment such a +thought. The letters received by him he sent in 1782 to +Congress, and when the war ended Vermont was a part of the +Union, though not admitted as a State till 1791. Allen was +then dead, having been carried away suddenly by apoplexy in +1789. + + + + +THE BRITISH AT NEW YORK. + + +Before the days of dynamite and the other powerful +explosives which enable modern man to set at naught the most +rigid conditions of nature, warfare with the torpedo was +little thought of, gunpowder being a comparatively innocent +agent for this purpose. In the second period of the +Revolutionary War, when the British fleet had left Boston +and appeared in the harbor of New York, preparatory to an +attack on the latter city, the only methods devised by the +Americans for protection of the Hudson were sunken hulks in +the stream, _chevaux-de-frise_, composed of anchored logs, +and fire-ships prepared to float down on the foe. All these +proved of no avail. The current loosened the anchored logs, +so that they proved useless; the fire-ships did no damage; +and the batteries on shore were not able to hinder certain +ships of the enemy from running the gantlet of the city, and +ascending the Hudson to Tappan Sea, forty miles above. All +the service done by the fire-ships was to alarm the captains +of these bold cruisers, and induce them to run down the +river again, and rejoin the fleet at the Narrows. + +It was at this juncture that an interesting event took +place, the first instance on record of the use of a +torpedo-vessel in warfare. A Connecticut officer named +Bushnell, an ingenious mechanician, had invented during his +college-life an oddly-conceived machine for submarine +explosion, to which he gave the appropriate name of "The +American Turtle." He had the model with him in camp. A +report of the existence of this contrivance reached General +Putnam, then in command at New York. He sent for Bushnell, +talked the matter over with him, examined the model, and was +so pleased with it that he gave the inventor an order to +construct a working-machine, supplying funds for this +purpose. + +Bushnell lost no time. In ten days the machine was ready. It +was a peculiar-looking affair, justifying its name by its +resemblance to a large ocean-turtle. In the head, or front +portion, was an air-tight apartment, with a narrow entrance. +It was claimed to be capable of containing fresh air enough +to support life for half an hour. The bottom of the machine +was ballasted with lead. Motion was obtained from an oar, +adapted for rowing backward or forward, while a rudder under +control of the operator served for steering purposes. In the +bottom was a valved aperture, into which water could be +admitted when it was desired to sink the machine; while the +water could be ejected by two brass pumps when the operator +wished to rise again. + +The torpedo arrangement consisted of two pieces of oak +timber, hollowed out and filled with powder, the space +containing a clock-work arrangement that could be set to run +any time desired, and a contrivance for exploding the powder +when the time expired. This torpedo was fixed in the rear of +the vessel, and was provided with a strong screw, that +could be turned by the operator, so as to fasten it under +the bottom of a ship or in other desired location. So far as +appeared, the contrivance was not unpromising. It failed in +its purpose, but solely, if the word of the operator may be +taken, from the absence of an indispensable article of +supply. What this was will appear in the sequel. + +Captain Bushnell's brother had volunteered for the perilous +enterprise. A sudden sickness prevented him, and his place +was taken by a venturesome New London sergeant named Abijah +Shipman, or, as rechristened by his companions, "Long Bige." +He was an amphibious chap, half sailor, half soldier, long, +thin, and bony, and not wanting in Yankee humor. He had +courage enough to undertake any enterprise, if he could only +be primed with rum and tobacco, articles which he deemed the +leading necessaries of life. + +It was an early hour of a July morning. The sun had not +appeared on the eastern horizon. By a wharf-side on the +Hudson floated the strange marine monster whose powers were +about to be tested. On the shore stood Putnam and many other +officers. In their midst was Abijah Shipman, ready to start +on his dangerous enterprise. It was proposed to tow the +nondescript affair into the stream, set it adrift on the +tide, and trust to Abijah's skill to bring it under the +bottom of the "Eagle," Admiral Howe's flag-ship, which had +been chosen for the victim. If the magazine could be +attached to the bottom of this vessel, she must surely be +destroyed. But certainly the chances seemed greatly against +its being thus attached. + +Everything was ready. Abijah stepped on board his craft, +entered the air-tight chamber, closed the cover, and was +about to screw it down, when suddenly it flew open again, +and his head emerged. + +"Thunder and marlinspikes!" he exclaimed, "who's got a cud +of tobacco? This old cud won't last, anyhow." And he threw +away the worn-out lump on which he had been chewing. + +A laugh followed his appeal. Such of the officers as used +the weed felt hastily in their pockets. They were empty of +the indispensable article. There was no hope for Abijah; +daylight was at hand, time was precious, he must sail short +of supplies. + +"You see how it is, my brave fellow," said Putnam. "We +Continental officers are too poor to raise even a tobacco +plug. Push off. To-morrow, after you have sent the 'Eagle' +on its last flight, some of our Southern officers shall +order you a full keg of old Virginia weed." + +"It's too bad," muttered Abijah, dejectedly. "And mind you, +general, if the old 'Turtle' doesn't do her duty, it's all +'long of me goin' to sea without tobacco." + +Down went Abijah's head, the cover was tightly screwed into +place, and the machine was towed out into the channel and +cast loose. Away it floated towards the British fleet, which +lay well up in the Narrows. The officers made their way to +the Battery, where they waited in much suspense the result +of the enterprise. + +An hour slowly moved by. Morning broke. The rim of the sun +lifted over the distant waters. Yet the "Eagle" still rode +unharmed. Something surely had happened. The torpedo had +failed. Possibly the venturesome Abijah was reposing in his +stranded machine on the bottom of the bay. Putnam anxiously +swept the waters in the vicinity of the "Eagle" with his +glass. Suddenly he exclaimed, "There he is!" The top of the +"Turtle" had just emerged, in a little bay a short distance +to the left of Howe's flag-ship. + +It was seen as quickly by the sentinels on the "Eagle," who +fired at the strange aquatic monster with such good aim that +Abijah popped under the water as hastily as he had emerged +from it. On board the "Eagle" confusion evidently prevailed. +This strange contrivance had apparently filled the mariners +with alarm. There were signs of a hasty effort to get under +weigh, and wings were added to this haste when a violent +explosion took place in the immediate vicinity of the fleet, +hurling up great volumes of water into the air. The machine +had been set to run an hour, and had duly gone off at its +proper time, but, for some reason yet to be explained, not +under the "Eagle." The whole fleet was not long in getting +up its anchors, setting sail, and scurrying down the bay to +a safer abiding-place below. And here they lay until the day +of the battle of Long Island, not venturing again within +reach of that naval nondescript. + +As for the "Turtle," boats at once set out to Abijah's +relief and he was taken off in the vicinity of Governor's +Island. On landing and being questioned, he gave, in his own +odd way, the reasons of his failure. + +"Just as I said, gen'ral," he remarked "it all failed for +the want of that cud of tobacco. You see, I am narvous +without tobacco. I got under the 'Eagle's' bottom, but +somehow the screw struck the iron bar that passes from the +rudder pintle, and wouldn't hold on anyhow I could fix it. +Just then I let go the oar to feel for a cud, to steady my +narves, and I hadn't any. The tide swept me under her +counter, and away I slipped top o' water. I couldn't manage +to get back, so I pulled the lock and let the thunder-box +slide. That's what comes of sailin' short of supplies. Say, +can't you raise a cud among you _now_?" + +There is another interesting story to tell, in connection +with the British occupation of New York, which may be fitly +given here. The battle of Long Island had been fought. The +American forces had been safely withdrawn. Washington had +moved the main body of his army, with the bulk of the +stores, from the city, leaving General Putnam behind, in +command of the rear-guard. + +Putnam's position was a perilous one. The configuration of +Manhattan Island is such that the British could land a force +from the East River, throw it across the narrow width of the +island, and cut off retreat from below. The only trust lay +in the shore batteries, and they proved useless. + +A British landing was made at Kip's Bay, about three miles +above the city, where were works strong enough to have kept +off the enemy for a long time, had they been well defended. +As it was, the garrison fled in a panic, on the bare +appearance of the British transports. At the same time three +ships of war moved up the Hudson to Bloomingdale, and +attacked the works there. + +The flight of the Kip's Bay garrison left Putnam in the most +imminent peril. He had about three thousand men, and a +dangerous incumbrance of women, children, camp-followers, +and baggage. The weather was very hot, the roads were +narrow; everything tended to make the retreat difficult and +perilous. The instant he heard of the unlooked-for cowardice +of the Kip's Bay garrison and the landing of the enemy, he +put his men in motion, and strained every nerve to push them +past the point of danger before his channel of escape should +be closed. + +Safety seemed a forlorn hope. The British had landed in +force above him. A rapid march would quickly bring them to +the Hudson. The avenue of exit would be closed. The danger +of capture was extreme. It was averted by one of those +striking incidents of which so many give interest to the +history of war. In this case it was a woman whose coolness +and quick wit proved the salvation of Putnam's imperilled +army. + +Sir Henry Clinton, having fairly landed his men at Kip's +Bay, put them quickly into motion to cut off Putnam's +retreat. In his march for this object, his route lay along +the eastern side of Murray Hill, where was the residence of +Mrs. Murray, mother of Lindley Murray, the grammarian, and a +most worthy old Quaker lady. Putnam had sent her word, some +time before, of his perilous situation, begging her, if +possible, to detain General Clinton, by entertaining him and +his officers. If their march could be hindered for an hour +it would be an invaluable service. + +The patriotic old lady was quick to respond. Many of the +British officers knew her, and when she appeared, with a +welcoming smile, at her door, and cordially invited them to +step in and take a friendly glass of wine, the offer was too +tempting to be refused. Exhausted with the heat and with the +labor of disembarking, they were only too glad to halt their +columns for a short rest, and follow her into her +comfortable dining-room. Here Mrs. Murray and the ladies of +her family exerted themselves to entertain their guests. The +wine proved excellent. The society and conversation of the +ladies were a delightful change from the duties of the camp. +The minutes became an hour before the guests dreamed of the +flight of time. + +At length a negro servant, who had been on the lookout from +the housetop, entered the room, made a significant sign to +his mistress, and at once withdrew. Mrs. Murray now rose, +and with a meaning smile turned to her titled guest. + +"Will you be kind enough to come with me, Sir Henry?" she +asked. "I have something of great interest to show you." + +"With pleasure," he replied, rising with alacrity, and +following her from the room. + +She led the way to the lookout in the upper story, and +pointed to the northern side of the hill, where could be +seen the American flag, proudly waving over the ranks of the +retiring army. They were marching in close array into the +open plain of Bloomingdale. + +"How do you like the prospect, Sir Henry?" she calmly +inquired. "We consider the view from this side an admirable +one." + +What Sir Henry replied, history has not recorded. No doubt +it lacked the quality of politeness. Down the stairs he +rushed, calling to his officers as he passed, leaped upon +his horse, and could scarcely find words in his nervous +haste to give orders for pursuit. + +He was too late. The gap was closed; but nothing, except +such baggage and stores as could not be moved, remained in +the trap which, if sprung an hour earlier, would have caught +an army. + +Only for Mrs. Murray's inestimable service, Putnam and his +men would probably have become prisoners of war. Her name +lives in history among those of the many heroines who so +ably played their part in the drama of American liberty, and +who should hold high rank among the makers of the American +Commonwealth. + + + + +A QUAKERESS PATRIOT. + + +In Philadelphia, on Second Street below Spruce, formerly +stood an antiquated mansion, known by the name of "Loxley's +House," it having been originally the residence of +Lieutenant Loxley, who served in the artillery under +Braddock, and took part in his celebrated defeat. During the +Revolution this house was the scene of an interesting +historical incident, which is well worth relating. + +At that time it was occupied by a Quaker named Darrah, or +perhaps we should say by his wife Lydia, who seems to have +been the ruling spirit of the house. During the British +occupation of Philadelphia, when patriots and royalists +alike had to open their mansions to their none too welcome +guests, the Darrah mansion was used as the quarters of the +British adjutant-general. In that day it was somewhat "out +of town," and was frequently the scene of private +conferences of the higher officers, as being somewhat +secluded. + +On one chill and snowy day, the 2d of December, 1777, the +adjutant-general appeared at the house and bade Mrs. Darrah +to prepare the upper back room for a meeting of his friends, +which would take place that night. + +"They may stay late," he said, and added, emphatically, "be +sure, Lydia, that your family are all in bed at an early +hour. When our guests are ready to leave the house I will +give you notice, that you may let us out and extinguish the +fire and candles." + +Mrs. Darrah obeyed. Yet she was so struck by the mystery +with which he seemed inclined to surround the projected +meeting, that she made up her mind to learn, if possible, +what very secret business was afoot. She obeyed his orders +literally, saw that her people were early in bed, and, after +receiving the officers, retired herself to her room, but not +to sleep. This conference might presage some peril to the +American cause. If so, she wished to know it. + +When she deemed the proper time had come, she removed her +shoes, and in stocking feet stole softly along the passage +to the door of the apartment where the officers were in +consultation. Here the key-hole served the purpose to which +that useful opening has so often been put, and enabled her +to hear tidings of vital interest. For some time only a +murmur of voices reaches her ears. Then silence fell, +followed by one of the officers reading in a clear tone. She +listened intently, for the document was of absorbing +interest. It was an order from Sir William Howe, arranging +for a secret attack on Washington's camp at Whitemarsh. The +troops were to leave the city on the night of the 4th under +cover of the darkness, and surprise the rebels before +daybreak. + +The fair eavesdropper had heard enough. Rarely had key-hole +listener been so well rewarded. She glided back to her room, +and threw herself on her bed. She was none too soon. In a +few minutes afterwards steps were heard in the passage and +then came a rap upon her door. The fair conspirator was not +to be taken unawares; she feigned not to hear. The rap was +repeated a second and a third time. Then the shrewd woman +affected to awake, answered in a sleepy tone, and, learning +that the adjutant-general and his friends were ready to +leave, arose and saw them out. + +[Illustration: THE OLD STATE HOUSE, PHILADELPHIA.] + +Lydia Darrah slept no more that night. The secret she had +learned banished slumber. What was to be done? This thought +filled her mind the night long. Washington must be warned; +but how? Should she trust her husband, or some other member +of her family? No, they were all leaky vessels; she would +trust herself alone. Before morning she had devised a plan +of action, and for the first time since learning that +eventful news the anxious woman gave her mind a moment's +rest. + +At early dawn she was astir. Flour was needed for the +household. She woke her husband and told him of this, saying +that she must make an early journey to Frankford to supply +the needed stores. This was a matter of ordinary occurrence +in those days, the people of Philadelphia being largely +dependent upon the Frankford mills for their flour, and +being obliged to go for it themselves. The idea of +house-to-house delivery had not yet been born. Mr. Darrah +advised that she should take the maid with her, but she +declined. The maid could not be spared from her household +duties, she said. + +It was a cold December morning. The snow of the day before +had left several inches of its white covering upon the +ground. It was no very pleasant journey which lay before +Mrs. Darrah. Frankford was some five miles away, and she was +obliged to traverse this distance afoot, and return over the +same route with her load of flour. Certainly comfort was not +the ruling consideration in those days of our forefathers. A +ten-mile walk through the snow for a bag of flour would be +an unmentionable hardship to a nineteenth-century housewife. + +On foot, and bag in hand, Mrs. Darrah started on her journey +through the almost untrodden snow, stopping at General +Howe's head-quarters, on Market Street near Sixth, to obtain +the requisite passport to leave the city. It was still early +in the day when the devoted woman reached the mills. The +British outposts did not extend to this point; those of the +Americans were not far beyond. Leaving her bag at the mill +to be filled, Mrs. Darrah, full of her vital mission, pushed +on through the wintry air, ready to incur any danger or +discomfort if thereby she could convey to the patriot army +the important information which she had so opportunely +learned. + +Fortunately, she had not far to go. At a short distance out +she met Lieutenant-Colonel Craig, who had been sent out by +Washington on a scouting expedition in search of +information. She told him her story begged him to hasten to +Washington with the momentous tidings and not to reveal her +name and hurried back to the mill. Here she shouldered the +bag of flour, and trudged her five miles home, reaching +there in as reasonably short a time as could have been +expected. + +Night came. The next day passed. They were a night and day +of anxious suspense for Lydia Darrah. From her window, when +night had again fallen, she watched anxiously for movements +of the British troops. Ah! there at length they go, long +lines of them, marching steadily through the darkness, but +as noiselessly as possible. It was not advisable to alarm +the city. Patriot scouts might be abroad. + +When morning dawned the restless woman was on the watch +again. The roll of a drum came to her ears from a distance. +Soon afterwards troops appeared, weary and discontented +warriors, marching back. They had had their night's journey +in vain. Instead of finding the Americans off their guard +and an easy prey, they had found them wide awake, and ready +to give them the hottest kind of a reception. After +manoeuvring about their lines for a vulnerable point, and +finding none, the doughty British warriors turned on their +track and marched disconsolately homeward, having had their +labor for their pains. + +The army authorities were all at sea. How had this +information got afoot? Had it come from the Darrah house? +Possibly, for there the conference had been held. The +adjutant-general hastened to his quarters, summoned the fair +Quakeress to his room, and after locking the door against +intrusion, turned to her with a stern and doubting face. + +"Were any of your family up, Lydia," he asked, "on the night +when I had visitors here?" + +"No," she replied; "they all retired at eight o'clock." + +This was quite true so far as retiring went. Nothing was +said about a subsequent rising. + +"It is very strange," he remarked, musingly. "You, I know, +were asleep, for I knocked at your door three times before +you heard me; yet it is certain that we were betrayed. I am +altogether at a loss to conceive who could have given +Washington information of our intended attack. But on +arriving near his camp we found him ready, with troops under +arms and cannon planted, prepared at all points to receive +us. We have been compelled to turn on our heels, and march +back home again, like a parcel of fools." + +As may well be surmised, the patriotic Lydia kept her own +counsel, and not until the British had left Philadelphia was +the important secret of that signal failure made known. + + + + +THE SIEGE OF FORT SCHUYLER. + + +All was terror in the valley of the Mohawk, for its fertile +fields and happy homes were threatened with the horrors of +Indian warfare. All New York State, indeed, was in danger. +The hopes of American liberty were in danger. The deadliest +peril threatened the patriotic cause; for General Burgoyne, +with an army of more than seven thousand men, was encamped +at St. John's, at the foot of Lake Champlain, prepared to +sweep down that lake and Lake George, march to the valley of +the upper Hudson, driving the feeble colonial forces from +his path, and by joining with a force sent up the Hudson +from New York City, cut off New England from the remaining +colonies and hold this hot-bed of rebellion at his mercy. It +was a well-devised and threatening scheme. How disastrously +for the royalists it ended all readers of history know. With +this great enterprise, however, we are not here concerned, +but with a side issue of Burgoyne's march whose romantic +incidents fit it for our pages. + +On the Mohawk River, at the head of boat-navigation, stood a +fort, built in 1758, and named Fort Stanwix; repaired in +1776, and named Fort Schuyler. The possession of this fort +was important to General Burgoyne's plan. Its defence was of +vital moment to the inhabitants of the Mohawk Valley. +Interest for the time being centred round this outpost of +the then almost unbroken wilderness. + +On one side Lieutenant-Colonel St. Leger was despatched, at +the head of seven hundred rangers, to sail up the St. +Lawrence and Lake Ontario to Oswego, and from that point to +march southward, rousing and gathering the Indians as he +went, capture Fort Schuyler, sweep the valley of the Mohawk +with the aid of his savage allies, and join Burgoyne at +Albany when his triumphant march should have reached that +point. + +On the other side no small degree of haste and consternation +prevailed. Colonel Gansevoort had been placed in command at +the fort with a garrison of seven hundred and fifty men. But +he found it in a state of perilous dilapidation. Originally +a strong square fortification, with bomb-proof bastions, +glacis, covered way, and ditch outside the ramparts, it had +been allowed to fall into decay, and strenuous efforts were +needed to bring it into condition for defence. + +Meanwhile, news of the coming danger had spread widely +throughout the Mohawk Valley, and everywhere the most lively +alarm prevailed. An Oneida Indian brought the news to the +fort, and from there it made its way rapidly through the +valley. Consternation was wide-spread. It was too late to +look for aid to a distance. The people were in too great a +panic to trust to themselves. That the rotten timbers of the +old fort could resist assault seemed very doubtful. If they +went down, and Brant with his Indians swept the valley, for +what horrors might they not look? It is not surprising +that, for the time, fear drove valor from almost every heart +in the imperilled region. + +Up Lake Oneida came the enemy, now seventeen hundred strong, +St. Leger with his rangers having been joined by Johnson, +Butler, and Brant with their Tories and Indians. Every tribe +of the Iroquois had joined the invaders with the exception +of the Oneidas, who remained faithful to the colonists. + +On the 2d of August, 1777, Brent with his savage followers +reached and invested the fort, the plumed and moccasined foe +suddenly breaking from the forest, and with their wild +war-whoops seeking to intimidate the beleaguered garrison. +On the next day came St. Leger with his whole force. On the +4th the siege commenced. Bombs were planted and threw their +shells into the fort; the Indians, concealed behind bushes +and trees, picked off with their arrows the men who were +diligently employed in strengthening the parapets; and +during the evening the savages, spreading through the woods, +sought, by frightful yells, to drive all courage from the +hearts of the defenders. + +Meanwhile, aid was approaching. The valor of the patriots, +which fled at the first threat of danger, had returned. The +enemy was now almost at their doors; their helpless families +might soon be at the mercy of the ruthless savages; when +General Herkimer, a valiant veteran, called for recruits, +armed men flocked in numbers to his standard. He was +quickly at the head of more than eight hundred men. He sent +a messenger to the fort, telling Gansevoort of his approach, +and bidding him to discharge three signal-guns to show that +the tidings had reached him. His small army was called to a +halt within hearing of the guns of the fort, as he deemed it +the part of prudence to await the signal before advancing on +the foe. + +Unfortunately for the brave Herkimer, his men, lately +over-timid, were now over-bold. His officers demanded to be +led at once to the fort. Two of them, Cox and Paris by name, +were impertinent in their demands, charging the veteran with +cowardice. + +"I am placed over you as a father and guardian," answered +Herkimer, calmly, "and shall not lead you into difficulties, +from which I may not be able to extricate you." + +But their importunities and taunts continued, and at length +the brave old man, angered by their insults, gave the word +"March on!" He continued, "You, who want to fight so badly +now, will be the first to run when you smell burnt powder." + +On they marched, in tumultuous haste, and with the lack of +discipline of untrained militia. It was now August 6, two +days after the beginning of the siege. Indian scouts lurked +everywhere in the forest, and the movements of the patriot +army were closely watched. St. Leger was informed of their +near approach, and at once took steps to intercept their +advance. + +Heedless of this, and of the cautious words of their +commander, the vanguard pressed hastily on, winding along +the road, and at length entering a deep curving ravine, over +whose marshy bottom the road way was carried by a causeway +of earth and logs. The borders of the ravine were heavily +timbered, while a thick growth of underwood masked its +sloping sides. + +Utterly without precaution, the militia pushed forward into +this doubtful passage, until the whole body, with the +exception of the rear-guard, had entered it. Behind them +came the baggage-wagons. All was silent, unnaturally silent, +for not even the chirp of a squirrel nor the rustle of a +prowling ground-animal broke the stillness. The fort was not +far distant. The hurrying provincials hoped soon to join +their beleaguered friends. + +Suddenly, from the wooded hill to the west, around which the +ravine curved in a semicircle, rose a frightful sound,--the +Indian war-whoop from hundreds of savage throats. Hardly had +it fallen on the startled ears of the patriots when the +sharp crack of musketry followed, and leaden missiles were +hurled into the crowded ranks. Arrows accompanied them, and +spears and tomahawks came hurtling through the air hurled +with deadly aim. + +The patriot army had fallen into a dangerous ambuscade. +Herkimer's prediction was fulfilled. The rear-guard, on +hearing the warlike sounds in front, turned in panic flight, +leaving their comrades to their fate. No one can regret to +hear that they were pursued by the Indians, and suffered +more than if they had stood their ground. + +As for the remainder of the force, flight was impossible. +They had entered a trap. It was fight or fall. Bullets, +arrows, war-axes hurtled through their ranks. Frightful +yells still filled the air. Many fell where they stood. +Herkimer was severely wounded, his horse being killed and +his own leg shattered. But, with a composure and cool +courage that have rarely been emulated, he ordered the +saddle to be taken from his horse and placed against a large +beech-tree near by. Here seated, with his men falling and +the bullets of the enemy whistling perilously near, he +steadily gave his orders while many of those who had called +him coward were in full flight. During the heat of the +action he took his tinder box from his pocket, calmly +lighted his pipe, and sat smoking as composedly as though by +his own fireside. A striking spectacle, that old man, +sitting in the midst of hottest battle, with the life blood +oozing from his shattered leg, smoking and giving his orders +with the quiet composure of one on dress-parade! It is one +of the most imposing pictures in the portrait-gallery of +American history. + +The battle went on. If it was to be fight or fall, the brave +frontiersmen decided it should be fight. Great confusion +reigned at first, but courage soon returned, and though men +fell in numbers, the survivors stood their ground like +veterans. For nearly an hour the fierce affray continued. +The enemy surrounded the provincials on all sides, and were +pressing step by step closer. The whole force might have +been slain or captured, but for a wise suggestion of one of +their number and an admirable change in their line of +battle. Each small group was formed into a circle, and thus +they met the enemy at all points. This greatly increased +their defensive powers. So destructive now became their fire +that the British soldiers rushed upon them in rage, seeking +to break their line by a bayonet charge. They were boldly +met, and a hand-to-hand death-struggle began. + +At this moment a heavy thunder-peal broke from the darkening +skies. Down poured the rain in drenching showers. Lightning +filled the air. Crash after crash of thunder rolled through +the sky. Checked in their blood-thirst by the fury of the +elements, the combatants hastily separated and ran for the +shelter of the trees, vanquished by water where fire had +failed to overcome their rage. + +The affair so far had not been unlike that of Braddock's +defeat, some twenty years before. But these were American +militia, not British regulars, frontiersmen who knew too +much of Indian fighting to stand in their ranks and be shot +down. They had long since taken to the trees, and fought the +savages in their own way. To this, perhaps, may be ascribed +the difference in result from that of the Braddock fight. + +After the rain, the patriots gained better ground and +adopted new and useful tactics. Before, when the Indians +noticed a shot from behind a tree, they would rush forward +and tomahawk the unlucky provincial before he could reload. +But now two men were placed behind each tree, so that when +the whooping savage sprang forward with his tomahawk a +second bullet was ready to welcome him. The fire from the +American side now grew so destructive that the Indians began +to give way. + +A body of Johnson's Greens came up to their support. These +were mostly loyalist refugees from the Mohawk Valley, to +whom the patriot militia bore the bitterest enmity. +Recognizing them, the maddened provincials leaped upon them +with tiger-like rage, and a hand-to-hand contest began, in +which knives and bayonets took the place of bullets, and the +contest grew brutally ferocious. + +At this moment a firing was heard in the direction of the +fort. New hope sprung into the hearts of the patriots. Was +aid coming to them from the garrison? It seemed so, indeed, +for soon a body of men in Continental uniform came marching +briskly towards them. It was a ruse on the part of the enemy +which might have proved fatal. These men were Johnson +Green's disguised as Continentals. A chance revealed their +character. One of the patriots seeing an acquaintance among +them, ran up to shake hands with him. He was seized and +dragged into their ranks. Captain Gardenier, perceiving +this, sprang forward, spear in hand, and released his man; +but found himself in a moment engaged in a fierce combat, in +which he killed two of his antagonists and wounded another, +but was himself seriously hurt. + +"For God's sake, captain," cried some of the militia, "you +are killing our own men!" + +"They are not our own men, they are Tories!" yelled back +the captain. "Fire away!" + +Fire they did, and with such deadly effect that numbers of +the disguised Tories fell, and nearly as many Indians. In an +instant the battle was violently raging again, with roar of +rifles, clash of steel, yells of combatants, and the wild +war-whoops of the savages. + +But the Indians by this time had enough of it. The stubborn +defence of the provincials had sadly thinned their ranks, +and seeing the Tories falling back, they raised their cry of +retreat, "Oonah! Oonah!" and at once broke and fled. The +Tories and regulars, dismayed by their flight, quickly +followed, the bullets of the provincials adding wings to +their speed. + +Thus ended one of the hottest and most deadly, for the +numbers engaged, of the battles of the Revolution. Of the +provincials, less than half of them ever saw their homes +again. The loss of the enemy was probably still heavier. +General Herkimer died ten days after the battle. The +militia, despite the well-laid ambuscade into which they had +marched, were the victors, but they had been so severely +handled that they were unable to accomplish their design, +the relief of the fort. + +As for the garrison, they had not been idle during the +battle. The sound of the combat had been borne to their +ears, and immediately after the cessation of the rain +Colonel Willett made a sally from the fort, at the head of +two hundred and fifty men. The camp of the enemy had been +depleted for the battle, and the sortie proved highly +successful. The remnants of Johnson's regiment were soon +driven from their camp. The Indian encampment beyond was +demolished, its savage guards flying in terror from "the +Devil," by which expressive name they called Colonel +Willett. Wagons were hurried from the fort, camp equipage, +British flags, papers, and the effects of the officers +loaded into them, and twenty-one loads of this useful spoil +triumphantly carried off. As the victorious force was +returning, Colonel St. Leger appeared, with a strong body of +men, across the river, just in time to be saluted by a +shower of bullets, the provincials then retiring, without +the loss of a man. The setting sun that day cast its last +rays on five British standards, displayed from the walls of +the fort, with the stars and stripes floating proudly above +them. The day had ended triumphantly for the provincials, +though it proved unsuccessful in its main object; for the +fort was still invested, and the rescuing force were in no +condition to come to its aid. + +The investment, indeed, was so close that the garrison knew +nothing of the result of the battle. St. Leger took +advantage of this, and sent a white flag to the fort with +false information, declaring that the relief-party had been +annihilated, that Burgoyne had reached and captured Albany, +and that, unless the fort was surrendered, he could not much +longer restrain the Indians from devastating the valley +settlements with fire and tomahawk. + +This story Gansevoort did not half believe, and answered +the messenger with words of severe reprobation for his +threat of an Indian foray. + +"After you get out of this fort," he concluded, "you may +turn around and look at its outside, but never expect to +come in again, unless as a prisoner. Before I would consent +to deliver this garrison to such a murdering set as your +army, by your own account, consists of, I would suffer my +body to be filled with splinters and set on fire, as you +know has at times been practised by such hordes of women-and +children-killers as belong to your army." + +After such a message there was no longer question of +surrender, and the siege was strongly pushed. The enemy, +finding that their guns had little effect on the sod-work of +the fort, began a series of approaches by sapping and +mining. Colonel Gansevoort, on his part, took an important +step. Fearing that his stock of food and ammunition might +give out, he determined to send a message to General +Schuyler, asking for succor. + +Colonel Willet volunteered for this service, Lieutenant +Stockwell joining him. The night chosen was a dark and +stormy one. Shower followed shower. The sentinels of the +enemy were not likely to be on the alert. Leaving the fort +at the sally-port at ten o'clock, the two messengers crept +on hands and knees along a morass till they reached the +river. This they crossed on a log, and entered a dense wood +which lay beyond. No sentinel had seen them. But they lost +their way in the darkness, and straggled on blindly until +the barking of a dog told them that they were near an Indian +camp. + +Progress was now dangerous. Advance or retreat alike might +throw them into the hands of the savage foe. For several +hours they stood still, in a most annoying and perilous +situation. The night passed; dawn was at hand; fortunately +now the clouds broke the morning-star shone in the east, and +with this as a guide they resumed their journey. Their +expedition was still a dangerous one. The enemy might strike +their trail in the morning light. To break this they now and +then walked in the bed of a stream. They had set out on the +night of the 10th. All day of the 11th they pushed on, with +a small store of crackers and cheese as their only food. +Another night and day passed. On the afternoon of the 12th, +nearly worn out with hardship, they reached the settlement +of the German Flats. Here horses were procured, and they +rode at full speed to General Schuyler's head-quarters at +Stillwater. + +Schuyler had already heard of Herkimer's failure, and was +laying plans for the relief of the fort. His purpose was +opposed by many of his officers, who were filled with fear +of the coming of Burgoyne. Schuyler was pacing the floor in +anxious thought when he heard the low remark,-- + +"He means to weaken the army." + +Schuyler turned towards the speaker, so angry that he bit +into pieces a pipe he was smoking, and exclaimed,-- + +"Gentlemen, I shall take the responsibility; where is the +brigadier that will take command of the relief? I shall beat +up for volunteers to-morrow." + +General Arnold, one of the boldest and most impulsive men in +the army, immediately asked for the command. The next +morning the drums beat, and before noon eight hundred +volunteers were enrolled. Arnold at once advanced, but, +feeling that his force was too weak, stopped at Fort Dayton +till reinforcements could reach him. + +And now occurred one of the most striking events in the +history of the war, that of the defeat of an invading army +by stratagem without sight of soldier or musket. It is to be +told from two points of view, that of the garrison, and that +of the army of relief. As regards the garrison, its +situation was becoming critical. St. Leger's parallels were +approaching the fort. The store of provisions was running +low. Many of the garrison began to hint at surrender, +fearing massacre by the Indians should the fort be taken by +assault. Gansevoort, despairing of further successful +resistance, had decided upon a desperate attempt to cut +through the enemy's lines. Suddenly, on the 22d, there came +a sudden lull in the siege. The guns ceased their fire; +quick and confused movements could be seen; there were signs +of flight. Away went the besiegers, Indians and whites +alike, in panic disarray, and with such haste that their +tents, artillery, and camp equipage were left behind. The +astonished garrison sallied forth to find not a foeman in +the field, yet not a sign to show what mysterious influence +had caused this headlong flight. It was not from the face +of an enemy, for no enemy was visible, and the mystery was +too deep for the garrison to fathom. + +To learn the cause of this strange event we must return to +Arnold and his stratagem. He had, on learning the peril of +the fort, been about to advance despite the smallness of his +force, when an opportunity occurred to send terror in +advance of his march. There were in his hands several Tory +prisoners, among them an ignorant, coarse, half-idiotic +fellow named Hon-Yost Schuyler, who had been condemned to +death for treason. His mother pleaded for his life, casting +herself on her knees before Arnold, and imploring for her +son with tears and entreaties. She found him at first +inexorable, but he changed his tone and appeared to soften +as a fortunate idea came to his mind. + +Her son's life should be spared, but upon conditions. These +were, that he should go to Fort Schuyler and, by stories of +the immense force upon the march, endeavor to alarm St. +Leger. Hon-Yost readily consented, leaving his brother as a +hostage in Arnold's hands. + +The seemingly foolish fellow was far from being an idiot. +Before leaving the camp he had several bullet-holes shot +through his coat. He arranged also with a friendly Oneida +Indian to follow and confirm his tale. Thus prepared, he set +out for St. Leger's camp. Reaching it, he ran breathlessly +among the Indians, seemingly in a state of terror. Many of +the savages knew him, and he was eagerly questioned as to +what had happened. + +The Americans were coming, he replied; numbers of them, +hosts of them; he had barely escaped with his life; he had +been riddled with bullets. He pointed to his coat in +evidence. How many were there? he was asked. Hon-Yost, in +reply, shook his head mysteriously, and pointed to the +leaves on the trees. + +His seeming alarm communicated itself to the Indians. They +had been severely dealt with at Oriskany. The present siege +dragged on. They were dissatisfied. While the chiefs debated +and talked of flight, the Oneida appeared with several +others of his tribe whom he had picked up on the way. These +told the same story. A bird had brought them the news. The +valley was swarming with soldiers. The army of Burgoyne had +been cut to pieces, said one. Arnold had three thousand men, +said another. Others pointed to the leaves, as Hon-Yost had +done, and meaningly shook their heads. + +The panic spread among the Indians. St. Leger stormed at +them; Johnson pleaded with them; but all in vain. Drink was +offered them, but they refused it. "The pow-wow said we must +go," was their answer to every remonstrance, and go they +did. + +"You said there would be no fighting for us Indians," said a +chief. "We might go down and smoke our pipes. But many of +our warriors have been killed, and you mean to sacrifice us +all." + +Oaths and persuasions proved alike useless. The council +broke up and the Indians took to flight. Their panic +communicated itself to the whites. Dropping everything but +their muskets, they fled in terror for their boats on Oneida +Lake, with such haste that many of them threw away arms and +knapsacks in their mad flight. + +The Indians, who had started the panic, grew merry on seeing +the wild terror of their late allies. They ran behind them, +shouting, "They are coming, they are coming!" and thus added +wings to their flight. They robbed, stripped, and even +killed many of them, plundered them of their boats, and +proved a more formidable foe than the enemy from whom they +fled. + +Half-starved and empty-handed, the whites hurried to Oswego +and took boat on the lake for Montreal, while their Indian +allies, who had proved of more harm than good, went merrily +home to their villages, looking upon the flight as a +stupendous joke. + +When Arnold, hearing of what had happened, hurried to the +fort, the enemy had utterly vanished, except a few whom +Gansevoort's men had brought in as prisoners. Hon-Yost soon +came back, having taken the first opportunity to slip away +from the flying horde. He had amply won his pardon. + +Thus ended the siege of Fort Schuyler; in its way, +considering the numbers engaged, the most desperate and +bloody struggle of the Revolution, and of the greatest +utility as an aid to the subsequent defeat of Burgoyne. As +regards its singular termination, it is without parallel in +the history of American wars. Hon-Yost had proved himself +the most surprising idiot on record. + + + + +ON THE TRACK OF A TRAITOR. + + +While Major Andr['e] was dying the death of a spy, General +Arnold, his tempter and betrayer, was living the life of a +cherished traitor, in the midst of the British army at New +York. This was a state of affairs far from satisfactory to +the American authorities. The tool had suffered; the schemer +had escaped. Could Arnold be captured, and made to pay the +penalty of his treason, it would be a sharp lesson of +retribution to any who might feel disposed to follow his +base example. + +Washington had his secret correspondents in New York, and +from them had learned that Arnold was living in quarters +adjoining those of Sir Henry Clinton, at but a short +distance from the river, and apparently with no thought of +or precaution against danger. It might be possible to seize +him and carry him away bodily from the midst of his new +friends. + +Sending for Major Henry Lee, a brave and shrewd cavalry +leader, Washington broached to him this important matter, +and submitted a plan of action which seemed to him to +promise success. + +"It is a delicate and dangerous project," he said. "Much +depends on our finding an agent fit for such hazardous work. +You may have the man in your corps. Whoever volunteers for +this duty will lay me under the greatest personal +obligation, and may expect an ample reward. But no time is +to be lost. He must proceed, if possible, to-night." + +"Not only courage and daring, but very peculiar talent, are +needed for such an enterprise," said Lee. "I have plenty of +brave men, but can think of only one whom I can recommend +for such a duty as this. His name is John Champe; his rank, +sergeant-major, but there is one serious obstacle in the +way,--he must appear to desert, and I fear that Champe has +too high a sense of military honor for that." + +"Try him," said Washington. "The service he will do to his +country far outweighs anything he can do in the ranks. Rumor +says that other officers of high rank are ready to follow +Arnold's example. If we can punish this traitor, he will +have no imitators." + +"I can try," answered Lee. "I may succeed. Champe is not +without ambition, and the object to be attained is a great +one. I may safely promise him the promotion which he +ardently desires." + +"That will be but part of his reward," said Washington. + +Lee sent for Champe. There entered in response a young man, +large and muscular of build, saturnine of countenance; a +grave, thoughtful, silent person, safe to trust with a +secret, for his words were few, his sense of honor high. In +all the army there was not his superior in courage and +persistence in anything he should undertake. + +It was no agreeable surprise to the worthy fellow to learn +what he was desired to do. The plan was an admirable one, +he admitted, it promised the best results. He did not care +for peril, and was ready to venture on anything that would +not involve his honor; but to desert from his corps, to win +the scorn and detestation of his fellows, to seem to play +the traitor to his country,--these were serious obstacles. +He begged to be excused. + +Lee combated his objections. Success promised honor to +himself and to his corps, the gratitude of his country, the +greatest service to his beloved commander-in-chief. +Desertion, for such a purpose, carried with it no dishonor, +and any stain upon his character would vanish when the truth +became known. The conference was a long one; in the end +Lee's arguments proved efficacious; Champe yielded, and +promised to undertake the mission. + +The necessary instructions had already been prepared by +Washington himself. The chosen agent was to deliver letters +to two persons in New York, who were in Washington's +confidence, and who would lend him their assistance. He was +to use his own judgment in procuring aid for the capture of +Arnold, and to lay such plans as circumstances should +suggest; and he was strictly enjoined not to kill the +traitor under any circumstances. + +All this settled, the question of the difficulties in the +way arose. Between the American camp and the British outpost +were many pickets and patrols. Parties of marauding +patriots, like those that had seized Andr['e], might be in the +way. Against these Lee could offer no aid. The desertion +must seem a real one. All he could do would be to delay +pursuit. For the rest, Champe must trust to his own skill +and daring. + +Eleven o'clock was the hour fixed. At that hour the worthy +sergeant, taking his cloak, valise, and orderly-book, and +with three guineas in his pocket, which Lee had given him, +secretly mounted his horse and slipped quietly from the +camp. + +Lee immediately went to bed, and seemingly to sleep, though +he had never been more wide awake. A half-hour passed. Then +a heavy tread was heard outside the major's quarters, and a +loud knock came upon his door. It was some time before he +could be aroused. + +"Who is there?" he asked, in sleepy tones. + +"It is I, Captain Carnes," was the reply. "I am here for +orders. One of our patrols has just fallen in with a +dragoon, who put spurs to his horse on being challenged, and +fled at full speed. He is a deserter, and must be pursued." + +Lee still seemed half asleep. He questioned the officer in a +drowsy way, affecting not to understand him. When at length +the captain's purpose was made clear to his seemingly drowsy +wits, Lee ridiculed the idea that one of his men had +deserted. Such a thing had happened but once during the +whole war. He could not believe it possible. + +"It has happened now," persisted Captain Carnes. "The fellow +is a deserter, and must be pursued." + +Lee still affected incredulity, and was with difficulty +brought to order that the whole squadron should be +mustered, to see if any of them were missing. This done, +there was no longer room for doubt or delay. Champe, the +sergeant-major, was gone, and with him his arms, baggage, +and orderly-book. + +Captain Carnes ordered that pursuit should be made at once. +Here, too, Lee made such delay as he could without arousing +suspicion; and when the pursuing party was ready he changed +its command, giving it to Lieutenant Middleton, a +tender-hearted young man, whom he could trust to treat +Champe mercifully if he should be overtaken. These various +delays had the desired effect. By the time the party +started, Champe had been an hour on the road. + +It was past twelve o'clock of a starry night when Middleton +and his men took to horse, and galloped away on the track of +the deserter. It was a plain track, unluckily; a trail that +a child might have followed. There had been a shower at +sunset, sharp enough to wash out all previous hoof-marks +from the road. The footprints of a single horse were all +that now appeared. In addition to this, the horse-shoes of +Lee's legion had a private mark, by which they could be +readily recognized. There could be no question; those foot +prints were made by the horse of the deserter. + +Here was a contingency unlooked for by Lee. The pursuit +could be pushed on at full speed. At every fork or +cross-road a trooper sprang quickly from his horse and +examined the trail. It needed but a glance to discover what +road had been taken. On they went, with scarce a moment's +loss of time, and with sure knowledge that they were on the +fugitive's track. + +At sunrise the pursuing party found themselves at the top of +a ridge in the road, near the "Three Pigeons," a road-side +tavern several miles north of the village of Bergen. Looking +ahead, their eyes fell on the form of the deserter. He was +but half a mile in advance. They had gained on him greatly +during the night. + +At the same moment Champe perceived them. Both parties +spurred their horses to greater speed, and away went +fugitive and pursuers at a rattling pace. The roads in that +vicinity were well known to them all. There was a short cut +through the woods from near the Three Pigeons to the bridge +below Bergen. Middleton sent part of his men by this route +to cut off the fugitive, while he followed the main road +with the rest. He felt sure now that he had the deserter, +for he could not reach the British outposts without crossing +the bridge. + +On they went. No long time elapsed before the two divisions +met at the bridge. But Champe was not between them. The trap +had been sprung, but had failed to catch its game. He had in +some strange manner disappeared. What was to be done? How +had he eluded them? + +Middleton rode hastily back to Bergen, and inquired if a +dragoon had passed through the village that morning. + +"Yes; and not long ago." + +"Which way did he go?" + +"That we cannot say. No one took notice." + +Middleton examined the road. Other horses had been out that +morning, and the Lee corps footprint was no longer to be +seen. But at a short distance from the village the trail +again became legible and the pursuit was resumed. In a few +minutes Champe was discovered. He had reached a point near +the water's edge, and was making signals to certain British +galleys which lay in the stream. + +The truth was that the fugitive knew of the short cut quite +as well as his pursuers, and had shrewdly judged that they +would take it, and endeavor to cut him off before he could +reach the enemy's lines at Paulus Hook. He knew, besides, +that two of the king's galleys lay in the bay, a mile from +Bergen, and in front of the small settlement of Communipaw. +Hither he directed his course, lashing his valise, as he +went, upon his back. + +Champe now found himself in imminent peril of capture. There +had been no response from the galleys to his signals. The +pursuers were close at hand, and pushing forward with shouts +of triumph. Soon they were but a few hundred yards away. +There was but one hope left. Champe sprang from his horse, +flung away the scabbard of his sword, and with the naked +blade in his hand ran across the marshy ground before him, +leaped into the waters of the bay, and swam lustily for the +galleys, calling loudly for help. + +A boat had just before left the side of the nearest galley. +As the pursuers reined up their horses by the side of the +marsh, the fugitive was hauled in and was swiftly rowed back +to the ship. Middleton, disappointed in his main object, +took the horse, cloak, and scabbard of the fugitive and +returned with them to camp. + +"He has not been killed?" asked Lee, hastily, on seeing +these articles. + +"No; the rascal gave us the slip. He is safely on a British +galley, and this is all we have to show." + +A few days afterwards Lee received a letter from Champe, in +a disguised hand and without signature, transmitted through +a secret channel which had been arranged, telling of his +success up to this point, and what he proposed to do. + +As it appeared, the seeming deserter had been well received +in New York. The sharpness of the pursuit and the +orderly-book which he bore seemed satisfactory proofs of his +sincerity of purpose. The captain of the galley sent him to +New York, with a letter to Sir Henry Clinton. + +Clinton was glad to see him. For a deserter to come to him +from a legion so faithful to the rebel cause as that of +Major Lee seemed an evidence that the American side was +rapidly weakening. He questioned Champe closely. The +taciturn deserter answered him briefly, but with such a show +of sincerity as to win his confidence. The interview ended +in Clinton's giving him a couple of guineas, and bidding him +to call on General Arnold, who was forming a corps of +loyalists and deserters, and who would be glad to have his +name on his rolls. This suggestion hit Champe's views +exactly. It was what had been calculated upon by Washington +in advance. The seeming deserter called upon Arnold, who +received him courteously, and gave him quarters among his +recruiting sergeants. He asked him to join his legion, but +Champe declined, saying that if caught by the rebels in this +corps he was sure to be hanged. + +A few days sufficed the secret agent to lay his plans. He +delivered the letters which had been given him, and made +arrangements with one of the parties written to for aid in +the proposed abduction of Arnold. This done, he went to +Arnold, told him that he had changed his mind, and agreed to +enlist in his legion. His purpose now was to gain free +intercourse with him, that he might learn all that was +possible about his habits. + +Arnold's quarters were at No. 3 Broadway. Back of the house +was a garden, which extended towards the water's edge. +Champe soon learned that it was Arnold's habit to seek his +quarters about midnight, and that before going to bed he +always visited the garden. Adjoining this garden was a dark +alley, which led to the street. In short, all the +surroundings and circumstances were adapted to the design, +and seemed to promise success. + +The plan was well laid. Two patriotic accomplices were +found. One of them was to have a boat in readiness by the +river-side. On the night fixed upon they were to conceal +themselves in Arnold's garden at midnight, seize and gag +him when he came out for his nightly walk, and take him by +way of the alley, and of unfrequented streets in the +vicinity, to the adjoining river-side. In case of meeting +any one and being questioned, it was arranged that they +should profess to be carrying a drunken soldier to the +guard-house. Once in the boat, Hoboken could quickly be +reached. Here assistance from Lee's corps had been arranged +for. + +[Illustration: THE BENEDICT ARNOLD MANSION.] + +The plot was a promising one. Champe prepared for it by +removing some of the palings between the garden and the +alley. These he replaced in such a way that they could be +taken out again without noise. All being arranged, he wrote +to Lee, and told him that on the third night from that date, +if all went well, the traitor would be delivered upon the +Jersey shore. He must be present, at an appointed place in +the woods at Hoboken, to receive him. + +This information gave Lee the greatest satisfaction. On the +night in question he left camp with a small party, taking +with him three led horses, for the prisoner and his captors, +and at midnight sought the appointed spot. Here he waited +with slowly declining hope. Hour after hour passed; the gray +light of dawn appeared in the east; the sun rose over the +waters; yet Champe and his prisoner failed to appear. Deeply +disappointed, Lee led his party back to camp. + +The cause of the failure may be told in a few words. It was +a simple one. The merest chance saved Arnold from the fate +which he so richly merited. This was, that on the very day +which Champe had fixed for the execution of his plot, Arnold +changed his quarters, his purpose being to attend to the +embarkation of an expedition to the south, which was to be +under his command. + +In a few days Lee received a letter from his agent, telling +the cause of failure, and saying that, at present, success +was hopeless. In fact, Champe found himself unexpectedly in +an awkward situation. Arnold's American legion was to form +part of this expedition. Champe had enlisted in it. He was +caught in a trap of his own setting. Instead of crossing the +Hudson that night, with Arnold as his prisoner, he found +himself on board a British transport, with Arnold as his +commander. He was in for the war on the British side; forced +to face his fellow-countrymen in the field. + +We need not tell the story of Arnold's expedition to +Virginia, with the brutal incidents which history relates +concerning it. It will suffice to say that Champe formed +part of it, all his efforts to desert proving fruitless. It +may safely be said that no bullet from his musket reached +the American ranks, but he was forced to brave death from +the hands of those with whom alone he was in sympathy. + +Not until Arnold's corps had joined Cornwallis at Petersburg +did its unwilling recruit succeed in escaping. Taking to the +mountains he made his way into North Carolina, and was not +long in finding himself among friends. His old corps was in +that State, taking part in the pursuit of Lord Rawdon. It +had just passed the Congaree in this pursuit when, greatly +to the surprise of his old comrades, the deserter appeared +in their ranks. Their surprise was redoubled when they saw +Major Lee receive him with the utmost cordiality. A few +minutes sufficed to change their surprise to admiration. +There was no longer occasion for secrecy. Champe's story was +told, and was received with the utmost enthusiasm by his old +comrades. So this was the man they had pursued so closely, +this man who had been seeking to put the arch-traitor within +their hands! John Champe they declared, was a comrade to be +proud of, and his promotion to a higher rank was the plain +duty of the military authorities. + +Washington knew too well, however, what would be the fate of +his late agent, if taken by the enemy, to subject him to +this peril. He would have been immediately hanged. Champe +was, therefore, discharged from the service, after having +been richly rewarded by the commander-in-chief. When +Washington, seventeen years afterwards, was preparing +against a threatened war with the French, he sent to Lee for +information about Champe, whom he desired to make a captain +of infantry. He was too late. The gallant sergeant-major had +joined a higher corps. He had enlisted in the grand army of +the dead. + + + + +MARION, THE SWAMP-FOX. + + +Our story takes us back to the summer of 1780, a summer of +war, suffering, and outrage in the States of the South. +General Gates, at the head of the army of the South, was +marching towards Camden, South Carolina, filled with +inflated hopes of meeting and defeating Cornwallis. How this +hopeful general was himself defeated, and how, in +consequence, the whole country south of Virginia fell under +British control, history relates; we are not here concerned +with it. + +Gates's army had crossed the Pedee River and was pushing +southward. During its march a circumstance occurred which +gave great amusement to the trim soldiery. There joined the +army a volunteer detachment of about twenty men, such a +heterogeneous and woe-begone corps that Falstaff himself +might have hesitated before enlisting them. They were a +mosaic of whites and blacks, men and boys, their clothes +tatters, their equipments burlesques on military array, +their horses--for they were all mounted--parodies on the +noble war-charger. At the head of this motley array was a +small-sized, thin-faced, modest-looking man, his uniform +superior to that of his men, but no model of neatness, yet +with a flashing spirit in his eye that admonished the amused +soldiers not to laugh at his men in his presence. Behind his +back they laughed enough. The Pedee volunteers were a +source of ridicule to the well-clad Continentals that might +have caused trouble had not the officers used every effort +to repress it. + +As for Gates, he offered no welcome to this ragged squad. +The leader modestly offered him some advice about the +military condition of the South, but the general in command +was clothed in too dense an armor of conceit to be open to +advice from any quarter, certainly not from the leader of +such a Falstaffian company, and he was glad enough to get +rid of him by sending him on a scouting expedition in +advance of the army, to watch the enemy and report his +movements. + +This service precisely suited him to whom it was given, for +this small, non-intrusive personage was no less a man than +Francis Marion, then but little known, but destined to +become the Robin Hood of partisan warriors, the celebrated +"Swamp-Fox" of historical romance and romantic history. + +Marion had appeared with the title of colonel. He left the +army with the rank of general. Governor Rutledge, who was +present, knew him and his worth, gave him a brigadier's +commission, and authorized him to enlist a brigade for +guerilla work in the swamps and forests of the State. + +Thus raised in rank, Marion marched away with his motley +crew of followers, they doubtless greatly elevated in +dignity to feel that they had a general at their head. The +army indulged in a broad laugh, after they had gone, at +Marion's miniature brigade of scarecrows. They laughed at +the wrong man, for after their proud array was broken and +scattered to the winds, and the region they had marched to +relieve had become the prey of the enemy, that modest +partisan alone was to keep alive the fire of liberty in +South Carolina, and so annoy the victors that in the end +they hardly dared show their faces out of the forts. The +Swamp-Fox was to pave the way for the reconquest of the +South by the brave General Greene. + +No long time elapsed before Marion increased his +disreputable score to a brigade of more respectable +proportions, with which he struck such quick and telling +blows from all sides on the British and Tories, that no nest +of hornets could have more dismayed a marauding party of +boys. The swamps of the Pedee were his head-quarters. In +their interminable and thicket-hidden depths he found +hiding-places in abundance, and from them he made rapid +darts, north, south, east, and west, making his presence +felt wherever he appeared, and flying back to shelter before +his pursuers could overtake him. His corps was constantly +changing, now swelling, now shrinking, now little larger +than his original ragged score, now grown to a company of a +hundred or more in dimensions. It was always small. The +swamps could not furnish shelter and food for any large body +of men. + +Marion's head-quarters were at Snow's Island, at the point +where Lynch's Creek joins the Pedee River. This was a region +of high river-swamp, thickly forested, and abundantly +supplied with game. The camp was on dry land, but around it +spread broad reaches of wet thicket and canebrake, whose +paths were known only to the partisans, and their secrets +sedulously preserved. As regards the mode of life here of +Marion and his men, there is an anecdote which will picture +it better than pages of description. + +A young British officer was sent from Georgetown to treat +with Marion for an exchange of prisoners. The Swamp-Fox +fully approved of the interview, being ready enough to rid +himself of his captives, who were a burden on his hands. But +he was too shrewd to lay bare the ways that led to his camp. +The officer was blindfolded, and led by devious paths +through canebrake, thicket, and forest to the hidden camp. +On the removal of the bandage from his eyes he looked about +him with admiration and surprise. He found himself in a +scene worthy of Robin Hood's woodland band. Above him spread +the boughs of magnificent trees, laden with drooping moss, +and hardly letting a ray of sunlight through their crowding +foliage. Around him rose their massive trunks, like the +columns of some vast cathedral. On the grassy or moss-clad +ground sat or lay groups of hardy-looking men, no two of +them dressed alike, and with none of the neat appearance of +uniformed soldiers. More remote were their horses, cropping +the short herbage in equine contentment. It looked like a +camp of forest outlaws, jovial tenants of the merry +greenwood. + +The surprise of the officer was not lessened when his eyes +fell on Marion, whom he had never seen before. It may be +that he expected to gaze on a burly giant. As it was, he +could scarcely believe that this diminutive, quiet-looking +man, and this handful of ill-dressed and lounging followers, +were the celebrated band who had thrown the whole British +power in the South into alarm. + +Marion addressed him, and a conference ensued in which their +business was quickly arranged to their mutual satisfaction. + +"And now, my dear sir," said Marion, "I should be glad to +have you dine with me. You have fasted during your journey, +and will be the better for a woodland repast." + +"With pleasure," replied the officer. "It will be a new and +pleasant experience." + +He looked around him. Where was the dining-room? where, at +least, the table, on which their mid-day repast was to be +spread? Where were the dishes and the other paraphernalia +which civilization demands as the essentials of a modern +dinner?--Where? His eyes found no answer to this mental +question. Marion looked at him with a smile. + +"We dine here in simple style, captain," he remarked. "Pray +be seated." + +He took his seat on a mossy log, and pointed to an opposite +one for the officer. A minute or two afterwards the camp +purveyor made his appearance, bearing a large piece of bark, +on which smoked some roasted sweet potatoes. They came from +a fire of brushwood blazing at a distance. + +"Help yourself, captain," said Marion, taking a swollen and +brown-coated potato from the impromptu platter, breaking it +in half, and beginning to eat with a forest appetite. + +The officer looked at the viands and at his host with eyes +of wonder. + +"Surely, general," he exclaimed, "this cannot be your +ordinary fare?" + +"Indeed it is," said Marion. "And we are fortunate, on this +occasion, having company to entertain, to have more than our +usual allowance." + +The officer had little more to say. He helped himself to the +rural viands, which he ate with thought for salt. On +returning to Georgetown he gave in his report, and then +tendered his commission to his superior officer, saying that +a people who could fight on roots for fare could not be, and +ought not to be, subdued, and that he, for one, would not +serve against them. + +Of the exploits of Marion we can but speak briefly; they +were too many to be given in detail. His blows were so +sharply dealt, in such quick succession, and at such remote +points, that his foes were puzzled, and could hardly believe +that a single band was giving them all this trouble. Their +annoyance culminated in their sending one of their best +cavalry leaders, Colonel Wemyss, to surprise and crush the +Swamp-Fox, then far from his hiding-place. Wemyss got on +Marion's trail, and pursued him with impetuous haste. But +the wary patriot was not to be easily surprised, nor would +he fight where he had no chance to win. Northward he +swiftly made his way, through swamps and across deep +streams, into North Carolina. Wemyss lost his trail, found +it, lost it again, and finally, discouraged and revengeful, +turned back and desolated the country from which he had +driven its active defender, and which was looked on as the +hot-bed of rebellion. + +Marion, who had but sixty men in his band, halted the moment +pursuit ceased, sent out scouts for information, and in a +very short time was back in the desolated district. The +people rushed, with horse and rifle, to his ranks. Swiftly +he sped to the Black Mingo, below Georgetown, and here fell +at midnight on a large body of Tories, with such vigor and +success that the foe were almost annihilated, while Marion +lost but a single man. + +The devoted band now had a short period of rest, the British +being discouraged and depressed. Then Tarleton, the +celebrated hard-riding marauder, took upon himself the +difficult task of crushing the Swamp-Fox. He scoured the +country, spreading ruin as he went, but all his skill and +impetuosity were useless in the effort to overtake Marion. +The patriot leader was not even to be driven from his chosen +region of operations, and he managed to give his pursuer +some unwelcome reminders of his presence. At times Tarleton +would be within a few miles of him, and full of hope of +overtaking him before the next day's dawn. But, while he was +thus lulled to security, Marion would be watching him from +the shadows of some dark morass, and at midnight the British +rear or flank would feel the sharp bite of the Swamp-Fox's +teeth. In the end, Tarleton withdrew discomfited from the +pursuit, with more hard words against this fellow, who +"would not fight like a gentleman or a Christian," than he +had ever been able to give him hard blows. + +Tarleton withdrawn, Marion resumed all his old activity, his +audacity reaching the extent of making an attack on the +British garrison at Georgetown. This was performed in +conjunction with Major Lee, who had been sent by General +Greene to Marion's aid. Lee had no little trouble to find +him. The active partisan was so constantly moving about, now +in deep swamps, now far from his lurking-places, that friend +and foe alike were puzzled to trace his movements. They met +at last, however, and made a midnight attack on Georgetown, +unsuccessful, as it proved, yet sufficient to redouble the +alarm of the enemy. + +In the spring of 1781 we find Colonel Watson, with a force +of five hundred men, engaged in the difficult task of +"crushing Marion." He found him,--unlike the +predecessors,--but, as it proved, to his own cost. Marion +was now at Snow's Island, whence he emerged to strike a +quick succession of heavy blows at such different points +that he appeared to be ubiquitous. His force met that of +Watson unexpectedly, and a fight ensued. Watson had the +advantage of field-pieces, and Marion was obliged to fall +back. Reaching a bridge over the Black River, he checked +his pursuers with telling volleys long enough to burn the +bridge. Then a peculiar contest took place. The two forces +marched down the stream, one on each side, for ten miles, +skirmishing across the water all the way. Darkness ended the +fight. The two camps were pitched near together. For ten +days Watson remained there, not able to get at Marion, and +so annoyed by the constant raids of his active foe that in +the end he made a midnight flight to escape destruction in +detail. Marion pursued, and did him no small damage in the +flight. Watson's only solace was the remark, already quoted, +that his troublesome foe would not "fight like a gentleman +or a Christian." + +Major Lee tells an amusing story of an incident that +happened to himself, on his march in search of Marion. He +had encamped for the night on Drowning Creek, a branch of +the Pedee. As morning approached, word was brought to the +officer of the day that noises were heard in front of the +pickets, in the direction of the creek. They seemed like the +stealthy movements of men. Now a sentinel fired, the bugles +sounded for the horse patrols to come in, and the whole +force was quickly got ready for the coming enemy. But no +enemy appeared. Soon after another sentinel fired, and word +came that an unseen foe was moving in the swamp. The troops +faced in this direction, and waited anxiously for the coming +of dawn. Suddenly the line of sentinels in their rear fire +in succession. The enemy had undoubtedly gained the road +behind them, and were marching on them from that direction. +The line again faced round. Lee went along it, telling his +men that there was nothing left but to fight, and bidding +them to sustain the high reputation which they had long +since won. The cavalry were ordered not to pursue a flying +force, for the country was well suited for concealment, and +they might be tempted into an ambuscade. + +When day broke the whole column advanced with great caution, +infantry in front, baggage in centre, cavalry in rear. Where +was the foe? None appeared. The van officer carefully +examined the road for an enemy's trail. To his surprise and +amusement, he found only the tracks of a large pack of +wolves. + +These animals had been attempting to pass the camp at point +after point, turned from each point by the fire of the +sentinels, and trying the line on all sides. Great merriment +followed, in which pickets, patrols, and the officer of the +day were made the butt of the ridicule of the whole force. + +We shall close with one interesting story in which Marion +played the leading part, but which is distinguished by an +example of womanly patriotism worthy of the highest praise. +The mansion of Mrs. Rebecca Motte, a rich widow of South +Carolina, had been taken possession of by the British +authorities, she being obliged to take up her residence in a +farm-house on her lands. The large mansion was converted +into a fort, and surrounded by a deep ditch and a high +parapet. A garrison of one hundred and fifty men, under +Captain McPherson, was stationed here, the place being +re-named Fort Motte. + +This stronghold was attacked, in May, 1781, by Marion and +Lee, then in conjunction. Lee took position at the +farm-house, and posted his men on the declivity of the plain +on which the fort stood. Marion cast up a mound, placed on +it the six-pounder they had brought with them, and prepared +to assail the parapet while Lee made his approaches. +McPherson had no artillery. + +Their approaches were made by a trench from an adjacent +ravine. In a few days they were near enough to be justified +in demanding a surrender. McPherson refused. The same +evening word reached the Americans that Lord Rawdon was +approaching. On the following night the light of his +camp-fires could be seen on the neighboring hills of the +Santee. The garrison saw them as well as the assailants, and +were filled with renewed hope. + +What was to be done? The besiegers must succeed quickly or +retreat. Lee was not long in devising an expedient. The +mansion of Mrs. Motte was shingled and the shingles very +dry. There had been no rain for several days, and the sun +had poured its rays warmly upon them. They might be set on +fire. Lee suggested this to Mrs. Motte, with much dread as +to how she would receive it. Her acquiescence was so +cheerful that his mind was relieved. The patriotic woman +expressed herself as ready to make any sacrifice for her +country. + +Lee told his plan to Marion, who warmly approved it. It was +proposed to do the work by means of arrows carrying flaming +combustibles. As it proved, however, the only bows and +arrows they could find in the camp were very inferior +articles. + +"They will never do," said Mrs. Motte. "I can provide you +with much better. I have in the house an excellent bow and a +bundle of arrows, which came from the East Indies. They are +at your service." + +She hastened from the room, and quickly returned with the +weapons, which she handed to Lee as cheerfully as though she +looked for some special benefit to herself from their use. +Word was sent to McPherson of what was intended, and that +Rawdon had not yet crossed the Santee. Immediate surrender +would save many lives. The bold commandant still refused. + +At midday, from the shelter of the ditch, Nathan Savage, one +of Marion's men, shot several flaming arrows at the roof. +Two of them struck the dry shingles. Almost instantly these +were in a flame. The fire crept along the roof. Soldiers +were sent up to extinguish it, but a shot or two from the +field-piece drove them down. + +There was no longer hope for McPherson. He must surrender, +or have his men burned in the fort, or decimated if they +should leave it. He hung out the white flag of surrender. +The firing ceased; the flames were extinguished; at one +o'clock the garrison yielded themselves prisoners. An hour +afterwards the victorious and the captive officers were +seated at an ample repast at Mrs. Motte's table, presided +over by that lady with as much urbanity and grace as though +these guests were her especial friends. Since that day Mrs. +Motte has been classed among the most patriotic heroines of +the Revolution. + +This is, perhaps, enough in prose, but the fame of Marion +and his men has been fitly enshrined in poetry, and it will +not be amiss to quote a verse or two, in conclusion, from +Bryant's stirring poem entitled "Song of Marion's Men." + + Our band is few, but true and tried + Our leader frank and bold: + The British soldier trembles + When Marion's name is told. + Our fortress is the good greenwood, + Our tent the cypress-tree; + We know the forest round us, + As seamen know the sea. + We know its walls of thorny vines, + Its glades of reedy grass; + Its safe and silent islands + Within the dark morass. + + Well knows the fair and friendly moon + The band that Marion leads,-- + The glitter of their rifles, + The scampering of their steeds. + 'Tis life to guide the fiery barb + Across the moonlit plain; + 'Tis life to feel the night wind + That lifts his tossing mane. + A moment in the British camp,-- + A moment,--and away + Back to the pathless forest + Before the peep of day. + + Grave men there are by broad Santee, + Grave men with hoary hairs; + Their hearts are all with Marion, + For Marion are their prayers. + And lovely ladies greet our band + With kindliest welcoming, + With smiles like those of summer, + And tears like those of spring. + For them we wear these trusty arms, + And lay them down no more + Till we have driven the Briton + Forever from our shore. + + + + +THE FATE OF THE PHILADELPHIA. + + +It was a mild evening on the Mediterranean, the wind light, +the sea smooth, the temperature--though the season was that +of midwinter--summer-like in its geniality. Into the harbor +of Tripoli slowly glided a small, two-masted vessel, all her +sails set and moderately well filled by the wind, yet moving +with the tardiness of a very slow sailer. A broad bay lay +before her, its surface silvered by the young moon whose +crescent glowed in the western sky. Far inward could be +dimly seen the masts and hull of a large vessel, its furled +sails white in the moonlight. Beyond it were visible distant +lights, and a white lustre as of minaret tops touched by the +moonbeams. These were the lights and spires of Tripoli, a +Moorish town then best known as a haunt and stronghold of +the pirates of the Mediterranean. All was silence, all +seemingly peace. The vessel--the ketch, to give it its +nautical name--moved onward with what seemed exasperating +slowness, scarcely ruffling the polished waters of the bay. +The hours passed on. The miles lagged tardily behind. The +wind fell. The time crept towards midnight. The only life +visible in the wide landscape was that of the gliding ketch. + +But any one who could have gained a bird's-eye view of the +vessel would have seen sufficient to excite his distrust of +that innocent-seeming craft. From the water-side only ten or +twelve men could be seen, but on looking downward the decks +would have been perceived to be crowded with men, lying down +so as to be hidden behind the bulwarks and other objects +upon the deck, and so thick that the sailors who were +working the vessel had barely room to move. + +This appeared suspicious. Not less suspicious was the fact +that the water behind the vessel was ruffled by dragging +objects of various kinds, which seemed to have something to +do with her slowness of motion. As the wind grew lighter, +and the speed of the vessel fell until it was moving at +barely a two-knots' rate, these objects were drawn in, and +proved to be buckets, spars, and other drags which had been +towed astern to reduce the vessel's speed. Her tardiness of +motion was evidently the work of design. + +It was now about ten o'clock. The moon hovered on the +western horizon, near its hour of setting. The wind was +nearly east, and favorable to the vessel's course, but was +growing lighter every moment. The speed of the ketch +diminished until it seemed almost to have come to rest. It +had now reached the eastern entrance to the bay, the passage +here being narrowed by rocks on the one hand and a shoal on +the other. Through this passage it stole onward like a +ghost, for nearly an hour, all around being tranquil, +nothing anywhere to arouse distrust. The craft seemed a +coaster delayed by the light winds in making harbor. + +The gliding ketch had now come so near to the large vessel +in front, that the latter had lost its dimness of outline +and was much more plainly visible. It was evidently no +Moorish craft, its large hull, its lofty masts, its tracery +of spars and rigging being rather those of an English or +American frigate than a product of Tripolitan dock-yards. +Its great bulk and sweeping spars arose in striking contrast +to the low-decked vessels which could be seen here and there +huddled about the inner sides of the harbor. + +A half-hour more passed. The ketch was now close aboard the +frigate-like craft, steering directly towards it. Despite +the seeming security of the harbor, there were sentries +posted on the frigate and officers moving about its deck. +From one of these now came a loud hail in the Tripolitan +tongue. + +"What craft is that?" + +"The Mastico, from Malta," came the answer, in the same +language. + +"Keep off. Do you want to run afoul of us?" + +"We would like to ride beside you for the night," came the +answer. "We have lost our anchors in a gale." + +The conversation continued, in the Tripolitan language, as +the ketch crept slowly up, an officer of the frigate and the +pilot of the smaller vessel being the spokesmen. A number of +Moorish sailors were looking with mild curiosity over the +frigate's rails, without a moment's suspicion that anything +was wrong. The moon still dimly lit up the waters of the +bay, but not with light enough to make any object very +distinct. + +As the ketch came close a boat was lowered with a line, and +was rowed towards the frigate, to whose fore-chains the end +was made fast. At the same time the officer of the large +vessel, willing to aid the seemingly disabled coaster, +ordered some of his men to lower a boat and take a line from +the stern to the ketch. As the boat of the latter returned, +it met the frigate's boat, took the line from the hands of +its crew, and passed it in to the smaller vessel. + +The ketch was now fast to the frigate bow and stern. The +lines were passed to the men lying on the deck, none of whom +were visible from the frigate's rail, and were slowly passed +from hand to hand by the men, the coaster thus being +cautiously drawn closer to the obliging Moorish craft. + +All this took time. Foot by foot the ketch drew nearer, her +motion being almost imperceptible. The Moors looked lazily +over their bulwark, fancying that it was but the set of the +current that was bringing the vessels together. But suddenly +there was a change. The officer of the frigate had +discovered that the ketch was still provided with anchors, +despite the story that her anchors had been lost in a gale. + +"What is this?" he cried, sternly. "You have your anchors! +You have lied to me! Keep off! Cut those fasts there!" + +A moment afterwards the cry of "Amerikanos!" was raised in +the ship, and a number of the night-watch drew their knives +and hastened fore and aft to cut the fasts. + +The crew of the Mastico--or the Intrepid, to give it its +proper name--were still more alert. At the first signal of +alarm, their cautious pull on the ropes was changed to a +vigorous effort which sent the ketch surging through the +water to the side of the frigate, where she was instantly +secured by grappling-irons, hurled by strong hands. + +Up to this moment not a movement or whisper had betrayed the +presence of the men crouched on the deck. The ten or twelve +who were visible seemed to constitute the whole crew of the +craft. But now there came a sudden change. The stirring cry +of "Boarders away!" was raised in stentorian tones, and in +an instant the deck of the Intrepid seemed alive. The +astonished Moors gazed with startled eyes at a dense crowd +of men who had appeared as suddenly as if they had come from +the air. + +The order to board had been given by an officer who sprang +at the same moment for the frigate's chain-plates. Two +active young men followed him, and in an instant the whole +crew were at their heels, some boarding the frigate by the +ports, others over the rail, swarming upon her deck like so +many bees, while the Moors fell back in panic fright. + +The surprise was perfect. The men on the frigate's deck ran +to the starboard side as their assailants poured in on the +larboard, and constant plunges into the water told that they +were hastily leaping overboard in their fright. Hardly a +blow had been struck. The deck was cleared in almost a +minute after the order to board. The only struggle took +place below, but this lasted little longer. In less than ten +minutes from the time of boarding all resistance was at an +end, and the craft was an undisputed prize to the Intrepid's +crew. + +And now to learn the meaning of this midnight assault. The +vessel which had been so skilfully captured was the frigate +Philadelphia, of the American navy, which had fallen into +the hands of the Tripolitans some time before. For years the +Moorish powers of Africa had been preying upon the commerce +of the Mediterranean, until the weaker nations of Europe +were obliged to pay an annual tribute for the security of +their commerce. The United States did the same for some +time, but the thing grew so annoying that war was at length +declared against Tripoli, the boldest of these piratical +powers. In 1803 Commodore Preble was sent with a fleet to +the Mediterranean. He forced Morocco to respect American +commerce, and then proceeded to Tripoli, outside whose +harbor his fleet congregated, with a view of blockading the +port. + +On October 31 Captain Bainbridge of the Philadelphia, while +cruising about, saw a vessel in shore and to windward, +standing for Tripoli. Sail was made to cut her off. The +chase continued for several hours, the lead being kept +constantly going to avoid danger of shoals. When about a +league distant from Tripoli it became evident that the +fugitive craft could not be overtaken, and the frigate wore +round to haul off into deeper waters. But, to the alarm of +the officers, they found the water in their front rapidly +shoaling, it having quickly decreased in depth from eight to +six and a half fathoms. A hasty effort was now made to wear +the ship, but it was too late; the next instant she struck +on a reef, with such force that she was lifted on it between +five and six feet. + +This was an appalling accident. No other cruiser was near. +The enemy was close at hand. Gunboats were visible near the +town. The moment it was discovered that the frigate was in +trouble these dogs of war would be out. Captain Bainbridge +gave orders to lighten the ship with all speed. All but a +few of her guns were thrown overboard. The anchors were cut +from the bows. The water-casks in the hold were started, and +the water pumped out. All heavy articles were thrown +overboard, and finally the foremast was cut away. But all +proved in vain. The ship still lay immovable on the rocks. +The gunboats of the enemy now surrounded her, and were +growing bolder every minute. There was nothing for it but +surrender. Resistance could only end in the death of all on +board. + +But before hauling down his flag, Captain Bainbridge had the +magazine drowned, holes bored in the ship's bottom, the +pumps choked, and every measure taken to insure her sinking. +Then the colors were lowered and the gunboats took +possession, three hundred and fifteen prisoners being +captured. The officers were well treated by the bashaw of +Tripoli, but an enormous ransom was demanded for them, and +all signs of an inclination to peace disappeared. + +Captain Bainbridge's efforts to sink the Philadelphia proved +ineffectual. During a high wind the prize was got off the +reef, her leaks stopped, and she taken in triumph to the +city. Her guns, anchors, and other articles were raised from +the reef, the ship was moored about a quarter of a mile from +the bashaw's castle, and her injuries repaired, it being the +intention to fit her for sea as a Tripolitan cruiser. + +These were the events that preceded the daring attempt we +have detailed. Lieutenant Stephen Decatur had volunteered to +make an effort to destroy the vessel, with the aid of a +recently-captured ketch, called the Mastico. This, renamed +the Intrepid, manned with a crew of seventy-six men, had +entered the harbor on the evening of February 3, 1804. What +followed, to the capture of the frigate, has been told. The +succeeding events remain to be detailed. + +Doubtless Lieutenant Decatur would have attempted to carry +off the prize had it been possible. His orders, however, +were to destroy it, and the fact that there was not a sail +bent or a yard crossed left him no alternative. The command +was, therefore, at once given to pass up the combustibles +from the ketch. There was no time to be lost. The swimming +fugitives would quickly be in the town and the alarm given. +Every moment now was of value, for the place where they were +was commanded by the guns of the forts and of several armed +vessels anchored at no great distance, and they might look +for an assault the instant their character was determined. + +With all haste, then, officers and men went to work. They +had been divided into squads, each with its own duty to +perform, and they acted with the utmost promptitude and +disciplined exactness. The men who descended with +combustibles to the cockpit and after-store-rooms had need +to haste, for fires were lighted over their heads before +they were through with their task. So rapidly did the flames +catch and spread that some of those on board had to make +their escape from between-decks by the forward ladders, the +after-part of the ship being already filled with smoke. + +In twenty minutes from the time the Americans had taken +possession of the ship they were driven out of her by +flames, so rapidly had they spread. The vessel had become so +dry under those tropical suns that she burned like pine. By +the time the party which had been engaged in the store-rooms +reached the deck, most of the others were on board the +Intrepid. They joined them, and the order to cast off was +given. It was not an instant too soon, for the daring party +were just then in the most risky situation they had been in +that night. + +The fire, in fact, had spread with such unexpected rapidity +that flames were already shooting from the port-holes. The +head fast was cast off, and the ketch fell astern. But the +stern fast became jammed and the boom foul, while the +ammunition of the party, covered only with a tarpaulin, was +within easy reach of the increasing flames. + +There was no time to look for an axe, and the rope was +severed with swords-blows, while a vigorous shove sent the +Intrepid clear of the frigate and free from the danger which +had threatened her. As she swung clear, the flames reached +the rigging, up which they shot in hissing lines, the ropes +being saturated with tar which had oozed out through the +heat of the sun. + +The Intrepid did not depend on her sails alone for escape. +She was provided with sweeps, and these were now got out and +manned with haste, a few vigorous strokes sending the vessel +safely away from the flaming frigate. This done, the crew, +as with one impulse, dropped their oars and gave three +rousing cheers for their signal victory. + +Their shouts of triumph appeared to rouse the Moors from +their lethargy. So rapid and unlooked-for had been the +affair, that the vessel was in full flame before the town +and the harbor were awake to the situation. There were +batteries on shore, and two corsairs and a galley were +anchored at no great distance from the Philadelphia, and +from these now the boom of cannon began. But their fire was +too hasty and nervous to do much harm, and the men of the +Intrepid seized their sweeps again and bowled merrily down +the harbor, their progress aided by a light breeze in their +sails. + +The spectacle that followed is described as of a beauty that +approached sublimity. The ship, aflame from hull to peak, +presented a magnificent appearance, the entire bay was +illuminated, and the flash and roar of cannon were constant, +the guns of the Philadelphia going off as they became +heated, and adding to the uproar. She lay so that one of her +broadsides was directed towards the town, thus returning the +enemy's fire, while the other sent its balls far out into +the harbor. "The most singular effect of the conflagration +was on board the ship, for the flames, having run up the +rigging and masts, collected under the tops, and fell over, +giving the whole the appearance of glowing columns and fiery +capitals." + +The Intrepid moved on down the harbor, none the worse for +the cannon-balls that were sent after her, and continued her +course until she reached her consort, the Siren, which +awaited her outside the harbor. Joining company, they +proceeded to Syracuse, where the fleet then lay. + +The exploit we have here described was one of the most +notable in the annals of the American navy. It was one that +needed the utmost daring combined with the most exact +attention to details, and in both these respects there was +nothing wanting to insure the success of the enterprise. The +hour was well chosen, as that in which the foe would most +likely be off their guard, and to this we must ascribe the +slowness of their assault on the Americans and the +uncertainty of their aim. The mode of approach to the +frigate, the skill with which the ketch was laid alongside +without exciting suspicion, and the rapidity and +completeness with which the destruction of the prize was +prepared for, were all worthy of high commendation. As for +the boldness of the enterprise, one has but to consider what +would have been the fate of the Americans had the attack +failed. Directly under the frigate's guns, and in a harbor +filled with gunboats and armed cruisers and surrounded by +forts and batteries, escape would have been impossible, and +every man in the Intrepid must have perished. The greatest +courage, coolness, and self-possession, and the most exact +discipline, alone could have yielded success in the daring +project, and these qualities seem to have been possessed in +a high degree. + +The success of this exploit gave Lieutenant Decatur a +reputation for gallantry which had its share in his +subsequent elevation to the highest rank in the navy. The +country generally applauded the feat, and the navy long +considered it one of its most brilliant achievements, it +being deemed a high honor among sailors and officers to have +been one of the Intrepid's crew. The writer of these pages +may add that it is to him a matter of some interest that the +first man to reach the deck of the Philadelphia on that +memorable night was a namesake of his own, Midshipman +Charles Morris. For the credit of the name he is also glad +to say that Mr. Morris in time become a commodore in the +navy, and attained a high reputation as an officer both in +war and peace. + + + + +THE VICTIM OF A TRAITOR. + + +On the Ohio River, fourteen miles below Marietta, lies a +beautiful island, which became, in the early part of this +century, the scene of a singular romance. At that time it +was a wild and forest-clad domain, except for a few acres of +clearing near its upper extremity, on which stood a large +and handsome mansion, with spacious out-buildings and +surrounding grounds which were laid out with the finest +taste. The great elms and gigantic sycamore of the West gave +grandeur to the surrounding woodland, and afforded shelter +to grazing flocks and herds. Huge water-willows dipped their +drooping branches into the waves of the Ohio as they ran +swiftly by. In front of the mansion were several acres of +well-kept lawn. In its rear were two acres of flower-garden, +planted with native and exotic shrubs. Vine-covered arbors +and grottos rose here and there. On one side of the house +was the kitchen garden, stocked with choice fruit-trees. +Through the forest-trees an opening had been cut, which +afforded an attractive view of the river for several miles +of its course. On the whole, it was a paradise in the +wilderness, a remarkable scene for that outlying region, for +not far from the mansion still stood a large block-house, +which had, not many years before, been used as a place of +refuge in the desolating Indian wars. + +Here dwelt Harman Blennerhasset and his lovely wife; he a +man of scientific attainments, she a woman of fine education +and charming manners. He was of Irish origin, wealthy, amply +educated, with friends among the highest nobility. But he +had imbibed republican principles, and failed to find +himself comfortable in royalist society. He had therefore +sought America, heard of the beautiful islands of the Ohio, +and built himself a home on one of the most charming of them +all. + +We have described the exterior of the mansion. Interiorly it +was richly ornamented and splendidly furnished. The +drawing-room was of noble proportions and admirable +adornment. The library was well filled with choice books. +The proprietor was fond of chemistry, and had an excellent +laboratory; he enjoyed astronomy, and possessed a powerful +telescope; he had a passion for music, had composed many +airs, and played well on several instruments. He was, in his +way, a universal genius, courteous in manners, benevolent in +disposition, yet of that genial and unsuspicious nature +which laid him open to the wiles of those shrewd enough to +make use of his weak points. + +Mrs. Blennerhasset loved society, and was none too well +pleased that her husband should bury himself and her in the +wilderness, and waste his fine powers on undeveloped nature. +Such guests of culture as could be obtained were hospitably +welcomed at their island mansion. Few boats passed up and +down the river without stopping at the island, and cultured +and noble persons from England and France not infrequently +found their way to the far-off home of the Blennerhassets. + +Yet, withal, the intervals between the visits of cultivated +guests were long. Ohio was rapidly filling up with +population, but culture was a rare exotic in that pioneer +region, and the inmates of the Blennerhasset mansion must +have greatly lacked visits from their own social equals. + +One day in the spring of 1805 a traveller landed on the +island, as if merely lured thither by the beauty of the +grounds as seen from the river. Mr. Blennerhasset was in his +study, whither a servant came to tell him that a gentlemanly +stranger had landed, and was observing the lawn. The servant +was at once bidden to invite the stranger, in his master's +name, to enter the house. The traveller courteously +declined. He could not think of intruding, begged to be +excused for landing on the grounds, and sent in his card. +Mr. Blennerhasset read the card, and his eyes lighted up +with interest, for what he saw was the name of a former +Vice-President of the United States. He at once hastened to +the lawn, and with polite insistence declared that Mr. Burr +must enter and partake of the hospitality of his house. + +It was like inviting Satan into Eden. Aaron Burr, for it was +he, readily complied. He had made the journey thither for +that sole purpose. The story of Mr. Blennerhasset's wealth +had reached the East, and the astute schemer hoped to enlist +his aid in certain questionable projects he then +entertained. + +But no hint of an ulterior purpose was suffered to appear. +Burr was noted for the fascination of his manners, and his +host and hostess were charmed with him. He was unusually +well informed, eloquent in speech, familiar with all social +arts, and could mask the deepest designs with the most +artless affectation of simplicity. All the secrets of +American political movements were familiar to him, and he +conversed fluently of the prospects of war with Spain, the +ease with which the Mexicans might throw off their foreign +yoke, and the possibilities of splendid pecuniary results +from land speculations within the Spanish territory on the +Red River. + +This seed sown, the arch deceiver went his way. His first +step had been taken. Blennerhasset was patriotically devoted +to the United States, but the grand scheme which had been +portrayed to him seemed to have nothing to do with questions +of state. It was a land speculation open to private wealth. + +Burr kept his interest alive by letters. The Blennerhassets +spent the next winter in New York and Philadelphia, and +there met Aaron Burr again. Not unlikely they came with that +purpose, for the hopes of new wealth, easily to be made, +were alluring and exciting. During that winter it is +probable that a sort of land-speculation partnership was +formed. Very rich lands lay on the Washita River, within +Spanish territory, said Burr, which could be bought for a +small sum. Then, by encouraging immigration thither, they +might be sold at enormous profit. + +This was the Burr scheme as Blennerhasset heard it. The +dupe did not dream of the treasonable projects resting +within the mind of his dangerous associate. These were, to +provoke revolt of the people of Mexico and the northern +Spanish provinces, annex the western United States region, +and establish a great empire, in which Burr should be the +leading potentate. + +Mr. Blennerhasset, once enlisted in the land-speculation +project, supplied the funds to buy the lands on the Washita, +and engaged in operations on a large scale for sending +settlers to the purchased domain. Colonel Burr came to +Marietta and took an active part in these operations. +Fifteen large flat-boats were built to convey the +immigrants, their furniture, and such arms as they might +need for repelling Indians. Five hundred men were fixed as +the number for the first colony, and this number Burr +succeeded in enlisting. Each was to have one hundred acres +of land. This was not in itself any great inducement where +land was so plentiful as in Ohio. But Burr did not hesitate +to hint at future possibilities. The lands to be colonized +had been peacefully purchased. But the Mexicans were eager +to throw off the Spanish yoke; war between the United States +and Spain might break out at any minute; Mexico would be +invaded by an army, set free, and the new pioneers would +have splendid opportunities in the formation of a new and +great republic of the West and South. Burr went further than +this. He had articles inserted in a Marietta newspaper, +signed by an assumed name, in which was advocated the +secession of the States west of the Alleghanies. These +articles were strongly replied to by a writer who signed +himself "Regulus," and with whose views the community at +large sympathized. His articles were copied by Eastern +papers. They spoke of the armed expedition which Colonel +Burr was preparing, and declared that its purpose was the +invasion of Mexico. Jefferson, then in the Presidential +chair, knew Burr too well to ignore these warnings. He sent +a secret agent to Marietta to discover what was going on, +and at the same time asked the governor of Ohio to seize the +boats and suppress the expedition. + +Mr. Blennerhasset assured the secret agent, Mr. Graham, that +no thought was entertained of invading Mexico. The project, +he said, was an eminently peaceful one. But the public was +of a different opinion. Rumor, once started, grew with its +usual rapidity. Burr was organizing an army to seize New +Orleans, rob the banks, capture the artillery, and set up an +empire or republic of his own in the valley of the lower +Mississippi. Blennerhasset was his accomplice, and as deep +in the scheme as himself. The Ohio Legislature, roused to +energetic action by the rumors which were everywhere afloat, +passed an act that all armed expeditions should be +suppressed, and empowered the governor to call out the +militia, seize Burr's boats, and hold the crews for trial. + +Public attention had been earnestly and hostilely directed +to the questionable project, and Burr's hopes were at an +end. The militia were mustered at Marietta, a six-pounder +was planted on the river-bank, orders were given to stop and +examine all descending boats, and sentries were placed to +watch the stream by day and night. + +While these events were proceeding, Mr. Blennerhasset had +gone to the Muskingum, to superintend the departure of the +boats that were to start from that stream. While there the +boats were seized by order of the governor. The suspicions +of the people and government were for the first time made +clear to him. Greatly disturbed, and disposed to abandon the +whole project, costly as it had been to him, he hastened +back to his island home. There he found a flotilla of four +boats, with a crew of about thirty men, which had passed +Marietta before the mustering of the militia. They were +commanded by a Mr. Tyler. + +Mr. Blennerhasset's judgment was in favor of abandoning the +scheme. Mrs. Blennerhasset, who was very ambitious, argued +strongly on the other side. She was eager to see her husband +assume a position fitting to his great talents. Mr. Tyler +joined her in her arguments. Blennerhasset gave way. It was +a fatal compliance, one destined to destroy his happiness +and peace for the remainder of his life, and to expose his +wife to the most frightful scenes of outrage and barbarity. + +The frontier contained hosts of lawless men, men to whom +loyalty meant license. Three days after the conversation +described, word was brought to the island that a party of +the Wood County militia, made up of the lowest and most +brutal men in the community, would land on the island that +very night, seize the boats, arrest all the men they found, +and probably burn the house. + +The danger was imminent. Blennerhasset and all the men with +him took to the boats to escape arrest and possibly murder +from these exasperated frontiersmen. Mrs. Blennerhasset and +her children were left in the mansion, with the expectation +that their presence would restrain the brutality of the +militia, and preserve the house and its valuable contents +from destruction. It proved a fallacious hope. Colonel +Phelps, the commander of the militia, pursued Blennerhasset. +In his absence his men behaved like savages. They took +possession of the house, became brutally drunk from the +liquors they found in the cellar, rioted through its +elegantly furnished rooms, burned its fences for bonfires, +and for seven days made life a pandemonium of horrors for +the helpless woman and frightened children who had been left +in their midst. + +The experience of those seven days was frightful. There was +no escape. Mrs. Blennerhasset was compelled to witness the +ruthless destruction of all she held most dear, and to +listen to the brutal ribaldry and insults of the rioting +savages. Not until the end of the time named did relief +come. Then Mr. Putnam, a friend from the neighboring town of +Belpr['e], ventured on the island. He provided a boat in which +the unhappy lady was enabled to save a few articles of +furniture and some choice books. In this boat, with her two +sons, six and eight years old, and with two young men from +Belpr['e], she started down the river to join her husband. Two +or three negro servants accompanied her. + +It was a journey of great hardships. The weather was cold, +the river filled with floating ice, the boat devoid of any +comforts. A rude cabin, open in the front, afforded the only +shelter from wind and rain. Half frozen in her flight, the +poor woman made her way down the stream, and at length +joined her husband at the mouth of the Cumberland River, +which he had reached with his companions, having distanced +pursuit. Their flight was continued down the Mississippi as +far as Natchez. + +No sooner had Mrs. Blennerhasset left the island than the +slight restraint which her presence had exercised upon the +militia disappeared. The mansion was ransacked. Whatever +they did not care to carry away was destroyed. Books, +pictures, rich furniture were used to feed bonfires. Doors +were torn from their hinges, windows dashed in, costly +mirrors broken with hammers. Destruction swept the island, +all its improvements being ruthlessly destroyed. For months +the mansion stood, an eyesore of desolation, until some +hand, moved by the last impulse of savagery, set it on fire, +and it was burned to the ground. + +What followed may be briefly told. So great was the +indignation against Burr that he was forced to abandon his +project. His adherents were left in destitution. Some of +them were a thousand miles and more from their homes, and +were forced to make their way back as they best could. Burr +and Blennerhasset were both arrested for treason. The latter +escaped. There was no criminating evidence against him. As +for Burr, he had been far too shrewd to leave himself open +to the hand of the law. His trial resulted in an acquittal. +Though no doubt was felt of his guilt, no evidence could be +found to establish it. He was perforce set free. + +If he had done nothing more, he had, by his detestable arts, +broken up one of the happiest homes in America, and ruined +his guileless victim. + +Blennerhasset bought a cotton plantation at Natchez. His +wife, who had the energy he lacked, managed it. They dwelt +there for ten years, favorites with the neighboring +planters. Then came war with England, and the plantation +ceased to afford them a living. The ruined man returned to +his native land, utterly worn out and discouraged, and died +there in poverty in 1831. + +Mrs. Blennerhasset became a charge on the charity of her +friends. After several years she returned to the United +States, where she sought to obtain remuneration from +Congress for her destroyed property. She would probably have +succeeded but for her sudden death. She was buried at the +expense of a society of Irish ladies in the city of New +York. And thus ended the career of two of the victims of +Aaron Burr. They had listened to the siren voice of the +tempter, and ruin and despair were their rewards. + + + + +HOW THE ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH WAS INVENTED. + + +The year 1832 is only sixty years ago in time, yet since +then there has been a striking development of conveniences, +rapidity of travel, and arrangements for the diffusion of +intelligence. People then still travelled in great part by +aid of horses, the railroad having just begun its marvellous +career. News, which now fly over continents and under oceans +at lightning speed, then jogged on at stage-coach rates of +progress, creeping where they now fly. On the ocean, steam +was beginning to battle with wind and wave, but the ocean +racer was yet a far-off dream, and mariners still put their +trust in sails much more than in the new-born contrivances +which were preparing to revolutionize travel. But the wand +of the enchanter had been waved; steam had come, and with it +the new era of progress had dawned. And another great agent +in the development of civilization was about to come. +Electricity, which during all previous time had laughed at +bonds, was soon to become man's slave, and to be made his +purveyor of news. It is the story of this chaining of the +lightning, and forcing it to become the swift conveyer of +man's sayings and doings, that we have here to tell. + +In the far remote period named--if we measure time by +deeds, not by years--a packet-ship, the Sully, was making +its deliberate way across the Atlantic from Havre to New +York. Its passenger list was not large,--the ocean had not +yet become a busy highway of the continents,--but among them +were some persons in whom we are interested. One of these +was a Boston doctor, Charles T. Jackson by name. A second +was a New York artist, named Samuel F.B. Morse. The +last-named gentleman had been a student at Yale, where he +became greatly interested in chemistry and some other +sciences. He had studied the art of painting under Benjamin +West in London, had practised it in New York, had long been +president of the National Academy of the Arts of Design; and +was now on his way home after a second period of residence +in Europe as a student of art. + +An interesting conversation took place one day in the cabin +of the Sully. Dr. Jackson spoke of Amp[`e]re's experiments with +the electro-magnet; of how Franklin had sent electricity +through several miles of wire, finding no loss of time +between the touch at one end and the spark at the other; and +how, in a recent experiment at Paris, a great length of wire +had been carried in circles around the walls of a large +apartment, an electro-magnet connected with one end, and an +electric current manifested at the other, having passed +through the wire so quickly as to seem instantaneous. Mr. +Morse's taste for science had not died out during his years +of devotion to art. He listened with the most earnest +attention to the doctor's narrative, and while he did so a +large and promising idea came into being in his brain. + +"Why," he exclaimed, with much ardor of manner, "if that is +so, and the presence of electricity can be made visible in +any desired part of the circuit, I see no reason why +intelligence should not be transmitted instantaneously by +electricity." + +"How convenient it would be if we could send news in that +manner!" chimed in one of the passengers. + +"Why can't we?" exclaimed Morse. + +Why not, indeed? The idea probably died in the minds of most +of the persons present within five minutes. But Samuel Morse +was not one of the men who let ideas die. This one haunted +him day and night. He thought of it and dreamed of it. In +those days of deliberate travel time hung heavily on the +hands of transatlantic passengers, despite the partial +diversions of eating and sleeping. The ocean grew +monotonous, the vessel monotonous, the passengers +monotonous, everything monotonous except that idea, and that +grew and spread till its fibres filled every nook and cranny +of the inventive brain that had taken it in to bed and +board. + +Morse had abundance of the native Yankee faculty of +invention. To do, had been plain enough from the start. How +to do, was the question to be solved. But before the Sully +steamed into New York harbor the solution had been reached. +In the mind of the inventor, and in graphic words and +drawings on paper, were laid down the leading features of +that telegraphic method which is used to-day in the great +majority of the telegraph lines of the world. + +An alphabet of dots and marks, a revolving ribbon of paper +to receive this alphabet, a method of enclosing the wires in +tubes which were to be buried underground, were the leading +features of the device as first thought of. The last +conception was quickly followed by that of supporting the +wires in the air, but Morse clung to his original fancy for +burying them,--a fancy which, it may here be said, is coming +again into vogue in these latter days, so far as cities are +concerned. + +It is not meant to be implied that the idea of sending news +by electricity was original with Morse. Others had had it +before him. More than half a century before, Dr. Franklin +and some friends had stretched a wire across the Schuylkill +River and killed a turkey on the other side by electricity. +As they ate this turkey, it is quite possible that they +imbibed with it the idea of making this marvellous agent do +other work than killing fowl for dinner, and from that time +on it is likely that many had speculated on the possibility +of sending intelligence by wire. Some experiments had been +made, and with a certain degree of success, but time still +waited for the hour and the man, and the hour and the man +met in that fertile October day in the cabin of the Sully. + +"If it can go ten miles without stopping, I can make it go +round the world," said Morse to his fellow-passengers, his +imagination expanding in the ardor of his new idea. + +"Well, captain," he said, with a laugh, on leaving the ship, +"should you hear of the telegraph one of these days as the +wonder of the world, remember that the discovery was made on +board the good ship Sully." + +The inventor, indeed, was possessed with his new +conceptions, mad with an idea, as we may say, and glad to +set foot once more on shore, that he might put his plans in +practice. + +This proved no easy task. He was none too well provided with +funds, and the need of making a living was the first +necessity that presented itself to him. He experimented as +much as he was able, but three years passed before his +efforts yielded a satisfactory result. Then, with a circuit +of seventeen hundred feet of wire, and a wooden clock, +adapted by himself to suit his purpose, he managed to send a +message from end to end of this wire. It was not very +legible. He could make some sense of it. His friends could +not. But all were much interested in the experiment. Many +persons witnessed these results, as shown in a large room of +the New York University, in 1837. They seemed wonderful; +much was said about them; but nobody seemed to believe that +the apparatus was more than a curious and unprofitable toy, +and capitalists buttoned their pockets when the question of +backing up this wild inventor's fancy with money was +broached. + +But by this time Mr. Morse was a complete captive to his +idea. Body and soul he was its slave. The question of daily +fare became secondary; that of driving his idea over and +through all obstacles became primary. His business as an +artist was neglected. He fell into want, into almost abject +poverty. For twenty-four hours he went without food. But not +for a moment did he lose faith in his invention, or remit +his efforts to find a capitalist with sufficient confidence +in him to risk his money in it. + +Failing with the private rich, he tried to obtain public +support, went to Washington in 1838, exhibited his apparatus +to interested congressmen, and petitioned for enough money +from the public purse to build a line from Baltimore to +Washington,--forty miles only. It is traditionally slow work +in getting a bill through Congress. Weary with waiting, +Morse went to Europe, to try his new seed in that old soil. +It failed to germinate abroad as it had at home. Men with +money acknowledged that the idea was a scientific success, +but could not believe that it might be made a business +success. + +"What would people care for instantaneous news?" they said. +"Some might, it is true, but the great mass would be content +to wait for their news in the good old way. To lay miles of +wire in the earth is to bury a large treasure in money. We +cannot see our way clear to getting it back again out of the +pockets of the public. Your wires work, Mr. Morse, but, from +a business point of view, there's more cost than profit in +the idea." + +It may be that these exact words were not spoken, but the +answer of Europe was near enough to this to send the +inventor home disappointed. He began again his weary waiting +on the slowly-revolving wheels of the congressional +machinery. + +March 3, 1843, came. It was the last day of the session. +With the stroke of midnight on that day the existing +Congress would die, and a new one be born, with which the +weary work of the education of congressmen would have to be +gone over again. The inventor had been given half a loaf. +His bill had been passed, on February 23, in the House. All +day of March 3 he hung about the Senate chamber petitioning, +where possible, for the other half of his loaf, faintly +hoping that in the last will and testament of the expiring +Congress some small legacy might be left for him. + +Evening came. The clock-hands circled rapidly round. +Pressure of bills and confusion of legislation grew greater +minute by minute. The floodgates of the deluge are lifted +upon Congress in its last hours, and business pours onward +in such an overwhelming fashion that small private +petitioners can scarcely hope that the doors of the ark of +safety will be opened to their petty claims. Morse hung +about the chamber until the midnight hour was almost ready +to strike. Every moment confusion seemed to grow "worse +confounded." The work of a month of easy-going legislation +was being compressed into an hour of haste and excitement. +The inventor at last left the Capitol, a saddened and +disappointed man, and made his way home, the last shreds of +hope seeming to drop from him as he went. He was almost +ready to give up the fight, and devote himself for the +future solely to brush and pencil. + +He slept but poorly that night, and rose the next morning +still depressed and gloomy. He appeared at the +breakfast-table with a face from which the very color of +ambition seemed to have been washed out. As he entered the +room he was met by a young lady, Miss Annie G. Ellsworth, +daughter of the Commissioner of Patents. The smile on her +beaming face was in striking contrast to the gloom on his +downcast countenance. + +"I have come to congratulate you, Mr. Morse," she said, +cheerily. + +"For what, my dear friend?" + +"For the passage of your bill." + +"What!" he gazed at her amazement. Could she be attempting a +foolish and cruel jest? "The passage of my bill!" he +faltered. + +"Yes. Do you not know of it?" + +"No." + +"Then you came home too early last night. And I am happy in +being the first to bring you the good news. Congress has +granted your claim." + +It was true: he had been remembered in the will of the +expiring Congress. In the last hour of the Senate, amid the +roar of the deluge of public business, his small demand had +floated into sight, and thirty thousand dollars had been +voted him for the construction of an experimental telegraph +line. + +"You have given me new life, Miss Ellsworth," he said. "As +a reward for your good tidings I promise you that when my +telegraph line is completed, you shall have the honor of +choosing the first message to be sent over it." + +The inventor was highly elated, and not without reason. +Since the morning of the conversation on the ship Sully, +eleven and a half years had passed. They had been years of +such struggle against poverty and discouragement as only a +man who is the slave of an idea has the hardihood to endure. +The annals of invention contain many such instances; more, +perhaps, than can be found in any other channel of human +effort. + +To complete our story we have to bring another inventor upon +the stage. This was Ezra Cornell, memorable to-day as the +founder of Cornell University, a man at that time unknown, +but filled with inventive ideas, and ready to undertake any +task that might offer itself, from digging a well to boring +a mountain tunnel. One day Mr. Cornell, who was at that time +occupying the humble position of traveling agent for a +patent plough, called at the office of an agricultural +newspaper in Portland, Maine. He found the editor on his +knees, a piece of chalk in his hand, and parts of a plough +by his side, making drawings on the floor, and trying to +explain something to a plough-maker beside him. The editor +looked up at his visitor, and an expression of relief +replaced the perplexity on his face. + +"Cornell," he cried, "you're the very man I want to see. I +want a scraper made, and I can't make Robinson here see +into my idea. You can understand it, and make it for me, +too." + +"What is your scraper to do?" asked Cornell. + +Mr. Smith, the editor, rose from his knees and explained. A +line of telegraph was to be built from Baltimore to +Washington. Congress had granted the money. He had taken the +contract from Professor Morse to lay the tube in which the +wire was to be placed. He had made a bad bargain, he feared. +The job was going to cost more than he had calculated, on. +He was trying to invent something that would dig the ditch, +and fill in the dirt again after the pipe was laid. Cornell +listened to him, questioned him, found out the size of the +pipe and the depth of the ditch, then sat down and passed +some minutes in hard thinking. Finally he said,-- + +"You are on the wrong tack. You don't want either a ditch or +a scraper." + +He took a pencil and in a few minutes outlined a machine, +which he said would cut a trench two feet deep, lay the pipe +at its bottom, and cover the earth in behind it. The motive +power need be only a team of oxen or mules. These creatures +had but to trudge slowly onward. The machine would do its +work faithfully behind them. + +"Come, come, this is impossible!" cried editor Smith. + +"I'll wager my head it can be done, and I can do it," +replied inventor Cornell. + +He laid a large premium on his confidence in his idea, +promising that if his machine would not work he would ask +no money for it. But if it succeeded, he was to be well +paid. Smith agreed to these terms, and Cornell went to work. + +In ten days the machine was built and ready for trial. A +yoke of oxen was attached to it, three men managed it, and +in the first five minutes it had laid one hundred feet of +pipe and covered it with earth. It was a decided success. +Mr. Smith had contracted to lay the pipe for one hundred +dollars a mile. A short calculation proved to him that, with +the aid of Ezra Cornell's machine, ninety dollars of this +would be profit. + +But the shrewd editor did not feel like risking Cornell's +machine in any hands but those of the inventor. He made him +a profitable offer if he would go to Baltimore and take +charge of the job himself. It would pay better than selling +patent ploughs. Cornell agreed to go. + +Reaching Baltimore, he met Professor Morse. They had never +met before. Their future lives were to be closely +associated. In the conversation that ensued Morse explained +what he proposed to do. An electric wire might either be +laid underground or carried through the air. He had decided +on the underground system, the wire being coated by an +insulating compound and drawn through a pipe. + +Cornell questioned him closely, got a clear idea of the +scheme, saw the pipe that was to be used, and expressed +doubts of its working. + +"It will work, for it has worked," said Morse. "While I have +been fighting Congress, inventors in Europe have been +experimenting with the telegraphic idea. Short lines have +been laid in England and elsewhere, in which the wire is +carried in buried pipes. They had been successful. What can +be done in Europe can be done in America." + +What Morse said was a fact. While he had been pushing his +telegraph conception in America it had been tried +successfully in Europe. But the system adopted there, of +vibrating needle signals, was so greatly inferior to the +Morse system, that it was destined in the future to be +almost or quite set aside by the latter. To-day the Morse +system and alphabet are used in much the greater number of +the telegraph offices of the world. + +But to return to our story. Cornell went to work, and the +pipe, with its interior wire, was laid with much rapidity. +Not many days had elapsed before ten miles were underground, +the pipe being neatly covered as laid. It reached from +Baltimore nearly to the Relay House. Here it stopped, for +something had gone wrong. Morse tested his wire. It would +not work. No trace of an electric current could be got +through it. The insulation was evidently imperfect. What was +to be done? He would be charged with wasting the public +money on an impracticable experiment. Yet if he stopped he +might expect a roar of newspaper disapprobation of his whole +scheme. He was in a serious dilemma. How should he escape? + +He sought Cornell, and told him of the failure of his +experiments. The work must be stopped. He must try other +kinds of pipe and new methods of insulation. But if the +public should suspect failure there would be vials of wrath +poured on their devoted heads. + +"The public shall not suspect failure. Leave it to me," said +Cornell. + +He turned to his men. The machine was slowly moving forward, +drawn by a team of eight mules, depositing pipe as it went. +A section had just been laid. Night was at hand. + +"Hurry up, boys," cried Cornell, cheerily. "We must lay +another length before we quit." + +He grasped the handles of his plough-like machine; the +drivers stirred up the mules to a lively pace; the +contrivance went merrily forward. But the cunning pilot knew +what he was about. He steered the buried point of the +machine against a rock that just protruded from the earth. +In an instant there was a shock, a sound of rending wood and +iron, a noise of shouting and trampling; and then the line +of mules came to a halt. But behind them were only the ruins +of a machine. That moment's work had converted the +pipe-laying contrivance into kindling-wood and scrap-iron. + +The public condoled with the inventor. It was so unlucky +that his promising progress should be stopped by such an +accident! As for Morse and his cunning associate, they +smiled quietly to themselves as they went on with their +experiments. Another kind of pipe was tried. Still the +current would not go through. A year passed by. Experiment +after experiment had been made. All had proved failures. +Twenty-three thousand dollars of the money had been spent. +Only seven thousand remained. The inventor was on the verge +of despair. + +"I am afraid it will never work," said Cornell. "It looks +bad for the pipe plan." + +"Then let us try the other," said Morse. "If the current +won't go underground, it may be coaxed to go above-ground." + +The plan suggested was to string the wire upon poles, +insulating it from the wood by some non-conductor. A +suitable insulator was needed. Cornell devised one; another +inventor produced another. Morse approved of the latter, +started for New York with it to make arrangements for its +manufacture, and on his way met Professor Henry, who knew +more about electricity than any other man in the country. +Morse showed him the models of the two insulators, and +indicated the one he had chosen. Mr. Henry examined them +closely. + +"You are mistaken," he said. "That one won't work. This is +the insulator you need." He pointed to Cornell's device. + +In a few words he gave his reasons. Morse saw that he was +right. The Cornell insulator was chosen And now the work +went forward with great rapidity. The planting of poles, and +stringing of wires over a glass insulator at their tops, was +an easy and rapid process. And more encouraging still, the +thing worked to a charm. There was no trouble now in +obtaining signals from the wire. + +The first public proof of the system was made on May 11, +1844. On that day the Whig National Convention, then in +session at Baltimore, had nominated Henry Clay for the +Presidency. The telegraph was being built from the +Washington end, and was yet miles distant from Baltimore. +The first railroad train from Baltimore carried passengers +who were eager to tell the tidings to their Washington +friends. But it carried also an agent of Professor Morse, +who brought the news to the inventor at the unfinished end +of the telegraph. From that point he sent it over the wire +to Washington. It was successfully received at the +Washington end, and never were human beings more surprised +than were the train passengers on alighting at the capital +city to find that they brought stale news, and that Clay's +nomination was already known throughout Washington. It was +the first public proof in America of the powers of the +telegraph, and certainly a vital and convincing one. + +Before the 24th of May the telegraph line to Baltimore was +completed, the tests successfully made, and all was ready +for the public exhibition of its marvellous powers, which +had been fixed for that day. Miss Ellsworth, in compliance +with the inventor's promise, made her more than a year +before, was given the privilege of choosing the first +message to go over the magic wires. She selected the +appropriate message from Scriptures: "What hath God +wrought?" With these significant words began the reign of +that marvellous invention which has wrought so wonderfully +in binding the ends of the earth together and making one +family of mankind. + +There were difficulties still in the way of the inventor, +severe ones. His after-life lay in no bed of roses. His +patents were violated, his honor was questioned, even his +integrity was assailed; rival companies stole his business, +and lawsuits made his life a burden. He won at last, but +failed to have the success of his associate, Mr. Cornell, +who grew in time very wealthy from his telegraphic +enterprises. + +As regards the Morse system of telegraphy, it may be said in +conclusion that over one hundred devices have been invented +to supersede it, but that it holds its own triumphant over +them all. The inventor wrought with his brain to good +purpose in those days and nights of mental discipline above +the Atlantic waves and on board the good ship Sully. + + + + +THE MONITOR AND THE MERRIMAC. + + +On the 9th of March, 1862, for the first time in human +history, two iron-clad ships met in battle. The occasion was +a memorable one, and its story is well worthy of being +retold in our cycle of historic events. For centuries, for +thousands of years, in truth, wooden vessels had been +struggling for the mastery of the seas. With the first shot +fired from the turret of the Monitor at the roof-like sides +of the Merrimac, in the early morning of the day named, the +long reign of wooden war vessels ended; that of iron +monarchs of the deep began. England could no more trust to +her "wooden walls" for safety, and all the nations of +Europe, when the echo of that shot reached their ears, felt +that the ancient era of naval construction was at an end, +and that the future navies of the world must ride the waves +clad in massive armor of steel. + +On the 8th of March, indeed, this had been shown. On that +day the Merrimac steamed down from Norfolk harbor into +Hampton Roads, where lay a fleet of wooden men-of-war, some +of them the largest sailing frigates then in the American +navy. On shore soldiers were encamped, here Union, there +Confederate; and the inmates of the camps, the garrison of +Fortress Monroe, the crews of the ships at anchor under its +guns, all gazed with eager eyes over the open waters of the +bay, their interest in the coming contest as intense as +Roman audience ever displayed for the life and death +struggle in the gladiatorial arena. Before them lay a +mightier amphitheatre than that of the Coliseum, and before +them was to be fought more notable struggle for life and +death than ever took place within the walls of mighty Rome. + +It was in the afternoon of the 8th, about one o'clock, that +the long roll sounded in the camps on shore, and the cry +resounded from camp to camp, "The Merrimac is coming!" For +several weeks she had been looked for, and preparations made +for her reception. The frigates bore a powerful armament of +heavy guns, ready to batter her iron-clad sides, and strong +hopes were entertained that this modern leviathan would soon +cease to trouble the deep. The lesson fixed by fate for that +day had not yet been learned. + +Down the bay she came, looking at a distance like a +flood-borne house, its sides drowned, only its sloping roof +visible. The strange-appearing craft moved slowly, +accompanied by two small gunboats as tenders. As she came +near no signs of life were visible, while her iron sides +displayed no evidence of guns. Yet within that threatening +monster was a crew of three hundred men, and her armament +embraced ten heavy cannon. Hinged lids closed the gun-ports; +raised only when the guns were thrust forward for firing. As +for the men, they were hidden somewhere under that iron +roof; to be felt, but not seen. + +What followed has been told in song and story; it need be +repeated here but in epitome. The first assault of the +Merrimac was upon the Cumberland, a thirty-gun frigate. +Again and again the thirty heavy balls of the frigate +rattled upon the impenetrable sides of the iron-clad +monster, and bounded off uselessly into the deep. The +Merrimac came on at full speed, as heedless of this +fusillade as though she was being fired at with peas. As she +approached, two heavy balls from her guns tore through the +timbers of the Cumberland. They were followed by a stunning +blow from her iron beak, that opened a gaping wound in the +defenceless side of her victim. Then she drew off, leaving +her broken beak sticking in the ship's side, and began +firing broadsides into the helpless frigate; raking her fore +and aft with shell and grape, despite the fact that she had +already got her death-blow, and was rapidly filling with +water. + +Never ship was fought more nobly than the doomed Cumberland. +With the decks sinking under their feet, the men fought with +unflinching courage. When the bow guns were under water, the +rear guns were made to do double duty. The captain was +called on to surrender. He sternly refused. The last shot +was fired from a gun on a level with the waves. Then, with +sails spread and flags flying, the Cumberland went down, +carrying with her nearly one hundred of her crew, the +remainder swimming ashore. The water was deep, but the +topmast of the doomed vessel still rose above the surface, +with its pennant waving in the wind. For months afterwards +that old flag continued to fly, as if to say, "The +Cumberland sinks, but never surrenders." + +The Congress, a fifty-gun frigate, was next attacked, and +handled so severely that her commander ran her ashore, and +soon after hoisted the white flag, destruction appearing +inevitable. Boats were sent by the enemy to take possession, +but a sharp fire from the shore drove them off. + +"Is this in accordance with military law?" asked one of the +officers in the camp. "Since the ship has surrendered, has +not the enemy the right to take possession of her?" + +This legal knot was quickly and decisively cut by General +Mansfield, in an unanswerable decision. + +"I know the d----d ship has surrendered," he said. "But _we_ +haven't." And the firing continued. + +The Merrimac, not being able to seize her prize, opened fire +with hot shot on the Congress, and quickly set her on fire. +Night was now at hand, and the conquering iron-clad drew +off. The Congress continued to burn, her loaded guns roaring +her requiem one after another, as the fire spread along her +decks. About one o'clock her magazine was reached, and she +blew up with a tremendous explosion, the shock being so +great as to prostrate many of those on the shore. + +So ended that momentous day. It had shown one thing +conclusively, that "wooden walls" could no longer "rule the +wave." Iron had proved its superiority in naval +construction. The next day was to behold another novel +sight,--the struggle of iron with iron. + +Morning came. The atmosphere was hazy. Only as the mist +slowly lifted were the gladiators of that liquid arena +successively made visible. Here, just above the water, +defiantly floated the flag of the sunken Cumberland. There +smoked the still-burning hull of the Congress. Here, up the +bay, steamed the Merrimac, with two attendants, the Yorktown +and the Patrick Henry. Yonder lay the great hull of the +steam-frigate Minnesota, which had taken some part in the +battle of the day before, but had unfortunately gone ashore +on a mud-bank, from which the utmost efforts failed to force +her off. Other Union naval vessels were visible in the +distance. + +The Merrimac made her way towards the Minnesota, as towards +a certain prey. Her commander felt confident that an hour or +two would enable him to reduce this great vessel to the +condition of her recent companions. + +Yet an odd sight met his vision. Alongside the Minnesota +floated the strangest-looking craft that human eye had ever +gazed upon. An insignificant affair it appeared; a +"cheese-box on a raft" it was irreverently designated. The +deck, a level expanse of iron, came scarcely above the +surface. Above it rose a circular turret, capable of being +revolved, and with port-holes for two great guns, among the +largest up to that time used in naval warfare. + +How this odd contrivance came there so opportunely may be +briefly told. It was the conception of John Ericsson, the +eminent Swedish engineer, and was being rapidly built in New +York while the Merrimac was being plated with thick iron +bars in Norfolk. A contest for time took place between these +two unlike craft. Spies were in both places, to report +progress. Fortunately, the Monitor was finished a day or two +before her competitor. Immediately she steamed away for +Hampton Roads. The passage was a severe one. Three days were +consumed, during which the seas swept repeatedly over the +low deck, the men being often half suffocated in their +confined quarters, the turret alone standing above the +water. As they approached Fortress Monroe the sound of +cannonading was heard. Tarrying but a few minutes at the +fort, the Monitor, as this odd vessel had been named, +approached the Minnesota, and reached her side at a late +hour of the night. + +[Illustration: THE MONITOR AND THE MERRIMAC.] + +And now, with the new day, back to the fray came the +Merrimac, looking like a giant in comparison with this +dwarfish antagonist. As she approached, the little craft +glided swiftly in front of her grounded consort, like a new +David offering battle to a modern Goliath. As if in disdain +of this puny antagonist, the Merrimac began an attack on the +Minnesota. But when the two eleven-inch guns of the Monitor +opened fire, hurling solid balls of one hundred and +sixty-eight pounds' weight against the iron sides of her +great opponent, it became at once evident that a new move +had opened in the game, and that the Merrimac had no longer +the best of the play. + +The fight that followed was an extraordinary one, and was +gazed on with intense interest by the throng of spectators +who crowded the shores of the bay. The Merrimac had no solid +shot, as she had expected only wooden antagonists. Her +shells were hurled upon the Monitor, but most of them missed +their mark, and those that struck failed to do any injury. +So small was the object fired at that the great shells, as a +rule, whirled uselessly by, and plunged hissing into the +waves. The massive solid balls of the Monitor were far more +effective. Nearly every one struck the broad sides of the +Merrimac, breaking her armor in several places, and +shattering the wood backing behind it. Many times the +Merrimac tried to ram her small antagonist, and thus to rid +herself of this teasing tormentor, but the active +"cheese-box" slipped agilely out of her way. The Monitor in +turn tried to disable the screw of her opponent, but without +success. + +Unable to do any harm to her dwarfish foe, the Merrimac now, +as if in disdain, turned her attention to the Minnesota, +hurling shells through her side. In return the frigate +poured into her a whole broadside at close range. + +"It was enough," said the captain of the frigate afterwards, +"to have blown out of the water any wooden ship in the +world." It was wasted on the iron-clad foe. + +This change of action did not please the captain of the +Monitor. He thrust his vessel quickly between the two +combatants, and assailed so sharply that the Merrimac +steamed away. The Monitor followed. Suddenly the fugitive +vessel turned, and, like an animal moved by an impulse of +fury, rushed head on upon her tormentor. Her beak struck the +flat iron deck so sharply as to be wrenched by the blow. The +great hull seemed for the moment as if it would crowd the +low-lying vessel bodily beneath the waves. But no such +result followed. The Monitor glided away unharmed. As she +went she sent a ball against the Merrimac that seemed to +crush in her armored sides. + +At ten o'clock the Monitor steamed away, as if in flight. +The Merrimac now prepared to pay attention again to the +Minnesota, her captain deeming that he had silenced his +tormenting foe. He was mistaken. In half an hour the +Monitor, having hoisted a new supply of balls into her +turret, was back again, and for two hours more the strange +battle continued. + +Then it came to an end. The Merrimac turned and ran away. +She had need to,--those on shore saw that she was sagging +down at the stern. The battle was over. The turreted +iron-clad had driven her great antagonist from the field, +and won the victory. And thus ended one of the strangest and +most notable naval combats in history. + +During the fight the Monitor had fired forty-one shots, and +been struck twenty-two times. Her greatest injury was the +shattering of her pilot-house. Her commander, Lieutenant +Worden, was knocked senseless and temporarily blinded by the +shock. On board the Merrimac two men were killed and +nineteen wounded. Her iron prow was gone, her armor broken +and damaged, her steam-pipe and smoke-stock riddled, the +muzzles of two of her guns shot away, while water made its +way into her through more than one crevice. + +Back to Norfolk went the injured Merrimac. Here she was put +into the dry-dock and hastily repaired. After that had been +done, she steamed down to the old fighting-ground on two or +three occasions, and challenged her small antagonist. The +Monitor did not accept the challenge. If any accident had +happened to her the rest of the fleet would have been lost, +and it was deemed wisest to hold her back for emergencies. + +On the 10th of May the Confederates marched out of Norfolk. +On the 11th the Merrimac was blown up, and only her disabled +hull remained as a trophy to the victors. As to her +condition and fighting powers, one of the engineers who had +charge of the repairs upon her said,-- + +"A shot from the Monitor entered one of her ports, lodged in +the backing of the other side, and so shivered her timbers +that she never afterwards could be made seaworthy. She could +not have been kept afloat for twelve hours, and her officers +knew it when they went out and dared the Monitor to fight +her. It was a case of pure bluff; we didn't hold a single +pair." + +The combat we have recorded was perhaps the most important +in the history of naval warfare. It marked a turning-point +in the construction of the monarchs of the deep, by proving +that the future battles of the sea must be fought behind +iron walls. + + + + +STEALING A LOCOMOTIVE. + + +On a fine day in April, 1862, a passenger-train drew out +from Marietta, Georgia, bound north. Those were not days of +abundant passenger travel in the South, except for those who +wore the butternut uniform and carried muskets, but this +train was well filled, and at Marietta a score of men in +civilian dress had boarded the cars. Soldierly-looking +fellows these were too, not the kind that were likely to +escape long the clutch of the Confederate conscription. + +Eight miles north of Marietta the train stopped at the +station of Big Shanty, with the welcome announcement of "Ten +minutes for breakfast." Out from the train, like bees from +the hive, swarmed the hungry passengers, and made their way +with all speed to the lunch-counter, followed more +deliberately by conductor, engineer, and brakesmen. The +demands of the lunch-counter are of universal potency; few +have the hardihood to resist them; that particular train was +emptied in the first of its ten minutes of grace. + +Yet breakfast did not seem to appeal to all upon the train. +The Marietta group of civilians left the train with the +others, but instead of seeking the refreshment-room, turned +their steps towards the locomotive. No one noticed them, +though there was a Confederate camp hard by the station, +well filled with raw recruits, and hardly a dozen steps +from the engine a sentinel steadily walked his beat, rifle +on shoulder. + +One of the men climbed into the engine. The sentinel paid no +heed to him. Another slipped in between two cars, and pulled +out a coupling-pin. The sentinel failed to observe him. A +group of others climbed quickly into an open box-car. The +sentinel looked at them, and walked serenely on. The last +man of the party now strode rapidly up the platform, nodded +to the one in the locomotive, and swung himself lightly into +the cab. The sentinel turned at the end of his beat and +walked back, just beginning to wonder what all this meant. +Meanwhile famine was being rapidly appeased at the +lunch-counter within, and the not very luxurious display of +food was vanishing like a field of wheat before an army of +locusts. + +Suddenly the sharp report of a rifle rung with warning sound +through the air. The drowsy tenants of the camp sprang to +their feet. The conductor hurried, out to the platform. He +had heard something besides the rifle-shot,--the grind of +wheels on the track,--and his eyes opened widely in alarm +and astonishment as he saw that the train was broken in two, +and half of it running away. The passenger-cars stood where +he had left them. The locomotive, with three box-cars, was +flying rapidly up the track. The sentinel, roused to a sense +of the situation only when he saw the train in actual +flight, had somewhat late given the alarm. + +The conductor's eyes opened very wide. The engine, under a +full head of steam, was driving up the road. The locomotive +had been stolen! Out from the refreshment-room poured +passengers and trainmen, filled with surprise and chagrin. +What did it mean? What was to be done? There was no other +engine within miles. How should these daring thieves ever be +overtaken? Their capture seemed a forlorn hope. + +The conductor, wild with alarm and dreading reprimand, +started up the track on foot, running as fast as his legs +could carry him. A railroad mechanic named Murphy kept him +company. To one with a love of humor it would have been an +amusing sight to see two men on foot chasing a locomotive, +but just then Conductor Fuller was not troubled about the +opinion of men of humor; his one thought was to overtake his +runaway locomotive, and he would have crawled after it if no +better way appeared. + +Fortune comes to him who pursues her, not to him who waits +her coming. The brace of locomotive chasers had not run down +their strength before they were lucky enough to spy a +hand-car, standing beside the track. Here was a gleam of +hope. In a minute or two they had lifted it upon the rails. +Springing within it, they applied themselves to the levers, +and away they went at a more promising rate of speed. + +For a mile or two all went on swimmingly. Then sudden +disaster came. The car struck a broken rail and was hurled +headlong from the track, sending its occupants flying into +the muddy roadside ditch. This was enough to discourage +anybody with less go in him than Conductor Fuller. But in a +moment he was on his feet, trying his limbs. No bones were +broken. A mud-bath was the full measure of his misfortune. +Murphy was equally sound. The car was none the worse. With +scarce a minute's delay they sprang to it, righted it, and +with some strong tugging lifted it upon the track. With very +few minutes' delay they were away again, somewhat more +cautiously than before, and sharply on the lookout for +further gifts of broken rails from the runaways ahead. + +Leaving the pair of pursuers to their seemingly hopeless +task, we must return to the score of locomotive pirates. +These men who had done such strange work at Big Shanty were +by no means what they seemed. They were clad in the +butternut gray and the slouch hats of the Confederacy, but +their ordinary attire was the blue uniform of the Union +army. They were, in truth, a party of daring scouts, who had +stealthily made their way south in disguise, their purpose +being to steal a train, burn the bridges behind them as they +fled, and thus make useless for a time the only railroad by +which the Confederate authorities could send troops to +Chattanooga, then threatened by the Union forces under +General Mitchel. + +They had been remarkably successful, as we have seen, at the +beginning of their enterprise. Making their way, by devious +routes, to Marietta, they had gathered at that place, +boarded a train, and started north. The rush of passengers +and trainmen into the refreshment-room at Big Shanty had +been calculated upon. The presence of a Confederate camp at +that out-of-the-way station had not been. It might have +proved fatal to their enterprise but for the stolid +stupidity of the sentinel. But that peril had been met and +passed. They were safely away. Exhilaration filled their +souls. All was safe behind; all seemed safe ahead. + +True, there was one peril close at hand. Beside the track +ran that slender wire, a resting-place, it seemed, for +passing birds. In that outstretching wire their most +imminent danger lurked. Fast as they might go, it could +flash the news of their exploit a thousand-fold faster. The +flight of the lightning news-bearer must be stopped. The +train was halted a mile or two from the town, the pole +climbed, the wire cut. Danger from this source was at an +end. Halting long enough to tear up the rail to whose +absence Conductor Fuller owed his somersault, they sprang to +their places again and the runaway train sped blithely on. + +Several times they stopped for wood and water. When any +questions were asked they were answered by the companion of +the engineer, James J. Andrews by name, a Union spy by +profession, the originator of and leader in this daring +enterprise. + +"I am taking a train-load of powder to General Beauregard," +was his stereotyped answer, as he pointed to the closed +box-cars behind him, within one of which lay concealed the +bulk of his confederates. + +For some time they went swimmingly on, without delay or +difficulty. Yet trouble was in the air, ill-fortune awaiting +them in front, pursuing them from behind. They had, by the +fatality of unlucky chance, chosen the wrong day for their +work. Yesterday they would have found a clear track; to-day +the road ahead was blocked with trains, hurrying swiftly +southward. + +At Kingston, thirty miles from Big Shanty, this trouble came +upon them in a rush. A local train was to pass at that +point. Andrews was well aware of this, and drew his train +upon the siding to let it pass, expecting when it had gone +to find the road clear to Chattanooga. The train came in on +time, halted, and on its last car was seen waving the red +danger-flag, the railroad signal that another train was +following close behind. Andrews looked at this with no +friendly eyes. + +"How comes it," he asked the conductor, somewhat sharply, +"that the road is blocked in this manner, when I have orders +to take this powder to Beauregard without delay?" + +"Mitchel has taken Huntsville," answered the conductor. +"They say he is coming to Chattanooga. We are getting +everything out of there as quickly as we can." + +This looked serious. How many trains might there be in the +rear? A badly-blocked road meant ruin to their enterprise +and possibly death to themselves. They waited with intense +anxiety, each minute of delay seeming to stretch almost into +an hour. The next train came. They watched it pass with +hopeful eyes. Ah! upon its rear floated that fatal red flag, +the crimson emblem of death, as it seemed to them. + +The next train came. Still the red flag! Still hope +deferred, danger coming near! An hour of frightful anxiety +passed. It was torture to those upon the engine. It was +agony to those in the box-car, who knew nothing of the cause +of this frightful delay, and to whom life itself must have +seemed to have stopped. + +Andrews had to cast off every appearance of anxiety and to +feign easy indifference, for the station people were showing +somewhat too much curiosity about this train, whose crew +were strangers, and concerning which the telegraph had sent +them no advices. The practised spy was full of resources, +but their searching questions taxed him for satisfying +answers. + +At length, after more than an hour's delay, the blockade was +broken. A train passed destitute of the red flag. The relief +was great. They had waited at that station like men with the +hangman's rope upon their necks. Now the track to +Chattanooga was clear and success seemed assured. The train +began to move. It slowly gathered speed. Up went hope in the +hearts of those upon the engine. New life flowed in the +veins of those within the car as they heard the grinding +sound on the rails beneath them, and felt the motion of +their prison upon wheels. + +Yet perilous possibilities were in their rear. Their delay +at Kingston had been threateningly long. They must guard +against pursuit. Stopping the train, and seizing their +tools, they sprang out to tear up a rail. Suddenly, as they +worked at this, a sound met their ears that almost caused +them to drop their tools in dismay. It was the far-off bugle +blast of a locomotive whistle sounding from the direction +from which they had come. + +The Confederates, then, were on their track! They had failed +to distance pursuit! The delay at Kingston had given their +enemies the needed time! Nervous with alarm, they worked +like giants. The rail yielded slightly. It bent. A few +minutes more and it would be torn from its fastenings. A few +minutes! Not a minute could be spared for this vital work. +For just then the whistle shrieked again, now close at hand, +the rattle of wheels could be heard in the distance, and +round a curve behind them came a locomotive speeding up the +road with what seemed frantic haste, and filled with armed +men, who shouted in triumph at sight of the dismayed +fugitives. It was too late to finish their work. Nothing +remained to the raiders but to spring to their engine and +cars and fly for life. + +We have seen the beginnings of this pursuit. We must now go +back to trace the doings of the forlorn-hope of pursuers, +Fuller and his companion. After their adventure with the +broken rail, that brace of worthies pushed on in their +hand-car till the station of Etowah was reached. Here, by +good fortune for them, an engine stood with steam up, ready +for the road. Fuller viewed it with eyes of hope. The game, +he felt, was in his hands. For he knew, what the raiders had +not known, that the road in advance would be blocked that +day with special trains, and on a one-tracked road special +trains are an impassable obstacle. + +There were soldiers at Etowah. Fuller's story of the daring +trick of the Yankees gave him plenty of volunteers. He +filled the locomotive and its cab with eager allies, and +drove on at the greatest speed of which his engine was +capable, hoping to overtake the fugitives at Kingston. He +reached that place; they were not there. Hurried questions +taught him that they were barely gone, with very few minutes +the start. Away he went again, sending his alarm whistle far +down the road in his front. + +The race was now one for life or death. Andrews and his men +well knew what would be their fate if they were caught. They +dared not stop and fight; their only arms were revolvers, +and they were outnumbered by their armed foes. Their only +hope lay in flight. Away they went; on came their shouting +pursuers. Over the track thundered both locomotives at +frightful speed. The partly-raised rail proved no obstacle +to the pursuers. They were over it with a jolt and a jump, +and away on the smooth track ahead. + +If the fugitives could have halted long enough to tear up a +rail or burn a bridge all might have been well; but that +would take more minutes than they had to spare. A shrewd +idea came into Andrews's fertile mind. The three box-cars +behind him were a useless load. One of them might be +usefully spared. The rear car of the train was uncoupled and +left behind, with the hope that the pursuers might +unwittingly dash into it and be wrecked. On they went, +leaving a car standing on the track. + +Fortunately for the Confederates, they saw the obstruction +in time to prepare for it. Their engine was slowed up, and +the car caught and pushed before it. Andrews tried the +device a second time, another car being dropped. It was +picked up by Fuller in the same manner as before. On +reaching a siding at Resaca station, the Confederate +engineer switched off these supernumerary cars, and pushed +ahead again relieved of his load. + +Not far beyond was a bridge which the raiders had intended +to destroy. It could not be done. The pursuit was too sharp. +They dashed on over its creaking planks, having time for +nothing but headlong flight. The race was a remarkably even +one, the engines proving to be closely matched in speed. +Fuller, despite all his efforts, failed to overtake the +fugitives, but he was resolved to push them so sharply that +they would have no time to damage track or bridges, or take +on wood or water. In the latter necessity Andrews got the +better of him. His men knocked out the end of the one +box-car they had left, and dropped the ties with which it +was loaded one by one upon the track, delaying the pursuers +sufficiently to enable them to take on some fresh fuel. + +Onward again went the chase, mile after mile, over a rough +track, at a frightful speed, the people along the route +looking on with wondering eyes. It seemed marvellous that +the engines could cling to those unevenly-laid rails. The +escape of the pursuers, was, indeed, almost miraculous, for +Andrews found time to stop just beyond a curve and lay a +loose rail on the track, and Fuller's engine ran upon this +at full speed. There came a terrific jolt; the engine seemed +to leap into the air; but by a marvellous chance it lighted +again on the rails and ran on unharmed. Had it missed the +track not a man on it would have lived to tell the tale. + +The position of the fugitives was now desperate. Some of +them wished to leave the engine, reverse its valves, and +send it back at full speed to meet the foe. Others suggested +that they should face the enemy and fight for their lives. +Andrews was not ready to accept either of these plans. He +decided to go on and do the work for which they had set out, +if possible. He knew the road. There was a covered bridge a +few miles ahead. If they could burn this all would be well. +He determined to try. + +There was one box-car left. That might serve his purpose. He +had his men pile wood on its floor, and light this with +coals from the engine. In a minute it was burning. The +draught made by the rushing train soon blew the fire into a +roaring flame. By the time the bridge was reached the whole +car was in a fierce blaze. + +Andrews slowed up and uncoupled this blazing car on the +bridge. He stopped the engine just beyond, and he and his +companions watched it hopefully. The flames curled fiercely +upward. Dense smoke poured out at each end of the covered +bridge. Success seemed to be at length in their hands. But +the flames failed to do their work. The roof of the bridge +had been soaked by recent rains and resisted the blazing +heat. The roaring flames were uselessly licking the wet +timbers when the pursuing engine came dashing up. Fuller did +not hesitate for a minute. He had the heart of a soldier in +the frame of a conductor. Into the blinding smoke his engine +was daringly driven, and in a minute it had caught the +blazing car and was pushing it forward. A minute more and it +rolled into the open air, and the bridge was saved. Its +timbers had stubbornly refused to burn. + +This ended the hopes of the fugitives. They had exhausted +their means of checking pursuit. Their wood had been all +consumed in this fruitless effort; their steam was rapidly +going down; they had played their last card and lost the +game. The men sprang from the slowed-up engine. The engineer +reversed its valves and followed them. Into the fields they +rushed and ran in all directions, their only hope being now +in their own powers of flight. As they sped away the engines +met, but without damage. The steam in the stolen engine had +so fallen that it was incapable of doing harm. The other +engine had been stopped, and the pursuers were springing +agilely to the ground, and hurrying into the fields in hot +chase. + +Pursuit through field and forest was as keen and +unrelenting as it had been over iron rails. The Union lines +were not far distant, yet not a man of the fugitives +succeeded in reaching them. The alarm spread with great +rapidity; the whole surrounding country was up in pursuit; +and before that day ended several of the daring raiders were +prisoners in Confederate hands. The others buried themselves +in woods and swamps, lived on roots and berries, and +ventured from their hiding-places only at night. Yet they +were hunted with unwearying persistence, and by the end of a +week all but two had been captured. These two had so +successfully eluded pursuit that they fancied themselves out +of danger, and became somewhat careless in consequence. As a +result, in a few days more they, too, fell into the hands of +their foes. + +A court-martial was convened. The attempt had been so +daring, and so nearly successful, the injury intended so +great, and the whole affair so threatening, that the +Confederate military authorities could not think of +leniency. Andrews and seven of his companions were condemned +to death and hung. Their graves may be seen to-day in the +Soldiers' Cemetery at Chattanooga, monuments to one of the +most daring and reckless enterprises in the history of the +Civil War. The others were imprisoned. + + + + +AN ESCAPE FROM LIBBY PRISON. + + +During the winter of 1864 certain highly interesting +operations were going on in the underground region of the +noted Libby Prison, at Richmond, Virginia, at that time the +by no means luxurious or agreeable home of some eleven +hundred officers of the United States army. These +operations, by means of which numerous captives were to make +their way to fresh air and freedom, are abundantly worthy of +being told, as an evidence of the ingenuity of man and the +amount of labor and hardship he is willing to give in +exchange for liberty. + +[Illustration: LIBBY PRISON, RICHMOND.] + +Libby Prison was certainly not of palatial dimensions or +accommodations. Before the war it had been a tobacco +warehouse, situated close by the Lynchburg Canal, and a +short distance from James River, whose waters ran by in full +view of the longing eyes which gazed upon them from the +close-barred prison windows. For the story which we have to +tell some description of the make-up of this place of +detention is a necessary preliminary. The building was three +stories high in front, and four in the rear, its dimensions +being one hundred and sixty-five by one hundred and five +feet. It was strongly built, of brick and stone, while very +thick partition walls of brick divided it internally into +three sections. Each section had its cellar, one of them, +with which we are particularly concerned, being unoccupied. +The others were occasionally used. The first floor had three +apartments, one used by the prison authorities, one as a +hospital, while the middle one served the prisoners as a +cooking-and dining-room. The second and third stories were +the quarters of the prisoners, where, in seven rooms, more +than eleven hundred United States officers ate, slept, and +did all the duties of life for many months. It may even be +said that they enjoyed some of the pleasures of life, for +though the discipline was harsh and the food scanty and +poor, man's love of enjoyment is not easily to be repressed, +and what with occasional minstrel and theatrical +entertainments among themselves, fencing exercises with +wooden swords, games of cards, checkers and chess, study of +languages, military tactics, etc., and other entertainments +and pastimes, they managed somewhat to overcome the monotony +of prison life and the hardship of prison discipline. + +As regards chances of escape, they were very poor. A strong +guard constantly surrounded the prison, and such attempts at +escape as were made were rarely successful. The only one +that had measurable success is that which we have to +describe, in which a body of prisoners played the r[^o]le of +rats or beavers, and got out of Libby by an underground +route. + +The tunnel enterprise was the project of a few choice +spirits only. It was too perilous to confide to many. The +disused cellar was chosen as the avenue of escape. It was +never visited, and might be used with safety. But how to get +there was a difficult question to solve. And how to hide the +fact that men were absent from roll-call was another. The +latter difficulty was got over by several expedients. If +Lieutenant Jones, for instance, was at work in the tunnel, +Captain Smith would answer for him; then, when Smith was +pronounced absent, he would step forward and declare that he +had answered to his own name. His presence served as sure +proof that he had not been absent. Other and still more +ingenious methods were at times adopted, and the authorities +were completely hoodwinked in this particular. + +And now as regards the difficulty of entering the cellar. +The cooking-room on the first floor contained, in its thick +brick and stone partition, a fireplace, in front of which, +partly masking it, three stoves were placed for the cooking +operations of the prisoners. The floor of this fireplace was +chosen as the initial point of excavation, from which a +sloping passage might be made, under the floor of the next +room, into the disused cellar. + +Captain Hamilton, a stonemason by trade, began the +excavation, removing the first brick and stone from the +fireplace. It need scarcely be said that this work was done +only at night, and with as little noise as possible. By day +the opening was carefully closed, the bricks and stones +being so ingeniously replaced that no signs of disturbance +appeared. Thick as the wall was, a passage was quickly made +through it, presenting an easy route to the cellar below. +As for this cellar, it was dark, rarely or never opened, and +contained only some old boxes, boards, straw, and the like +d['e]bris, and an abundance of rats. + +The cellar reached, and the route to it carefully concealed +by day alike from the prison authorities and the prisoners +not in the secret, the question of the tunnel followed. +There were two possible routes. One of these led southward, +towards the canal; the other eastward, under a narrow +street, on the opposite side of which was a yard and stable, +with a high board fence on the street side. The opposite +side of the yard faced a warehouse. + +A tunnel was commenced towards the canal. But it quickly +struck a sewer whose odor was more than the workers could +endure. It was abandoned, and a tunnel begun eastward, the +most difficult part of it being to make an opening in the +thick foundation wall. The hope of liberty, however, will +bear man up through the most exhausting labors, and this +fatiguing task was at length successfully performed. The +remainder of the excavation was through earth, and was +easier, though much the reverse of easy. + +A few words will tell what was to be done, and how it was +accomplished. The tunnel began near the floor of the cellar, +eight or nine feet underground. Its length would need to be +seventy or eighty feet. Only one man could work in it at a +time, and this he had to do while crawling forward with his +face downward, and with such tools as pocket-knives, small +hatchets, sharp pieces of wood, and a broken fire-shovel. +After the opening had made some progress two men could work +in it, one digging, the other carrying back the earth, for +which work frying-pans were brought into use. + +Another point of some little importance was the disposal of +the dirt. This was carelessly scattered over the cellar +floor, with straw thrown over it, and some of it placed in +boxes and barrels. The whole amount was not great, and not +likely to be noticed if the officials should happen to enter +the cellar, which had not been cleaned for years. + +The work here described was begun in the latter part of +January, 1864. So diligently was it prosecuted that the +tunnel was pronounced finished on the night of February 8. +During this period only two or three men could work at once. +It was, indeed, frightfully exhausting labor, the +confinement of the narrow passage and the difficulty of +breathing in its foul air being not the least of the +hardships to be endured. Work was prosecuted during part of +the period night and day, the absence of a man from +roll-call being concealed in various ways, as already +mentioned. + +The secret had been kept well, but not too well. Some +workers had divulged it to their friends. Others of the +prisoners had discovered that something was going on, and +had been let into the affair on a pledge of secrecy. By the +time the tunnel was completed its existence was known to +something more than one hundred out of the eleven hundred +prisoners. These were all placed on their word of honor to +give no hint of the enterprise. + +The night of February 8 was signalized by the opening of the +outward end of the tunnel. A passage was dug upwards, and an +opening made sufficiently large to permit the worker to take +a look outward into the midnight air. What he saw gave him a +frightful shock. The distance had been miscalculated; the +opening was on the _wrong_ side of the fence; there in full +sight was one of the sentinels, pacing his beat with loaded +musket. + +Here was a situation that needed nerve and alertness. The +protruded head was quickly withdrawn, and the earth which +had been removed rapidly replaced, it being packed as +tightly as possible from below to prevent its falling in. +Word of the perilous error was sent back, and as the whisper +passed from ear to ear every heart throbbed with a nervous +shock. They had barely escaped losing the benefit of their +weeks of exhausting labor. + +The opening had been at the outward edge of the fence. The +tunnel was now run two feet farther, and an opening again +made. It was now on the inside of the fence, and in a safe +place, for the stable adjoining the yard was disused. + +The evening of the 9th was that fixed upon for flight. At a +little after nine o'clock the exodus began. Those in the +secret made their way to the cooking-room. The fireplace +passage was opened, and such was the haste to avail +themselves of it that the men almost struggled for +precedence. Rules had been made, but no order could be +kept. Silence reigned, however. No voice was raised above a +whisper; every footstep was made as light as possible. It +had been decided that fifty men should leave that night, and +fifty the next, the prison clerk being deceived at roll-call +by an artifice which had been practised more than once +before, that of men leaving one end of the line and +regaining the other unseen, to answer to the names of +others. But the risk of discovery was too great. Every man +wanted to be among the first. It proved impossible to +restrain the anxious prisoners. + +Down into the cellar passed a long line of descending men, +dropping to its floor in rapid succession. Around the mouth +of the tunnel a dense crowd gathered. But here only one man +was allowed to pass at a time, on account of the bad air. +The noise made in passing through told those behind how long +the tunnel was occupied. The instant the noise ceased +another plunged in. + +The passage was no easy one. The tunnel was little more than +wide enough to contain a man's body, and progress had to be +made by kicking and scrambling forward. Two or three +minutes, however, sufficed for the journey, the one who had +last emerged helping his companion to the upper air. + +Here was a carriage-way fronting southward, and leading into +Canal Street, which ran along the Lynchburg Canal. Four +guards paced along the south side of the prison within plain +view. The risk was great. On emerging from the carriage-way +the fugitives would be in full sight of these guards. But +the risk must be taken. Watching the street for a moment in +which it was comparatively clear, one by one they passed out +and walked deliberately along the canal, in the direction +away from the prison, like ordinary passers. This dangerous +space was crossed with remarkable good fortune. If the +guards noticed them at all, they must have taken them for +ordinary citizens. The unusual number of passers, on that +retired street, nearly the whole night long, does not seem +to have attracted the attention of any of the guards. One +hundred and nine escaped in all, yet not a man of them was +challenged. + +Canal Street once left, the first breath of relief was +drawn. Those who early escaped soon found themselves in +well-lighted streets, many of the shops still open, and +numerous citizens and soldiers promenading. No one took +notice of the fugitives, who strolled along the streets in +small groups, laughing and talking on indifferent subjects, +and, with no sign of haste, directing their steps towards +the outskirts of the city. + +As to what followed, there are almost as many adventures to +relate as there were persons escaped. We shall confine +ourselves to the narrative of one of them, Captain Earle, +from whose story the particulars above given have been +condensed. With him was one companion, Captain Charles E. +Rowan. + +They had provided themselves with a small quantity of food, +but had no definite plans. It quickly occurred to them, +however, that they had better make their way down the +peninsula, towards Fortress Monroe, as the nearest locality +where Union troops could probably be found. With the polar +star for guide they set out, having left the perilous +precincts of the city in their rear. + +To travel by night, to hide by day, was their chosen plan. +The end of their first night's journey found them in the +vicinity of a swamp, some five miles from Richmond. Here, +hid behind a screen of brushwood and evergreen bushes, they +spent the long and anxious day, within hearing of the noises +of the camps around the city, but without discovery. + +A day had made a gratifying change in their situation. The +day before they had been prisoners, with no apparent +prospect of freedom for months. This day they were free, +even if in a far from agreeable situation. Liberty solaced +them for the weariness of that day's anxious vigil. How long +they would remain free was the burning question of the hour. +They were surrounded with perils. Could they hope to pass +through them in safety? This only the event could tell. + +The wintry cold was one of their difficulties. Their meagre +stock of food was another. They divided this up into very +small rations, with the hope that they could make it last +for six days. The second night they moved in an easterly +direction, and near morning ventured to approach a small +cabin, which proved to be, as they had hoped, occupied by a +negro. He gave them directions as to their course, and all +the food he had,--a small piece of pone bread. + +That day they suffered much, in their hiding place, from +the cold. That night, avoiding roads, they made their way +through swamp and thicket, finding themselves in the morning +chilled with wet clothing and torn by briers. Near morning +of the third night they reached what seemed to be a swamp. +They concluded to rest on its borders till dawn, and then +pass through it. Sleep came to them here. When they wakened +it was full day, and an agreeable surprise greeted their +eyes. What they supposed to be a swamp proved to be the +Chickahominy River. The prospect of meeting this stream had +given them much mental anxiety. Captain Rowan could not +swim. Captain Earle had no desire to do so, in February. How +it was to be crossed had troubled them greatly. As they +opened their eyes now, the problem was solved. There lay a +fallen tree, neatly bridging the narrow stream! In less than +five minutes they were safely on the other side of this +dreaded obstacle, and with far better prospects than they +had dreamed of a few hours before. + +By the end of the fourth night they found that their six +days' stock of food was exhausted, and their strength almost +gone. Their only hope of food now lay in confiscating a +chicken from the vicinity of some farm-house, and eating it +raw. For this purpose they cautiously approached the +out-buildings of a farm-house. Here, while secretly scouting +for the desired chicken, they were discovered by a negro. +They had no need to fear him. There is no case on record of +a negro betraying an escaped prisoner into the hands of the +enemy. The sympathy of these dusky captives to slavery could +be safely counted upon, and many a fugitive owed to them his +safety from recapture. + +"Glad to see you, gemmen," he cried, courteously. "You's +Yankee off'cers, 'scaped from prison. It's all right wid me, +gemmen. Come dis way; you's got to be looked arter." + +The kindly sympathy of this dusky friend was so evident that +they followed him without a thought of treachery. He led +them to his cabin, where a blazing fire in an old-fashioned +fireplace quickly restored that sense of the comfort of +warmth which they had for days lost. + +Several colored people were present, who surrounded and +questioned them with the warmest sympathy. A guard was +posted to prevent surprise, and the old mammy of the family +hastened to prepare what seemed to them the most delicious +meal they had ever tasted. The corn-bread _pones_ vanished +down their throats as fast as she could take them from the +hot ashes in which they were baked. The cabbage, fried in a +skillet, tasted like ambrosia. The meat no game could +surpass in flavor, and an additional zest was added to it by +their fancy that it had been furnished by the slave-holder's +pantry. They had partaken of many sumptuous meals, but +nothing to equal that set before them on the hospitable +table of their dusky hosts. They were new men, with new +courage, when they at length set out again, fully informed +as to their route. + +On they went through the cold, following the difficult +paths which they chose in preference to travelled roads, +while the dogs,--for the peninsula seemed to them to be +principally peopled by dogs,--by their unceasing chorus of +barks, right, left, and in front, kept them in a state of +nervous exasperation. Many times did they turn from their +course through fear of detection from these vociferous +guardians of the night. + +On the fifth day they were visited, in their place of +concealment, by a snow-storm. Their suffering from cold now +became so intolerable that they could not remain at rest, +and they resumed their route about four o'clock. Two hours +they went, and then, to their complete discouragement, found +themselves back again at their starting-point, and cold, +wet, tired, and hungry into the bargain. + +As they stood there, expressing in very plain language their +opinion of Dame Fortune, a covered cart approached. Taking +it for granted that the driver was a negro, they hailed him; +but to their dismay found that they had halted a white man. + +There was but one thing to do. They told him that they were +Confederate scouts, and asked him for information about the +Yankee outposts. A short conference ensued, which ended in +their discovering that they were talking to a man of strong +Union sympathies, and as likely to befriend them as the +negroes. This was a hopeful discovery. They now freely told +him who they really were, and in return received valuable +information as to roads, being told in addition where they +could find a negro family who would give them food. + +"If you can keep out of the way of rebel scouts for +twenty-four hours more," he continued, "you will very likely +come across some of your own troops. But you are on very +dangerous ground. Here is the scouting-place of both armies, +and guerillas and bushwackers are everywhere." + +Thanking him, and with hearts filled with new hope, the +wanderers started forward. At midnight they reached the +negro cabin to which they had been directed, where, to their +great relief, they obtained a substantial meal of +corn-bread, pork, and rye coffee, and, what was quite as +acceptable, a warming from a bright fire. The friendly black +warned them, as their late informant had done, of the danger +of the ground they had yet to traverse. + +These warnings caused them to proceed very cautiously, after +leaving the hospitable cabin of their sable entertainer. But +they had not gone far before they met an unexpected and +vexatious obstacle, a river or creek, the Diascon, as the +negroes named it. They crossed it at length, but not without +great trouble and serious loss of time. + +It was now the sixth night since their escape. Hitherto +Captain Rowan had been a model of strength, perseverance, +and judgment. Now these qualities seemed suddenly to leave +him. The terrible strain, mental and physical, to which they +had been exposed, and their sufferings from cold, fatigue, +and hunger, produced their effect at last, and he became +physically prostrate and mentally indifferent. Captain +Earle, who retained his energies, had great difficulty in +persuading him to proceed, and before daybreak was obliged +to let him stop and rest. + +When dawn appeared they found themselves in an open country, +affording poor opportunities for concealment. They felt +sure, however, that they must be near the Union outposts. +With these considerations they concluded to make their +journey now by day, and in a road. In truth, Rowan had lost +all care as to how they went and what became of them, and +his companion's energy and decision were on the decline. + +Onward they trudged, mile by mile, with keen enjoyment of +the highway after their bitter experience of by-ways, and +somewhat heedless of consequences, though glad to perceive +that no human form was in sight. Nine o'clock came. Before +them the road curved sharply. They walked steadily onward. +But as they neared the curve there came to their ears a most +disquieting sound, the noise of hoofs on the hard road-bed, +the rattle of cavalry equipments. A force of horsemen was +evidently approaching. Were they Union or Confederate? Was +freedom or renewed captivity before them? They looked +quickly to right and left. No opportunity for concealment +appeared. Nor was there a moment's time for flight, for the +sound of hoof-beats was immediately followed by the +appearance of mounted and uniformed men, a cavalry squad, +still some hundreds of yards away, but riding towards them +at full gallop. + +The eyes of the fugitives looked wistfully and anxiously +towards them. Thank Heaven! they wore the Union blue! Those +guidons which rose high in the air bore the Union colors! +They were United States cavalry! Safety was assured! + +In a minute more the rattling hoofs were close at hand, the +band of rescuers were around them; eager questions, glad +answers, heartfelt congratulations filled the air. In a very +few minutes the fugitives were mounted and riding gladly +back in the midst of their new friends, to be banqueted, +feasted, and f[^e]ted, until every vestige of their hardships +had been worn away by human kindness. + +As to their feelings at this happy termination of their +heroic struggle for freedom, words cannot express them. The +weary days, the bitter disappointments, the harsh treatment +of prison life; the days and nights of cold, hunger, and +peril, wanderings through swamps and thorny thickets, hopes +and despairs of flight; all were at an end, and now only +friends surrounded them, only congratulating and +commiserating voices met their ears. It was a feast of joy +never to be forgotten. + +A few words will finish. One hundred and nine men had +escaped. Of these, fifty-five reached the Union lines. +Fifty-four were captured and taken back to prison. Some of +the escaped officers, more swift in motion or fortunate in +route than the others, reached the Union lines on their +third day from Richmond. Their report that others were on +the road bore good fruit. General Butler, then in command +at Fortress Monroe, sent out, on alternate days, the +Eleventh Pennsylvania Cavalry and the First New York Rifles +to patrol the country in search of the escaping prisoners, +with tall guidons to attract their attention if they should +be in concealment. Many of the fugitives were thus rescued. +The adventures of two, as above given, must serve for +example of them all. + + + + +THE SINKING OF THE ALBEMARLE. + + +Naval operations in the American Civil War were particularly +distinguished by the active building of iron-clads. The +North built and employed them with marked success; the +South, with marked failure. With praiseworthy energy and at +great cost the Confederates produced iron-clad vessels of +war in Norfolk Harbor, on Roanoke River, in the Mississippi, +and elsewhere, yet, with the exception of the one day's raid +of ruin of the Merrimac in Hampton Roads, their labor was +almost in vain, their expensive war-vessels went down in the +engulfing waters or went up in flame and smoke. Their +efforts in this direction were simply conspicuous examples +of non-success. We propose here to tell the tale of disaster +of the Albemarle, one of these iron-clads, and the great +deed of heroism which brought her career to an untimely end. + +The Albemarle was built on the Roanoke River in 1863. She +was of light draught, but of considerable length and width, +her hull above the water-line being covered with four inches +of iron bars. Such an armor would be like paper against the +great guns of to-day; then it served its purpose well. The +competition for effectiveness between rifled cannon and +armor plates had not yet begun. + +April, 1864, had arrived before this formidable opponent of +the Union blockading fleet was ready for service. Then, one +misty morning, down the river she went, on her mission of +death and destruction. The opening of her career was +promising. She attacked the Union gunboats and fort at +Plymouth, near the mouth of the river, captured one of the +boats, sunk another, and aided in forcing the fort to +surrender, its garrison being taken prisoners. It had been +assailed at the same time by a strong land force, and the +next day Plymouth itself was taken by the Confederate +troops, with a heavy Union loss in men and material. + +So far favoring fortune had attended the Albemarle. +Enlivened with success, on a morning in May she steamed out +into the deeper waters of Albemarle Bay, confident on +playing the same r[^o]le with the wooden vessels there that the +Merrimac had played in Hampton Roads. She failed in this +laudable enterprise. The Albemarle was not so formidable as +the Merrimac. The steamers of war which she was to meet were +more formidable than the Congress and the Cumberland. She +first encountered the Sassacus, a vessel of powerful +armament. More agile than the iron-clad, the Sassacus played +round her, exchanging shots, and seeking a vulnerable point. +At length, under a full head of steam, she dashed on the +monster, striking a blow which drove it bodily half under +the water. Recovering from the blow, the two vessels, almost +side by side, hurled 100-pound balls upon each other. Most +of those of the Sassacus bounded from the mailed sides of +her antagonist, like hail from stone walls. But three of +them entered a port, and did sad work within. In reply the +Albemarle sent one of her great bolts through a boiler of +the Sassacus, filling her with steam. So far the iron-clad +had the best of the game; but others of the fleet were now +near at hand; the balls which had entered her port had done +serious injury; she was no longer in fighting trim; she +turned and made the best of her way back to Plymouth, firing +as she fled. + +This ended her career for that summer. But repairs were +made, and she was put in fighting trim again; another +gunboat was building as a consort; unless something were +quickly done she would soon be in Albemarle Sound again, +with possibly a different tale to tell from that of her +first assault. + +At this critical juncture Lieutenant William B. Cushing, a +very young but a very bold officer, proposed a daring plan; +no less a one than to attack the Albemarle at her wharf, +explode a torpedo under her hull, and send her, if possible, +to the bottom of the Roanoke. He proposed to use a swift +steam-launch, run up the stream at night, and assail the +iron-clad where she lay in fancied security. From the bow of +the launch protruded a long spar, loaded at its end with a +100-pound dynamite cartridge. The spar could be lowered by +pulling one rope, the cartridge detached by pulling another, +and the dynamite exploded by pulling a third. + +The proposed exploit was a highly perilous one. The +Albemarle lay eight miles up the river. Plymouth was +garrisoned by several thousand soldiers, and the banks of +the stream were patrolled by sentinels all the way down to +the bay. It was more than likely that none of the +adventurers would live to return. Yet Cushing and the crew +of seven daring men whom he selected were willing to take +the risk, and the naval commanders, to whom success in such +an enterprise promised the most valuable results, agreed to +let them go. + +It was a dark night in which the expedition set out,--that +of October 27, 1864. Up the stream headed the little launch, +with her crew of seven, and towing two boats, each +containing ten men, armed with cutlasses, grenades, and +revolvers. Silently they proceeded, keeping to mid-stream, +so as to avoid alarming the sentinels on the banks. In this +success was attained; the eight miles were passed and the +front of the town reached without the Confederates having an +inkling of the disaster in store for them. + +Reaching Plymouth, Lieutenant Cushing came to a quick +decision as to what had best be done. He knew the town well. +No alarm had been given. He might land a party and take the +Albemarle by surprise. He could land his men on the lower +wharf, lead them stealthily through the dark streets, leap +with them upon the iron-clad, surprise the officers and +crew, and capture the vessel at her moorings. It was an +enterprise of frightful risk, yet Cushing was just the man +for it, and his men would follow wherever he should lead. A +low order was given. The launch turned and glided almost +noiselessly towards the wharf. But she was now only a short +distance from the Albemarle, on whose deck the lookout was +wide-awake. + +"What boat is that?" came a loud hail. + +No reply. The launch glided on. + +"What boat is that?" came the hail again, sharper than +before. + +"Cast off!" said Cushing, in a low tone. The two boats were +loosened and drifted away. The plan of surprise was at an +end. The vigilance of the lookout had made it impossible. +That of destruction remained. The launch was turned again, +and moved once more towards the Albemarle. + +They were quickly so close that the hull of the iron-clad +loomed darkly above them. Upon that vessel all was +commotion. The unanswered hail was followed by the springing +of rattles, ringing of bells, running of men, and shouting +of orders. Muskets were fired at random at the dimly seen +black object. Bullets whizzed past the devoted crew. Lights +began to flash here and there. A minute before all had been +rest and silence; now all was noise, alarm, and commotion. + +[Illustration: SINKING OF THE ALBEMARLE.] + +All this did not disconcert the intrepid commander of the +launch. His main concern at that moment was an unexpected +obstacle he had discovered, and which threatened to defeat +his enterprise. A raft of logs had been placed around the +iron-clad to protect her from any such attack. There she +lay, not fifty feet away; but this seemingly insuperable +obstacle intervened. + +What was to be done? In emergencies like that men think +quickly and to the point. The raft must be passed, or all +was at an end. The logs had been long in the water, and +doubtless were slippery with river slime. The launch might +be run upon and over them. Once inside the raft, it could +never return. No matter for that. He was there to sink the +Albemarle. The smaller contingency of losing his own life +was a matter to be left for an after-thought. + +This decision was reached in a moment's thought. The noise +above them increased. Men were running and shouting, lights +flashing, landsmen, startled by the noise, hurrying to the +river-bank. Without an instant's delay the launch was +wheeled round, steamed rapidly into the stream until a good +offing was gained, turned again, and now drove straight +forward for the Albemarle with all the power of her engines. +As she came near bullets poured like hail across her decks. +One tore off the sole of Cushing's shoe; another went +through the back of his coat; it was perilously close and +hot work. The hail came again: + +"What boat is that?" + +This time Lieutenant Cushing replied. His reply was not in +words, however, but in a howitzer load of canister which +drove across the Albemarle's deck. The next minute the bow +of the launch struck the logs. As had been expected, the +light craft slid up on their slippery surfaces, forcing +them down into the water. The end of the spar almost touched +the iron hull of the destined victim. + +The first rope was loosened. The spar, with its load, +dropped under water. The launch was still gliding onward, +and carrying the spar forward. The second cord was pulled; +the torpedo dropped from the spar. At this moment a bullet +cut across the left palm of the gallant Cushing. As it did +so he pulled the third cord. The next instant a surging +column of water was raised, lifting the Albemarle as though +the great iron-clad were of feather weight. At the same +instant a cannon, its muzzle not fifteen feet away, sent its +charge rending through the timbers of the launch. + +The Albemarle, lifted for a moment on the boiling surge, +settled down into the mud of her shallow anchorage, never +more to swim, with a great hole torn in her bottom. The +torpedo had done its work. Cushing had earned his fame. + +"Surrender!" came a loud shout from Confederate lungs. + +"Never!" shouted Cushing in reply. "Save yourselves!" he +said to his men. + +In an instant he had thrown off coat, shoes, sword, and +pistols, and plunged into the waters that rolled darkly at +his feet, and in which he had just dug a grave for the +Albemarle. His men sprung beside him, and struck out boldly +for the farther shore. + +All this had passed in far less time than it takes to tell +it. Little more than five minutes had passed since the +first hail, and already the Albemarle was a wreck, the +launch destroyed, her crew swimming for their lives, and +bullets from deck and shore pouring thickly across the dark +stream. + +The incensed Confederates hastily manned boats and pushed +out into the stream. In a few minutes they had captured most +of the swimming crew. One sank and was drowned. One reached +the shore. The gallant commander of the launch they failed +to find. They called his name,--they had learned it from +their prisoners,--but no answer came, and the darkness +veiled him from view. Had he gone to the bottom? Such most +of the searchers deemed to be his fate. + +In a few minutes the light of a blazing fire flashed across +the river from Plymouth wharf. It failed to reveal any +swimming forms. The impression became general that the +daring commander was drowned. After some further search most +of the boats returned, deeming their work at an end. + +They had not sought far or fast enough. Cushing had reached +shore--on the Plymouth side--before the fire was kindled. He +was chilled and exhausted, but he dared not stop to rest. +Boats were still patrolling the stream; parties of search +might soon be scouring the river-banks; the moments were +precious, he must hasten on. + +He found himself near the walls of a fort. On its parapet, +towering gloomily above him, a sentinel could be seen, +pacing steadily to and fro. The fugitive lay almost under +his eyes. A bushy swamp lay not far beyond, but to reach +its shelter he must cross an open space forty feet wide in +full view of this man. The sentinel walks away. Cushing +makes a dash for life. But not half the space is traversed +when his backward glancing eye sees the sentinel about to +turn. Down he goes on his back in the rushes, trusting to +their friendly shelter and the gloom of the night to keep +him from sight. + +As he lies there, slowly gaining breath after his excited +effort, four men--two of them officers--pass so close that +they almost tread on his extended form, seeking him, but +failing to see what lies nearly under their feet. They pass +on, talking of the night's startling event. Cushing dares +not rise again. Yet the swamp must be gained, and speedily. +Still flat on his back, he digs his heels into the soft +earth, and pushes himself inch by inch through the rushes, +until, with a warm heart-throb of hope, he feels the welcome +dampness of the swamp. + +It proves to be no pleasant refuge. The mire is too deep to +walk in, while above it grow tangled briers and thorny +shrubs, through which he is able to pass only as before, by +lying on his back, and pushing and pulling himself onward. + +The hours of the night passed. Day dawned. He had made some +progress, and was now at a safe distance from the fort, but +found himself still in the midst of peril. Near where he lay +a party of soldiers were at work, engaged in planting +obstructions in the river, lest the Union fleet should +follow its daring pioneers to Plymouth, now that the +Albemarle was sunk, and the chief naval defence of the +place gone. + +Just back from the river-bank, and not far from where he +lay, a cornfield lifted its yellowed plumes into the air. +Cushing managed to reach its friendly shelter unobserved, +and now, almost for the first time since his escape, stood +upright, and behind the rustling rows made his way past the +soldiers. + +To his alarm, as he came near the opposite side of the +field, he found himself face to face with a man who glared +at him in surprise. Well he might, for the late +trimly-dressed lieutenant was now a sorry sight, covered +from head to foot with swamp mud, his clothes rent, and +blood oozing from a hundred scratches in his skin. + +He had no reason for alarm; the man was a negro; the dusky +face showed sympathy under its surprise. + +"I am a Union soldier," said Cushing, feeling in his heart +that no slave would betray him. + +"One o' dem as was in de town last night?" asked the negro. + +"Yes. Have you been there? Can you tell me anything?" + +"No, massa; on'y I's been tole dat dar's pow'ful bad work +dar, an' de sojers is bilin' mad." + +Further words passed, in the end the negro agreeing to go to +the town, see for himself what harm had been done, and bring +back word. Cushing would wait for him under shelter of the +corn. + +The old negro set out on his errand, glad of the +opportunity to help one of "Massa Linkum's sojers." The +lieutenant secreted himself as well as he could, and waited. +An hour passed. Then steps and the rustling of the dry +leaves of the corn-stalks were heard. The fugitive peeped +from his ambush. To his joy he saw before him the smiling +face of his dusky messenger. + +"What news?" he demanded, stepping joyfully forward. + +"Mighty good news, massa," said the negro, with a laugh. +"Dat big iron ship's got a hole in her bottom big 'nough to +drive a wagon in. She's deep in de mud, 'longside de wharf, +an' folks say she'll neber git up ag'in." + +"Good! She's done for, then? My work is accomplished?--Now, +old man, tell me how I must go to get back to the ships." + +The negro gave what directions he could, and the fugitive +took to the swamp again, after a grateful good-by to his +dusky friend and a warm "God-speed" from the latter. It was +into a thicket of tangled shrubs that Lieutenant Cushing now +plunged, so dense that he could not see ten feet in advance. +But the sun was visible overhead and served him as a guide. +Hour by hour he dragged himself painfully onward. At two +o'clock in the afternoon he found himself on the banks of a +narrow creek, a small affluent of the Roanoke. + +He crouched in the bushes on the creek-side, peering warily +before him. Voices reached his ears. Across the stream he +saw men. A minute's observation apprised him of the +situation. The men he saw to be a group of soldiers, seven +in number, who had just landed from a boat in the stream. As +he watched, they tied their boat to the root of a tree, and +then turned into a path that led upward. Reaching a point at +some distance from the river, they stopped, sat down, and +began to eat their dinner. + +Here was an opportunity, a desperate one, but Cushing had +grown ready for desperate chances. He had had enough of +wandering through mire and thorns. Without hesitation he +lowered himself noiselessly into the water, swam across the +stream, untied the boat, pushed it cautiously from the bank, +and swam with it down the stream until far enough away to be +out of sight of its recent occupants. Then he climbed into +the boat and paddled away as fast as possible. + +There was no sign of pursuit. The soldiers kept +unsuspiciously at their mid-day meal. The swamp-lined +creek-sides served well as a shelter from prying eyes. For +hours Cushing pursued his slow course. The sun sank; +darkness gathered; night came on. At the same time the water +widened around him; he was on the surface of the Roanoke. + +Onward he paddled; the night crept on till midnight was +reached; for ten hours he had been at that exhausting toil. +But now before his eyes appeared a welcome sight, the dark +hull of a Union gunboat. + +"Ship ahoy!" came a loud hail from the exhausted man. + +"Who goes there?" answered the lookout on the gunboat. + +"A friend. Take me up." + +The gunboat was quickly in motion. This might be a +Confederate ruse, possibly a torpedo might have been sent to +blow them up; they were in dangerous waters. Boats were +quickly lowered, and rowed towards the small object on the +stream. + +"Who are you?" came the cry, as they drew near. + +"Lieutenant Cushing, or what is left of me." + +"Cushing!" was the excited answer. "And the Albemarle?" + +"Will never trouble a Union fleet again. She rests in her +grave on the muddy bottom of the Roanoke." + +Loud cheers followed this stirring announcement. The sailors +bent to their oars, and quickly had the gallant lieutenant +on board. Their cheers were heightened tenfold when the crew +of the Valley City heard what had been done. In truth, the +exploit of Lieutenant Cushing was one that for coolness, +daring, and success in the face of seemingly insuperable +obstacles has rarely been equalled in history, and the +destruction of the Albemarle ranks with the most notable +events in the history of war. + + + + +ALASKA, A TREASURE HOUSE OF GOLD, FURS, AND FISHES + + +In 1867, when the far-seeing Secretary Seward purchased +Alaska from the Russian government for $7,200,000, there was +an outcry of disapproval equal to that made when Louisiana +territory was purchased from France in 1803. Many of the +people called the region "Seward's Folly" and said it would +produce nothing but icebergs and polar bears, and General +Benjamin F. Butler, representative from Massachusetts, said +in the House: "If we are to pay this amount for Russia's +friendship during the war, then give her the $7,200,000 and +tell her to keep Alaska." Representative Washburn, of +Wisconsin, exclaimed: "I defy any man on the face of the +earth to produce any evidence that an ounce of gold has ever +been found in Alaska." + +To-day Alaska is yielding in gold $10,000,000 per year; its +fisheries are among the richest in the world, including more +than half the salmon yield of the United States; its forests +are of enormous value; its fur-seal harvest is without a +rival; its territory is traversed by one of the greatest +rivers of the world, two thousand miles long and with more +than a thousand miles of navigable waters, and it promises +to become an important farming and stock-raising region. As +for extent, it is large enough to cover more than twenty of +our States. In revenue it has repaid the United States the +original outlay and several millions more; while, aside from +its gold product, its fisheries have netted $100,000,000 and +its furs $80,000,000 since its acquisition. Seward, then, +was wise in looking upon this purchase as the greatest +achievement of his life, though he truly said that it would +take the country a generation to find out Alaska's value. + +The most dramatic and interesting portion of the story of +Alaska is its gold-mining enterprise, and it is of this, +therefore, that we propose to speak. The discovery of placer +gold deposits in British Columbia led naturally to the +surmise that this precious metal might be found farther +northward, and as early as 1880 wandering gold-hunters had +made their way over the passes from Cassiar or inward from +the coast and were trying the gravel bars of tributaries of +the Yukon, finding the yellow metal at several places. + +[Illustration: MUIR GLACIER IN ALASKA.] + +The first important find along the Yukon was made on Stewart +River in 1885, about $100,000 being taken out in two +summers. The next year a good find was made at Forty-Mile +Creek, finds being made later on Sixty-Mile Creek, Birch +Creek, and other streams. On Birch Creek arose Circle City, +named from its proximity to the Arctic circle, and growing +into a well-built and well-conducted little town. + +Meanwhile a valuable find had been made on Douglas Island, +one of the long chain of islands that bound the western +coast line, and this has since developed into one of the +richest mines in the world. It is not a placer mine, +however, but a quartz mine, one needing capital for its +development and with no charms for the ordinary gold-seeker. +The gold is found in a friable and easily worked rock, +enabling low-grade ores to be handled at a profit, and +to-day fifteen hundred stamps are busy and the mines are +highly profitable. + +The placer miners, however, have no use for gold that rests +in quartz veins and has to be obtained by the aid of costly +stamping mills. The gold they seek is that on which nature +has done the work of stamping, by breaking up the original +veins into sands and gravels, with which the freed gold is +mixed in condition to be obtained by a simple process of +washing. The wandering miners thus prospected Alaska, +following the long course of the Yukon and trying its +tributary streams, many of them making a living, a few of +them acquiring wealth, but none of their finds attracting +the attention of the world, which scarcely knew that +gold-seekers were at work in this remote and almost unknown +region. + +Thus it went on until 1897, when on July 16 a party of +miners arrived in San Francisco from the upper Yukon with a +large quantity of gold in nuggets and dust and a story to +tell that deeply stirred that old land of gold. On the 17th +another steamer put into Seattle with more miners and +$800,000 in gold dust, nearly all of it the outcome of a +winter's work on a small stream known as the Klondike, +entering the Yukon about fifty miles above Forty-Mile Creek. + +The discovery of this rich placer region was made in the +autumn of 1896 by an Illinois man named George McCormick, +who, in the intervals of salmon fishing, tried his hand at +prospecting, and on Bonanzo Creek, a tributary of the +Klondike, was surprised and overjoyed to find gold in a +profusion never before dreamed of in the Alaskan region. The +news of the find spread rapidly through Alaska and before +winter set in the old diggings were largely deserted, a +swarm of eager miners poured into the Klondike region, and +the frozen earth was torn and rent in their eagerness to +reach its yellow treasures. + +The news of the discovery spread as far and fast as the +telegraph could carry it. The richness of the find surpassed +anything ever before found and the whole country was agog. +The stories of wonderful fortunes made by miners were +testified to by a display of nuggets and sacks of shining +gold in stores and hotels, the find of one man being shown +in a San Francisco shop window in the shape of one hundred +and thirty thousand dollars worth of gold. + +The old gold-fever broke out again as an epidemic. Such a +stampede as took place had never before been seen. The +stream of picturesque humanity that poured through Seattle +and on to the golden north surpassed the palmy days of '49 +when California opened its caves of Aladdin. Every steamer +that could be made use of was booked to its full capacity, +while many ardent gold-seekers were turned away. Every +passenger and every pound of cargo that could be taken on +these steamers was loaded and the hegira was almost +instantly in full blast. + +As it proved, the new find was in Canadian territory, a few +miles east of the Alaskan boundary, but the flood of men +that set in was mainly American. Many threw up good +positions or mortgaged their homes for funds to join the mad +migration, oblivious in most cases of the fact that they +were setting out to encounter hardships and arctic extremes +of temperature for which their home life had utterly +unfitted them. Warnings were published that those who joined +the pioneer flood faced starvation or death by freezing or +hardship, but the tide was on and could not be turned, and +before the autumn had far advanced thousands had landed at +the mushroom settlements of Skagway and Dyea, laden with the +effects they had brought with them and proposing to fight +their way against nature's obstacles over the difficult +mountain passes and along the little less difficult lakes +and streams to the promised land of gold. A village of log +houses and tents, known as Dawson, had sprung up at the +mouth of the Klondike, and this was the mecca towards which +the great pilgrimage set. + +The struggle inland of the first comers was a frightful one. +No roads or pack-trails existed over the rough and lofty +passes of the coast range of mountains, and it was killing +work to transport the many tons of equipments and +provisions over the nearly impassable Chilkoot and White +Passes. For those who came too late in the season it was +quite impassable, the trails and rivers were stopped by snow +and ice, and numbers had to endure a long and miserable +winter in the primitive coast settlements or straggle back +to civilization. + +The terrors of that first year's battle with the unbroken +passes are indescribable. Thousands of dead pack-horses +marked the way. And the mountains once crossed and the +waters reached new troubles arose. Boats had to be built for +the long reach of navigation down the chain of lakes and the +Yukon--many having brought the necessary boat timbers with +them. Six hundred miles of waterways were to be traversed. +On some of the short streams connecting the lakes there were +dangerous rapids to be run, in which many lost their goods +and some their lives. The early winter added ice to the +difficulties of the way and the Yukon section of the trip +was made by the later comers through miles of drift ice, +grinding and ploughing its way to the peril of the boats, or +water travel was checked by the final closing of the stream +for the winter, leaving no resource but a long sledging +journey over the snow. + +Those who took the long voyage to the mouth of the Yukon and +journeyed by steamer up that stream had their difficulties +with ice and current, and it was not uncommon for them to be +frozen in, leaving them the sole expedient of the dog sled, +if they elected to proceed to the diggings without their +supplies. + +Dawson once reached, the trouble and hardship were by no +means at an end. Having penetrated a total wilderness in an +arctic climate, borne on by dreams of sudden fortune, the +enthusiastic treasure-seekers found new difficulties +awaiting them. There was no easy task of digging and +panning, as in more favored climes. Winter had locked the +golden treasures with its strongest fetters. The ground was +everywhere frozen into the firmness of rock. In midsummer it +thawed no more than three feet down, and eternal frost +reigned below. + +To reach the gold-bearing gravels the miners had to build +fires on the frozen surface and keep these going for +twenty-four hours. This would soften the soil to the depth +of some six inches. This thrown out, new fires had to be +kindled, and thus laboriously the miners burned their way +down to the gold-bearing gravel, usually at a depth of +fifteen feet. Then other fires were built at the bottom and +tunnels made through the five feet or more of "pay-dirt," +which was dug out and piled up to await the coming of +flowing water in the spring, when the gold might be washed +out in the rockers and sluices employed. + +As may be seen, the buried treasures of these gravel beds +were to be won in these pioneer years only by dint of +exhausting labor and frightful hardship. They would never +have been found at all had not the bars and shores of the +streams yielded gold at the surface level. Yet the +extraordinary richness of these gravels, from which as much +as $50,000 might be obtained as the result of a winter's +work, excited men's imaginations to the utmost, and the +stream of gold-seekers continued year after year until +Dawson grew to be a well-built and populous city and the +yearly output of the Klondike mines amounted to more than +$16,000,000. + +The difficulty in reaching the mines grew less year by year. +As early as 1898 a railway was begun across the White Pass. +It now extends from Skagway more than a hundred miles +inland, the lakes and streams being traversed by steamers, +so that the purgatory of the early prospectors has been +converted into the "broad and easy way" of the later +sinners. The old method of burning into the frozen soil has +also been improved on, steam being now used instead of fire +and the pay-dirt reached much more rapidly and cheaply by +its aid. + +The Klondike region, though largely prospected and worked by +Americans, is not in Alaska, Dawson lying sixty miles east +of the border. The streams of Alaska itself, so far as they +have yet been worked, are far less promising, and yet Alaska +has a golden treasure house of its own that may yet prove as +prolific as the Klondike itself. + +This is at Nome, on the shores of Bering Sea, about +twenty-five degrees of longitude nearly due west from +Dawson, and a hundred and fifty miles north of the mouth of +the Yukon. Here the sands of the sea itself and of its +bordering shores have proven splendid gold bearers and have +attracted a large population to that inhospitable region, in +latitude sixty-five degrees north; here has grown up a city +containing 25,000 inhabitants, and here may be seen the most +northerly railroad in the world. + +In 1898 a soldier, in digging a well on the beach at Nome, +saw in the sands thrown up that alluring yellow glint which +has led so many men to fortune and so many to death. The +story of his find came to the ears of an old prospector from +Idaho, who, too ill to go inland, was stranded in the +military station of Nome. Spade and pan were at once put to +work and in twenty days the fortunate invalid found himself +worth $3000 in gold. + +At Nome the gold was first found in the beach sands and even +in the sands of the sea adjoining the beach, old Neptune +being forced to yield part of the treasures he had taken to +himself. Later, the bench of higher land stretching back +from the beach and the sides of the down-flowing creeks were +found to be gold-bearing, the bench gravels being from forty +to eighty feet thick, with gold throughout. A heavy growth +of moss covers this coastal plain, under which lie the +frozen gravels, which are softened by the use of steam and +thus forced to give up their previous freight. That is all +we need say about the gold product of Alaska, further than +to sum up that the territory yields about $10,000,000 per +year, or with the Klondike about $25,000,000, these +equalling nearly one-third the total production of the +United States. Here is a fine showing for a region once +deemed worthless. + +Gold is an alluring subject, but Alaska has other sources of +wealth which enormously exceed its golden sands in value. +We have already spoken of the rich products of its fisheries +and furs. The former include several species of salmon, +which the Yukon yields in vast numbers; the latter embrace, +in addition to the usual fur-bearing animals, the valuable +fur-seal of the Aleutian Islands, a species found nowhere +else. To these sources of wealth may be added the vast +forests of valuable timber, especially of spruce, hemlock, +red and yellow cedar, which are likely to become of great +value in the growing extermination of the home forests of +the United States. + +Alaska also presents excellent opportunities in its coast +districts for agriculture, most of the hardy vegetables and +cereals here yielding good crops. But a more valuable +outlook for the farmer appears to lie in the grazing +opportunities of the land. In some localities along the +south coast the grasses grow in splendid luxuriance, much of +the grass being six feet high. On the higher elevations and +in exposed places the grass is often too low for hay making +but is admirable for grazing, the cattle that eat it growing +very fat. Of these grass lands there are about 10,000 square +miles, of which more than half can be utilized. + +Stock raising, then, is likely to become a leading industry, +and especially dairying, there being more meat than is +needed by the sparse population. There are admirable dairy +sites on the islands and mainland. The reindeer, recently +introduced, are likely to prove invaluable to the natives, +supplanting in great measure the dog for transportation +purposes, and supplying also food and clothing. Reindeer +milk makes excellent cheese, and in a few years there may be +deer-meat for sale outside. + +Such is the story of Alaska. It occupies much the same +position on the west coast of America as Norway does on that +of Europe, but has four times as wide a habitable area as +Norway and a milder climate on its south coast lands. +Therefore, as Norway sustains a population of 2,240,000, +there is no special reason why Alaska may not yet possess a +population of 3,000,000 or 4,000,000 and take rank as one of +the important States of the American Union. + + + + +HOW HAWAII LOST ITS QUEEN AND ENTERED THE UNITED STATES + + +Up to the year 1898 the United States was confined to the +continent of North America. In that year it made a great +stride outward over the oceans, adding to its dominion the +island of Porto Rico in the West India waters and the +archipelagoes of the Philippine and Hawaiian Islands in the +far Pacific. Porto Rico and the Philippines were added as a +result of the war with Spain. As to how Hawaii was acquired +it is our purpose here to tell. + +Midway in the North Pacific lies this interesting group of +islands, first made known to the world by Captain Cook, the +famous English discoverer, in 1778, and annexed to the +United States one hundred and twenty years later. Before +telling the story of their acquisition a few words as to +their prior history will he in place. + +Called by Captain Cook the Sandwich Islands, after the +English Earl of Sandwich, they afterwards became known as +the Hawaiian Islands, from the native name of the largest +island of the group, and are now collectively known as +Hawaii in their new position as a Territory of the United +States. + +When Captain Cook visited this locality he found the islands +inhabited by a friendly, kind-hearted people, disposed to +receive their visitors in a hospitable spirit. But, in the +usual way of sailors and discoverers dealing with the +primitive races, quarrels soon developed, some of the +natives were shot, one of them by Cook himself, and in the +fight that followed the great sailor and discoverer lost his +life. + +At that time each of the islands was governed by a chief, or +king if we may call him so, who had absolute authority over +his people. Greatest among them was Kamehameha, heir to the +throne of Hawaii, who was present when Captain Cook was +killed. Bold and ambitious and invested by nature with +political genius, this chief conceived the idea of making +himself master of all the islands and subjecting their +chiefs to his rule. + +A shrewd and able man, he was quick to perceive that the +strangers who soon began to visit the islands were far +superior to the natives in arms and ability and he decided +to use them for his ends. In a fight with some American fur +traders a schooner, the "Fair American," was taken by the +islanders, and two Americans, Isaac Davis and John Young, +were made prisoners. With them the new chief obtained the +cannon, muskets and ammunition of the "Fair American." Thus +equipped, the Napoleon of Hawaii set out on his career of +conquest. + +Kindly treatment made the two Americans, Davis and Young, +his faithful friends and subjects, and they proved his +mainstay in the work of conquest. It was no easy matter, +even with his cannon and muskets. The chiefs of the other +islands resisted him fiercely, and it took many years, with +all the stern will and unyielding perseverance of Kamehameha +and the ability and courage of his two able lieutenants, to +subdue them all. Davis and Young were amply rewarded, with +honors and lands, for their services, and some of their +descendants still dwell on the islands. + +While this work of conquest was going on many vessels +visited the islands, missionaries made their way thither, +Christianity was introduced and idolatry abolished, and many +of the arts of civilization found their way inward. Then +settlers other than missionaries came, many of them from +America, and a white population was added to the aboriginal. +Sugar-cane grew in abundance on the islands and sugar-mills +were introduced. Other industries were established. The +great fertility of the islands attracted speculators, the +lands rose in value, and great fortunes were made. Such is, +briefly, the industrial history of these islands. + +[Illustration: A NATIVE GRASS HUT, HAWAII.] + +The political history is not without its interest. Five +kings of the name of Kamehameha reigned in succession. Of +these, Kamehameha III., under American advice, gave up his +absolute rule, founded a constitutional government and +distributed the lands among the people. After the +Kamehamehas came King Lunalio, who ruled but one year, and +Kalakaua, who ruled from 1874 to 1891 and showed such a +disposition to return to absolutism that the people were in +constant dread for their liberties and lands. It was only by +a revolt of the people that they regained their rights, +forcing him to grant them a new constitution and their +former liberties and privileges. + +The next and last monarch of Hawaii was a woman, +Liliuokalani, the sister of Kalakaua. She was the wife of an +Englishman, Mr. J.O. Dominis, and on a visit to London had +been entertained by Queen Victoria. Her rearing and +education had been under the influence of American +missionaries, and the whites of the islands, who had been in +constant fear of the late king, hailed her accession to the +throne with joy, with the expectation that they would have +in her a good friend. They soon found themselves +disappointed. + +The extravagance and ill rule of Kalakaua had left the +country in a wretched state. It was deeply in debt and the +much needed public improvements were at a standstill. The +country had long been divided between two parties, the +missionary and the anti-missionary, the former seeking to +save the natives from vice and degradation, the latter +encouraging such vicious practices as lotteries and opium +sales for their personal benefit. + +Under Kalakaua these ill weeds had gained full growth and +the new queen soon showed a disposition to encourage them. +Her whole nature seemed to change, her former friends were +cast aside and new favorites adopted, and though she had a +personal income of about $70,000, it was far from sufficing +for her needs. + +To add to her income the agents of the Louisiana Lottery +were encouraged and the opium smugglers found little +interference with their nefarious traffic, while the +frequent changes of the queen's ministers kept the people in +a state of doubt and uneasiness. + +At what was called the long term of the legislature laws +were passed favoring the lottery and the opium dealers. The +session was protracted until the grinding season for the +sugar-cane, when a number of the best members were obliged +to return to their plantations, and in their absence the +lottery and opium bills were rushed through. + +Many of the Christian ladies of Honolulu now called on the +queen and implored her to veto this pernicious legislation, +which would turn their country into a den of gambling and +infamy. She wept with them over the situation and the good +ladies knelt and prayed that God would help their queen in +the terrible ordeal before her. They left the palace feeling +sure that the country was safe from the dread affliction--an +hour later the queen signed both bills and they became laws. + +The passage of these bills created intense indignation. All +felt that it was a piece of treachery and fraud, those who +gave the queen any credit for good intentions looking upon +her as weak and vacillating and utterly under the influence +of bad advisers. + +As yet, however, no thought of revolution had arisen. It was +imagined that the worst stage had been reached. But when the +announcement was made the next day that the queen was about +to declare a new constitution the most vivid dread and +alarm were aroused. Feeling now secure of a revenue from the +proceeds of the lottery and the opium trade, Queen +Liliuokalani no longer hesitated to show her hand. The +proposed new constitution was a scheme for a return to +absolute monarchy, one under which every white man on the +islands, unless married to a Hawaiian woman, would be +deprived of the right to vote. + +The act was a fatal one to her reign. It precipitated a +revolution which quickly brought her queenship to an end. +The steps which led to this result are well worth relating. + +The ceremony of proroguing the legislature ended, the queen +returned to the palace with the purpose of immediately +proclaiming the new constitution. In the procession to the +palace the native society called the "Hui Kalaiaina" marched +in a double line, its president carrying a large package +containing the constitution. A throng of Hawaiians +surrounded the palace gates and filled the grounds near the +front entrance to the building, the queen's guard being +drawn up under arms. + +In the throne room the native society which had escorted the +queen ranged themselves in regular lines, their president, +Alapai, having in his hand an address which he proposed to +deliver. Most of the native members of the legislature were +also present, some members of the diplomatic corps being +with them. + +While they waited, the cabinet was assembled in the blue +room, to which they had been summoned by the queen. Here a +striking scene took place. Liliuokalani placed before them a +copy of the new constitution and bade them sign it, saying +that she proposed to promulgate it at once. She met with an +outspoken opposition. + +"Your Majesty, we have not read that constitution," said Mr. +Parker, Secretary of Foreign Affairs. "And before we read it +we must advise you that this is a revolutionary act. It +cannot be done." + +An angry reply came from the queen, and an animated +discussion followed, in which the cabinet officials said +that a meeting had just been held with the foreign +representatives and that if she persisted there was danger +of an insurrection. + +"It is your doing," she replied. "I would not have +undertaken this step if you had not encouraged me to do so. +You have led me to the brink of a precipice and are now +leaving me to take the leap alone. Why not give the people +this constitution? You need have no fear. I will bear the +brunt of all the blame afterwards." + +The cabinet stood firm, Mr. Peterson, the Attorney General, +repeating: + +"We have not read the constitution." + +"How dare you say that," she exclaimed, "when you have had +it in your possession for a month." + +The dispute grew more violent as it went on. The cabinet +declined to resign when asked by her to do so, whereupon she +threatened that if they would not accede to her wishes she +would go to the palace door and tell the mob outside that +she wished to give them a new constitution but that her +ministers had prevented her from doing so. + +At this threat three of the ministers left the room and +escaped from the building. They remembered the fate of +certain representatives who fell into the hands of a +Hawaiian mob in 1874. Mr. Parker alone had the courage to +remain. He feared that if the queen were left alone she +would sign the instrument herself, and proclaim it to the +people, telling them that her cabinet refused to comply with +her wishes and seeking to rouse against them the wrath of +the unthinking mob, whose only idea of the situation was +that the white men were opposing their queen. + +The cabinet stood between two fires, that of the supporters +of the queen on the one hand and that of the white people of +Honolulu on the other. The report of the fleeing members +raised the excitement of the latter to the boiling pitch. A +Committee of Safety was at once organized, and held its +first meeting with closed doors. + +"Gentlemen," said a member of this committee, "we are +brought face to face with this question; what shall we do?" + +The discussion ended in a motion by the Hon. A.L. Thurston, +to the effect that "preliminary steps be taken at once to +form a provisional government, with a view to annexation to +the United States of America." + +Meanwhile a sub-committee had waited on the United States +Minister, Mr. John L. Stevens, asking him to give them the +support of the United States troops on board the "Boston." + +"Gentlemen," he replied, "I have no authority to involve the +United States Government in your revolution. I will request +to have troops landed to protect American life and property, +but for no other purpose." + +Left to their own resources, the revolutionary party +determined to go on with the enterprise, even if their own +lives should be lost in the effort to prevent the tyranny of +the queen. The Committee of Safety collected and stored arms +in convenient places, finally taking all these arms to the +barracks of the committee. + +This brought about the first collision. It was shortly after +noon on January 17, 1893, that three of the revolutionists, +John Good, Edwin Benner and Edward Parris, with a man named +Fritz, were taking some arms in a wagon to the barracks. A +policeman, who had been watching the store from which the +arms were taken, seized the bridle of the horse and cried: + +"Surrender." + +"What shall I do?" asked Benner. + +"Go on!" roared Good. + +Benner made a cut at the policeman with his whip and tried +to drive on. The man let go the bridle and blew his whistle, +bringing two other policemen quickly to his aid. One tried +to climb into the front of the wagon, but was knocked +senseless by Benner, while the other, who attacked in the +rear, was roughly handled by Parris and Fritz. + +The wagon now drove on, but got entangled in a block of two +street cars and a truck. Other policemen came running up and +a fight ensued, one of the officers putting his hand into +his pocket as if to draw a weapon. + +"Look out, he is going to shoot," cried a voice from one of +the cars. + +Good instantly drew his pistol, and crying, "Benner, it's +life or death; if we must, we must," he fired. + +The policeman fell, with a ball in his shoulder. The wagon +by this time had got loose from the block and was driven +furiously away, reaching the barracks without further +trouble. + +That wounded policeman constituted the sole list of dead and +wounded in the revolution. Men were rapidly gathering about +the barracks, two companies of armed men soon marched up, +and a proclamation was read to the following effect: + +"The Hawaiian monarchical system of government is hereby +abrogated. + +"A provisional government for the control and management of +public affairs and the protection of the public is hereby +established, to exist until terms of union with the United +States of America have been negotiated and agreed upon." + +These were the essential clauses of the proclamation that +overthrew the Hawaiian government, the armed insurgents now +marching to the palace, where they found no one but a +highly indignant woman, the queen, deserted by all and in a +violent state of excitement. Her soldiers, who were in the +police station, made no effort to help her, and the only +thing needed to complete the work of the revolution was the +capture of this station. This was done without a blow being +struck and the revolution was complete. In this easy way a +government more than a century old was overturned and a new +one installed in its place. + +But the end was not yet. The United States had still to be +heard from. Minister Stevens and Captain Wiltse of the +"Boston" had landed troops to protect the interests of +American citizens and from this incident trouble arose. The +revolution in Hawaii took place January 17, 1893, when +President Harrison, then in office, had little more than six +weeks to serve. Harrison favored annexation of the new ocean +republic, a treaty was prepared and sent to the Senate, but +before it could be acted upon the 4th of March arrived and a +new man, with new views, came in to fill the Presidential +chair. + +President Cleveland's views were startlingly new. He +believed that the success of the revolution was due to the +act of Minister Stevens and Captain Wiltse in landing +troops, that the queen had been illegally removed, and sent +the Hon. Albert S. Willis to Honolulu to unseat President +Dole of the new republic and restore Queen Liliuokalani to +the throne. + +This would undoubtedly have been done but for the dethroned +queen herself, who showed a sanguinary spirit that put poor +Mr. Willis, a man of kindly nature and humane sympathies, in +an embarrassing situation. The President expected the queen, +if restored, to show a spirit of forgiveness to the +revolutionists and his agent was decidedly taken aback by +her answers to his questions. + +"Should you be restored to the throne," he asked, "would you +grant full amnesty as to life and property to all those +persons who have been or who are now in the provisional +government?" + +The queen's answer, slowly and hesitatingly given, was: + +"There are certain laws of my government by which I shall +abide. My decision would be, as the law directs, that such +persons should be beheaded and their property confiscated." + +Here was a mediaeval decision with a vengeance. In spite of +all that Willis could plead, the savagely inclined queen +stuck to her ultimatum. The utmost she would yield was that +these persons "must be exiled or otherwise punished, and +their property confiscated." + +The tidings of this ultimatum put President Cleveland in an +awkward dilemma. The beheading idea was too much for him and +the affair dragged on until the following December, when the +ex-queen generously consented to let Dole and his friends +keep their heads, on condition of leaving the country and +losing their property. Finally, when told that she could not +have the throne on any such conditions, she experienced a +change of heart and agreed to grant full amnesty. + +When news of what was in view reached Honolulu there was +intense excitement. It was expected that marines would be +landed from the warship "Philadelphia" and "Adams" to +restore the queen and a determination to resist them arose. +The capital was entrenched with sand-bag breastworks, the +batteries were manned and armed, and men were stationed to +fight. As for President Dole and his cabinet, they were in a +quandary. It was finally decided to make only a show of +opposition to the landing of the marines, but after they had +restored the queen and retired, to capture her again and +resume business as a republic. + +Their alarm had no real foundation. There had never been an +intention to land the marines. The President knew well that +he had no authority to land marines for such a purpose, and +in his message referred the whole matter to Congress--where +it slept. + +Yet the ex-queen and her supporters did not sleep. Finding +that there was no hope of bringing the United States into +the squabble, they organized a counter-revolution of their +own, smuggled arms into the country, and in January, 1895, +the new insurrection broke out. Great secrecy was +maintained. The night of Sunday, January 5, was fixed for +the outbreak. In the evening President Dole and his cabinet +and many other officials of the republic would be at the +service in the Central Union Church and it would be easy to +blow up the whole government with a bomb. + +Unluckily for the conspirators, their first capture was that +of some whiskey, and inspired by this they began celebrating +their victory in advance. Yelling and shooting on Sunday +afternoon alarmed the authorities and suspicion of something +wrong was aroused. An attempt to search a suspected house +for arms led to a fight in which one man was killed and +others wounded. News of the insurrection were taken to the +church and whispered to the members of the National Guard +and the government, who slipped quietly out. The pastor, +oblivious to this circumstance, went on with his sermon, but +uneasiness arose in the congregation, and when at last the +clatter of cavalry and the roll of artillery were heard +passing the church all order was at an end. The worshippers +rushed into the street in a mass, the preacher following. +Within ten minutes a state of peace had been changed into +one of war. + +The most intense excitement prevailed. No one knew anything +of the numbers or location of the enemy. They were at length +found, in large force, in the hollow basin or crater of +Diamond Head, so strongly posted that they could not be +dislodged from the side of the land. A tug was therefore +sent, with a howitzer, to shell them from the sea, while a +fierce land attack was kept up, and before night on Monday +they were driven out of their stronghold and in full flight. + +Another fight took place at Punchbowl Hill, in the rear of +Honolulu, lasting an hour, though with little loss. Tuesday +was spent in searching for the enemy and on Wednesday +another sharp fight took place, they being again defeated. +Before the end of the week the affair was at an end, and the +ex-queen arrested as one of the conspirators. Her premises +were found to be a regular magazine of arms and artillery. + +Lilioukalani now found Hawaii too hot to hold her and sought +a new home in the United States, and the republic went on +peaceably until 1898, when, the war with Spain then being in +progress and a new President in the chair, a new and +successful effort for its annexation was made. The bill for +its admission was signed by President McKinley on July 7, +and the Hawaiian group became an outlying possession of the +United States. It was made an American Territory in 1900. + + THE END. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Historic Tales, Vol. 1 (of 15), by Charles Morris + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTORIC TALES, VOL. 1 (OF 15) *** + +***** This file should be named 16298.txt or 16298.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/6/2/9/16298/ + +Produced by David Kline, David Cortesi and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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