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PEARSON TRIES THE ICE.—Page 356.


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG:
A TALE OF THE
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE.
By G. A. HENTY,
Author of “With Clive in India,” “The Lion of the North,” “In
Freedom's Cause,” “The Dragon and the Raven,” “The
Young Carthaginian,” etc., etc.
ILLUSTRATED.
NEW YORK:
A. L. BURT, PUBLISHER.


Juvenils
Collection
STECH


Juv.Coll.
-tib. Seterre
Dir
Church
0-20.00
hul21
PREF A CE.
My Dear Lads :
You have probably been accustomed to regard
the war between England and ber colonies in
America as one in which we were not only beaten,
but to some extent humiliated. Owing to the war
having been an unsuccessful one for our arms,
British writers have avoided the subject and it has
been left for American historians to describe.
These, writing for their own countrymen and draw-
ing for their facts upon gazettes, letters, and other
documents emanating from one side only, have
naturally, and no doubt insensibly, given a very
strong color to their own views of the events, and
English writers have been too much inclined to
accept their account implicitly. There is, however,
another and very different side to the story, and
this I have endeavored to show you. The whole of
the facts and details connected with the war can be
relied upon as accurate. They are drawn from the
valuable account of the struggle written by Major
Stedman, who served under Howe, Clinton, and


PREFACE.
Cornwallis, and from other authentic contemporary
sources. You will see that although unsuccessful-
and success was, under the circumstances, a sheer
impossibility — the British troops fought with a
bravery which was never exceeded, and that their
victories in actual conflict vastly outnumbered their
defeats. Indeed, it may be doubted whether in any
war in which this country has been engaged have
our soldiers exhibited the qualities of endurance
and courage to a higher degree.
Yours very sincerely,
G. A. HENTY


CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
A Frontier Farm.....
CHAPTER II.
An Indian Raid........
CHAPTER III.
The Redskin Attack........
CHAPTER IV.
The Fight at Lexington...
CHAPTER V.
Bunker's Hill.........
........
77
CHAPTER VI.
Scouting ......
CHAPTER VII.
In the Forest ...
.......
...... 142
CHAPTER VIII.
Quebec.................
CHAPTER IX.
The Surprise of Trenton.....
......... 164
CHAPTER X.
A Treacherous Planter......
........ 186


CONTENTS.
PAGS
......
CHAPTER XI.
The Capture of Philadelphia.
CHAPTER XII.
The Settler's Hut.......
....................
200
CHAPTER XIII.
Saratoga.......
CHAPTER XIV.
Rescued.......
CHAPTER XV.
The Island Refuge.....
CHAPTER XVI.
The Great Storm. .......
........ 325
CHAPTER XVII.
The Scout's Story ......
....... 342
CHAPTER XVIII.
The Siege of Savannah...
CHAPTER XIX.
In an American Prison.....
..
...
..
....
.......
00
CHAPTER XX.
The War in South Carolina.........
....... 405
CHAPTER XXI.
The End of the Struggle........


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
CHAPTER 1.
A FRONTIER FARM.
“ CONCORD, Marcb 1, 1774.
“ MY DEAR Cousin: I am leaving next week with
my husband for England, where we intend to pass
some time visiting his friends. John and I have
determined to accept the invitation you gave us
last summer for Harold to come and spend a few
months with you. His father thinks that a great
future will ere many years open in the West, and
that it is therefore well the boy should learn some-
thing of frontier life. For myself, I would rather
that he stayed quietly at home, for he is at present
over fond of adventure; but as my husband is medi-
tating selling his estate here and moving west, it is
perhaps better for him.
“ Massachusetts is in a ferment, as indeed are all
the Eastern States, and the people talk openly of
armed resistance against the government. My hus-
band being of English birth and having served in
the king's army cannot brook what he calls the
rebellious talk which is common among his neigh-
bors, and is already on bad terms with many around
us. I myself am, as it were, a neutral. As an
American woman, it seems to me that the colonists
have been dealt with somewhat bardly by the English


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
Parliament, and that the measures of the latter bave
been high-handed and arbitrary. Upon the other
hand, I naturally incline toward my husband's views.
He maintains that as the king's army has driven
out the French and gives protection to the colony,
it is only fair that the colonists should contribute to
its expenses. The English ask for no contributions
toward the expenses of their own country, but
demand that at least the expenses of the protection
of the colony shall not be charged upon the heavily
taxed people at home. As to the law that the col-
ony shall trade only with the mother country, my
husband says that this is the rule in the colonies of
Spain, France, Portugal, and the Netherlands, and
that the people here, who can obtain what land
they choose and till it without rent, should not
grumble at paying this small tax to the mother
country. However it be, I fear that troubles
will come, and this place being the head and focus
of the party hostile to England, my husband, feeling
himself out of accord with all his neighbors,, saving
a few loyal gentlemen like himself, is thinking much
and seriously of selling our estate here and of mov-
ing away into the new countries of the West, where
he will be free from all the disputation and con-
tentious talk which occupies men's time here.
“ Indeed, cousin, times have sadly changed since
you were staying with us five years ago. Then our
life was a peaceful and quiet one; now there is
nothing but wrangling and strife. The dissenting
clergy are, as my husband says was the case in Eng-
land before the great civil war, the fomenters of
this discontent. There are many busy bodies who
pass their time in stirring up the people by violent
harangues and seditious writing; therefore every
one takes one side or the other and there is neither
peace nor comfort in life.


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
co
“Accustomed as I have always been to living in
ease and affluence, I dread somewhat the thought of
a life on the Indian frontier. One has heard so
many dreadful stories of Indian fights and massa-
cres that I tremble a little at the prospect; but I do
not mention this to John, for as other women are, like
yourself, brave enough to support these dangers, I
would not appear a coward in his eyes. You will
see, cousin, that as this prospect is before us, it is
well that Harold should learn the ways of a frontier
life. Moreover, John does not like the thought of
leaving him here while we are in England, for, as
he says, the boy might learn to become a rebel in
bis absence; therefore, my dear cousin, we have re-
solved to send him to you. An opportunity offers
in the fact that a gentleman of our acquaintance is,
with his family, going this week west with the in-
tention of settling there, and he will, he tells us, go
first to Detroit, whence he will be able to send
Harold forward to your farm. The boy himself is
delighted at the thought and promises to return an
accomplished backwoodsman. John joins me in
kind love to yourself and your husband, and believe
me to remain your affectionate cousin,
“MARY WILSON.”
Four months after the date of the above letter a
lad some fifteen years old was walking with a man
of middle age on the shores of Lake Huron. Behind
them was a large clearing of about a hundred acres
in extent; a comfortable house, with buildings for
cattle, stood at a distance of some three hundred
yards from the lake; broad fields of yellow corn
waved brightly in the sun; and from the edge of
the clearing came the sound of a woodman's ax,


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
showing that the proprietor was still enlarging the
limits of his farm. Surrounding the house, at a
distance of twenty yards, was a strong stockade
some seven feet in height, formed of young trees
pointed at the upper end, squared, and fixed firmly
in the ground. The house itself, although far more
spacious and comfortable than the majority of back-
wood farm-houses, was built in the usual fashion, of
solid logs, and was evidently designed to resist
attack.
William Welch bad settled ten years before on
this spot, which was then far removed from the
nearest habitation. It would have been a very
imprudent act, under ordinary circumstances, to have
established himself in so lonely a position, so far
removed from the possibility of assistance in case
of attack. He settled there, however, just after
Pontiac, who was at the head of an alliance of all
the Indian tribes of those parts, had, after the long
and desperate siege of Fort Pitt, made peace with
us upon finding that his friends the French had
given up all thought of further resistance to the
English and had entirely abandoned the country.
Mr. Welch thought, therefore, that a permanent
peace was likely to reign on the frontier, and that
he might safely establish himself in the charming
location he had pitched upon, far removed from the
confines of civilization.
The spot was a natural clearing of some forty
acres in extent, sloping down to the water's edge,
and a more charming site could hardly have been


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
chosen. Mr. Welch had brought with him three
farm-laborers from the East, and as time went on
he extended the clearing by cutting down the for-
est giants which bordered it.
But in spite of the beauty of the position, the fer-
tility of the soil, the abundance of his crops, and the
advantages afforded by the lake, both from its plen-
tiful supply of fish and as a highway by which he
could convey his produce to market, he had more
than once regretted his choice of the location. It
was true that there had been no Indian wars on a
large scale, but the Indians had several times broken
out in sudden incursions. Three times he had been
attacked, but fortunately only by small parties
which he had been enabled to beat off. Once, when
a more serious danger threatened him, he had been
obliged to embark with his wife and child and his
more valuable chattels in the great scow in which
be carried his produce to market, and had to take
refuge in the settlements, to find on his return his
buildings destroyed and his farm wasted. At that
time he bad serious thoughts of abandoning his
location altogether, but the settlements were ex-
tending rapidly toward him, and with a prospect of
having neighbors before long and the natural reluc-
tance to give up a place upon which he had expended
so much toil, he decided to hold on, hoping that
more quiet times would prevail until other settlers
would take up land around him.
The house had been rebuilt more strongly than
before. He now employed four men, and had been


-
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
6
unmolested since his return to his farm, three years
before the date of this story. Already two or three
locations had been taken up on the shores of the
lake beyond him, a village had grown up thirty-five
miles away, and several settlers had established
themselves between that place and bis home.
“So you are going out fishing this morning,
Harold ?" Mr. Welch said. “I hope you will bring
back a good supply, for the larder is low. I was
looking at you yesterday, and I see that you are
becoming a first-rate hand at the management of a
canoe.” :
“So I ought to be,” the boy said, “considering
that for nearly three months I have done nothing
but shoot and fish.”
“ You have a sharp eye, Harold, and will make a
good backwoodsman one of these days. You can
shoot nearly as well as I can now. It is lucky that
I had a good stock of powder and lead on hand;
firing away by the hour together as you do con-
sumes a large amount of ammunition. See, there
is a canoe on the lake; it is coming this way, too.
There is but one man in it; he is a white by his
clothes.”
For a minute or two they stood watching the
boat, and then seeing that its course was directed
toward the shore, they walked down to the edge of
the lake to meet it.
“Ah! Pearson, is that you ?” Mr. Welch asked.
“I thought I knew your long, sweeping stroke at a
distance. You have been hunting, I see; that is a
fine stag you have got there. What is the news?”


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
“About as bad as can be, Master Welch,” the
hunter said. “The Iroquois have dug up the toma-
bawk again and are out on the war-path. They
have massacred John Brent and his family. I heard
a talk of it among some hunters I met ten days
since in the woods. They said that the Iroquois
were restless and that their chief, War Eagle, one
of the most troublesome varmints on the whole
frontier, had been stirring 'em up to war. He told
'em, I heard, that the pale-faces were pushing
further and further into the Injun woods, and that
unless they drove 'em back the redskin bunting-
grounds would be gone. I hoped that nothing
would come of it, but I might have known better.
When the redskins begin to stir there's sure to be
mischief before they're quiet again.”
The color bad somewbat left Mr. Welch's cheeks
as the hunter spoke.
“This is bad news indeed, Pearson,” he said
gravely. “ Are you sure about the attack on the
Brents ?”
“Sartin sure," the hunter said. “I met their
herder; he had been down to Johnson's to fetch a
barrel of pork. Just when he got back he heard
the Injun yells and saw smoke rising in the clear-
ing, so he dropped the barrel and made tracks. I
met him at Johnson's, where he had just arrived.
Johnson was packing up with all haste and was
going to leave, and so I said I would take my canoe
and come down the lake, giving you all warning on
the way. I stopped at Burns' and Hooper's. Burns


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
said he should clear out at once, but Hooper talked
about seeing it through. He's got no wife to be
skeary about, and reckoned that with his two hands
he could defend his log hut. I told him I reckoned
he would get his har raised if the Injuns came that
way ; but in course that's his business.”
“What do you advise, Pearson? I do not like
abandoning this farm again to the mercy of the
redskins.”
“It would be a pity, Master Welch, that's as true
as Gospel. It's the likeliest clearing within fifty
miles round, and you've fixed the place up as snug
and comfortable as if it were a farm in the old prov-
inces. In course the question is what this War
Eagle intends to do. His section of the tribe is
pretty considerable strong, and although at present
I ain't heard that any others have joined, these
Injuns are like barrels of gunpowder : when the
spark is once struck there's no saying how far the
explosion may spread. When one band of 'em
sees as bow another is taking scalps and getting
plunder and honor, they all want to be at the same
work. I reckon War Eagle has got some two hun-
dred braves who will follow him ; but when the
news spreads that he has begun his work, all the
Iroquois, to say nothing of the Shawnees, Dela-
wares, and other varmint, may dig up the hatchet.
The question is what War Eagle's intentions are.
He may make a clean sweep down, attacking all
the outlying farms and waiting till he is joined by
a lot more of the red reptiles before attacking the


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
settlements. Then, on the other hand, he may
think himself strong enough to strike a blow at
Gloucester and some other border villages at once.
In that case he might leave the outlying farms
alone, as the news of the burning of these would
reach the settlements and put 'em on their guard,
and he knows in course that if he succeeds there he
can eat you all up at his leisure.”
“The attack upon Brent's place looks as if he
meant to make a clean sweep down,” Mr. Welch
said.
“ Well,” the hunter continued thoughtfully, “I
don't know as I sees it in that light. Brent's place
was a long way from any other. He might have
wished to give his band a taste of blood and so raise
their spirits, and he might reasonably conclude that
naught would be known about it for days, perhaps
weeks to come. Then, again, the attack might have
been made by some straggling party without orders.
It's a dubious question. You've got four hands here,
I think, and yourself. I have seen your wife shoot
pretty straight with a rifle, so she can count as one,
and as this young un here has a good idea too with
bis shooting-iron, that makes six guns. Your place
is a strong one, and you could beat off any strag-
gling party. My idea is that War Eagle, who
knows pretty well that the place would make a
stout fight, won't waste his time by making a
regular attack upon it. You might hold out for
twenty-four hours; the clearing is open and there
ain't no shelter to be had. He would be safe to


10
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
lose a sight of men, and this would be a bad begin.
ning and would discourage bis warriors greatly.
No, I reckon War Eagle will leave you alone for
the present. Maybe he will send a scout to see
whether you are prepared ; it's as likely as not that
one is spying at us somewhere among the trees now.
I should lose no time in driving in the animals and
getting well in shelter. When they see you are
prepared they will leave you alone, at least for the
present. Afterward there's no saying—that will
depend on how they get on at the settlements. If
they succeed there and gets lots of booty and plenty
of scalps, they may march back without touching
you; they will be in a hurry to get to their villages
and have their feasts and dancings. If they are
beaten off at the settlements I reckon they will pay
you a visit for sure; they won't go back without
scalps. They will be savage like and won't mind
losing some men for the sake of having something
to brag about when they get back. And now,
Master Welch, I must be going on, for I want to
take the news down to the settlements before War
Eagle gets there, and he may be ahead of me now
for aught I know. I don't give you no advice as to
what you had best do; you can judge the circum-
stances as well as I can. When I have been to the
settlements and put 'em on their guard maybe 1
shall be coming back again, and in that case you
know Jack Pearson's rifle is at your disposal. You
may as well tote this stag up to the house. You
won't be doing much hunting just for the present,
and the meat may come in handy.”


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
The stag was landed, and a minute later the
canoe shot away from shore under the steady
stroke of the hunter's powerful arms. Mr. Welch
at once threw the stag over his shoulders and, ac-
companied by Harold, strode away toward the
bouse. On reaching it he threw down the stag at
the door, seized a rope which hung against the wall,
and the sounds of a large bell rung in quick sharp
strokes summoned the hands from the fields. The
sound of the woodman's ax ceased at once, and the
shouts of the men as they drove the cattle toward
the house rose on the still air.
“What is the matter, William ?” Mrs. Welch
asked as she ran from the house.
“I have bad news, my dear. The Indians are out
again and I fear we have trouble before us. We
must hope that they will not come in this direction,
but must be prepared for the worst. Wait till I see
all the hands and beasts in the stockade, and then
we can talk the matter over quietly.”
In a few minutes the hands arrived, driving be-
fore them the horses and cattle.
“What is it, boss?” they asked. “Was that the
alarm-bell sure enough ?”
“The Indians are out again,” Mr. Welch said,
“and in force. They have massacred the Brents
and are making toward the settlements. They may
come this way or they may not; at any rate, we
must be prepared for them. Get the beasts into the
sheds, and then do you all take scythes and set to
work to cut down that patch of corn, which is high


12
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
enough to give them shelter; there's nothing else
which will cover them within a hundred yards of
the house. Of course you will take your rifles with
you and keep a sharp lookout; but they will have
heard the bell if they are in the neighborhood, and
will guess that we are on the alert, so they are not
likely to attempt a surprise. Shut one of the gates
and leave the other ajar, with the bar handy to put
up in case you have to make a run for it. Harold
will go up to the lookout while you are at work.”
Having seen that all was attended to, Mr. Welch
went into the house, where his wife was going about
her work as usual, pale, but quiet and resolute.
“Now, Jane,” he said, “sit down and I will tell
you exactly how matters stand as far as Pearson,
who brought the news, has told me. Then you
shall decide as to the course we had better take.”
After he had told her all that Pearson had said
and the reasons for and against expecting an early
attack, he went on:
“Now, it remains for you, my dear, to decide
whether we shall stay and defend the place till the
last against any attack that may be made, or
whether we shall at once embark in the scow and
make our way down to the settlements.”
“What do you think, William ?" his wife asked.
“I scarcely know myself,” he answered ; “but if
I had quite my own way I should send you and
Nelly down to the settlements in the scow and fight
it out here with the hands."
“You certainly will not have your own way in


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
that,” his wife said. “If you go of course I go; if
you stay I stay. I would a thousand times rather
go through a siege here and risk the worst than go
down to Gloucester and have the frightful anxiety
of not knowing what was happening here. Besides,
it is very possible, as you say, that the Indians may
attack the settlement itself. Many of the people
there have bad no experience in Indian war, and tbe
redskins are likely to be far more successful in their
surprise there than they would be here. If we go
we should have to leave our house, our barns, our
stacks, and our animals to the mercy of the savages.
Your capital is pretty nearly all embarked here
now, and the loss of all this would be ruin to us.
At any rate, William, I am ready to stay here and
to risk what may come if you are. A life on the
frontier is necessarily a life of danger, and if we are
to abandon everything and to have to commence
life afresh every time the Indians go on the war-
path, we bad better give it up at once and return
to Massachusetts.”
“Very well, my dear,” her husband said gravely.
“ You are a true frontiersman's wife; you have
chosen as I should have done. It is a choice of
evils; but God has blessed and protected us since
we came out into the wilderness—we will trust and
confide in him now. At any rate,” he went on
more cheerfully, “there is no fear of the enemy
starving us out. We got in our store of provisions
only a fortnight since, and have enough of every-
thing for a three months' siege. There is no fear


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
15
Welch and Harold came on duty. The men they
relieved reported that all was silent in the woods,
and that they had heard no suspicious eries of any
kind. When the men had retired to their room
Mr. Welch told Harold that he should take a turn
round the stockade and visit the dogs. Harold was
to keep watch at the gate, to close it after he went
out, to put up the bar, and to stand beside it ready
to open it instantly if called upon.
Then the farmer stepped out into the darkness
and, treading noiselessly, at once disappeared from
Harold's sight. The latter closed the gate, replaced
the heavy bar, and stood with one hand on this and
the other holding his rifle, listening intently. Once
he thought he heard a low growling from one of
the dogs, but this presently ceased and all was quiet
again. The gate was a solid one, formed of strong
timbers placed at a few inches apart and bolted to
horizontal bars.
Presently he felt the gate upon which his hand
rested quiver as if pressure was applied from with-
out. His first impulse was to say “Is that you ?”
but Mr. Welch had told him that he would give a
low whistle as he approached the gate; he there-
fore stood quiet with his whole attention absorbed
in listening. · Without making the least stir he
peered through the bars and made out two dark
figures behind them. After once or twice shaking
the gate, one took his place against it and the other
sprang upon his shoulders.
Harold looked up and saw a man's head appear


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
17
lowed by the war-whoop, which the redskins would
have raised at once on finding that they were dis-
covered had they been about to attack in force.
Seeing that all was quiet, I conjectured that it was
probably an attempt on the part of a spy to dis-
cover if we were upon the alert. Then I heard your
call and at once came on. I do not expect any at-
tack to-night now, as these fellows must have been
alone; but we will all keep watch till the morning.
You have done very well, Harold, and have shown
yourself a keen watchman. It is fortunate that you
had the presence of mind neither to stir nor to call
out when you first heard them, for bad yon done so
you would probably have got an arrow between
your ribs, as poor Wolf has done.”
When it was daylight and the gate was opened
the body of an Indian was seen lying without; a
small mark on his forehead showed where Ilarold's
bullet bad entered, death being instantaneous. His
war-paint and the embroidery of his leggings showed
him at once to be an Iroquois. Beside him lay bis
bow, with an arrow which had evidently been fitted
to the string for instant work. Harold shuddered
when he saw it and congratulated himself on baving
stood perfectly quiet. A grave was dug a short
distance away, the Indian was buried, and the house-
hold proceeded about their work.
The day, as was usual in households in America,
was begun with prayer, and the supplications of
Mr. Welch for the protection of God over the house-
bold were warm and earnest. The men proceeded


18
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
to feed the animals; these were then turned out of
the inclosure, one of the party being always on
watch in the little tower which had been erected
for that purpose some ten or twelve feet above the
roof of the house. From this spot a view was ob-
tainable right over the clearing to the forest wbich
surrounded it on three sides. The other hands pro-
ceeded to cut down more of the corn, so as to ex-
tend the level space around the house.


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
19
CHAPTER II.
AN INDIAN RAID.
That day and the next passed quietly. The
first night the man who was on watch up to mid-
night remarked to Mr. Welch when he relieved
him that it seemed to him that there were noises in
the air.
“What sort of noises, Jackson-calls of night-
birds or animals? If so the Indians are probably
around us.”
“No," the man said ; "all is still round here, but
I seem to feel the noise rather than hear it. I
should say that it was firing very many miles off.”
“The night is perfectly still and the sound of a
gun would be heard a long way.”
“I cannot say that I have heard a gun; it is
rather a tremble in the air than a sound.”
When the man they had relieved had gone down
and all was still again, Mr. Welch and Harold stood
listening intently.
“Jackson was right,” the farmer said ; "there is
something in the air. I can feel it rather than hear
it. It is a sort of murmur no louder than a whisper.
Do you hear it, Harold ?”
“I seem to hear something,” Harold said. “It
.


20
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
тев
might be the sound of the sea a very long way off, ,
just as one can hear it many miles from the coast
on a still night at home. What do you think
it is ?”
“If it is not fancy,” Mr. Welch replied, “and I do
not think that we should all be deceived, it is an at-
tack upon Gloucester.”
“But Gloucester is thirty-five miles away,” Harold
answered.
“ It is,” Mr. Welch replied ; “but on so still a
night as this sounds can be heard from an immense
distance. If it is not this I cannot say what it is.”
Upon the following night, just as Mr. Welch's
watch was at an end, a low whistle was heard near
the gate.
“Who is there?” Mr. Welch at once challenged.
“ Jack Pearson, and the sooner you open the gate
the better. There's no saying where these red
devils may be lying round.”
Harold and the farmer instantly ran down and
opened the gate.
“I should advise you to stop down here,” the
hunter said as they replaced the bars. “If you did
not hear me you certainly would not hear the red-
skins, and they'd all be over the palisade before you
had time to fire a shot. I'm glad to see you safe,
for I was badly skeared lest I should find nothing
but a heap of ashes here.”
The next two men now turned out, and Mr.
Welch led his visitor into the house and struck a
light.


TRUE TO EAE OLD FLAG.
21
“Halloo! Pearson, you must have been in a
skirmish,” he said, seeing that the hunter's head
was bound up with a blood-stained bandage.
“It was all that,” Pearson said, “and wuss. I
went down to Gloucester and told 'em what I had
heard, but the darned fools tuk it as quiet as if all
King George's troops with fixed bayonets had been
camped round 'em. The council got together and
palavered for an hour, and concluded that there
was no chance whatever of the Iroquois venturing
to attack such a powerful place as Gloucester. I
told 'em that the redskins would go over their
stockade at a squirrel's jump, and that as War
Eagle alone had at least a hundred and fifty
braves, while there warn't more than fifty able-
bodied men in Gloucester and all the farms around
it, things would go bad with 'em if they didn't
mind. But, bless yer, they knew more than I did
about it. Most of 'em had mored from the East
and had never seen an Injun in his war-paint.
Gloucester had never been attacked since it was
founded nigh ten years ago, and they didn't see no
reason why it should be attacked now. There was
a few old frontiersmen like myself among 'ern
who did their best to stir 'em up, but it was no
manner of good. When the council was over we
put our heads together, and just went through the
township a-talking to the women, and we hadn't
much difficulty in getting up such a skear among
'em that before nightfall every one of 'em in the
farms around made their husbands move into the
stockade of the village.


22
T'RUR TO THE OLD FLAG.
“When the night passed off quietly most of the
men were just as savage with us as if it had been a
false alarm altogether. I p'inted out that it was not
because War Eagle had left 'em alone that night
that he was bound to do so the next night or any
night after. But in spite of the women they would
have started out to their farms the fust thing in the
morning, if a man hadn't come in with the news
that Carter's farm had been burned and the whole
of the people killed and scalped. As Carter's farm
lay only about fifteen miles off this gave 'em a
skear, and they were as ready now to believe in the
Injuns as I had tried to make 'em the night before.
Then they asked us old hands to take the lead and
promised to do what we told 'em, but when it came
to it their promises were not worth the breath they
had spent upon 'em. There were eight or ten
houses outside the stockade, and in course we wanted
these pulled down; but they wouldn't hear of it.
Howsomever, we got 'em to work to strengthen the
stockades, to make loop-holes in the houses near
'em, to put up barricades from house to house, and
to prepare generally for a fight. We divided into
three watches.
“Well, just as I expected, about eleven o'clock at
night the Injuns attacked. Our watch might just
as well have been asleep for any good they did, for
it was not till the redskins had crept up to the
stockade all round and opened fire between the
timbers on 'em that they knew that they were
near. I do 'em justice to say that they fought stiff


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
23
enough then, and for four hours they held the line
of houses ; every redskin who climbed the stockade
fell dead inside it. Four fires bad been lighted
directly they attacked to enable us to keep 'em from
scaling the stockade, but they showed us to the
enemy, of course.
“The redskins took possession of the houses
which we had wanted to pull down, and precious
hot they made it for us. Then they shot such
showers of burning arrows into the village that half
of the houses were soon alight. We tried to get
our men to sally out and to hold the line of stock-
ade, wnen we might have beaten 'em off if all the
village had been burned down; but it were no man-
ner of good ; each man wanted to stick to his wife
and family till the last. As the flames went up
every man who showed himself was shot down, and
when at last more than half our number had gone
under the redskins brought up fagots, piled 'em
against the stockade outside, and then the hull tribe
came bounding over. Our rifles were emptied, for
we couldn't get the men to hold their fire, but
some of us chaps as knew what was coming gave
the redskins a volley as they poured in.
“I don't know much as happened after that.
Jack Robins and Bill Shuter, who were old pals of
mine, and me made up our minds what to do, and
we made a rush for a small gate that there was in
the stockade, just opposite where the Injuns came
in. We got through safe enough, but they had left,
men all round. Jack Robins he was shot dead.


24
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
Bill and I kept straight on. We had a grapple
with some of the redskins; two or three on 'em
went down, and Bill and I got through and had a
race for it till we got fairly into the forest. Bill
had a ball in the shoulder and I had a clip across
the head with a tomahawk. We had a council, and
Bill went off to warn some of the other settlements
and I concluded to take to the water and paddle
back to you, not knowing whether I should find
that the redskins had been before me. I thought
any way that I might stop your going down to
Gloucester, and that if there was a fight you would
be none the worse for an extra rifle.”
Mr. Welch told the hunter of the visit of the two
Indian spies two nights before.
6 Waal,” the hunter said, “I reckon for the pres-
ent you are not likely to be disturbed. The Injuns
have taken a pile of booty and something like two
hundred scalps, counting the women and children,
and they moved off at day break this morning in the
direction of Tottenham, which I reckon they'll
attack to-night. Howsoinever, Bill has gone on
there to warn ’em, and after the sack of Gloucester
the people of Tottenham won't be caught napping,
and there are two or three old frontiersmen who
bave settled down there, and War Eagle will get a
hot reception if he tries it. As far as his band is
concerned you're safe for some days. The only fear
is that some others of the tribe, hurrying up at hear-
ing of his success, may take this place as they go
past. And now I guess I'll take a few hours' sleep.
I haven't closed an eye for the last two nights."


26
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG,
He had made but a few steps when a yell arose,
so loud and terrible that for a moment his heart
seemed to stop beating. Then from the corn-fields
leaped up a hundred dark figures; then came the
sharp crack of rifles, and two of the hands dashed
down at full speed toward the house. One had
fallen. The fourth man was in the watch-tower.
The surprise had been complete. The Indians had
made their way like snakes through the long corn,
whose waving had been un perceived by the sentinel,
who was dozing at his post, half-asleep in the heat
of the sun. Harold saw in a moment that it was
too late for him to regain the house; the redskins
were already nearer to it than he was.
“Now, Nelly ! into the boat again-quick !” he
said. “We must keep out of the way till it's all
over.”
Nelly was about twelve years old, and her life in
the woods had given her a courage and quickness
beyond her years. Without wasting a moment on
cries or lamentations she sprang back into the canoe.
Harold took his place beside her, and the light
craft darted rapidly out into the lake. Not until
he was some three or four hundred yards from the
shore did Haroid pause to look round. Then, when
be felt he was out of gunshot distance, he ceased
paddling.
The fight was raging now around the house;
from loop-holes and turret the white puffs of smoke
darted angrily out. The fire had not been inef-
fectual, for several dark forms could be seen lying


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
round the stockade, and the bulk of the Indians,
foiled in their attempt to carry the place at a rush,
had taken shelter in the corn and kept up a scatter-
ing fire round the house, broken only on the side
facing the lake, where there was no growing crop
to afford them shelter.
“They are all right now,” Harold said cheerfully.
“Do not be anxious, Nelly; they will beat them off.
Pearson is a bost in himself. I expect he must
have been lying down when the attack was made.
I know he was scouting round the house all night.
If he had been on the watch those fellows would
never have succeeded in creeping up so close un-
observed.”
“I wish we were inside,” Nelly said, speaking for
the first time. “If I were only with them I should
not mind.”
“I am sure I wish we were,” Harold agreed.
“It is too hard being useless out here when such a
splendid fight is going on. Ah! they have their
eyes on us !” he exclaimed as a puff of smoke burst
out from some bushes near the shore and a ball
came skipping along on the surface of the water,
sinking, however, before it reached it.
“ Those Indian muskets are no good,” Harold
said contemptuously, “and the trade powder the
Indians get is very poor stuff ; but I think that they
are well within range of my rifle.”
The weapon which Harold carried was an English
rifle of very perfect make and finish which his
father had given him on parting.


28
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
“Now," he said, “ do you paddle the canoe a few
strokes nearer the shore, Nelly. We shall still be
beyond the range of that fellow. He will fire again
and I shall see exactly where he is lying.”
Nelly, who was efficient in the management of a
canoe, took the paddle, and dipping it in the water
the boat moved slowly toward the shore. Harold
sat with his rifle across his knees, looking intently
over the bows of the boat toward the bush from
which the shot had come.
6 That's near enough, Nelly," he said.
The girl stopped paddling, and the hidden foe,
seeing that they did not mean to come nearer the
shore, again fired.
Harold's rifle was in an instant against his
shoulder; he sat immovable for a moment and then
fired.
Instantly a dark figure sprang from the bush,
staggered a few steps up the slope, and then fell
headlong.
“That was a pretty good shot,” Harold said.
“Your father told me when I saw a stag's borns
above a bush to fire about two feet behind them and
eighteen inches lower. I fired a foot below the
flash, and I expect I hit him through the body. I
had the sight at three hundred yards and fired a
little above it. Now, Nelly, paddle out again.
See !” he said, “ there is a shawl waving from the
top of the tower. Put your hat on the paddle and
wave it."
“ What are you thinking of doing, Harold ?" the
girl asked presently.



MAIL
U' Var
WM
unha
s
WISMUL
“THAT WAS A PRETTY GOOD SHOT.”—Page 28.





TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
29
" That is just wbat I have been asking myself for
the last ten minutes," Harold replied. “It is quite
clear that as long as the siege is kept up we cannot
get back again, and there is no saying how long it
may last. The first thing is, What chance is there
of their pursuing us? Are there any other canoes
on the lake within a short distance ?”
“They have one at Braithwaite's,” the girl said,
“ four miles off ; but look, there is Pearson's canoe
lying by the shore."
“So there is,” Harold exclaimed. “I never
thought of that. I expect the Indians have not
noticed it. The bank is rather high where it is
lying. They are sure to find it sooner or later. I
think, Nelly, the best plan would be to paddle back
again so as to be within the range of my rifle while
still beyond the reach of theirs. I think I can keep
them from using the boat until it is dark.”
“But after it is dark, Harold ?”
“Well, then, we must paddle out into the lake so
as to be well out of sight. When it gets quite dark
we can paddle in again and sleep safelyanywhere a
mile or two from the house."
An hour passed without change. Then Nelly
said :
“There is a movement in the bushes near the
canoe.”
Presently an arm was extended and proceeded to
haul the canoe toward the shore by its head-rope. As
it touched the bank an Indian rose from the bushes
and was about to step in, while a number of flashes


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
of smoke burst out along the shore and the bullets
skipped over the water toward the canoe, one of
them striking it with sufficient force to penetrate
the thin bark a few inches above the water's edge.
Harold had not moved, but as the savage stepped
into the canoe he fired, and the Indian fell heavily
into the water, upsetting the canoe as he did so.
A yell of rage broke from his comrades.
“I don't think they will try that game again as
long as it is daylight,” Harold said. “Paddle a
little further out again, Nelly. If that bullet had
hit you it would have given you a nasty blow,
though I don't think it would have penetrated; still
we may as well avoid accidents.”
After another hour passed the fire round the
house ceased.
“ Do you think the Indians have gone away ?"
Nelly asked.
“I am afraid there is no chance of that,” Harold
said. “I expect they are going to wait till night
and then try again. They are not fond of losing
men, and Pearson and your father are not likely to
miss anything that comes within their range as long
as daylight lasts.”
“But after dark, Harold ?”
“Oh, they will try all sorts of tricks; but Pear-
son is up to them all. Don't you worry about
them, dear.”
The hours passed slowly away until at last the
sun sank and the darkness came on rapidly. So.
long as he could see the canoe, which just floated


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
31
above the water's edge, Harold maintained his posi-
tion; then taking one paddle, while Nelly handled
the other, he sent the boat flying away from the
shore out into the lake.
For a quarter of an hour they paddled straight
out. By this time the outline of the shore could be
but dimly perceived. Harold doubted whether it
would be possible to see the boat from shore, but in
order to throw the Indians off the scent, should this
be the case, he turned the boat's head to the south
and paddled swiftly until it was perfectly dark.
“I expect they saw us turn south," he said to
Nelly. “The redskins have wonderful eyes; so if
they pursue at all they will do it in that direction.
No human being, unless he borrowed the eyes of
an owl, could see us now, so we will turn and pad-
dle the other way.”
For two hours they rowed in this direction.
“ We can go into shore now,” Harold said at last.
“We must be seven or eight miles beyond the
house.”
The distance to the shore was longer than they
expected, for they had only the light of the stars to
guide them and neither had any experience in night
traveling. They had made much further out into
the lake than they had intended. At length the
dark line of trees rose in front of them, and in a
few minutes the canoe lay alongside the bank and
its late occupants were stretched on a soft layer of
moss and fallen leaves.
“What are we going to do to-morrow about
eating ?” Nelly asked.


32
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
“There are four or five good-sized fish in the
bottom of the canoe,” Harold replied. “Fortu-
nately we caught more than I could carry, and I in-
tended to make a second trip from the house for
these. I am afraid we shall not be able to cook
them, for the Indians can see smoke any distance.
If the worse comes to the worst we must eat them
raw, but we are sure to find some berries in the
wood to-morrow. Now, dear, you had better go to
sleep as fast as you can ; but first let us kneel down
and pray God to protect us and your father and
mother.”
The boy and girl knelt in the darkness and said
their simple prayers. Then they lay down, and
Harold was pleased to hear in a few minutes
the steady breathing which told him that his cousin
was asleep. It was a long time before he followed
her example. During the day he had kept up a
brave front and bad endeavored to make the best
of their position, but now that he was alone he felt
the full weight of the responsibility of guiding his
companion through the extreme danger which
threatened them both. He felt sure that the In-
dians would prolong the siege for some time, as
they would be sure that no reënforcements could
possibly arrive in aid of the garrison. Moreover,
he by no means felt so sure, as he had pretended to
his companion, of the power of the defenders of the
house to maintain a successful resistance to so large
a number of their savage foes. In the daylight he
felt certain they could beat them off, but darkness


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
33
neutralizes the effect both of superior arms and
better marksmanship. It was nearly midnight be-
fore he lay down with the determination to sleep,
but scarcely had he done so when he was aroused
by an outburst of distant firing. Although six or
seven miles from the scene of the encounter, the
sound of each discharge came distinct to the ear
along the smooth surface of the lake, and he could
even hear, mingled with the musketry fire, the faint
yells of the Indians. For hours, as it seemed to
bim, he sat listening to the distant contest, and then
he, unconsciously to himself, dozed off to sleep, and
awoke with a start, to find Nelly sitting up beside
him and the sun streaming down through the
boughs. He started to his feet.
“Bless me,” he exclaimed, “I did not know that
I had been asleep. It seems but an instant ago
that I was listening—” and here he checked him-
self—“ that is, that I was wide awake, and here we
are in broad daylight."
Harold's first care was to examine the position of
the canoe, and he found that fortunately it had
touched the shore at a spot where the boughs of
the trees overhead drooped into the water beyond
it, so that it could not be seen by any one passing
along the lake. This was the more fortunate as be
saw some three miles away a canoe with three fig-
ures on board. For a long distance on either side
the boughs of the trees drooped into the water, with
only an opening here and there such as that through
which the boat had passed the night before.


34
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
“We must be moving, Nelly. Here are the
marks where we scrambled up the bank last night.
If the Indians take it into their heads to search the
shore both ways, as likely enough they may do,
they will be sure to see them. In the first place let
us gather a stock of berries, and then we will get
into the boat again and paddle along under this
arcade of boughs till we get to some place where
we can land without leaving marks of our feet. If
the Indians find the place where we landed here
they will suppose that we went off again before
daylight.”
For some time they rambled in the wood and suc-
ceeded in gathering a store of berries and wild
fruit. Upon these Nelly made her breakfast, but
Harold's appetite was sufficiently ravenous to en-
able him to fall to upon the fish, which, he declared,
were not so bad after all. Then they took their
places in the canoe again and paddled on for nearly
a mile.
“ See, Harold !” Nelly exclaimed as she got a
glimpse through the boughs into the lake," there is
another canoe. They must have got the Braith-
waite boat. We passed their place coming here,
you know. I wonder what has happened there."
“What do you think is best to do, Nelly ?” Har-
old asked. “Your opinion is just as good as mine
about it. Shall we leave our canoe behind, land,
and take to the woods, or shall we stop quietly in
the canoe in shelter here, or shall we take to the
lale and trust to our speed to get away ? in which


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
35
case, you know, if they should come up I could pick
them off with my gun before they got within
reach."
“I don't think that would do,” the girl said,
shaking her head. “You shoot very well, but it is
not an easy thing to hit a moving object if you are
not accustomed to it, and they paddle so fast that
if you miss them once they would be close alongside
--at any rate we should be within reach of their
guns—before you could load again. They would be
sure to catch us, for although we might paddle
nearly as fast for a time, they would certainly tire us
out. Then as to waiting here in the canoe, if they
came along on foot looking for us we should be in
their power. It is dreadful to think of taking to
the woods with Indians all about, but I really think
that would be our safest plan.”
“I think so too, Nelly, if we can manage to do it
without leaving a track. We must not go much
further, for the trees are getting thinner ahead and
we should be seen by the canoes.”
Fifty yards further Harold stopped paddling.
“Here is just the place, Nelly."
At this point a little stream of three or four feet
wide emerged into the lake; Harold directed the
boat's head toward it. The water in the stream
was but a few inches deep.
“Now, Nelly," he said, “ we must step out into
the water and walk up it as far as we can go-it
will puzzle even the sharpest redskins to find our
track then."


36
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
They stepped into the water, Harold taking the
head-rope of the canoe and towing the light boat-
whicb, when empty, did not draw more than two
inches of water-behind him. He directed Nelly
to be most careful as she walked not to touch any
of the bushes, which at times nearly met across the
stream. ,
“A broken twig or withered leaf would be quite
enough to tell the Indians that we came along this
way,” he said. “Where the bushes are thick you
must manage to crawl under them. Never mind
about getting wet-you will soon dry again.”
Slowly and cautiously they made their way up
the stream for nearly a mile. It had for some dis-
tance been narrowing rapidly, being only fed by
little rills from the surrounding swamp land.
Harold had so far looked in vain for some spot
where they could land without leaving marks of
their feet. Presently they came to a place where a
great tree had fallen across the stream.
“This will do, Nelly,” Harold said. “Now,
above all things you must be careful not to break
off any of the moss or bark. You had better take
your shoes off ; then I will lift you on to the trunk
and you can walk along it without leaving a mark."
It was hard work for Nelly to take off her
drenched boots, but she managed at last. Harold
lifted her on to the trunk and said :
“Walk along as far as you can and get down as
lightly as possible on to a firm piece of ground. It
rises rapidly here and is, I expect, a dry soil where
the upper end of the tree lies.”


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
37
“How are you going to get out, Harold ?"
“I can swing myself up by that projecting root.”
Before proceeding to do so Harold raised one end
of the canoe and placed it on the trunk of the tree;
then having previously taken off his shoes, he swung
himself on to the trunk; hauling up the light bark
canoe and taking especial pains that it did not grate
upon the trunk, he placed it on his head and fol-
lowed Nelly along the tree. He found, as he had
expected, that the ground upon which the upper end
lay was firm and dry. He stepped down with
great care, and was pleased to see as he walked
forward that no trace of a footmark was left.
“Be careful, Nelly," he exclaimed when he joined
her, “not to tread on a stick or disturb a fallen leaf
with your feet, and above all to avoid breaking the
smallest twig as you pass. Choose the most open
ground, as that is the bardest."
In about a hundred yards they came upon a large
clump of bushes.
“Now, Nelly, raise those lower boughs as gently
and as carefully as you can. I will push the canoe
under. I don't think the sharpest Indian will be
able to take up our track now.”
Very carefully the canoe was stowed away, and
when the boughs were allowed to fall in their nat-
ural position it was completely hidden from sight to
every passer-by. Harold took up the fish, Nelly
had filled her apron with the berries, and carrying
their shoes—for they agreed that it would be safer
not to put them on-they started on their journey
through the deep forest.
od


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
CHAPTER III.
THE REDSKIN ATTACK.
MR. WELCH was with the men two or three hun-
dred yards away from the house when the Indians
suddenly sprang out and opened fire. One of the
men fell beside him; the farmer stooped to lift
him, but saw that he was shot through the head.
Then he ran with full speed toward the house,
shouting to the hands to make straight for the gate,
disregarding the cattle. Several of these, however,
alarmed at the sudden outburst of fire and the yells
of the Indians, made of their own accord for the
stables as their master rushed up at full speed. The
Indians were but fifty or sixty yards behind when
Mr. Welch reached his gate. They had all emptied
their pieces, and after the first volley no shots had
been fired save one by the watchman on the lookout.
Then came the crack of Pearson's rifle just as Mr.
Welch shut the gate and laid the bar in its place.
Several spare guns had been placed in the upper
chambers, and three reports rang out together, for
Mrs. Welch had run upstairs at the first alarm to
take her part in the defense.
In another minute the whole party, now six in
all, were gathered in the upper room.


TRUL TO THE OLD FLAG.
39
“Where are Nelly and Harold ?" Mr. Welch ex-
claimed.
“I saw the canoe close to the shore just before
the Indians opened fire,” the watchman answered.
“You must have been asleep,” Pearson said
savagely. “Where were your eyes to let them red-
skins crawl up through the corn without seeing
'em? With such a crowd of 'em the corn must have
been a-waving as if it was blowing a gale. You
ought to have a bullet in yer ugly carkidge, instead
of its being in yer mate's out there."
While this conversation was going on no one had
been idle. Each took up his station at a loop-hole,
and several shots were fired whenever the movement
of a blade of corn showed the lurking-place of an
Indian.
The instant the gate had been closed War Eagle
had called his men back to shelter, for he saw that
all chance of a surprise was now over, and it was
contrary to all redskin strategy to remain for one
moment unnecessarily exposed to the rifles of the
whites. The farmer and his wife had rushed at
once up into the lookout as the Indians drew off,
and to their joy saw the canoe darting away from
shore.
“ They are safe for the present, thank God !” Mr.
Welch said. “It is providential indeed that they
had not come a little further from the shore when
the redskins broke out. Nothing could have saved
them had they fairly started for the house.”
“What will they do, William ?” asked his wife
anxiously.


40
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
“I cannot tell you, my dear. I do not know
wbat I should do myself under the circumstances.
However, the boy bas got a cool head on his
shoulders and you need not be anxious for the
present. Now let us join the others. Our first duty
is to take our share in the defense of the house.
The young ones are in the hands of God. We can
do nothing for them.”
“ Well ?” Pearson asked, looking round from his
loop-bole as the farmer and bis wife descended into
the room, which was a low garret extending over
the whole of the house. “Do you see the canoe ?”
“Yes, it has got safely away,” William Welch
said ; “but what that lad will do now is more than
I can say.”
Pearson placed his rifle against the wall. “Now
keep your eyes skinned,” he said to the three farm
hands. “ One of yer's done mischief enough this
morning already, and you'll get your har raised as
sure as you're born unless you look out sharp. Now,"
he went on, turning to the Welches, “let us go
down and talk this matter over. The Injuns may
keep on firing, but I don t think they'll show in
the open again as long as it's light enough for us to
draw bead on 'em. Yes," he went on as he looked
through a loop-hole in the lower story over the
lake, “there they are, just out of range."
6 What do you think they will do ?” Mrs. Welch
asked.
The hunter was silent for a minute.
“It ain't a easy thing to say what they ought to


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
41
do, much less what they will do; it ain't a good
outlook any way, and I don't know what I should
do myself. The whole of the woods on this side of
the lake are full of the darned red critters. There's
a hundred eyes on that canoe now, and go where
they will they'll be watched.”
“But why should they not cross the lake and
land on the other side ?" Mr. Welch said.
“If you and I were in that canoe,” the hunter
answered, “that's about what we should do; but,
not to say that it's a long row for 'em, they two
young uns would never get across; the Injuns would
have 'em before they had been gone an hour.
There's my canoe lying under the bushes; she'd
carry four and would go three feet to their two."
“I had forgotten about that,” William Welch
said, and then added after a pause : “ The Indians
may not find it.”
“You needn't hope that,” the hunter answered ;
“they have found it long before this. I don't want
to put you out of heart; but I tell ye ye'll see them
on the water before many minutes have passed."
“Then they are lost,” Mrs. Welch said, sinking
down in her chair and bursting into tears.
“ They air in God's hands, ma'am,” the hunter
said, " and it's no use trying to deceive you.”
“Would it be of any use," William Welch asked
after a pause, “ for me to offer the redskins that my
wife and I will go out and put ourselves in their
hands if they will let the canoe go off without pur-
suit ?"


42
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
“Not it,” the hunter replied decidedly. “You
would be throwing away your own lives without
saving theirs, not to mention, although that doesn't
matter a straw, the lives of the rest of us here. It
will be as much as we can do, when they attack us
in earnest, to hold this place with six guns, and
with only four the chance would be worth nothing.
But that's neither here nor there. You wouldn't
save the young ones if you gave up. You can't
trust the word of an Injun on the war-path, and if
they went so far as not to kill 'em they would carry
'em off ; and after all I ain't sure as death ain't
better for 'em than to be brought up as Injuns.
There,” he said, stopping suddenly as a report of a
musket sounded at some little distance off, “ the
Injuns are trying their range against 'em. Let's
go up to the lookout.”
The little tower bad a thick parapet of logs some
three feet high, and crouching behind this they
watched the canoe.
“He's coming nearer in shore, and the girl has
got the paddle,” Pearson muttered. “What's he
doing now?"
A puff of smoke was seen to rise near the border
of the lake, then came the sharp crack of Harold's
rifle. They saw an Indian spring from the bushes
and fall dead.
• Well done, young un,” Pearson exclaimed. “I
told yer he'd got his head screwed on the right way.
He's keeping just out of range of their guns, and
that piece of his can carry twice as far as theirs. I


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
43
reckon he's thought of the canoe and means to
keep 'em from using it. I begins to think, Mr.
Welch, that there's a chance for 'em yet. Now
let's talk a little to these red devils in the corn.”
For some little time Pearson and William Welch
turned their attention to the Indians, while the
mother sat with her eyes fixed upon the canoe.
“He is coming closer again,” she exclaimed pres-
ently.
“ He's watching the canoe, sure enough,” Pearson
said. Then came the volley along the bushes on
the shore, and they saw an Indian rise to his feet.
“ That's just where she lies,” Pearson exclaimed ;
“ he's getting into it. There! well done, young un.”
The sudden disappearance of the Indian and the
vengeful yell of the hidden foe told of the failure
of the attempt.
“I think they're safe now till nightfall. The In-
juns won't care about putting themselves within
range of that ’ere rifle again.”
Gradually the fire of the Indians ceased, and the
defenders were able to leave the loop-holes. Two
of the men went down and fastened up the cattle,
which were still standing loose in the yard inside
the stockade; the other set to to prepare a meal, for
Mrs. Welch could not take her eyes off the canoe.
The afternoon seemed of interminable length
Not a shot was fired. The men, after taking their
dinner, were occupied in bringing some great tubs
on to the upper story and filling them to the brim
with water from the well.


44
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
This story projected two feet beyond the one
below it, having been so built in order that in case
of attack the defenders might be able to fire dowa
upon any foe who might cross the stockade and at-
tack the house itself; the floor boards over the
projecting portion were all removable. The men
also brought a quantity of the newly cut corn to the
top of the house, first drenching it with water.
The sun sank, and as dusk was coming on the
anxious watchers saw the canoe paddle out far into
the lake.
“An old frontiersman couldn't do better,” Pear-
son exclaimed. “He's kept them out of the
canoe as long as daylight lasted; now he has de-
termined to paddle away and is making down the
lake,” he went on presently. “It's a pity he turned
so soon, as they can see the course he's taking."
They watched until it was completely dark, but
before the light quite faded they saw another canoe
put out from shore and start in the direction taken
by the fugitives.
“Will they catch them, do you think ?” Mrs.
Welch asked.
“No, ma'am,” Pearson said confidently. “The
boy's got sense enough to have changed his course
after it gets dark, though whether he'll make for
shore or go out toward the other side is more than
I can say. You see, they'll know that the Injuns
are all along this side of the lake, but then on the
other hand they'll be anxious about us and'll want
to keep close at hand. Besides, the lad knows noth-


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
ing of the other side; there may be Injuns there
for aught he knows, and it's a skeary thing for a
young un to take to the forest, especially with a gal
in his charge. There ain't no saying what he'll do.
And now we've got to look after ourselves, don't
let us think about 'em at present. The best thing
we can do for them, as well as for ourselves, is to
hold this here place. If they live they'll come back
to it sooner or later, and it'll be better for 'em to
find it standing and you here to welcome 'em than
to get back to a heap of ruins and some dead
bodies."
“When will the redskins attack, do you think ?”
the farmer asked.
“We may expect 'em any time now,” the hunter
answered. “The Injuns' time of attack is generally
just before dawn, but they know well enough they
ain't likely to ketch us asleep any time, and as they
know exactly wbat they have got to do they'll gain
nothing by waiting. I wish we had a moon; if we
had we might keep 'em out of the stockade. But
there—it's just as well it's dark after all, for if the
moon was up the young uns would have no chance
of getting away.”
The garrison now all took their places at the loop-
holes, having first carried the wet fodder to the
roof and spread it over the shingles. There was
nothing to do now but to wait. The night was so
dark that they could not see the outline of the
stockade. Presently a little spark shot through the
air, followed by a score of others. Mr. Welch had


46
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG,
taken bis post on the tower, and he saw the arrows
whizzing through the air, many of them falling on
the roof. The dry grass dipped in resin which was
tied round the arrow-heads was instantly ex-
tinguished as the arrows fell upon the wet corn,
and a yell arose from the Indians.
The farmer descended and told the others of the
failure of the Indians' first attempt.
“That 'ere dodge is a first-rate un,” Pearson said.
“We're safe from fire, and that's the only thing
we've got to be afeard on. You'll see 'em up here
in a few minutes."
Everything was perfectly quiet. Once or twice
the watchers thought that they could hear faint
sounds, but could not distinguish their direction.
After half an hour's anxious waiting a terrific yell
was heard from below, and at the doors and win-
dows of the lower rooms came the crashing blows
of tomabawks.
The boards had already been removed from the
flooring above, and the defenders opened a steady
fire into the dark mass that they could faintly make
out clustered round the windows and doors. At
Pearson's suggestion the bullets had been removed
from the guns and heavy charges of buckshot bad
been substituted for them, and yells of pain and
surprise rose as they fired. A few shots were fired
up from below, but a second discharge from the spare
guns completed the effect from the first volley.
The dark mass broke up, and in a few seconds all
was as quiet as before.


TRUE 10 THE OLD FLAG.
Two hours passed and then slight sounds were
heard.
“They've got the gate opened, I expect,” Pearson
said. “Fire occasionally at that; if we don't hit
'em the flashes may show us what they're doing.”
It was as be had expected. The first discharge
was followed by a cry, and by the momentary light
they saw a number of dark figures pouring in
through the gate. Seeing that concealment was
no longer possible, the Indians opened a heavy fire
round the house; then came a crashing sound near
the door.
“Just as I thought,” Pearson said. “They're
going to try to burn us out."
For some time the noise continued as bundle after
bundle of dried wood was thrown down by the
door. The garrison were silent, for, as Pearson
said, they could see nothing, and a stray bullet
might enter at the loop-holes if they placed them-
selves there, and the flashes of the guns would
serve as marks for the Indians.
Presently two or three faint lights were seen ap-
proaching.
“ Now,” Pearson said, “pick 'em off as they
come up. You and I'll take the first man, Welch.
You fire just to the right of the light, I will fire to
the left; be may be carrying the brand in either
hand.”
They fired together and the brand was seen to
drop to the ground. The same thing happened as
the other two sparks of light approached ; then it


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
was again quiet. Now a score of little lights
flashed through the air.
“ They're going to light the pile with their flam-
ing arrows,” Pearson said. “War Eagle is a good
leader.”
· Three or four of the arrows fell on the pile of
dry wood. A. moment later the flames crept up and
the smoke of burning wood rolled up into the room
above. A yell of triumph burst from the Indians,
but this changed into one of wrath as those above
emptied the contents of one of the great tubs of
water on to the pile of wood below them. The
flames were instantly extinguished.
“What will they do next?" Mrs. Welch asked.
“It's like enough,” Pearson replied, “that they'll
give the job up altogether. They've got plenty of
plunder and scalps at the settlements, and their at-
tacking us here in such force looks as if the hull of
'em were on their way back to their villages. If
they could have tuk our scalps easy they would
have done it; but War Eagle ain't likely to risk
losing a lot of men when he ain't sartin of winning
after all. He has done good work as it is and has
quite enough to boast about when he gits back. If
he were to lose a heap of his braves here it would
spoil the success of his expedition. No, I think as
he will give it up now.”
“He will be all the more anxious to catch the
children,” Mrs. Welch said despondently.
“ It can't be denied, ma'am, as he will do bis best
that way,” Pearson answered. “It all depends,


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
49
though, on the boy. I wish I was with him in that
canoe. Howsomever, I can't help thinking as he
will sarcurn vent 'em somehow.”
The night passed without any further attack.
By turns half the garrison watched while the other
lay down, but there was little sleep taken by any.
With the first gleam of daylight Mrs. Welch and
her husband were on the lookout.
“ There's two canoes out on the lake,” Pearson
said. “They're paddling quietly ; wbich is which
I can't say."
As the light became brighter Pearson pronounced
postively that there were three men in one canoe
and four in the other.
“I think they're all Injuns," he said. “They
must have got another canoe somewhere along the
lake. Waal, they've not caught the young uns
yet.”
“The boats are closing up to each other,” Mrs.
Welch said.
“ They're going to have a talk, I reckon. Yes,
one of 'em's turning and going down the lake, while
the other's going up. I'd give a heap to know
where the young uns have got to.”
The day passed quietly. An occasional shot to-
ward the house showed that the Indians remained
in the vicinity, and indeed dark forms could be seen
moving about in the distant parts of the clearing.
“ Will it be possible,” the farmer asked Pearson
wben night again fell, “ to go out and see if we can
discover any traces of them ?”


50
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
“Worse than no use,” Pearson said positively.
“ We should just lose our har without doing no good
whatever. If the Injuns in these woods—and I
reckon altogether there's a good many hundred of
'em—can't find 'em, ye may swear that we can't.
That's just wbat they're hoping, that we'll be fools
enough to put ourselves outside the stockade.
They'll lie close round all night, and a weasel
wouldn't creep through 'em. Ef I thought there
was jest a shadow of chance of finding them young
uns I'd risk it, but there's no chance—not a bit of
it.”
A vigilant watch was again kept up all night, but
all was still and quiet. The next morning the
Indians were still round them.
“Don't ye fret, ma’am !” Pearson said as he saw
how pale and wan Mrs. Welch looked in the morn-
ing light. “You may bet your last shilling that
they've not caught 'em.”
"Why are you so sure ?” Mrs. Welch asked.
“ They may be dead by this time.”
“Not they, ma'am. I'm as sartin as they're liv.
ing and free as I am that I'm standing here. I
know these Injuns' ways. Ef they had caught 'em
they'd jest have brought 'em here and would have
fixed up two posts, jest out of rifle range, and
would have tied them there and offered you the
choice of giving up this place and your scalps or of
seeing them tortured and burned under your eyes.
That's their way. No, they ain't caught 'em alive,
nor they ain't caught 'em dead neither; for ef they


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
51
.
had they'd have brought their scalps to have shown
yer. No, they've got away, though it beats me to
say how. I've only got one fear, and that is that
they might come back before the Injuns have gone.
Now I tell ye what we bad better do—we better
keep up a dropping fire all night and all day to-
morrow and so on until the redskins have gone. Ef
the young uns come back across the lake at night
and all is quiet they'll think the Injuns have taken
themselves off, but if they hear firing still going on
they'll know well enough that they're still around
the house.'
William Welch at once agreed to this plan, and
every quarter of an hour or so all through the
night a few shots were fired.
The next morning no Indians could be seen, and
there was a cessation of the dropping shots which
had before been kept up at the house.
“ They may be in hiding,” Pearson said in the
afternoon, “ trying to tempt us out; but I'm more
inclined to think as how they've gone. I don't see
a blade of that corn move; I've had my eyes fixed
on it for the last two hours. It are possible, of
course, that they're there, but I reckon not. I ex-
pect they've been waiting ever since they gave up
the attack, in hopes that the young uns would come
back ; but now as they see that we're keeping up a
fire to tell them as how they're still round us,
they've given it up and gone. When it gets dark
to-night I'll go out and scout round.”
At ten o'clock at night Pearson dropped lightly


52
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
from the stockade on the side opposite to the gate,
as he knew that if the Indians were there this
would be the point that they would be watching;
then crawling upon his stomach he made his way
slowly down to the lake. Entering the water and
stooping low, he waded along by the edge of the
bushes for a distance of a mile; then he left the
water and struck into the forest. Every few min-
utes he could hear the discharges of the rifles at the
house, but, as before, no answering shots were
heard. Treading very cautiously, he made a wide
détour and then came down again on the clearing at
the end furthest from the lake, where the Indians
bad been last seen moving about. All was still.
Keeping among the trees and moving with great
caution, he made his way for a considerable dis-
tance along the edge of the clearing; then he
dropped on his hands and knees and entered the
corn-field, and for two hours he crawled about,
quartering the ground like a dog in search of game.
Everywhere he found lines where the Indians had
crawled along to the edge nearest to the house, but
now here did he discover a sign of life. Then, still
taking great care, he moved down toward the house
and made a circuit of it at a short distance outside
the stockade; then he rose to his feet.
“ Yer may stop shooting," he shouted. “The
pesky rascals are gone.”
Then he walked openly up to the gate; it was
opened at once by William Welch.
“ Are you sure they have gone?" he asked.


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
53
“ Sure as gospel,” he answered," and they've been
gone twenty-four hours at least.”
“How do you know that ?"
“Easy enough. I found several of their cooking-
places in the woods; the brands were out, and even
under the ashes the ground was cold, so they must
have been out for a long time. I could have walked
straight on to the house then, but I thought it safer
to make quite sure by searching everywhere, for
they might have moved deeper into the forest and
left a few men on guard here in case the young uns
should come back. But it ain't so; they've gone,
and there ain't a living soul any where nigh the
clearing. The young uns can come back now, if
they will, safely enough."
Before doing anything else the farmer assembled
the party together in the living-room, and there
solemnly offered up thanks to God for their deliver-
ance from danger and implored his protection for
the absent ones. When this was over he said to his
wife:
“Now, Jane, you had better lie down and get a
few hours' sleep. It is already two o'clock, and
there is no chance whatever of their returning to-
night, but I shall go down to the lake and wait till
morning. Place candles in two of the upper win-
dows. Should they be out on the lake they will see
them and know that the Indians have not taken the
house."
Morning came without any signs of the absent
ones. At day break Pearson went out to scout in


54
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
AVIG.
the woods, and returned late in the afternoon with
the news that the Indians had all departed, and that
for a distance of ten miles at least the woods were
entirely free.
When it became dark the farmer again went
down to the lake and watched until two, when
Pearson took his place. Mr. Welch was turning to
go back to the house when Pearson placed his hand
on his shoulder.
“ Listen !” he said, and for a minute the mon stood
immovable.
“What was it ?” the farmer asked.
“I thought I heard the stroke of a paddle,"
Pearson said ; “it might bave been tho jump of a
fish. There! there it is again!” He lay down and
put his ear close to the water. “There's a canoe
in the lake to the north’ard. I can hear the strokes
of the paddle plainly.”
Mr. Welch could hear nothing. Some minutes
passed, then Pearson exclaimed:
“There ! I saw a break in the water over there!
There it is !” he said, straining his eyes in the dark-
ness. “That's a canoe, sure enough, although they
have ceased paddling. It's not a mile away.”
Then he arose to his feet and shouted “Halloo !"
at the top of his voice. An answering shout faintly
came back across the water. He again hailed
loudly, and this time the answer came in a female
voice.
"It's them, sure enough. I can swear to Nelly's
voice."


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
55
William Welch uncovered his head and, putting
his hand before his face, returned fervent thanks to
God for the recovery of his child. Then he dashed
off at full speed toward the house. Before he
reached it, however, he met his wife running down
to meet him, the shouts having informed her that
something was seen. Hand in hand they ran down
to the water's edge. The canoe was now swiftly
approaching. The mother screamed:
“Nelly, is that you ?”.
“Mamma! mamma!" came back in the girl's clear
tones.
With a low cry of gladness Mrs. Welch fell
senseless to the ground. The strain which she had
for four days endured had been terrible, and even
the assurances of Pearson had failed to awaken any
strong feeling of hope in her heart. She bad kept
up bravely and bad gone about her work in the
house with a pale, set face, but the unexpected relief
was too much for her.
Two minutes later the bow of the canoe grated
on the shore and Nelly leaped into her father's
arins.
“Where is mamma ?” she exclaimed.
“She is here, iny dear, but she has fainted. The
joy of your return has been too much for her.”
Nelly knelt beside her mother and raised her
head, and the farmer grasped Harold's hand.
“My brave boy,” he said, “I have to thank you
for saving my child's life. God bless you !"
He dipped his hat in the lake and sprinkled


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
57
just as it had been going on so long. Our provi-
sions were all gone and Nelly was getting rery bad
for want of water. I of course got a drink at the
lake this morning. So we agreed that if everything
was still again to-night we would go back to the
place where we had hidden the canoe, launch it,
and paddle here. Everything was quiet, so we
came along as we had arranged. When I saw the
lights in the windows I made sure all was right;
still it was a great relief when I heard the shout
from the shore. I knew, of course, that it wasn't a
redskin's shout. Besides, Indians would have kept
quiet till we came alongside.”
Very hearty were the commendations bestowed
on the boy for his courage and thoughtfulness.
“You bebaved like an old frontiersman,” Pear:
son said. “I couldn't have done better myself.
You only made one blunder from the time you set
out from shore.”
“ What was that ?” Harold asked.
“ You were wrong to pick -the berries. The red-
skins, of course, would find where you had landed,
they'd see the marks where you lay down, and
would know that you had paddled away again.
Had it not been for their seeing the tracks you
made in picking the berries they might have sup-
posed you had started before day break and bad
gone out of sight across the lake; but them marks
would have shown 'em that you did not take to
your canoe until long after the sun was up, and
therefore that you couldn't have made across the


58
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
lake without their seeing you, but must either bare
landed or be in your canoe under shelter of the
trees somewhere along the shore. It's a marvel to
me that they didn't find your traces, however care-
ful you were to conceal 'em. But that's the only
error you made, and I tell you, young un, you have
a right to be proud of having outwitted a hull tribe
of redskins."


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
59
CHAPTER IV.
'THE FIGHT AT LEXINGTON.
HAROLD remained for four months longer with
bis cousin. The Indians had made several attacks
upon settlements at other points of the frontier, but
they had not repeated their incursion in the neigh-
borhood of the lake. The farming operations had
gone on regularly, but the men always worked with
their rifles ready to their band. Pearson had pre-
dicted that the Indians were not likely to return to
that neighborhood. Mr. Welch's farm was the only
one along the lake that had escapell, and the loss
the Indians bad sustained in attacking it had been
so heavy that they were not likely to make an ex-
pedition in that quarter, where the chances of booty
were so small and the certainty of a desperate re-
sistance so great.
Other matters occurred which rendered the re-
newal of the attack improbable. The news was
brougbt by a wandering hunter that a quarrel had
arisen between the Shawnees and the Iroquois, and
that the latter had recalled their braves from the
frontier to defend their own villages in case of hos-
tilities breaking out between them and the rival
tribe.


60
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
There was no occasion for Harold to wait for
news from home, for his father had before starting
definitely fixed the day for his return, and when
that time approached Harold started on his east-
ward journey, in order to be at home about the date
of their arrival. Pearson took him in his canoe to
the end of the lake and accompanied him to the set-
tlement, whence he was able to obtain a conveyance
to Detroit. Here he took a passage in a trading
boat and made his way by water to Montreal, thence
down through Lake Champlain and the Hudson
River to New York, and thence to Boston.
The journey had occupied him longer than he
expected, and Mr. and Mrs. Wilson were already in
their home at Concord when he arrived. The
meeting was a joyful one. His parents had upon
their return home found letters from Mr. Welch
and his wife describing the events which had hap-
pened at the farm, speaking in the highest terms of
the courage and coolness in danger which Harold
had displayed, and giving him full credit for the
saving of their daughter's life.
Upon the day after Harold's return two gentle-
men called upon Captain Wilson and asked him to
sign the agreement which a number of colonists had
entered into to resist the mother country to the
last. This Captain Wilson positively refused to do.
“I am an Englishman,” he said, “and my sympa-
thies are wholly with my country. I do not say
that the whole of the demands of England are justifi.
able. I think that Parliament bas been deceived as


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
61
to the spirit existing here. But I consider that
it has done nothing whatever to justify the attitude
of the colonists. The soldiers of England have
fought for you against French and Indians and are
still stationed here to protect you. The colonists
pay nothing for their land; they pay nothing to-
ward the expenses of the government of the mother
country; and it appears to me to be perfectly just
that people here, free as they are from all the bur-
dens that bear so heavily on those at home, should
at least bear the expense of the army stationed
here. I grant that it would have been far better
had the colonists taxed themselves to pay the extra
amount, instead of the mother country taxing them ;
but this they would not do. Some of the colonists
paid their quota, others refused to do so, and this
being the case, it appears to me that England is
perfectly justified in laying on a tax. Nothing
could bare been fairer than the tax that she pro-
posed. The stamp-tax would in no way bave affect-
ed the poorer classes in the colonies. It would
have been borne only by the rich and by those
engaged in such business transactions as required
stamped documents. I regard the present rebellion
as the work of a clique of ambitious men who have
stirred up the people by incendiary addresses and
writings. There are, of course, among them a large
number of the men-among them, gentlemen, I
place you—who conscientiously believe that they
are justified in doing nothing whatever for the land
which gave them or their ancestors birth, who


RUET TO THE OLD FLAG.
would enjoy all the great natural wealth of this
vast country without contributing toward the ex-
pense of the troops to whom it is due that you enjoy
peace and tranquillity. Such, gentlemen, are not
my sentiments. You consider it a gross hardship
that the colonists are compelled to trade only with
the mother country. I grant that it would be more
profitable and better for us bad we an open trade
with the whole world ; but in this England only
acts as do all other countries toward their colonies.
France, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands all
monopolize the trade of their colonies; all, far more
than does England, regard their colonies as sources
of revenue. I repeat, I do not think that the
course that England has pursued toward us bas
been always wise, but I am sure that nothing that
she has done justifies the spirit of disaffection and
rebellion which is ripe throughout these colonies.”
“The time will come, sir,” one of the gentlemen
said, " when you will have reason to regret the line
which you have now taken.”
“No, sir,” Captain Wilson said baughtily. “The
time may come when the line that I have taken may
cost me my fortune, and even my life, but it will
never cause me one moment's regret that I have
chosen the part of a loyal English gentleman.”
When the deputation had departed Harold, who
had been a wondering listener to the conversation,
asked his father to explain to him the exact position
in which matters stood.
It was indeed a serious one. The success of Eng.


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
63
land in her struggle with France for the supremacy
of North America had cost her a great deal of
money. At home the burdens of the people were
extremely heavy. The expense of the army and
navy was great, and the ministry, in striving to
lighten the burdens of the people, turned their eyes
to the colonies. They saw in America a population
of over two million people, subjects of the king, like
themselves, living free from rent and taxes on their
own land and paying nothing whatever to the ex-
penses of the country. They were, it is true, forced
to trade with England, but this obligation was set
wholly at naught. A gigantic system of smuggling
was carried on. The custom-bouse officials bad no
force at their disposal which would have enabled
them to check these operations, and the law enforc-
ing a trade with England was virtually a dead letter.
Their first step was to strengthen the naval force
on the American coast and by additional vigilance
to put some sort of check on the wholesale smug-
gling which prevailed. This step caused extreme
discontent among the trading classes of America,
and these set to work vigorously to stir up a strong
feeling of disaffection against England. The rev-
enue officers were prevented sometimes by force
from carrying out their duties.
After great consideration the English government
came to the conclusion that a revenue sufficient to
pay a considerable proportion of the cost of the
army in America might be raised by means of a
stamp-tax imposed upon all legal documents, re-


64
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
ceipts, agreements, and licenses—a tax, in fact,
resembling that on stamps now in use in England.
The colonists were furious at the imposition of this
tax. A Congress, composed of deputies from each
State, met, and it was unanimously resolved that
the stamp-tax should not be paid. Meetings were
every where held, at which the strongest and most
treasonable language was uttered, and such violent
threats were used against the persons employed as
stamp.collectors that these, in fear of their lives, rə-
signed their posts.
The stamp-tax remained uncollected and was
treated by the colonists as if it were not in existence.
The whole of the States now began to prepare for
war. The Congress was made permanent, the mili-
tia drilled and prepared for fighting, and everywhere
the position grew more and more strained. Massa-
chusetts was the headquarters of disaffection, and
here a total break with the mother country was
openly spoken of. At times the more moderate
spirits attempted to bring about a reconciliation be-
tween the two parties. Petitions were sent to the
houses of Parliament, and even at this time had any
spirit of wisdom prevailed in England the final con-
sequences might have been prevented. Unfortu-
nately the majority in Parliament were unable to
recognize that the colonists had any rights upon
their side. Taxation was so heavy at home that
men felt indignant that they should be called upon
to pay for the keeping up of the army in America,
to which the untaxed colonists, with their free


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
65
farms and houses, would contribute nothing. The
plea of the colonists that they were taxed by a
chamber in which they were unrepresented was an-
swered by the statement that such was also the case
with Manchester, Leeds, and many other large
towns which were unrepresented in Parliament.
In England neither the spirit nor the strength of
the colonists was understood. Men could not bring
themselves to believe that these would fight rather
than submit, still less that if they did fight it would
be successfully. They ignored the fact that the
population of the States was one-fourth as large as
that of England; that by far the greater proportion
of that population were men trained, either in bor-
der warfare or in the chase, to the use of the rifle ;
that the enormous extent of country offered almost
insuperable obstacles to the most able army com-
posed of regular troops, and that the vast forests
and thinly populated country were all in favor of a
population fighting as guerrillas against trained
troops. Had they perceived these things the
English people would have hesitated before em
barking upon such a struggle, even if convinced,
as assuredly the great majority were convinced, of
the fairness of their demands. It is true that even
had England at this point abandoned altogether ber
determination to raise taxes in America the result
would probably have been the same. The spirit of
disaffection in the colony bad gone so far that a
retreat would have been considered as a confession
of weakness, and a separation of the colonists from


66
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
the mother country would have happened ere many
years had elapsed. As it was, Parliament agreed
to let the stamp-tax drop, and in its place established
some import duties on goods entering the American
ports.
The colonists, however, were determined that
they would submit to no taxation whatever. The
English government, in its desire for peace, aban-
doned all the duties with the exception of that
on tea; but even this concession was not sufficient
to satisfy the colonists. These entered into a bond
to use no English goods. A riot took place at
Boston, and the revenue officers were forced to
withdraw from their posts. Troops were dispatched
from England and the House of Commons declared
Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion.
It must not be supposed that the colonists were
by any means unanimous in their resistance to Eng.
land. There were throughout the country a large
number of gentlemen, like Captain Wilson, wholly
opposed to the general feeling. New York refused
to send members to the Congress, and in many
other provinces the adhesion given to the disaffected
movement was but lukewarm. It was in the
New England provinces that the spirit of re-
bellion was hottest. These States had been peopled
for the most part by Puritans—men who had left
England voluntarily, exiling themselves rather than
submit to the laws and religion of the country, and
among them, as among a portion of the Irish
population of America at the present time, the feel-


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
67
ing of hatred against the government of England
was, in a way, hereditary.
So far but few acts of violence had taken place.
Nothing could be more virulent than the language
of the newspapers of both parties against their
opponents, but beyond a few isolated tumults the
peace had not been broken. It was the lull before
the storm. The great majority of the New Eny-
land colonists were bent upon obtaining nothing
short of absolute independence; the loyalists and
the English were as determined to put down any
revolt by force.
The Congress drilled, armed, and organized ; the
English brought over fresh troops and prepared for
the struggle. It was December when Harold re-
turned home to his parents, and for the next three
months the lull before the storm continued.
The disaffected of Massachusetts had collected a
large quantity of military stores at Concord. These
General Gage, who commanded the troops at
Boston, determined to seize and destroy, seeing that
they could be collected only for use against the
government, and on the night of April 19 the
grenadier and light infantry companies of the various
regiments, eight hundred strong, under command of
Lieutenant-Colonel Smith, of the Tenth Regiment,
and Major Pitcairne, of the marines, embarked in
boats and were conveyed up Charles River as far as
a place called Phipp's Farm. There they landed at
midnight, having a day's provisions in their haver-
sacks, and started on their march to Concord,
twenty miles distant from Boston.


68
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
The design bad been discovered by some of the
revolutionary party in the town, and two of their
number were dispatched on horseback to rouse the
whole country on the way to Concord, where the
news arrived at two o'clock in the morning.
Captain Wilson and his household were startled
from sleep by the sudden ringing of the alarm-bells,
and a negro servant, Pompey, who had been for
many years in their service, was sent down into the
town, which lay a quarter of a mile from the house,
to find out what was the news. He returned in
half an hour.
“Me tink all de people gone mad, massa. Dey
swarming out of deir houses and filling de streets,
all wid guns on deir shoulders, all de while shout-
ing and halloing . Down wid de English Down
wid de red-coats ! dey shan't have our guns; dey
shan't take de cannon and de powder. Dere were
ole Massa Bill Emerson, the preacher, wid his gun
in his hands, shouting to de people to stand firm
and to fight till de last; dey all shout, “We will.'
Dey bery desperate; me fear great fight come on."
“What are you going to do, father ?” Harold
asked.
“Nothing, my boy. If, as it is only too likely,
this is the beginning of a civil war, I have deter-
mined to offer my services to the government.
Great numbers of loyalists have sent in their names
offering to serve if necessary, and from iny knowl-
edge of drill I shall, of course, be useful. To-day I
can take no active part in the fight, but I shall take


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
69
my borse and ride forward to meet the troops and
warn the commanding officer that resistance will be
attempted here."
“May I go with you, father?”
“Yes, if you like, my boy. Pompey, saddle two
horses at once. You are not afraid of being left
alone, Mary ?” he said, turning to his wife. “There
is no chance of any disturbance here. Our house
lies beyond the town, and whatever takes place will
be in Concord. When the troops bave captured
the guns and stores they will return."
Mrs. Wilson said she was not frightened and had
no fear whatever of being left alone. The horses
were soon brought round, and Captain Wilson and
his son mounted and rode off at full speed. They
made a détour to avoid the town, and then, gaining
the high-road, went forward at full speed. The
alarm bad evidently been given all along the line.
At every village the bells were ringing, the people
were assembling in the streets, all carrying arms,
while numbers were flocking in from the farm-
houses around. Once or twice Captain Wilson was
stopped and asked where he was going.
“I am going to tell the commander of the British
force, now marching hither, that if he advances
there will be bloodshed—that it will be the begin-
ning of civil war. If he has orders to come at all
hazards, my words will not stop him; if it is left to
his discretion, possibly he may pause before he
brings on so dire a calamity.”
It was just dawn when Captain Wilson and


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
Harold rode into Lexington, where the militia,
one hundred and thirty strong, bad assembleil.
Their guns were loaded and they were ready to de-
fend the place, which numbered about seven brin-
dred inhabitants.
Just as Captain Wilson rode in a messenger ran
up with the news that the head of the British
column was close at hand. Some of the militia bad
dispersed to lie down until the English arrived.
John Parker, who commanded them, ordered the
drums to beat and the alarm-guns to be fired, and
his men drew up in two ranks across the road.
“It is too late now, Harold,” Captain Wilson
said. “Let us get out of the line of fire.”
The British, hearing the drums and the alarm-
guns, loaded, and the advance company came on at
the double. Major Pitcairne was at their head and
shouted to the militia to lay down their arms.
It is a matter of dispute, and will always remain
one, as to who fired the first shot. The Americans
assert that it was the English; the English say that
as they advanced several shots were fired at them
from behind a stone wall and from some of the ad-
joining bouses, which wounded one man and hit
Major Pitcairne's borse in two places.
The militia disregarded Major Pitcairne's orders
to lay down their arms. The English fired; several
of the militia were killed, nine wounded, and the
rest dispersed. There was no further fighting and
the English marched on unopposed to Concord.
As tbey approached the town the militia re-



.
S
inz
CO.SK -
!!.
THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR.–Page 70.





TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
treated from it. The English took possession of a
bridge behind the place and held this while the
troops were engaged in destroying the amniunition
and gun-carriages. Most of the guns had been re-
moved and only two twenty-four-pounders were
taken. In destroying the stores by fire the court-
house took flames. At the sight of this fire the
militia and armed countrymen advanced down the
hill toward the bridge, The English tried to pull
up the planks, but the Americans ran forward
rapidly. The English guard fired; the colonists re-
turned the fire. Some of the English were killed
and wounded and the party fell back into the town.
Half an hour later Colonel Smith, having performed
the duty that he was sent to do, resumed the home-
ward march with the whole of his troops.
Then the militiainen of Concord, with those from
many villages around and every man in the district
capable of bearing arms, fell upon the retiring
English.
The road led through several defiles, and every
tree, every rock, every depression of ground was
taken advantage of by the Americans. Scarcely a
man was to be seen, but their deadly fire rained
thick upon the tired troops. This they vainly at-
tempted to return, but they could do nothing against
an invisible foe, every man of whom possessed a
skill with his rifle far beyond that of the British
soldier. Very many fell and the retreat was fast
becoming a rout, when, near Lexington, the column
met a strong reënforcement which had been sent


172
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
out from Boston. This was commanded by Lord
Percy, who formed his detachment into square, in
which Colonel Smith's party, now so utterly ex-
hausted that they were obliged to lie down for some
time, took refuge. When they were rested the
whole force moved forward again toward Boston,
barassed the whole way by the Americans, who
from behind stone walls and other places of shelter
kept up an incessant fire upon both flanks, as well
as in the front and rear, against which the troops
could do nothing. At last the retreating column
safely arrived at Boston, spent and worn out with
fatigue. Their loss was sixty-five men killed, one
hundred and thirty-six wounded, forty-nine missing.
Such was the beginning of the war of independ,
ence. Many American writers have declared that
previous to that battle there was no desire for in-
dependence on the part of the colonists, but this is
emphatically contradicted by the language used at
the meetings and in the newspapers which have
come down to us. The leaders may not have wished
to go so far—may not have intended to gain more
than an entire immunity from taxation and an ab-
solute power for the colonists to manage their own
affairs. But experience has shown that when the
spark of revolution is once lighted, when resistance
to the law has once commenced, things are carried
to a point far beyond that dreamed of by the first
leaders.
Those who commenced the French Revolution
were moderate men who desired only that some


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
73
slight check should be placed on the arbitrary power
of the king—that the people should be relieved in
some slight degree from the horrible tyranny of
the nobles, from the misery and wretchedness in
which they lived. These just demands increased
step by step until they culminated in the reign of
terror and the most horrible scenes of bloodshed
and massacre of modern times.
Men like Washington and Franklin and Adams
may have desired only that the colonists should be
free from imperial taxation, but the popular voice
went far beyond this. Three years earlier wise
counsels in the British Parliament might have
averted a catastrophe and delayed for many years
the separation of the colonies from their mother
country. At the time the march began from Bos-
ton to Concord the American colonists stood virtu-
ally in armed rebellion. The militia throughout
New England were ready for fight. Arms, ammu-
nition, and military stores were collected in Rhode
Island and New Hampshire. The cannon and mili-
tary stores belonging to the crown had been carried
off by the people, forty cannon being seized in
Rhode Island alone. Such being the case, it is non-
sense to speak of the fray at Lexington as the cause
of the Revolutionary War. It was but the spark in
the powder. The magazine was ready and primed,
the explosion was inevitable, and the fight at Lex-
ington was the accidental incident which set fire
to it.
The efforts of American writers to conceal the


94
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
real facts of the case, to minimize the rebellious
language, the violent acts of the colonists, and to
make England responsible for the war because a
body of troops were sent to seize cannon and mili-
tary stores intended to be used against them are so
absurd, as well as so untrue, that it is astonishing
how wide a credence such statements have received.
From an eminence at some distance from the line
of retreat Captain Wilson and his son watched sor-
rowfully the attack upon the British troops. When
at last the combatants disappeared from sight
through one of the defiles Captain Wilson turned
his horse's head homeward.
“The die is cast,” he said to his wife as she met
him at the door. “The war has begun, and I fear
it can have but one termination. The colonists can
place forces in the field twenty times as numerous
as any army that England can spare. They are in-
ferior in drill and in discipline, but these things,
which are of such vast consequence in a European
battle-field, matter but little in such a country as
this. Skill with the rifle and knowledge of forest
warfare are far more important. In these points
the colonists are as superior to the English soldiers
as they are in point of numbers. Nevertheless, my
dear, my duty is plain. I am an Englishman and
have borne his majesty's commission, and I must
fight for the king. Harold has spoken to me as we
rode home together, and he wishes to fight by my
side. I have pointed out to him that as he was
born bere he can without dishonor remain neutral


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
in the struggle. He, however, insists that as a loyal
subject of the king he is entitled to fight for him.
He saw to-day many lads not older than himself in
the rebel ranks, and he has pleaded strongly for
permission to go with me. To this I have agreed.
Which would you prefer, Mary--to stay quietly
here, where I imagine you would not be molested
on account of the part I take, or will you move into
Boston and stop with your relations there until the
struggle has ended one way or the other ?”
As Mrs. Wilson had frequently talked over with
her husband the course that he would take in the
event of civil war actually breaking out, the news
that he would at once offer his services to the Brit-
ish authorities did not come as a shock upon her.
Even the question of Harold accompanying his
father had been talked over; and although her
heart bled at the thought of husband and son being
both engaged in such a struggle, she agreed to
acquiesce in any decision that Harold might arrive
at. He was now nearly sixteen, and in the colonies
a lad of this age is, in point of independence and
self-reliance, older than an English boy. Harold,
too, had already shown that he possessed discretion
and coolness as well as courage, and although now
that the moment had come Mrs. Wilson wept pas-
sionately at the thought of their leaving her, she ab-
stained from saying any word to dissuade them
from the course they had determined upon. When
she recovered from her fit of crying she said that
she would accompany them at once to Boston, as in


46
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
the first place their duties might for some time lie
in that city, and that in any case she would obtain
far more speedy news there of what was going on
throughout the country than she would at Concord.
She would, too, be living among her friends and
would meet with many of the same convictions and
opinions as her husband's, whereas in Concord the
whole population would be hostile.
Captain Wilson said that there was no time to be
lost, as the whole town was in a tumult. He there-
fore advised her to pack up such necessary articles
as could be carried in the valises on the horses'
backs.
Pompey and the other servants were to pack up
the most valuable effects and to forward them to a
relation of Mrs. Wilson's who lired about three
miles from Boston. There they would be in safety
and could be brought into the town if necessary.
Pompey and two other old servants were to remain
in charge of the house and its contents. Jake, an
active young negro some twenty-three or twenty-
four years old who was much attached to Harold,
whose personal attendant and companion he had
always been, was to accompany them on horseback,
as was Judy, Mrs. Wilson's negro maid.
As evening fell the five horses were brought
round, and the party started by a long and circuitous
route, by which, after riding for nearly forty miles,
they reached Boston at two o'clock next morning.


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
CHAPTER V.
BUNKER'S HILL.
The excitement caused by the news of the fight
at Concord was intense, and as it spread through
the colonies the men every where rushed to arms.
The fray at Lexington was represented as a wanton
outrage, and the facts wholly ignored that the
colonists concerned in it were drawn up in arms to
oppose the passage of the king's troops, who were
marching on their legitimate duty of seizing arms
and ammunition collected for the purpose of warring
against the king. The colonial orators and news-
paper writers affirmed then, as they have affirmed
since, that up to the day of Lexington no one had a
thought of firing a shot against the government.
A more barefaced misstatement was never made.
Men do not carry off cannon by scores and ac-
cumulate everywhere great stores of warlike am-
munition without a thought of fighting. The
Colonists commenced the war by assembling in arms
to oppose the progress of British troops obeying the
orders of the government. It matters not a whit
on which side the first shot was fired. American
troops have many times since that event fired upon
rioters in the streets, under circumstances no


178
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
stronger than those which brought on the fight at
Lexington.
From all parts of New England the militia and
volunteers poured in, and in three days after the fight
twenty thousand armed men were encamped between
the rivers Mystic and Roxburgh, thus besieging
Boston. They at once set to work throwing up
formidable earth works, the English troops remaining
within their intrenchments across the neck of land
joining Boston with the mainland.
The streets of Boston were crowded with an ex-
cited populace when Captain Wilson and his party
rode into it at two in the morning. No one
thought of going to bed and all were excited to the
last degree at the news of the battle. All sorts of
reports prevailed. On the colonial side it was
affirmed that the British in their retreat had shot
down the women and children ; while the soldiers
affirmed that the colonists had scalped many of their
number who fell in the fight. The latter statement
was officially made by Lord Percy in his report of
the engagement.
Captain Wilson rode direct to the house of his
wife's friends. They were still up and were de
lighted to see Mary Wilson, for such exaggerated
reports had been received of the fight that they
were alarmed for her safety. They belonged to the
moderate party, who saw that there were faults on
both sides and regretted bitterly both the obstinacy
of the English Parliament in attempting to coerce
the colonists and the determination of the latter to


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
79
oppose by force of arms the legitimate rights of the
mother country.
Until the morning the events of the preceding
day were talked over; a few hours' repose were
then taken, after which Captain Wilson went to the
headquarters of General Gage and offered bis services.
Although Boston was the headquarters of the dis-
affected party, no less than two hundred men came
forward as volunteers in the king's service, and
Captain Wilson was at once appointed to the com-
mand of a company of fifty men. Before leaving
the army he had taken part in several expeditions
against the Indians, and his knowledge of forest
warfare rendered him a valuable acquisition.
Boston was but poorly provisioned, and as upon the
day when the news of Lexington reached New York
two vessels laden with flour for the use of the
troops at Boston were seized by the colonists and
many other supplies cut off, the danger of the place
being starved out was considerable. General Gage
therefore offered no opposition to the exit from the
city of those who wished to avoid the horror of a
siege, and a considerable portion of the population
made their way through to the rebel lines. Every
day brought news of fresh risings throughout the
country; the governors of the various provinces
were powerless; small garrisons of English troops
were disarmed and made prisoners; and the fortress
of Ticonderoga, held only by fifty men, was
captured by the Americans without resistance. In
one month after the first shot was fired the whole
of the American colonies were in rebellion.


80
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
The news was received in England with astonish-
ment and sorrow. Great concessions had been
made by Parliament, but the news had reached
America too late to avoid hostilities. Public opinion
was divided; many were in favor of granting at
once all that the colonists demanded, and many
officers of rank and position resigned their com-
missions rather than fight against the Americans.
The division, indeed, was almost as general and
complete as it had been in the time of our own civil
war. In London the feeling in favor of the colo-
nists was strong, but in the country generally the
determination to repress the rising was in the
ascendant. The colonists had with great shrewd-
ness dispatched a fast-sailing ship to Europe upon
the day following the battle of Lexington, giving
their account of the affair and representing it as a
massacre of defenseless colonists by British troops;
and the story thus told excited a sympathy which
would not, perhaps, have been extended to them
had the real facts of the case been known. Repre-
sentatives from all the colonists met at Philadelphia
to organize the national resistance, but as yet,
although many of the bolder spirits spoke of alto-
gether throwing off allegiance to England, no
resolution was proposed to that effect.
For the first six weeks after his arrival at Boston
Captain Wilson was engaged in drilling his com-
pany. Harold was, of course, attached to it, and
entered with ardor upon his duties. Captain Wilson
did not attempt to form his men into a band of


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
81
regular soldiers ; accuracy of movement and regu-
larity of drill would be of little avail in the warfare
in which they were likely to be engaged. Accuracy
in shooting, quickness in taking cover, and steadi-
ness in carrying out any general orders were the
principal objects to be attained. Most of the men
had already taken part in frontier warfare. The
majority of them were gentlemen–Englishmen who,
like their captain, had come out from home and
purchased small estates in the country. The dis-
cipline, therefore, was not strict, and off duty all
were on terms of equality.
Toward the end of May and beginning of June
considerable reënforcements arrived from England,
and, as a step preparatory to offensive measures,
General Gage on June 12 issued a proclamation offer-
ing in his majesty's name a free pardon to all who
should forthwith lay down their arms, John Han-
cock and General Adams only excepted, and threat-
ening with punishment all who should delay to
avail themselves of the offer. This proclamation
had no effect whatever.
Near the peninsula of Boston, on the north, and
separated from it by the Charles River, which is
navigable and about the breadth of the Thames
at London Bridge, is another neck of land called
the Peninsula of Charlestown. On the north bank,
opposite Boston, lies the town of Charlestown, be-
hind which in the center of the peninsula rises an
eminence called Bunker's Hill. Bunker's Hill is
sufficiently high to overlook any part of Boston and


82
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
near enough to be within cannon-shot. This hill
was unoccupied by either party, and about this time
the Americans, hearing that General Gage had
come to a determination to fortify it, resolved to
defeat bis resolution by being the first to occupy it.
A bout nine in the evening of June 16 a detach-
ment from the colonial army, one thousand strong,
under the command of Colonel Prescott, moved
along the Charlestown road and took up a position
on a shoulder of Bunker's Hill, which was known
as Breed's Hill, just above the town of Charles-
town. They reached this position at midnight.
Each man carried a pick and shovel, and all night
they worked vigorously in intrenching the position.
Not a word was spoken, and the watch on board
the men-of-war in the harbor were ignorant of what
was going on so near at hand. At day break the
alarm was given, and the Lively opened a cannonade
upon the redoubt. A battery of guns was placed
on Copp's Hill, behind Boston, distant twelve bun-
dred yards from the works, and this also opened
fire. The Americans continued their work, throw.
ing up fresh intrenchments, and singularly only
one man was killed by the fire from the ships and
redoubt. A breastwork was carried down the hill
to the flat ground, which, intersected by fences,
stretched away to the Mystic. By nine o'clock
they had completed their intrenchments.
Prescott sent off for reënforcements, but there
was little harmony among the colonial troops.
Disputes between the contingents of the various


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
83
provinces were common; there was no head of
sufficient authority to enforce his orders upon the
whole; and a long delay took place before the
reënforcements were sent forward.
In the mean time the English had been preparing
to attack the position. The Fifth, Thirty-eighth,
Forty-third, and Fifty-second Regiments, with ten
companies of the grenadiers and ten of the light
infantry, with a proportion of field-artillery,
embarked in boats and, crossing the harbor,
landed on the outward side of the peninsula
near the Mystic, with a view of outflanking the
American position and surrounding them. The
force was under the command of Major-General
Howe, under whom was Brigadier-General Pigott.
Upon seeing the strength of the American posi-
tion, General Howe halted and sent back for further
reënforcements. The Americans improved the time
thus given them by forming a breastwork in front
of an old ditch. Here there was a post-and-rail
fence. They ran up another by the side of this and
filled the space between the two with the new-mown
hay, which, cut only the day before, lay thickly
over the meadows.
Two battalions were sent across to reënforce
Howe, while large reënforcements, with six guns,
arrived to the assistance of Prescott. The English
had now a force consisting, according to different
authorities, of between two thousand and two
thousand five hundred men. The colonial force is
also variously estimated and had the advantage


84
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
both in position and in the protection of their
intrenchments, while the British bad to march
across open ground. As individual shots the col-
onists were immensely superior, but the British had
the advantages given by drill and discipline.
The English lines advanced in good order, steadi-
ly and slowly, the artillery covering them by their
fire. Presently the troops opened fire, but the dis-
tance was too great and they did but little execu-
tion. Incumbered with their knapsacks they
ascended the steep hill toward the redoubt with
difficulty, covered as it was by grass reaching to
their knees. The colonists did not fire a shot until
the English line had reached a point about one
hundred and fifty yards from the intrenchments.
Then Prescott gave the order, and from the redoubt
and the long line of intrenchments flanking it
flashed a line of fire. Each man had taken a
steady aim with his rifle resting on the earth work
before him, and so deadly was the fire that nearly
the whole front line of the British fell. For ten
minutes the rest stood with dogged courage firing
at the hidden foe, but these, sheltered while they
loaded and only exposing themselves momentarily
while they raised their heads above the parapets
to fire, did such deadly execution that the remnant
of the British fell back to the foot of the hill.
While this force, which was under the command
of General Pigott, had been engaged, another
division under Howe himself moved against the
rail fence. The combat was a repetition of that


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
85
a bích had taken place on the hill. Here the
Americans reserved their fire until the enemy were
close; then, with their muskets resting on the rails,

MrsLLCRIVE
PLAN
OF THE
ACTION AT BUNKERS HILL,
on the 17" of June 1775.
Between HIS MAJESTY'S TROOPS,
Under the Command of Major Gen. Howe
AND THE AMERICAN PORC B8.
Scale of Yards
0 100 200 300 400 500
.....Royalists
D ..... Americans
BRINDSTILE
PRAWO
dW
ASARI
do
a
Falcon
CHARLES
STOWN
Lively
Wullimi
Strand RA
SPART
Copps Hi
Rodoubt &
Battery
HVA Esgoto Bogo
BOSTON
Brig
they poured in a deadly fire, and after in vain try-
ing to stand their ground the troops fell back to
the shore.


86
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
Captain Wilson was standing with Harold on
Copp's Hill watching the engagement.
“What beautiful order they go in !” Harold said,
looking admiringly at the long lines of red-coated
soldiers.
“It is very pretty,” Captain Wilson said sadly,
“ and may do in regular warfare; but I tell you,
Harold, that sort of thing won't do here. There is
scarce a man carrying a gun behind those intrench-
ments who cannot with certainty hit a bull's-eye at
one hundred and fifty yards. It is simply murder,
taking the men up in regular order against such a
foe sheltered by earthworks.”
At this moment the long line of fire darted out
from the American intrenchments.
“Look there !” Captain Wilson cried in a pained
voice. “ The front line is nearly swept away! Do
you see them lying almost in an unbroken line on
the hillside ? I tell you, Harold, it is hopeless to
look for success if we fight in this way. The brav-
est men in the world could not stand such a fire as
that.”
“What will be done now ?” Harold asked as the
men stood huddled upon the shore.
“ They will try again,” Captain Wilson said.
“Look at the officers running about among them
and getting them into order.”
In a quarter of an hour the British again advanced
both toward the redoubt and the grass fence. As
before the Americans withheld their fire, and this
time until the troops were far closer than before,



LLA
SE"
07
THE SECOND ADVANCE AT BUNKER'S HILL. - Page 86.





TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
and the result was even more disastrous. Some of
the grenadier and light infantry companies who led
lost three-fourths, others nine-tenths of their men.
Again the British troops recoiled from that terrible
fire. General Howe and his officers exerted them-
selves to the utmost to restore order when the
troops again reached the shore, and the men gal-
lantly replied to their exhortations. Almost impos-
sible as the task appeared, they prepared to under-
take it for the third time. This time a small force
only were directed to move against the grass fence,
while the main body, under Howe, were to attack
the redoubt on the hill
Knapsacks were taken off and thrown down and
each man nerved himself to conquer or die. The
ships in the harbor prepared the way by opening a
heavy cannonade. General Clinton, who was watch-
ing the battle from Copp's Hill, ran down to the
shore, rowed across the harbor, and put himself at
tbe head of two battalions. Then with loud cheers
the troops again sprang up the ascent. The Ameri-
can ammunition was running short, many of the
men not having more than three or four rounds
left, and this time they held their fire until the Brit-
ish troops were within twenty yards. These had
not fired a shot, the order being that there was to
be no pause, but that the redoubt was to be carried
with the bayonet. For a moment they wavered
wben the deadly volley was poured in upon them.
Then with a cheer they rusbed at the intrench-
inents. All those who first mounted were shot


88
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
down by the defenders, but the troops would not be
denied, and pouring over the earth works leaped
down upon the enemy.
For a few minutes there was a hand-to-hand fight,
the Americans using the butt ends of their muskets,
the English their bayonets. The soldiers were ex-
bausted with the climb up the hill and their exer-
tions under a blazing sun, and the great majority of
the defenders of the redoubt were therefore enabled
to retreat unbarmed, as, fresh and active, they were
able to outrun their tired opponents, and as the
balls served out for the English field-pieces were too
large, the artillery were unable to come into action.
The colonists at the rail fence maintained their
position against the small force sent against them
till the main body at the redoubt had made their
escape. The British were unable to continue the
pursuit beyond the isthmus.
In the whole history of the British army there is
no record of a more gallant feat than the capture
of Bunker's Hill, and few troops in the world would,
after two bloody repulses, bave moved up the third
time to assail such a position, defended by men so
trained to the use of the rifle. Ten hundred and
fifty-four men, or nearly half their number, were
killed and wounded, among whom were eighty-three
officers. In few battles ever fought was the pro-
portion of casualties to the number engaged so
great. The Americans fought bravely, but the ex-
traordinary praise bestowed upon them for their
valor appears misplaced. Their position was one of


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
great strength, and the absence of drill was of no
consequence whatever in such an engagement. They
were perfectly sheltered from their enemy's fire
wbile engaged in calmly shooting him down, and
their loss up to the moment when the British rusbed
among them was altogether insignificant. Their
casualties took place after the position was stormed
and on their retreat along the peninsula, and amount-
ed in all to one hundred and forty-five killed and
captured and three hundred and four wounded. It
may be said that both sides fought well, but from
the circumstances under which they fought the
highest credit is due to the victors.
The battle, however, though won by the English,
was a moral triumph for the Americans, and the
British Parliament should at once have given up the
contest. It was from the first absolutely certain
that the Americans, with their immense superiority
in numbers, could, if they were only willing to
fight, hold their vast country against the British
troops, fighting with a base thousands of miles
away. The battle of Bunker's Hill showed that
they were so willing—that they could fight sternly
and bravely : and this point once established, it was
little short of madness for the English government
to continue the contest. They had not even the ex-
cuse of desiring to wipe out the dishonor of a de-
feat. Their soldiers had won a brilliant victory and
had fought with a determination and valor never
exceeded, and England could have afforded to say,
“ We will fight no more. If you, the inhabitants of


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
a vast continent, are determined to go alone, are
ready to give your lives rather than remain in con-
nection with us, go and prosper. We acknowledge
we cannot subdue a nation in arms.”
From the height of Copp's Hill it could be seen
that the British had suffered terribly. Captain
Wilson was full of enthusiasm when he saw the suc-
cess of the last gallant charge of the English sol-
diers, but he said to Harold :
“It is a disastrous victory. A few such battles
as these and the English army in America would
cease to exist."
But although they were aware that the losses
were heavy they were not prepared for the truth.
The long grass bad hidden from view many of
those who fell, and when it was known that nearly
half of those engaged were killed or wounded the
feeling among the English was akin to consterna-
tion.
The generalship of the British was wholly un-
worthy of the valor of the troops. There would
have been no difficulty in placing some of the ves-
sels of light draught so far up the Mystic as to out-
flank the intrenchments held by the colonists.
Indeed, the British troops might have been landed
further up the Mystic, in which case the Americans
must have retreated instantly to avoid capture.
Lastly, the troops, although fighting within a mile
of their quarters, were incumbered with three days'
provisions, and their knapsacks, constituting, with
their muskets and ammunition, a load of one hun-


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
91
dred and twenty-five pounds. This was indeed
heavily handicapping men wbo bad, under a blazing
sun, to climb a steep hill, with grass reaching to
their knees and intersected by walls and fences.
American writers describe the defenders of the
position as inferior in numbers to the assailants, but
it is due to the English to say that their estimate of
the number of the defenders of the intrenchments
differs very widely from this. General Gage esti-
mated them as being fully three times as numerous
as the British troops. It is probable that the truth
lies between the two accounts.
Captain Wilson returned with Harold greatly dis-
pirited to his house.
“ The lookout is dreadfully bad,” he said to his
wife after describing the events of the day. “ So far
as I can see there are but two alternatives—either
peace or a long and destructive war with failure at
its end. It is even more hopeless trying to conquer a
vast country like this, defended by irregulars, than
if we had a trained and disciplined army to deal
with. In that case two or three signal victories
might bring the war to a conclusion ; but fighting
with irregulars a victory means nothing beyond so
many of the enemy killed. There are scarcely any
cannon to take, no stores or magazines to capture.
When the enemy is beaten be disperses, moves off,
and in a couple of days gathers again in a fresh
position. The work has no end. There are no fort.
resses to take, no strategical positions to occupy,
no great roads to cut. The enemy can march any-


.92
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
where, attack and disperse as he chooses, scatter,
and re-form when you have passed by. It is like
fighting the wind.”
“Well, John, since it seems so hopeless, cannot
you give it up? Is it too late ?"
“ Altogether too late, Mary, and if I were free
to-morrow I would volunteer my services again
next day. It is not any the less my duty to fight
in my country's cause because I believe the cause to
be a losing one. You must see that yourself, dear.
If England had been sure to win without my aid I
might have stood aloof. It is because every one's
help is needed that such services as I can render
are due to her. A country would be in a bad way
whose sons were only ready to fight when their suc-
cess was a certainty.”
The Congress determined now to detach Canada
from the English side and prepared a force for the
invasion of that colony, where the British had but
few regular troops.
Captain Wilson was one morning summoned to
headquarters. On his return he called together four
or five of the men best acquainted with the coun-
try. These had been in their early days hunters or
border scouts and knew every foot of the forest and
lakes.
“I have just seen the general,” Captain Wilson
said. “A royalist brought in news last night that
the rebels are raising a force intended to act against
Montreal. They reckon upon being joined by a
considerable portion of the Canadians, among whom


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
93
there is, unfortunately, a good deal of discontent.
We have but two regiments in the whole colony.
One of these is at Quebec. The rebels, therefore,
will get the advantage of surprise, and may raise
the colony before we are in a condition to resist.
General Howe asked me to take my company
through the woods straight to Montreal. We
should be landed a few miles up the coast at night.
I suppose some of you know the country well
enough to be able to guide us.”
Several of the men expressed their ability to act
as guides.
“I've fought the Injuns through them woods over
and over again,” said one of them, a sinewy, weath-
er-beaten man of some sixty years old, who was
known as Peter Lambton. He had for many years
been a scout attached to the army and was one of
the most experienced hunters on the frontier. He
was a tall, angular man, except that he stooped
slightly, the result of a habit of walking with the
head bent forward in the attitude of listening. The
years which had passed over him bad had no effect
upon his figure. He walked with a long, noiseless
tread, like that of an Indian, and was one of the
men attached to his company in whom, wisely,
Captain Wilson had made no attempt to instil the
very rudiments of drill. It was, the captain thought,
well that the younger men should have such a
knowledge of drill as would enable them to perform
simple maneuvers, but the old hunters would fight
in their own way, a way infinitely better adapted


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
for forest warfare than any that he could teach
them. Peter and some of his companions were in
receipt of small pensions, which had been bestowed
upon them for their services with the troops. Men
of this kind were not likely to take any lively in-
terest in the squabbles as to questions of taxation,
but when they found that it was coming to fighting
they again offered their services to the government
as a matter of course. Some were attached to the
regular troops as scouts, while others were divided
among the newly raised companies of loyalists.
Peter Lambton had for the last four years been
settled at Concord. During the war with the
French he had served as a scout with the regiment
to which Captain Wilson belonged, and bad saved
that officer's life when with a portion of his com-
pany he was surrounded and cut off by hostile
Indians. A strong feeling of friendship had sprung
up between them, and when, four years before,
there had been a lull in the English fighting on the
frontier, Peter had retired on his pension and the
savings which he had made during his many years'
work as a bunter, and had located himself in a cot-
tage on Captain Wilson's estate. It was the many
tales told him by the hunter of his experiences in
Indian warfare that had fired Harold with a desire
for the life of a frontier hunter, and had given him
such a knowledge of forest life as had enabled him
to throw off the Indians from his trail. On
Harold's return the old hunter bad listened with ex-
treme interest to the story of his adventures and


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
95
had taken great pride in the manner in which he
bad utilized his teachings. Peter made bis appear-
ance in the city three days after the arrival of Cap-
tain Wilson there.
“I look upon this here affair as a favorable occur-
rence for Harold,” he said to Captain Wilson.
“ The boy has lots of spirits, but if it had not been
for this he might have grown up a regular town
greenhorn, fit for nothing but to walk about in a
long coat and to talk pleasant to women; but this'll
jest be the making of him. With your permission,
cap, I'll take him under my charge and teach
him to use his eyes and his ears, and I reckon he'll
turn out as good an Injun fighter as you'll see on
the frontier."
“But it is not Indians that we are going to fight,
Peter," Captain Wilson said. “I heartily wish it
was."
“It'll be the same thing," Peter said ; “not here,
in course; there'll be battles between the regulars
and the colonists, regular battles like that at
Quebec, where both parties was fools enough to
march about in the open and get shot down by
hundreds. I don't call that fighting ; that's jest
killing, and there ain't no more sense in it than in
two herd of buffalo charging each other on the
prairie. But there'll be plenty of real fighting—.
expeditions in the woods and Injun skirmishes, for
you'll be sure that the Injuns'll join in, some on
one side and some on the other; it ain't in their
nature to sit still in their villages while powder's


96
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
being burned. A few months of this work will
make a man of him, and he might have a worse
teacher than Peter Lambton. You jest hand him
over to my care, cap, and I'll teach him all I know
of the ways of the woods, and I tell yer there ain't
no better kind of edication for a young fellow. He
larns to use the senses God has given him, to keep
his head when another man would lose his presence
of mind, to have the eye of a hawk and the ear of a
hound, to get so that he scarcely knows what it is
to be tired or hungry, to be able to live while other
inen would starve, to read the signs of the woods
like a printed book, and to be in every way a man
and not a tailor's figure.”
• There is a great deal in what you say, old
friend,” Captain Wilson answered, “and such a
training cannot but do a man good. I wish with all
my heart that it had been entirely with red foes
that the fighting was to be done. However, that
cannot be helped, and as he is to fight he could not
be in better hands than yours. So long as we re-
main here I shall teach him what drill I can with
the rest of the company, but when we leave this
town and the work really begins I shall put him in
your charge to learn the duties of a scout.”
The young negro, Jake, had also enlisted, for
throughout the war the negroes fought on both
sides, according to the politics of their masters.
There were only two other negroes in the company,
and Captain Wilson had some hesitation in enlisting
them, but they made good soldiers. In the case of


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
97
Jake, Captain Wilson knew that he was influenced
in bis wish to join solely by his affection for Harold,
and the lad's father felt that in the moment of
danger the negro would be ready to lay down his
life for him.
There was great satisfaction in the band 'when
they received news that they were at last about to
take the field. The long inaction had been most
wearisome to them, and they knew that any fight-
ing that would take place round Boston would be
done by the regular troops. Food, too, was very
scarce in town, and they were heartily weary of the
regular drill and discipline. They were, then, in
bigh spirits as they embarked on board the Thetis
sloop-of-war and sailed from Boston harbor.
It was a pitiful parting between Mrs. Wilson and
her husband and son. It had been arranged that
she should sail for England in a ship that was leav-
ing in the following week and should there stay
with her husband's family, from whom she had a
warm invitation to make their home her own until
the war was over.
The Thetis ran out to sea. As soon as night fell
her bow was turned to land again, and about mid-
night the anchor was let fall near the shore some
twenty miles north of Boston. The landing was
quickly effected, and with three days' provisions in
their knapsacks the little party started on their
march.
One of the scouts who had come from tbat
neighborhood led them by paths which avoided all


98
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
villages and farms. At day break they bivouacked
in a wood and at nightfall resumed the march. By
the next morning they had left the settlements be-
bind and entered a belt of swamp and forest ex-
tending west to the St. Lawrence.


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
99
CHAPTER VI.
SCOUTING.
A PARTY of six men were seated around a fire in
the forest which covered the slopes of the northern
shore of Lake Champlain. The spot had been
chosen because a great tree had fallen, bringing
down several others in its course, and opening a
vista through which a view could be obtained of
the surface of the lake. The party consisted of
Peter Lambton, Harold, Jake, Ephraim Potter,
another old frontiersman, and two Indians.
The company under Captain Wilson bad made
its way safely to the St. Lawrence after undergoing
considerable hardships in the forest. They had
been obliged to depend entirely on what game they
could shoot and such fish as they could catch in the
rivers whose course they followed. They had,
however, reached Montreal without loss, and there
they found that General Carleton had in all about
five hundred regulars and about two hundred
volunteers who had recently been engaged.
It was clear that if the people of Canada were as
hostile to the connection with England as were
those of the other colonies, the little force at the
disposal of the English general could do nothing to


100
rom
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
defend the colony against the strong force wbich
the Americans were collecting for its invasion.
Fortunately this was not the case. Although the
Canadians were of French descent and the province
had been wrested by arms from France, they for
the most part preferred being under English rule to
joining the insurgent colonies. They had been in
no way oppressed by England, their property bad
been respected, and above all things no attempt
had ever been made to interfere with their religion.
In the New England provinces the hard puritan
spirit of the early fathers had never ceased to
prevail. Those who had fled from England to
obtain freedom of worship had been intolerant
persecutors of all religion different from their own.
The consequence was that the priests of Canada
were wholly opposed to any idea of union with the
insurgent colonists. Their influence over the
people was great, and although these still objected
to the English rule and would have readily taken
up arms against it under other circumstances, they
had too little sympathy with the New Englanders
to join in their movement, which, if successful,
would have placed Canada under the rule of the
United States instead of that of England.
The upper classes of Canadians were almost to a
man loyal to the English connection. They had
been well treated and enjoyed a greater state of in-
dependence than had been the case under French
rule. Moreover, they were for the most part de-
scended from old French families, and their sympa-


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
101
thies were entirely opposed to popular insurrection.
Thus when Captain Wilson and his party reached
Montreal they found that, in spite of the paucity of
English troops under the command of General
Carleton, the position was not so bad as had been
feared by General Gage. It was possible, and in
deed probable, that Upper Canada might fall into
the hands of the Americans, and that even Quebec
itself might be captured ; but unless the people
joined the Americans the success of the latter would
be but temporary. With the spring the navigation
of the river would be open and reënforcements
would arrive from England. The invaders would
then be at a disadvantage. Separated from home
by a wide tract of forest-covered country, they
would have the greatest difficulty in transporting
artillery, ammunition, and stores, and fighting as
an army in invasion they would be placed in a very
different position to that occupied by the colonists
fighting on their own ground. It was probable
that for a time the tide of invasion would succeed.
The Indians of the Five Nations, as those dwell-
ing near the British frontier at this point were
called, had volunteered their services to the gen-
eral to cross the frontier to recapture Ticon-
deroga and Crown Point, which had been seized
by the Americans, and to carry the war into the
colonies. But General Carleton, an exceedingly
humane and kind-hearted man, shrank from the
horrors that such a warfare would entail upon the
colonists. He accepted the services of the Indians


102
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as far as the absolute defense of Canada from in.
vasion, but refused to allow them to cross the
frontier.
On the arrival of Captain Wilson with his little
force he was ordered to march at once to the fort
of St. John's, which was held by a party of regular
troops.
On arriving at that place the two scouts had been
sent down toward Lake Champlain to watch the
proceedings of the enemy. Harold had obtained
leave from his father to accompany the scouts, and
Jake had been permitted to form one of the party.
Peter Lambton had grumbled a little at this last
addition to the number He knew Jake's affection
for his young master, and the great strength of the
negro would have rendered him useful in a band-to-
hand fight, but he was altogether unaccustomed to
forest work, and his habit of bursting into fits of
laughter on the smallest provocation, as is the
manner of his race, enraged the scout to the last
degree. Indeed, he had not left the fort above an
hour when he turned savagely on the negro.
“ Look-ee here,” he said, “if that's the way ye're
a-going on, the sooner ye turns yer face and tramps
back to the fort the better. When you were at
Concord it done no harm to make as much noise as
a jackass braying whenever you opened that mouth
of yours, but it won't do in the forests. It would
cost us our har and your wool ef yer were to make
that noise with the enemy anywhere within fifteen
miles of yer. I ain't a-going, if I knows it, to risk


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
103
my sculp on such a venture as this, still less I ain't
a going to see this young chap's life thrown away.
His father hez put him in my charge, and I ain't
a-going to see him sacrificed in no such way. So
ye've got to make up yer mind; yer have got to
keep that mouth of yours shut tight or yer've got
to tramp back to the fort.”.
Jake gave many promises of silence, and although
at first he often raised his voice to a point far ex-
ceeding that considered by the hunters safe in the
woods, he was each time checked by such a savage
growl on the part of Peter or by a punch in the
ribs from Harold that he quickly fell into the ways
of the others and never spoke above a loud
whisper.
At a short distance from the fort they were joined
by the two Indians, who were also out on a scouting
expedition on their own account. They had pre-
viously been well known both to Peter and Ephraim.
They were warriors of the Seneca tribe, one of the
Five Nations.
They had now been for two days on the north
shore of Lake Champlain. They were sitting round
a fire eating a portion of a deer which had been
shot by Harold that morning. So far they had
seen nothing of the enemy. They knew that three
thousand men, under Schuyler and Montgomery,
had marched to the other end of the lake. The
colonists had been sending proclamations across the
frontier to the inhabitants, saying that they were
coming as friends to free them from the yoke of


104
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England and calling upon them to arise and strike
for freedom. They were also in negotiation with
some of the chiefs of the Five Nations and with
other Indian tribes to induce them to join with
them.
“I propose,” Peter said when the meal was fin-
ished and he had lighted his pipe, "to go down the
lake and see what they're doing. Deer Tail here
tells me that he knows where there's a canoe. He,
Harold, and me will go and reconnoiter a bit; the
other three had best wait here till we comes back
with news. In course, chief,” he continued to the
other Indian, after explaining to him in his own
language what he intended to do, you'll be guided
by circumstances--you can see a long way down
the lake, and ef anything should lead you to think
that we're in trouble, you can take such steps as
may seem best to you. It's mighty little I should
think of the crowd of colonists ; but ef, as you say,
a number of the ivarriors of the Five Nations, indig-
nant at the rejection of their offers by the English
general, have gone down and joined the colonists,
it'll be a different affair altogether.”
The Elk, as the second Seneca chief was called,
nodded his assent. In a few words Peter told Har-
old what had been arranged. Jake looked down-
cast when he heard that he was not to accompany
his master, but as he saw the latter had since leav-
ing the fort obeyed without questioning every sug-
gestion of the scout, he offered no remonstrance.
A quarter of an hour later Peter rose, Deer Tail


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
105
followed his example, and Harold at once took up
his rifle and feli in in their steps. There was but
little talk in the woods, and the matter having been
settled, it did not enter the mind either of Peter or
of the Indian to say a word of adieu to their com-
rades. Harold imitated their example, but gave a
· nod and a smile to Jake as he started.
Half an hour's tramp took them to the shore of
the lake. Here they halted for a minute while the
Indians closely examined the locality. With the
wonderful power of making their way straight
through the forest to the required spot, which seems
to be almost an instinct among Indians, Deer Tail
had struck the lake within two hundred yards of
the point which he aimed at. He led the way along
the shore until he came to a spot where a great
maple had fallen into the lake; here he turned into
the forest again, and in fifty yards came to a clump
of bushes; these he pushed aside and pointed to a
canoe which was lying hidden among them. Peter
joined him, the two lifted the boat out, placed it on
their shoulders, and carried it to the lake. There
were three paddles in it. Peter motioned Harold
to take his place in the stern and steer, while he
and the Indian knelt forward and put their paddles
in the water.
“Keep her along on the right shore of the lake,
about fifty yards from the trees. There's no fear
of any one lurking about near this end."
The canoe was light and well made and darted
quickly over the water under the strokes of the two


106
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
paddlers. It was late in the afternoon when they
started, and before they had gone many miles dark-
ness had fallen. The canoe was run in close to
shore, where she lay in the shadow of the trees until
morning. Just as the sun rose the redskin and
Peter simultaneously dipped their paddles in the
water and sent the canoe under the arches of the
trees. They had at the same instant caught sight of
four canoes making their way along the lake.
“Them's Injuns,” Peter whispered. “They're
scouting to see if the lake's free. If the general
could have got a couple of gunboats up the Sorrel
the enemy could never have crossed the lake, and it
would have given them a month's work to take their
guns round it. It's lucky we were well under the
trees or we should have been seen. Wbat bad we
best do, Deer Tail ?”
For two or three minutes the scouts conversed
together in the Indian tongue.
“The Seneca agrees with me,” Peter said. “It's
like enough there are Injuns scouting along both
shores. We must lay up here till nightfall. Ef
we're seen they'd signal by smoke, and we should
have them canoes back again in no time. By their
coming I expect the expedition is starting, but it
won't do to go back without being sure of it.”
The canoe was paddled to a spot where the
bushes grew thickly by the bank. It was pushed
among these, and the three, after eating some
cooked deer's flesh which they had brought with
them, prepared to pass the day.


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
107
“The Seneca and I'll keep watch by turns,” the
scout said. “We'll wake you if we want ye.”
Harold was by this time sufficiently accustomed
to the ways of the woods to obey orders at once
without offering to take his turn at watching, as his
inclination led him to do, and he was soon sound
asleep. It was late in the afternoon when he was
awoke by the scout touching him.
“Theres' some critters coming along the bank,”
he said in a whisper. “They ain't likely to see us,
but it's best to be ready.”
Harold sat up in the canoe, rifle in hand, and
listening intently heard a slight sound such as would
be produced by the snapping of a twig. Presently
he heard upon the other side of the bushes, a few
yards distant, a few low words in the Indian tongue.
He looked at his companions. They were sitting
immovable, each with his rifle directed toward the
sound, and Harold thought it would fare badly with
any of the passers if they happened to take a fancy
to peer through the bushes. The Indians had,
however, no reason for supposing that there were
any enemies upon the lake, and they consequently
passed on without examining more closely the
thicket by the shore. Not until it was perfectly
dark did Peter give the sign for the continuance of
the journey. This time, instead of skirting the lake,
the canoe was steered out toward its center. For
some time they paddled, and then several lights
were seen from ahead.
“ I thought so, the scout said. “They've crossed


108
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to the Isle La Motte and they're making as many
fires as if they war having a sort of picnic at home.
We must wait till they burns out, for we daren't go
near the place with the water lit up for two or three
hundred yards round. It won't be long, for I
reckon it must be past eleven o'clock now.”
The fires were soon seen to burn down. The
paddles were dipped in the water and the canoe
approached the island.
“I'd give something," Peter said, “to know
whether there's any redskins there. Ef there are,
our chance of landing without being seen ain't
worth talking of; ef there ain't we might land
a hull fleet; at any rate we must risk it. Now,
Harold, the chief and me'll land and find out how
many men there are here, and ef we can how long
they're likely to stop. You keep the canoe about
ten yards from shore, in the shadow of the trees,
and be ready to move close the instant you hear my
call. I'll jest give the croak of a frog. The instant
we get in you paddle off without a word. Ef ye
hears any shouts and judges as how we've been
seen, ye must jest act upon the best of yer
judgment."
The boat glided noiselessly up to the shore. All
was still there, the encampment being at the other
side of the island. The two scoats, red and white,
stepped noiselessly on to the land. Harold backed
the canoe a few paces with a quick stroke upon the
paddle, and seeing close to him a spot where a long
branch of a tree dipped into the water, he guided


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
109
the canoe among the foliage and there sat without
movement, listening almost breathlessly.
Ere many minutes had elapsed he heard footsteps
coming along the shore. They stopped when near
him. Three or four minutes passed without the
slightest sound, and then a voice said, in tones
which the speaker had evidently tried to lower, but
which were distinctly audible in the canoe :
“I tell yer, redskin, it seems to me as how you've
brought us here on a fool's errand. I don't see no
signs of a canoe, and it ain't likely that the British
would be along the lake here, seeing as how there's
a score of canoes with your people in them scouting
ahead.”
“I beard canoe,” another voice said, “first at
other end of the island and then coming along
here."
“ And ef yer did,” the first speaker said, “ likely
enough it was one of the canoes of your people.”
“ No," the Indian answered. “If canoe come
back with news would have come straight to fires."
“Well, it ain't here, anyway,” the first speaker
said, “and I don't believe yer ever heard a canoe at
all. It's enough to make a man swear to be called
up jest as we were making ourselves comfortable
for the night on account of an Injun's fancies. I
wonder at the general's listening to them. How-
ever, we've got our orders to go round the island
and see ef there's ariy canve on either shore; so we'd
better be moving, else we shall not get to sleep be-
fore morning.”


110
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Harold held his breath as the group passed
opposite to him. Fortunately the trunk of the tree
grew from the very edge of the water, and there
were several bushes growing round it, so that at
this point the men had to make a slight détour in-
land. Harold felt thankful indeed that he had
taken the precaution of laying his canoe among the
thick foliage, for although the night was dark it
would have been instantly seen had it been lying on
the surface of the lake. Even as it was, a close in-
spection might have detected it, but the eyes of the
party were fixed on the shore, as it was there, if at
all, that they expected to find an empty canoe
lying
Harold was uneasy at the discovery that there
were still some redskins on the island. It was pos-
sible, of course, that the one he had heard might be
alone as a scout, but it was more likely that others
of the tribe were also there.
After landing, Peter and the Seneca made their
way across the island to the side facing the Ameri-
can shore. Creeping cautiously along, they found
a large number of flat-bottomed boats, in which the
Americans had crossed from the mainland, and
which were, Peter thought, capable of carrying two
thousand men. They now made their way toward
the spot where the forces were encamped. The
fires had burned low, but round a few of them men
were still sitting and talking. Motioning to the
Seneca to remain quiet, Peter sauntered cautiously
out on to the clearing where the camp was formed.


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
111
He had little fear of detection, for he wore no uni-
form, and his bunter's dress afforded no index to
the party to which he was attached.
A great portion of the Americans were still in
their ordinary attire, it having been impossible to
furnish uniforms for so great a number of men as
had been suddenly called to arms throughout tbe
colonies.
From the arbors of boughs which had been
erected in all directions, be judged tbat the force
had been already some days upon the island. But
large numbers of men were sleeping in the open
air, and picking his way cautiously among them, he
threw himself down at a short distance from one of
the fires by which three or four men were sitting.
For some time they talked of camp matters, the
shortness of food, and want of provisions.
“It is bad here," one said presently; "it will be
worse when we move forward. Schuyler will be
here to-morrow with the rest of the army, and we
are to move down to Isle-aux-Noix, at the end of
the lake, and I suppose we shall land at once and
march against St. John's. There are only a couple
of hundred Britishers there, and we shall make
short work of them.”
“ The sooner the better, I say,” another speaker
remarked “I am ready enough to fight, but I hate
all this waiting about. I want to get back to my
farm again.”
“You are in a hurry, you are,” the other said.
“ You don't suppose we are going to take Canada


112
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in a week's time, do you? Even if the Canadians
join us, and by what I hear that ain't so sartin after
all, we shall have to march down to Quebec, and
that's no child's play. I know the country there.
It is now September 4. Another month and the
winter will be upon us, and a Canadian winter is no
joke, I can tell you.”
“The inore reason for not wasting any more
time,” the other one grumbled. “If Montgomery
had his way we should go at them quickly enough,
but Schuyler is always delaying. He has kept us
waiting now since the 17th of last month. We
might have been half-way to Quebec by this time.”
“Yes,” the other said, if the Britishers had run
away as we came; but we have got St. John's and
Fort Chamblée to deal with, and they may hold
out some time. However, the sooner we begin the
job the sooner it will be over, and I am heartily
glad that we move to-morrow.”
Peter had now obtained the information he re-
quired, and rising to his feet again, with a grum-
bling remark as to the hardness of the ground, he
sauntered a way toward the spot where he had left
the Indian. Just as he did so a tall figure came out
from an arbor close by. A fire was burning just in
front, and Peter saw that he was a tall and hand-
some man of about forty years of age. He guessed
at once that he was in the presence of the colonial
leader.
“ You are, like myself,” the new-comer said,
“unable to sleep, I suppose ?"


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
113
“ Yes, general,” Peter answered. “I found I
could not get off, and so I thought I'd stretch my
legs in the wood a bit. They're lying so tarnal
thick down there by the fires, one can't move with-
out treading on 'em.”
“ Which regiment do you belong to ?"
“ The Connecticut,” Peter replied, for he knew
by report that a regiment from this province
formed part of the expedition.
“As good men as any I have," the general said
cordially. “Their only fault is that they are in too
great a hurry to attack the enemy."
“I agree with the rest, general," Peter said.
it's dull work wasting our time here when we're
wanted at home. I enlisted for six months, and the
sooner the time's up the better, say I.”
“ You have heard nothing moving ?” the general
asked. “ One of the Chippe was told me tbat he
heard a canoe out in the lake. Ah! here he is.”
At that moment five or six men, headed by an
Indian, issued from the wood close by. It was too
late for Peter to try to withdraw, but he stepped
aside a pace or two as the party approached.
“ Well, have you found anything ?” the general
asked.
“No finá," the Unippeiva said shortly.
“I don't believe as there ever was a canoe there,”
the man who followed him said. “It was jest a
fancy of the Injun's.”
“No fancy,” the Indian asserted angrily. “Canoe
there. No find.”


114
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“ It might have been one of our own canoes,”
Montgomery said in a conciliatory tone. “ The In-
dians are seldoin mistaken. Still, if no one has
landed it matters not either way.”
“Only as we have had a tramp for nothing,” the
colonist said. “ However, there's time for a sleep
yet. Hullo!” he exclaimed as his eye fell on Peter
Lambton. “What, Peter! Why, how did you get
here? Why, I thought as how-general,” he ex-
claimed, sharply turning to Montgomery,“ this man
lives close to me at Concord. He's a royalist, he is,
and went into Boston and joined the corps they got
up there.”
“Seize him !” Montgomery shouted, but it was
too late.
As the man had turned to speak to the general
Peter darted into the wood. The Chippewa, with-
out waiting to hear the statement.of the colonist, at
once divined the state of things, and uttering his
war-whoop dashed after the fugitive. Two or three
of the colonists instantly followed, and a inoment
later three or four Indians who had been lying on
the ground leaped up and darted like phantoms into
the wood.
The general no sooner grasped the facts than he
shouted an order for pursuit, and a number of the
men most accustomed to frontier work at once fol-
lowed the first party of pursuers. Others would
have done the same, but Montgomery shouted that
no more should go, as they would only be in the
others' way, and there could not be more than two
or three spies on the island.


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
115
After the Chippewa's first war-cry there was si-
lence for the space of a minute in the forest. Then
came a wild scream, mingled with another Indian
yell; a moment later the leading pursuers came
upon the body of the Chippewa. His skull had
been cleft with a tomahawk and the scalp was
gone.
As they were clustered round the body two or
three of the Indians ran up. They raised the Indian
wail as they saw their comrade and with the rest
took up pursuit.
Peter and the Seneca were now far among the
trees, and as their pursuers had nothing to guide
them, they reached the spot where they had left
the canoe unmolested.
On the signal being given, Harold instantly pad-
dled to the shore. Not a word was spoken until
the canoe was well out in the lake. Occasional
shots were heard on shore as the pursuers fired at
objects which they thought were men. Presently
a loud Indian cry rose from the shore.
“They see us,” Peter said. “We're out of shot
and can take it easy.” The redskin said a few
words. “You're right, chief. The chief says," he
explained to Harold, “ that as there are redskins on
the island they have probably some canves. The
moon's jest getting up beyond that hill, and it'll be
light enough to see us half across the lake. It
would not matter if the water was free; but what
with injuns prowling along the shores and out on
the lake, we shall have to use our wits to save our


116
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har. Look !” he exclaimed two or three minutes
later as two columns of bright flame at a short dis-
tance from them shot up at the end of the island.
“They're Injun signals. As far as they can be seen
Injuns will know that there are enemies on the
lake. Now, paddle your hardest, Harold, and do
you, chief, keep your eyes and your ears open for
sights and sounds."
Under the steady strokes of the three paddles
the bark canoe sped rapidly over the water. When
the moon was fairly above the edge of the hill they
balted for a moment and looked back. The two
columns of fire still blazed brightly on the island,
which was now three miles astern, and two dark
spots could be seen on the water about half-way be-
tween them and it.
“You can paddle, my lads,” Peter Lambton said
to the distant foes, “but you'll never ketch us. I
wouldn't heed you if it weren't for the other varmint
ahead.”
He stood up in the canoe and looked anxiously
over the lake.
“It's all clear as far as I can see at present,” he
said.
“ Can't we land. Peter, and make our way back
on foot ?"
“Bless you,” Peter said, “there ain't a native
along the shore there but has got his eye on this
canoe. We might as well take her straight back
to the island as try to land. Better; for we should
get a few hours before they tried and shot us there,


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
while the Injuns would not give us a minute. No,
we must just keep to the water; and now paddle
on again, but take it quietly. It's no odds to let
them varmints behind gain on us a little. You
needn't think about them. When the danger comes
we shall want every ounce of our strength.”
For balf an hour they paddled steadily on. The
pursuing canoes were now less than a mile behind
them.
“I'd give a good deal," muttered the scout, “ for •
a few black clouds over the moon; we'd make for
shore then and risk it. It will be getting daylight
before long. Ab !” he exclaimed, pausing suddenly
as the chief stopped rowing, “a canoe on each side
is rowing out to cut us off.”
Harold was now paddling forward, while the
scout had the place at the stern. The former was
surprised to feel the canoe shooting off from its
former course at right angles toward the shore;
then, curving still more round, they began to paddle
back along the lake.
The canoes which had been pursuing them were
nearly abreast of each other. They had embarked
from opposite sides of the island, but they had been
gradually drawing together, although still some
distance apart, when Peter tnrned his canoe. See-
ing his maneuver, both turned to head him off, but
by so doing they occupied an entirely different
position in relation to each other, one canoe being
nearly half a mile nearer to them than the other.
“Take it easy,” Peter said. “These varmints will


118
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cut us off and we've got to fight, but we can cripple
the one nearest to us before the other comes up.”
The boats were now darting over the water in a
line which promised to bring the leading canoe
almost in collision with that of Peter. When with- -
in two bundred yards of each other Peter ceased
rowing.
“Now,” he said, “Harold, see if you can pick one
of them fellows off. It's no easy matter, traveling
· at the pace they are. You fire first."
Harold took a steady aim and fired. A yell of
derision told that he had missed. The Indians
stopped paddling. There was a flash and a ball
struck the canoe. At the same moment Peter fired.
“ There's one down !” he exclaimed.
The Seneca fired, but without result; and the
three unwounded Indians in the canoe—for it had
contained four men—replied with a volley.
Harold felt a burning sensation, as if a hot iron
passed across his arm.
“ Hit, boy ?” Peter asked anxiously as he gave a
short exclamation.
“Nothing to speak of,” Harold replied.
“ The varmints are lying by waiting for the other
canoe. Paddle straight at 'em."
The Indians at once turned the boat and paddled
to meet their companions, who were fast approach-
ing.
“Now," Peter exclaimed, “we've got 'em in a
line—a steady aim this time.”
The three rifles spoke out; one of the Indians fell
in


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
119
into the boat and the paddle of another was struck
from his grasp.
“Now,” the scout shouted," paddle away. We've
got 'em all fairly behind us.”
Day broke just as they were again abreast of the
island. One canoe was following closely, two
others were a mile and a half behind, while the one
with which they had been engaged had made for
the shore.
“What do you mean to do?" Harold asked
Peter.
“I mean to run as close as I can round the end
of the island, and then make for the place where
they must have embarked on the mainland. They
may have seen the signal fires there, but will not
know what has been going on. So now row your
best. We must leave the others as far behind as
possible.”
For the first time since they started the three
paddlers exerted themselves to the utmost. They
had little fear that there were any more canoes on
the island, for had there been they would have
joined in the chase. It was only necessary to keep
so far from the end of the island as would take them
out of reach of the fire. Several shots were dis-
charged as they passed, but these fell short as the
canoe shot along at its highest rate of speed, every
stroke taking it further from its nearest pursuer.
At the end of an hour's paddling this canoe was a
mile and a half behind. Its rowers had apparently
somewhat abated their speed in order to allow the


120
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
other two boats to draw up to them, for the result
of the encounter between their comrades and the
fugitives had not been of a nature to encourage
them to undertake a single-handed contest with
them.


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
121
CHAPTER VII.
IN THE FOREST.
SEE, Peter!” Harold exclaimed; “there is a whole
fleet of boats ahead.”
“I sees 'em," Peter said, “and have seed 'em for
the last quarter of an hour. It's Schuyler with the
rest of wbat they calls their army. Steer a little
out of the course; we must pass close by 'em.
They won't suspect nothing wrong and will suppose
we are merely carrying a message.”
In half an hour they were abreast of the flotilla,
consisting of flatboats laden with troops. With
them were two or three Indian canoes. Peter
steered so as to pass at a distance of a hundred and
fifty yards. They rowed less strongly now, but
still vigorously. There was a shout from the boat.
“All well on the island ?”
“All well," Peter shouted back, waving his band,
and without further word the canoe passed on.
“ There! do you hear that ?" Peter exclaimed.
“ They're firing shots from the canoes to call their
attention. The chances are they won't hear them,
for the rattle of their oars and the talking and the
row they're making are enough to drown the sound


122
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of a cannon. Now put it on again as hard as you
can. Another hour will take us to the landing-
place.”
They could see when the flotilla came up to the
pursuing boats that the canoes which accompanied
it turned their heads and joined in the pursuit, but
they were now near three miles ahead and there
was no chance whatever of their being overtaken.
They slackened their speed slightly as they ap-
proached the land, and rowed up to the landing-
place without any signs of extraordinary haste. A
few men were loitering about.
“ What's the news from the island ?” one asked as
they landed.
“ All well tbere,” Peter said.
“ Did you see anything of Schuyler ?”
“Yes, we met him about half-way across."
“What have you come for ?”
“General Montgomery says that no spare flints
have been sent over for the firelocks.”
“I'll swear that some went,” one of the men ex-
claimed, “ for I packed a sack of them myself in
one of the boats.”
“I s'pose they have been mislaid," Peter said.
“Perhaps some of the stores have got heaped over
'em. Ef you are quite sartin, we have had our
journey for nothing."
“As sartin as life,” the man replied. “I'll swear
to the sackful of flints; and tarnation heavy they
was too.”
“ Well, then, I need not trouble about it further,"


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
123
Peter said. “We'll take a rest and paddle back in
an hour or two. Was there any marks on the sack,
so as I may tell the general how to look for it ???
“ Marks!" the man repeated. “Why, it bad
*Flints' written on it in big black letters six inches
long. It must turn up, anyhow. They'll find it
when they come to shift the stores."
Then, accompanied by his two companions, Peter
strolled quietly through the little village. Stop-
ping at a small store, he purchased some flour and
tea; then he followed the road inland and was
soon out of sight of the village; he stopped for a
moment and then shook his head.
“It's no use trying to hide our trail here,” he
said. “The road's an inch thick in dust, and do
what we will they'll be able to see where we turn
off. It's our legs as we have got to trust to for a
bit. We've got a good half-hour's start of the
canoes; they were a long three miles behind when
we struck the shore.”
Leaving the road, he led the way with a long,
swinging stride across tue cultivated land. Twenty
minutes' walk took them into the forest, which ex-
tended from the shore of the lake many miles in-
land.
“ Take off your boots, Harold,” he said as he
entered the wood. “Them heels will leave marks
that a redskin could pick up at a run. Now tread,
as near as you can, in the exact spot where the
Seneca has trodden before you. He'll follow in my
track, and you may be sure that I'll choose the


124
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hardest bits of ground I can come across. There,
the varmints are on shore !”.
As he spoke an angry yell rose from the distant
village. At a long, steady pace, which taxed to the
utmost Harold's powers as a walker, they kept their
way through the woods, not pursuing a straight
course, but turning, winding, and zigzagging every
few minutes. Harold could not but feel impatient
at what seemed to him such a loss of time, especially
when a yell from the edge of the wood told that
the Indians bad traced them thus far-showed, too,
that they were far nearer than before. But, as
Peter afterward explained to him, all this turning
and winding made it necessary for the Indians to
follow every step, as they would an animal, to guess
the direction they had taken. The weather had
been dry and the ground was hard ; therefore the
most experienced trapper would be obliged to pro-
ceed very slowly on the trail and would frequently
be for a time at fault; wbereas had they continued
in a straight line the Indians could have followed
i at a run, contenting themselves with seeing the
trail here and there. They came across two or
three little streams running down toward the lake.
These they followed, in some cases up, in others
down, for a considerable distance, leaving the bed
where the bushes grew thick and hid the marks of
their feet as they stepped out from the water.
Harold would gladly have gone at a run, but Peter
never quickened his pace. He knew that the In-
dians could not pick up the trail at a rate faster


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG. ,
125
than that at which they were going, and that great
delay would be caused at each of the little streams,
as it would be uncertain whether they had passed
up or down.
As the time passed the Indian yells, which bad,
when they first entered the wood, sounded so alarm-
ingly near, died away, and a perfect stillness
reigned in the forest. It was late in the afternoon
before Peter halted.
“We can rest now,” he said. “It'll be hours be-
fore the critters can be here. Now let us have some
tea."
He began to look for some dried sticks. Harold
offered to assist.
“ You sit down," the scout said. “A nice sort of
fire we should get with sticks of your picking up!
Why, we should have a smoke that would bring all
the Injuns in the woods on to us. No, the sticks as
the Seneca and me'll pick up won't give as much
smoke as you can put in a tea-cup; but I wouldn't
risk even that if we was nigh the lake, for it might
be seen by any redskins out in a canoe. But we are
miles back from the lake, and there ain't no other
open space where they could get a view over the
tree-tops.”
Harold watched the Indian and the scout collect-
ing dry leaves and sticks, and took particular notice,
for future use, of the kinds which they selected. A
light was struck with a flint and steel, and soon a
bright blaze sprang up, without, so far as Harold
could see, the slightest smoke being given off. Then


126
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the hunter produced some food from bis wallet and
a tin pot. He had at the last spring they passed
filled a skin which hung on his shoulder with water,
and this was soon boiling over the fire. A handful
of tea was thrown in and the pot removed. Some
flour, mixed with water, was placed on a small iron
plate, which was put on the red-hot ashes. A few
cakes were baked, and with these, the cold venison,
and the tea an ample meal was made.
After nearly an hour's balt they again proceeded
on their way. A consultation had taken place be-
tween Peter and the Seneca as to the best course to
be pursued. They could, without much difficulty or
risk, have continued the way through the woods be-
yond the lake, but it was important that they should
reach the other side by the evening of the following
day, to give warning of the intended attack by the
Americans. There were, they knew, other redskins
in the woods besides those on their trail, and the
nearer they approached the shore the greater the
danger. They had determined that they would at
all hazards endeavor to obtain another canoe and
cross the lake. Until nightfall they continued their
course, and then, knowing that their trail could no
longer be followed, they made down to the lake.
They were many miles distant from it, and Harold
was completely worn out when at last he saw a
gleam of water through the trees. He was not yet
to rest. Entering the lake they began wading
through it at a few feet from the edge.
After an hour's walking thus they entered the


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
127
bushes, which thickly covered the shore, and made
their way through these until they came to a spot
sufficiently open for them to lie down; and Harold,
wrapping himself in the blanket which he carried
over his shoulder, was sound asleep in less than
a minute. When he woke the sun was shining
brightly.
“Get up, youngster. We're in luck,” the scout
said. “Here's a canoe with two of the varmints
making toward the shore. By the way they're
going they'll land not far off.”
The scout led the way, crawling on his hands and
knees, to the water's edge, to where the Seneca was
sitting watching the canoe through a cover of green
leaves. The course that the boat was taking would
lead it to a point some three hundred yards from
where they were sitting.
“We shall have no difficulty in managing them,"
Harold said, and grasped his rifle eagerly.
“Not too fast,” Peter said. “The chances are
that the varmints have friends on shore. Like enough
they have been out fishing.”
The shore formed a slight sweep at this point,
and the bushes in which they were hidden occupied
the point at one extremity. In the center of the
little bay there was a spot clear from bushes; to
this the canoe was directed. As it approached the
shore two other Indians appeared at the water's
edge. One of them asked a question, and in reply
a paddler held up a large bunch of fish.
“Just as I thought. Like enough there are a
dozen of them there,” said Peter.


128
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On reaching the shore the men sprang out, taking
their fish with them. The canoe was fastened by
its head-rope to the bushes, and the Indians moved
a short distance inland.
“There is their smoke," Peter said, indicating a
point some thirty feet from the lake, but so slight
was it that even when it was pointed out to him
Harold could hardly make out the light mist rising
from among the bushes. Presently he looked round
for the Seneca, but the Indian had disappeared.
“He's gone scouting,” Peter said in answer to
Harold's question. “Ef there are only four of them
it would be an easy job, but I expect there's more
of the red varmints there."
In ten minutes the Seneca returned as noiselessly
as he had gone. He opened his hand aud all the
fingers twice; the third time he showed only three
fingers.
“ Thirteen," Peter said. “Too many of them
even for a sudden onslaught.”
The Indian said a few words to Peter; the latter
nodded, and Deer Tail again quietly stole away.
“He's going to steal the boat,” Peter said. “It's
a risky job, for where it lies it can be seen by 'em
as they sit. Now, you and me must be ready with
our shooting-irons to cover him if need be. Ef he's
found out before he gets the boat he'll take to the
woods and lead them away from us; but ef he's
fairly in the boat, then we must do our best for him.
Ef the wust comes to the wust, I reckon we can
· hold these bushes agin 'em for some time; but in


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
129
the end I don't disguise from ye, youngster, they'll
beat us."
Harold now sat intently watching the canoe. It
seemed an age to him before he saw a band emerge
from the bushes and take hold of the head-rope.
The motion given to the canoe was so slight as to
be almost imperceptible; it seemed as if it was only
drifting gently before the slight breeze which was
creeping over the surface of the lake. Half its
length had disappeared from the open space, when
an Indian appeared by the edge of the water. He
looked at the canoe, looked over the lake, and with-
drew again. The hand had disappeared in the
bushes on his approach. The movement of the
canoe, slight as it was, had caught his eye, but, sat-
isfied that it was caused only by the wind, he had
returned to his fire again. The band appeared
again through the bushes, and the canoe was drawn
along until hidden from the sight of those sitting
by the fire. Again the watchful Indian appeared,
but the boat was lying quietly by the bushes at the
full length of its head-rope. He stooped down to
see that this was securely fastened and again re-
tired. Harold held his breath, expecting that every
moment the presence of the Seneca would be dis-
covered. Scarcely had the Indian disappeared than
the Seneca crawled out from the bushes. With a
sweep of his knife he cut the rope of the canoe and
noiselessly entered it, and as he did so gave a shove
with his foot, which sent it dancing along the shore
toward the spot where Harold and his companion


130
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
were hidden. Then he seized the paddle, and in
half a dozen strokes brought it within reach of
them. Harold and Peter stepped into it; as they
did so there was a sudden shout. The Indian had
again strolled down to look at the canoe, whose
movements, slight as they had been, bad appeared
suspicious to him. He now, to his astonishment,
saw it at the point with two white men and an In-
dian on board. He had left his gun behind him
and, uttering his war-cry, bounded back for it.
“Round the p'int, quick !” Peter exclaimed.
“ They'll riddle us in the open.”
Two strokes took the canoe round the projecting
point of bushes, and she then darted along the
shore, driven by the greatest efforts of which the
three paddlers were capable. Had the shore been
open the Indians would have gained upon them, but
they were unable to force their way through the
thick bushes at anything like the rate at wbich the
canoe was flying over the water. The first start
was upward of a hundred yards, and this was in-
creased by fifty before the Indians, arriving at the
point, opened fire. This distance is beyond any.
thing like an accurate range with Indian guns.
Several bullets struck the water round the canoe.
“Now steer out,” Peter said as the firing sudden-
ly ceased. “They're making a détour among the
bushes and'll come down ahead of us ef we keep
near the shore.”
Two or three more shots were fired, but without
effect, and the canoe soon left the shore far behind.


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
131
“Now,” Peter said, “I think we're safe. It's not
likely they've another canoe anywhere near on this
side, as most of 'em would have gone with the ex-
pedition. Ef the firing has been heard it will not
attract much attention, being on this side, and I see
nothing in the way of a boat out in the lake. Still,
these redskins' eyes can see 'most any distance.
Now, chief,” he went on to the Indian in his native
language, “the young un and I'll lie down at the
bottom of the boat; do you paddle quietly and
easily, as ef you were fishing. The canoe with a
single Indian in it will excite no suspicion, and even
ef you see other canoes, you had better keep on in
that way unless you see that any of 'em are intend-
ing to overhaul you."
The chief nodded assent. Peter and Harold
stretched themselves at full length in the canoe, and
the Indian paddled quietly and steadily on. For an
hour not a word was spoken in the canoe. Harold
several times dozed off to sleep. At last the Seneca
spoke:
“Many boats out on water-American army.”
Harold was about to raise his head to look out
when Peter exclaimed.
"Lie close, Harold. Ef a head were shown now
it would be wuss than ef we had sat up all the
time. We know there are Injun canoes with the
flats, and they may be watching us now. We may
be a long way off, but there's no saying how far a
redskin's eyes can carry. Can you see where they
are going to, chief ?” he asked the Seneca. “Are


132
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they heading for Isle-aux-Noix, as we heard 'em
say they were going to do ?”
The Seneca nodded.
“Going to island.”
“Then,” Peter said, “the sooner we're across the
lake the better.”
The Seneca again spoke, and after a consultation
with Peter laid in his paddle..
“What is he doing now ?” Harold asked.
“Our course lies pretty near the same way as
theirs," Peter said. “The island is but a short dis-
tance from the shore, near the mouth of the Sorrel,
so where we're going would take us right across
their line. We fooled them yesterday, but are not
likely to do it again to-day. So the chief has
stopped paddling and makes as if he were fishing. I
doubt wbether it will succeed, for he would hardly
be fishing so far out. But we'll soon see. It's bet-
ter so than to turn and paddle in any other direc-
tion, as that would be sure to excite their sus-
picions."
The fleet of boats had already passed the spot
where the canoe would bave crossed had she been
going directly across the lake when she was first
seen, and was therefore now ahead of it. The great
flotilla kept on as if the canoe with its single oc-
cupant in its rear had not excited suspicion. The
Seneca, however, knew that sharp eyes must be
upon him. The manner in which the canoe bad
baffled pursuit the day before must have inflicted a
severe blow upon the pride of the Indians, and al-


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
133
though, having driven them off the lake, they could
have no reason for suspecting that their foes could
have obtained a fresh canoe, the Seneca knew that
their vigilance would not sleep' for a moment.
Therefore, although bending over the side of the
canoe as if watching his lines, his eyes were never
off the boats.
“There are canoes making for the shore both
ways,” he said at last. “It is time that my white
brother should take the paddle.”
Peter and Harold at once sat up in the boat and
looked round the lake, which at this point was about
ten miles wide. The canoe was four miles from the
eastern side; the flotilla was a mile further up the
lake and the same distance nearer to the western
shoré. Four or five canoes were detaching them-
selves from the flotilla, apparently rowing direct for
the shore. It would have been easy for the canoe to
have regained the eastern side long before she could
have been cut off, but here they might find the
Chippewas. The Indians whose boat they had
taken would assuredly follow along the shores of
the lake in hopes that something might occur to
drive them back. Besides, had they landed there
they would be unable to carry in time the news of
the approaching attack upon St. John's. For the
same reason it was important to land up the lake
near the Canadian end.
Peter rapidly took in the situation. He saw that
it was possible, and only just possible, to reach
the shore at a point opposite to that at which they


134
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
now were before the hostile canoes could cut them
off from it. If they headed them there they would
be obliged to run down to the other end of the lake
before effecting a landing, wbile he could not
calculate on being able to beat all the canoes, most
of which carried four paddlers, who would strain
every nerve to retrieve their failure of the previous
day.
Not a word was spoken as the boat darted through
the water. Harold, unaccustomed to judge dis-
tances, could form no idea whether the distant
canoes would or would not intercept them. At
present both seemed to him to be running toward
the shore on nearly parallel courses, and the shorter
distance that the Indians would have to row seemed
to place them far ahead. The courses, however,
were not parallel, as the Indians were gradually
turning their canoes to intercept the course of that
which they were pursuing. As the minutes went
by and the boats converged more and more toward
the same point, Harold saw how close the race
would be. After twenty minutes' hard paddling the
boats were within a quarter of a mile of each other,
and the courses which they were respectively taking
seemed likely to bring them together at about a
quarter of a mile from the shore. There were
three Indian canoes, and these kept well together.
So close did the race appear that Harold expected
every moment to see Peter sweep the head of the
canoe round and make a stern chase of it by run-
ning down the lake. This Peter had no inten-


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
135
tion of doing. The canoes, he saw, traveled as fast
as his own and could each spare a man to fire
occasionally, while he and his companions would all
be obliged to continue paddling. Better accustomed
to judge distances than Harold, he was sure, at the
speed at which they were going, he would be able
to pass somewhat ahead of his foes.
“Row all you know, Harold,” he said. “Now,
chief, send her along."
Harold had been ro'ving to the utmost of his
strength, but he felt by the way the canoe quivered
at every stroke that his companions were only now
putting out their extreme strength. The boat seemed
to fly through the water, and he began to think for
the first time that the canoe would pass ahead of
their pursuers. The latter were clearly also con-
scious of the fact, for they now turned their boats'
heads more toward the shore, so that the spot
where the lines would meet would be close to the
shore itself. The canoes were now within two
hundred yards of each other. The Indians were
nearer to the shore, but the oblique line that they
were following would give them about an equal dis-
tance to row to the point for which both were
making. Harold could not see that there was the
slightest difference in the rate at which they were
traveling. It seemed to him that the four canoes
would all arrive precisely at the same moment at
the land, which was now some five or six hundred
yards distant.
Another two minutes' paddling, and when the


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
137
from the shore.' The Indians in the overturned
boat did not wait to right it, but scrambled into the
other canoes, and both were soon paddling at the
top of their speed from the shore, not without
further damage, for the guns in the bushes again
spoke out, and Peter and the Seneca added their
fire the instant they leaped from the boat to shore,
and another of the Indians was seen to fall. Harold
was too breathless when he reached the bank to be
able to fire. He raised his gun, but his bands
trembled with the exertion that he had undergone,
and the beating of his heart and his short panting
breath rendered it impossible for him to take a
steady aim. A minute later Jake burst his way
through the bushes.
“ Ab! Massa Harold,” he exclaimed. “Bress
de Lord dat we was here. What a fright you hab
giben me, to be sure. We hab been watching you
for a long time. Ephraim and de redskin dey say
dey saw little spot far out on lake, behind all dose
boats; den dey say other boats set off in chase.
For a long time Jake see nothing about dat, but at
last he see dem. Den we hurry along de shore, so
as to get near de place to where de boats row;
ebery moment me tink dat dey catch you up.
Ephraim say no, berry close thing, but he tink you
come along first, but dat we must shoot when dey
come close. We stand watch for some time, den
Ephraim say dat you no able to get to dat point.
You hab to turn along de shore, so we change our
place and run along, and sure 'nough de boat's head


138
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:
turns, and you come along in front of us. Den we
all shoot, and the redskins dey tumble over.”
“ Well, Jake, it is fortunate indeed that you were
on the spot, for they could scarcely have missed all
of us. Besides, even if we had got to shore safely
they would have followed us, and the odds against
us would have been heavy.”
“That ar war a close shave, Peter,” Ephraim said,
“an all-fired close shave I call it.”
“It war, Ephraim, and no mistake.”
“Why didn't yer head down along the lake ?"
“ Because I got news that the colonists air going
to attack St. John's to-morrow, and I want to get
to the fort in time to put 'em on their guard. Be-
sides, both sides of the lake are sure to be full of
hostile Injuns. Those canoes paddled as fast as we
did, and in the long run might have worn us out."
“Did you have a fight on the lake two nights
ago ? Me and the redskin thought we heard firing.”
“ We had a skirmish with 'em," Peter said ; “a
pretty sharp shave it war, too, but we managed to slip
away from them. Altogether we've had some
mighty close work, I can tell yer, and I thought
more than once as we were going to be wiped out."
While they were speaking the men had already
started at a steady pace through the woods, away
from the lake, having first drawn up the canoe and
carefully concealed it.
It was late at nighï when they reached Fort St.
John. A message was at once dispatched to a party
of the Senecas who were at their village, about six-


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
139
teen miles away. They arrived in the morning and,
together with a portion of the garrison, moved out
and took their place in the wooded and marshy
ground between the fort and the river. Scouts were
sent along the Sorrel, and these returned about one
o'clock, saying that a large number of boats were
coming down the lake from Isle-aux-Noix. It had
been determined to allow the colonists to land with-
out resistance, as the commander of the fort felt no
doubt of his ability, with the assistance of his In-
dian allies, to repulse their attack. Some twelve
hundred men were landed, and these at once began
to advance toward the fort, led by their two gen-
erals, Schuyler and Montgomery. Scarcely had
they entered the swamp, when from every bush a
fire was opened upon them. The invaders were
staggered, but pushed forward, in a weak and un-
decided way, as far as a creek which intercepted
their path. In vain General Montgomery endeav-
ored to encourage them to advance. They wavered
and soon began to fall back, and in an hour from
the time of their landing they were again gathered
on the bank of the river. Here they threw up a
breastwork, and as his numbers were greatly inferior
the British officer in command thought it unadvisa-
ble to attack them. After nightfall the colonists
took to their boats and returned to Isle-aux-Noix,
their loss in this their first attempt at the invasion
of Canada being nine men.
A day or two later the Indians again attempted
to induce General Carleton so permit them to cross


140
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
the frontier and carry the war into the American
settlements, and upon the general's renewed refusal
· they left the camp in anger and remained from that
time altogether aloof from the contest.
St. John's was now left with only its own small
garrison. Captain Wilson was ordered to fall back
with his company to Montreal, it being considered
that the garrison of St. John's was sufficient to de-
fend that place for a considerable time. As soon
as the Indians had marched away, having sent word
to the colonists that they should take no further
part in the fight, Montgomery, who was now in
command, Schuyler having fallen sick, landed the
whole of the force and invested the fort. An
American officer, Ethan Allen, had been sent with
a party to try to raise the colonists in rebellion in
the neighborhood of Chamblée. He had with him
thirty Americans and was joined by eighty Cana-
dians. Dazzled by the success which had attended
the surprise of Ticonderoga, he thought to repeat
the stroke by the conquest of Montreal. He crossed
the river in the night about three miles below the
city. Peter and some other scouts who had been
watching his movements crossed higher up and
brought the news, and thirty-six men of the Twen-
ty-sixth Regiment, Captain Wilson's company, and
two or three hundred loyal Canadians, the whole
under the command of Major Campbell, attacked
Ethan Allen. He was speedily routed and with
thirty-eight of his men taken prisoners. The siege
of St. John's made but little progress. The place


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
141
was well provisioned, and the Americans encamped
in the low, swampy ground around it suffered much
from ill health. The men were mutinous and inso
lent, the officers incapable and disobedient. So far
the invasion of Canada, of which such great things
had been hoped by the Americans, appeared likely
to turn out a complete failure.


142
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
CHAPTER VIII.
QUEBEC.
GENERAL CARLETON, seeing that Montgomery's
whole force was retained idle before St. John's, be-
gan to hope that the winter would come to his as-
sistance before the invaders had made any serious
progress. Unfortunately he had not reckoned on
the utter incapacity of the officer in command of
Fort Chamblée. Major Stopford, of the Seventh
Regiment, had a hundred and sixty men and
a few artillerymen, and the fort was strong
and well provided with provisions. American
spies had found the inhabitants around the place
favorable to the Americans. Major Brown was
sent down by Montgomery with a small detach.
ment, and being joined by the inhabitants sat
down before the fort. They had only two six-
pounders and could have effected nothing had the
fort been commanded by a man of bravery and
resources. Such was not the character of its com-
mander, who, after a siege of only a day and a half,
surrendered the place with all its stores, which were
of inestimable value to the in vaders, who were upon
the edge of giving up the siege of the fort, their
ammunition being entirely exhausted; but the six


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
143
tons of gunpowder, the seventeen cannon, mortars,
and muskets which fell into their hands enabled
them to carry on the siege of St. John's with re-
newed vigor. There was no excuse whatever for
the conduct of Major Stopford in allowing these
stores to fall into the hands of the Americans, as
even had he not possessed courage to defend the
fort be might, before surrendering, have thrown
the whole of the ammunition into the river, upon
which tbere was a safe sally-port, where he could
have carried on the operation entirely unmolested
by the enemy. The colors of the Seventh Regiment
were captured and sent to Congress as the first
trophy of the war.
The siege of St. John's was now pushed on by
Montgomery with vigor. Colonel Maclean, with
eight hundred Indians and Canadians, attempted to
relieve it, crossing the St. Lawrence in small boats.
On nearing the other bank they were received with
so heavy a fire by the Americans posted there that
they were obliged to retire without effecting a
landing. Provisions and ammunition were now
running short in St. John's, there was no hope
whatever of relief from the outside, and the officer
commanding was therefore obliged to surrender on
November 14 after a gallant defense.
As there were only some fifty or sixty regulars
in Montreal General Carleton was unable to defend
that town, and upon the news of the fall of St.
John's he at once retired to Quebec and Montreal
was occupied by the Americans. In the mean time


144
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
another expedition had been dispatched by the
Americans under Arnold. This officer, with fifteen
hundred men, had started for Quebec from a point
one hundred and thirty miles north of Boston. Suf-
fering enormous fatigue and hardship, the force
made its way up the river ; past rapids, cataracts,
and through swamps they dragged and carried their
boats and stores. They followed the bed of the
river up to its source, and then crossing the water-
shed descended the Chaudière and Duloup rivers on
to the St. Lawrence within a few miles of Quebec.
This was a wonderful march-one scarcely
equaled in the annals of military history. Cross-
ing the St. Lawrence in canoes, Arnold encamped
with his little force upon the heights of Abraham.
Such a daring attempt could not have been under-
taken had not the Americans been aware of the ex-
treme weakness of the garrison at Quebec, wbich
consisted only of fifty men of the Seventh Regi-
ment, two hundred and forty of the Canadian
militia, a battalion of seamen from the ships-of-war
under the command of Captain Hamilton, of the
Lizard, two hundred and fifty strong, and the co-
lonial volunteers under Colonel Maclean.
The fortifications were in a ruinous condition. It
was fortunate that Colonel Maclean, who had come
from the Sorrel upon the surrender of St. John's by
forced marches, arrived on the very day on which
Arnold appeared before the city. Directly he ar-
rived Arnold attacked the city at the gate of St.
Lonis, but was sharply repulsed. He then desisted


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
145
from active operations and awaited the arrival of
Montgomery, who was marching down from Mont-
real. The flotilla in which Carleton was descend-
ing the river was attacked by the Americans, who
came down the Sorrel, and was captured, with all
the troops and military stores which it was bring-
ing down. General Carleton himself escaped in a
small boat under cover of night and reached Quebec.
Captain Wilson's company had been attached to
the command of Colonel Maclean and with it ar.
rived in Quebec in safety.
Upon the arrival of Montgomery with his army
the city was summoned to surrender. A strong
party in the town were favorable to the invaders,
but General Carleton treated the summons with
contempt and turned all the inhabitants who refused
to join in the defense of the city outside the town.
The winter had now set in in earnest and the dif-
ficulties of the besiegers were great. Arnold's force
had been much weakened by the hardships that they
had undergone, Montgomery's by desertions; the
batteries which they erected were overpowered by
the fire of the defenders, and the siege made no
progress whatever. The men became more and
more disaffected and mutinous. Many of them had
nearly served the time for which they had enlisted,
and Montgomery feared that they would leave him
when their engagement came to an end. He in
vain tempted the besieged to make a sally. Carle-
ton was so certain that success would come by wait-
ing that he refused to allow himself to hazard it by
a sortie.


146
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
The weather was fighting for him, and the be-
siegers bad before them only the alternatives of
taking the place by storm or of abandoning the
sieye altogether. They resolved upon a storm. It
was to take place at day break on December 31.
Montgomery determined to make four attacks-
two false and two real ones. Colonel James
Livingstone with two hundred Canadians was to
appear before St. John's gate, and a party under
Colonel Brown were to feign a movement against
the upper town, and from high ground there were
to send up rockets as the signal for the real attacks
to commence—that led by Montgomery from the
south and that under Arnold from the north west-
both against the lower town.
The false attacks were made too soon, the rockets
being fired half an hour before the main columns
reached their place of attack. The British were not
deceived, but judging these attacks to be feints, left
but a small party to oppose them and marched the
bulk of their forces down toward the lower town.
Their assistance, however, came too late, for before
they arrived the fate of the attack was already de-
cided. The Americans advanced under circum-
stances of great difficulty. A furious wind with
cutting hail blew in their faces; the ground was
slippery and covered with snow.
Half an hour before the English supports arrived
on the spot Montgomery, with his leading company,
reached the first barricade, which was undefended;
passing through this they pressed on toward the



supon
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TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
147
next. The road leading to it was only wide enough
for five or six persons abreast. On one side was the
river, on the other a steep cliff; in front was a
leg hut with loop-holes for musketry and a battery
of two three-pounders. It was held by a party of
thirty Canadians and eight militiamen under John
Coffin, with nine sailors under Bairnsfeather, the
captain of a transport, to work the guns. Montgom-
ery with sixty men pushed on at a run to carry
the battery, but when within fifty yards Bairns-
feather discharged his pieces, which were loaded
with grape-shot, with deadly aim. Montgomery,
his aid-de-camp Macpherson, Lieutenant Cheeseman,
and ten others fell dead at the first discharge, and
with them the soul of the expedition fled. The
remaining officers endeavored to get the men to
advance, but none would do so, and they fell back
without losing another man. So completely cowed
were they that they would not even carry off the
bodies of their general and his companions. These
were brought into Quebec next day and buried with
the honors of war by the garrison.
The force under Arnold was far stronger than
that under Montgomery. The Canadian guard ap-
pointed to defend the first barrier fled at the
approach, but the small body of sailors fought
bravely and were all killed or wounded. Arnold
was shot through the leg and disabled. Morgan,
who commanded the advanced companies, led his
men on and carried the second barrier after an ob-
stinate resistance. They were attacking the third


148
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
when Maclean with his men from the upper town
arrived. The British then took the offensive and
drove the enemy back, and a party going round fell
upon their rear. Fifty were killed in Arnold's
column, four hundred taken prisoners, and the rest
retreated in extreme disorder.
Thus ended the assault upon Quebec—an assault
which was all but bopeless from the first, but in
which the Americans showed but little valor and
determination. In fact, throughout the war it may
be said that the Americans, when fighting on the
defensive behind trees and intrenchments, fought
stubbornly; but that they were feeble in attack and
wholly incapable of standing against British troops
in the open.
It would now have been easy for Carleton to have
sallied out and taken the offensive, but he preferred
holding Quebec quietly. He might have easily
driven the Americans from their position before the
walls, but with the handful of troops under his
orders he could have done nothing toward carrying
on a serious campaign in the open.
Until spring came and the rivers were opened no
reënforcements could reach him from England,
while the Americans could send any number of
troops into Canada. Carleton therefore preferred
to wait quietly within the walls of Quebec, allow-
ing, the winter, hardships, and disunion to work
their natural effects upon the invaders.
Arnold sent to Washington to demand ten thou-
sand more troops, with siege artillery. Several


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
149
regiments were sent forward, but artillery could not
be spared. Eight regiments entered Canada, but
they found that instead of meeting, as they had ex-
pected, an enthusiastic reception from the inhabit-
ants, the population were now hostile to them. The
exactions of the invading army had been great, and
the feeling in favor of the English was now all but
universal.
On May 5 two frigates and a sloop-of-war made
their way up the river to Quebec. The Americans
endeavored to embark their sick and artillery above
the town. Reënforced by the marines, the garrison
sallied out and attacked the enemy, who fled with
precipitation, leaving their provisions, cannon, five
hundred muskets, and two hundred sick behind
them. The British pursued them until they reached
the mouth of the Sorrel.
The arrival of the fleet from England brought
news of what had taken place since Captain Wil-
son's company had marched from Boston, a short
time after the battle of Bunker's Hill. Immediately
after the battle the colonists had sent two deputies,
Penn and Lee, with a petition to Parliament for the
restoration of peace. This petition was supported
by a strong body in Parliament. The majority,
however, argued that from the conduct of the Amer-
icans it was clear that they aimed at unconditional,
unqualified, and total independence. In all their
proceedings they had behaved as if entirely separated
from Great Britain. Their professions and petition
breathed peace and moderation ; their actions and


150
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
preparations denoted war and defiance; every at-
tempt that could be made to soften their hostility
bad been in vain; their obstinacy was inflexible ;
and the more England had given in to their wishes,
the more insolent and overbearing had their de-
mands become. The stamp-tax had been repealed,
but their ill-will had grown rather than abated.
The taxations on imports had been entirely taken
off save on one small item, but rather than pay this
they had accumulated arms and ammunition, seized
cannon belonging to the king, and every where pre-
pared for armed resistance. Only two alternatives
remained for the British nation to adopt-either to
coerce the colonists to submission or to grant them
their entire independence.
These arguments were well founded. The con-
cessions which had been made had but encouraged
the colonists to demand more. No good wbatever
would have come from entering into negotiation ;
there remained but the two alternatives. It would
have been far better bad Parliament, instead of de-
ciding on coercion, withdrawn altogether from the
colonies, for although hitherto the Americans had
shown no great fighting qualities, it was clear that
so small an army as England could spare could not
permanently keep down so vast a country if the
people were determined upon independence. They
might win every battle-might overpower every
considerable force gathered against them, but they
could only enforce the king's authority over a mere
fractional portion of so great an area. England,


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
151
however, was unaccustomed to defeat; her spirit in
those days was proud and high; and by a large
majority Parliament voted for the continuance of
the war. The next step taken was one unworthy
of the country. It tended still further to imbitter
the war and it added to the strength of the party in
favor of the colonists at home. Attempts were
made by the government to obtain the services of
large numbers of foreign troops. Negotiations were
entered into with Russia, Holland, Hesse, and other
countries. Most of these proved ineffectual, but a
considerable number of troops were obtained from
Hesse.
The news of these proceedings excited the Amer-
icans to renewed efforts. The force under Wash-
ington was strengthened and he took possession of
Dorchester Heights, commanding the town of Bos-
ton. A heavy cannonade was opened on the city.
The British guns answered it, but the American
position gave them an immense advantage. Gen-
eral Howe, who was in command, at first thought
of attempting to storm the heights, but the tremen-
dous loss sustained at the battle of Bunker's Hill
deterred him from the undertaking. His supineness
during the past four months had virtually lost the
American colonies to England. He had under his
command cight thousand troops, who could have
routed with ease the undisciplined levies of Wash-
ington. Instead of leading his men out against the
enemy he had suffered them to be cooped up for
months in the city, and had failed to take possession


152
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
of the various heights commanding the town. Had
he done this Boston might have resisted a force
many times as strong as that which advanced against
it, and there was now nothing left for the English
but to storm the heights with enormous loss or to
evacuate the city.
The first was the alternative which had been
chosen when the Americans seized Bunker's Hill;
the second was that which was now adopted.
Having adopted this resolution, Howe carried it
out in a manner which would in itself be sufficient
to condemn him as a military leader. Nothing was
done to destroy the vast stores of arms and ammuni-
tion, and two hundred and fifty pieces of cannon
were left for the colonists to use against England.
No steps were taken to warn ships arriving from
England of the surrender of the town. The conse-
quence was that in addition to the vast amount of
stores captured in the town, numbers of the British
store-ships fell into the hands of the Americans-
among them a vessel which, in addition to carbines,
bayonets, gun-carriages, and other stores, had on
board inore than seventy tons of powder, while
Washington's whole stock was all but exhausted.
But worse even than this hurried and unnecessary
abandonment of vast munitions of war was the deser-
tion of the loyalist population. , Boston was full of
loyalists, among whom were many of the wealthier
and better-born persons in the colony, who from the
commencement of the troubles had left their homes,
their fortunes, and their families to rally round the


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
153
standard of their sovereign. The very least that
Howe could have done for these loyal men would
have been to have entered into some terms of ca
pitulation with Washington, whereby they might
have been permitted to depart to their comes and
to the enjoyment of their property. Nothing of
the sort was attempted, and the only choice offered
to a loyalist was to remain in the town, exposed to
certain insult and ill-treatment, perhaps to death, at
the hands of the rebels, or to leave in the transports
for England or Halifax and to be landed here penni-
less and starving.
Howe's conduct in this was on a piece with his
behavior throughout the campaign ; but he was
little if at all inferior to the other generals, who
vied with each other in incapacity and folly. Never
in the whole history of England were her troops
led by men so inefficient, so sluggish, and so inca-
pable as those who commanded her armies in the
American Revolutionary War.
The first ships from England which arrived at
Quebec were followed a few days later by the
Niger and Triton, convoy transports, with troops.
The British now took the offensive in earnest.
From the west Captain Forster marched from
Detroit with forty men of the Eighth Regiment,
a hundred Canadians and some Indians, against a
pass called the Cedars, situated fifteen leagues above
Montreal. This was held by four hundred men
with two cannon. As soon as the British force
opened fire the Americans surrendered. The fol-


154
TRUE TO THE CLD FLAG.
lowing day Forster's force, advancing, came upon a
hundred and forty men under Major Sherbourne,
who were marching to reënforce the garrison at the
Cedars. These were forced to retreat and a hundred
of them taken prisoners.
Arnold, with seven hundred men, advanced
against the British force. The British officer,
fearing that in case of an attack the Indians with
him might massacre the prisoners, released the whole
of them, four hundred and seventy-four in number,
under the promise that an equal number of British
prisoners should be returned. This engagement
was shamefully broken by the Americans, who
raised a number of frivolous excuses, among others
that prisoners taken by the British were ill-treated
-an accusation which excited the indignation of
the prisoners themselves, some of whom wrote to
members of Congress stating that nothing could be
kinder or more courteous than the treatment which
they received.
While Forster was advancing toward Montreal
from the west, Carleton was moving up against the
Americans at Sorrel from Quebec. At the death
of Montgomery Wooster had taken the command
of the main American force. He had been suc-
ceeded by Thompson, but the latter dying of small-
pox, Sullivan took his place. The new commander
determined to take the offensive against the English,
and dispatched a force of about two thousand men
to attack General Fraser, who held a post at a place
called Three Kivers.'


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
155
A Canadian peasant brought news to General
Fraser of the approach of the Americans, and as he
had received reënforcements from below he de-
termined to anticipate their attack. His move-
ments were completely successful. Some of the
Americans fought well, but the rest dispersed with
but little resistance. Two hundred were killed and
a hundred and fifty taken prisoners. The rest suc-
ceeded in returning to Sorrel.
The main body of the British army now came up
the river in their ships, and as they approached
Sorrel Sullivan broke up his camp and retreated.
At the same time Arnold, who commanded at
Montreal, evacuated the town and joined Sullivan's
army at St. John's.
Had the English pushed forward with any energy
the whole of the American army of invasion would
have fallen into their hands. They were complete.
ly broken in spirits, suffering terribly from sickness,
and were wholly incapable of making any defense.
Burgoyne, who commanded the advance of the
English army, moved forward very slowly, and the
Americans were enabled to take to their boats and
cross, first to Isle-aux-Noix and then to Crown
Point. An American historian who saw them after
they landed says: “ At the sight of so much priva-
tion and distress I wept until I had no more power
to weep. I did not look into a tent or but in which
I did not find either a dead or dying man. Of
about five thousand men full half were invalids.
In little more than two months they had lost by
desertion and death more than five thousand men.”


156
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
Captain Wilson and his company were not present
with the advance of the British troops. General
Howe, after evacuating Boston, had sailed with his
army to Halifax, there to wait until a large body
of reënforcements should be sent in the spring from
England. General Carleton had in his dispatches
mentioned favorably the services which the little
company of loyalists from Boston had performed,
and Lord Howe wrote requesting that the company
should be sent down by ship to Halifax, as he was
about to sail from New York to undertake opera-
tions on a large scale, and should be glad to bare
with him a body of men accustomed to scouting and
acquainted with the country. Accordingly the
company was embarked in a transport and reached
Halifax early in June. On the 11th they sailed with
the army and arrived at Sandy Hook on the 29th.
On July 3 the army landed on Staten Island, op-
posite Long Island, and soon afterward Lord
Howe, brother of General Howe, arrived with the
main army from England, raising the total force to
nearly thirty thousand men. It consisted of two
battalions of light infantry, two of grenadiers, the
Fourth, Fifth, Tenti, Seventeenth, Twenty-second,
Twenty-third, Twenty-seventh, Thirty-fifth, Thirty-
eighth, Fortieth, Forty-second, Forty-third, Forty-
fourth, Forty-fifth, Forty-ninth, Fifty-second, Fifty-
fifth, Sixty-third, and Sixty-fourth Regiments of
foot, part of the Forty-sixth and Seventy-first Regi-
ments, and the Seventeenth Regiment of light
dragoons. There were besides two battalions of


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
1517
volunteers from New York, each a thousand strong.
Had this force arrived, as it should have done, three
months earlier, they might have achieved great
things; but the delay had enabled the Americans to
make extensive preparations to meet the coming
storm.
Lord Howe brought with him a communication
from Parliament, giving him and his brother full
power to treat with the Americans on any terms
which they might think fit. Upon his arrival Lord
Howe addressed a letter to Dr. Franklin, informing
him of the nature of his communication, expressing
hopes that he would find in America the same dis-
position for peace that he brought with him, and
requesting his aid to accomplish the desired end.
Dr. Franklin, in answer, informed Lord Howe that
6 prior to the consideration of any proposition for
friendship or peace, it would be required that Great
Britain should acknowledge the independence of
America, should defray the expense of the war,
and indemnify the colonists for all damages com-
mitted.”
After such a reply as this Lord Howe had no
alternative but to commence hostilities, which he
did by landing the army in Gravesend Bay, Long
Island. The enemy offered no opposition to the
landing, but retreated at once, setting fire to all the
houses. and granaries and taking up a position on
the wooded heights which commanded the line by
which the English must advance.
The American main force, fifteen thousand


158
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
strong, were posted on a peninsula between Mill
Creek and Wallabout Bay, and bad constructed a
strong line of intrenchments across the end of the
peninsula. The intrenchments were strengthened
by abattis and flanked with strong redoubts. Five
thousand remained to guard this post, and ten thou-
sand, under General Puttenham, advanced to hold
the line of wooded hills which run across the
island.
In the center of the plain, at the foot of these
hills, stood the village of Flatbush.
The Hessian division of the British army, under
General De Heister, advanced against this, while
General Clinton, with the right wing of the Eng-
lish army, moved forward to attack the enemy's
left.
This force marched at nine o'clock at night on
August 26; General Sir William Howe himself ac-
companied it. The line of bills trended away
greatly to the left, and the enemy bad neglected to
secure the passes over the hills on this flank; con-
sequently at nine o'clock in the morning the Brit-
ish passed the range of hills without resistance and
occupied Beford in its rear. Had Sir William
Howe now pushed on vigorously the whole of
Puttenham's force must have been captured.
In the mean time the Hessians from Flatbush at-
tacked the center of the Americans, and after a
warm engagement routed them and drove them in-
to the woods with a loss of three pieces of cannon.
On the British left General Grant also advanced,


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
159
and at midnight carried a strong pass on the
enemy's left. Retiring, they held a still stronger
position further back and offered a fierce resistance

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160
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
until the fires at Bedford showed that the English
had obtained a position almost in their rear, when
they retreated precipitately.
The victory was a complete one, but it had none
of the consequences which would have attended it
had the English pushed forward with energy after
turning the American left. Six pieces of cannon
were captured and two thousand men killed or
taken prisoners. The English lost seventy killed
and two hundred and thirty wounded.
So impetuously did the English attack that even
Sir William Howe admitted that they could have
carried the intrenchments. He alleges he did not
permit them to do so, because he intended to take
the position by regular approaches and wished
therefore to avoid the loss of life which an immedi.
ate assault would have occasioned. On the 27th
and 28th regular approaches were commenced, but
on the 29th, under cover of a fog, the Americans
embarked in boats and succeeded in carrying the
whole of their force, without the loss of a man,
across to the mainland.
The escape of this body of men was disgraceful
in the extreme to the English commanders. They
had a great fleet at their disposal, and had they
placed a couple of frigates in the East River, be-
tween Long Island and New York, the escape would
have been impossible, and General Washington and
his army of fifteen thousand men must have been
taken prisoners. Whether this misfortune would
have proved conclusive of the war it is now too late


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG..
161
to speculate; but so splendid an opportunity was
never before let slip by an English general, and the
negligence was the more inexcusable inasmuch as
the fleet of boats could be seen lying alongside of
the American position. Their purpose must have
been known, and they could at any moment have
been destroyed by the guns of a ship-of-war taking
up its position outside them.
Lord Howe dispatched the American General
Sullivan, who had been taken prisoner on Long
Island, to Congress, repeating his desire to treat.
A committee of three members accordingly waited
on Lord Howe, who informed them that it was the
most ardent wish of the king and government of
Great Britain to put an end to the dissatisfaction
between the mother country and the colonists. To
accomplish this desire every act of Parliament
wbich was considered obnoxious to the colonists
should undergo a revisal and every just cause of
complaint should be removed if the colonists would
declare their willingness to submit to the authority
of the British government. The committee replied
that it was not America which had separated herselt
from Great Britain, but Great Britain had separa-
ted herself from America. The latter had never
declared herself independent until the former had
made war upon her, and that even if Congress were
willing to place America in her former situation, it
could not do so, as the Declaration of Independence
had been made in consequence of the congregated
voice of the whole people, by whom alone it could


162
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
be abolished. The country was determined not to
return under the domination of England.
The negotiations were therefore broken off. Lord
Howe published a declaration to the people of
America giving the answer of the committee to his
offer of reconciliation. He acquainted them with
the fact that the parent country was willing to
receive into its bosom and protection all who might
be willing to return to their former obedience. In
taking this step, Lord Howe was convinced that a
majority of the inhabitants of America were still
willing to enter into an accommodation of the dif-
ferences between the two powers, and the con-
viction was not ill founded. The declaration, how-
ever, produced but little effect, for the dominant
section, that resolved to break off all connection
with England, had acquired the sole management
of affairs, and no offers which could possibly have
been made would have been accepted by them.
Convinced that all further negotiations would be
ineffectual, Lord Howe prepared to carry his army
across from Long Island to New York, where the
American army had taken up their post after the
retreat from Long Island. The armies were sepa-
rated by the East River, with a breadth of about
thirteen hundred yards. A cannonade was kept up
for several days. On September 13 some ships-of-
war were brought up to cover the passage. Wash-
ington, seeing the preparations, began to evacuate
the city and to abandon the strong intrenchments
which he had thrown up. At eleven o'clock on the


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
163
morning of the 15th the men-of-war opened a heavy
fire, and Clinton's division, consisting of four
thousand men in eighty-four boats, sailed up the
rirer, landed on Manhattan Island at a place called
Kipp's Bay and occupied the heights of Inclenberg,
the enemy abandoning their intrenchments at their
approach. General Washington rode toward Kipp's
Bay to take the command of the troops stationed
there, but found the men who had been posted at
the lines running away, and the brigades who should
have supported them flying in every direction,
heedless of the exertions of their generals.
Puttenham's division of four thousand men was
still in the lower city and would be cut off unless
the British advance should be checked. Washing-
ton therefore made the greatest efforts to rally the
fugitives and to get them to make a stand to
check the advancing enemy, but in vain, for as soon
as even small bodies of red-coats were seen advanc-
ing they broke and fled in panic.
Howe as usual delayed giving orders for an
advance, and thus permitted the whole of Putten-
ham's brigade, who were cut off and must have
been taken prisoners, to escape unbarmed. And
thus with comparatively little loss the Americans
drew off, leaving behind them only a few heavy
cannon and some bayonets and stores.
So rapid bad been their flight at the approach of
the English that only fifteen were killed, two men
falling on the English side.


164
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
CHAPTER IX.
THE SURPRISE OF TRENTON.
The Americans, finding that they were not pur-
sued, rallied from their panic and took up a posi-
tion at Harlem and Kingsbridge. So great was the
disorganization among them that had the British
advanced at once they would have taken the place
with scarcely any loss, strong as it was by nature
and by the intrenchments which Washington had
prepared. Great numbers deserted, disputes broke
out between the troops of the various States, insub-
ordination prevailed, and the whole army was
utterly disheartened by the easy victories which the
British had obtained over them. Washington re-
ported the cowardice of his troops to Congress,
who passed a law inflicting the punishment of death
for cowardice.
Before leaving New York the Americans had
made preparations for burning the whole town, but
the speediness of their retreat prevented the
preparations being carried into effect. Fire was set
to it in several places and a third of the town was
destroyed.
The position taken up by the enemy was so
strong that it was determined to operate in the rear.


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
165
Some redoubts were thrown up to cover New York
during the absence of the main part of the British
force.
A portion of the British army was landed at a
point threatening the retreat of the Americans, and
a series of skirmishes of no great importance took
place. The enemy fell back from their most ad.
vanced works, but no general move was undertaken,
although, as the numbers on both sides were about
even and the superior fighting powers of the Eng
lish had been amply demonstrated, there could have
been no doubt as to the result of a general battle.
Lord Howe, however, wasted the time in a series of
petty movements, which, although generally suc-
cessful, had no influence upon the result and served
only to enable the Americans to recover from the
utter depression which had fallen upon them after
the evacuation of Long Island and the loss of New
York.
Gradually the Americans fell back across a coun-
try so swampy and difficult that it was now no
longer possible to bring on a general action. Their
retreat had the effect of isolating the important
positions of Kingsbridge and Fort Washington.
The latter post was of the utmost importance, inas-
much as it secured the American intercourse with
the Jersey sbore. The fortifications were very
strong and stood upon rising and open ground. It
was garrisoned by three thousand of the best
American troops under the command of Colonel
Magaw. Washington was gradually withdrawing


166
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
his army, and had already given orders that Fort
Washington should be evacuated ; but General Lee,
who was second in command, so strongly urged
that it should be retained that, greatly against his
own judgment, he was obliged to consent to its
being defended, especially as Colonel Magaw in-
sisted that the fort could stand a siege. On the
night of November 14 the British passed some
troops across the creek, and Lord Howe summoned
the place to surrender on pain of the garrison being
put to the sword. Maga w bad upon the previous
day received large numbers of reënforcements, and
replied that he should defend the fort. Soon after
day break on the 16th the artillery opened on both
sides. Five thousand Hessians, under the com-
mand of General Knyphausen, moved up the hill,
penetrated some of the advanced works of the
enemy, and took post within a hundred yards of the
fort. The second division, consisting of the guards
and light infantry, with two battalions of Hessians
and the Thirty-third Regiment, landed at Island
Creek, and after some stiff fighting forced the
enemy from the rocks and trees up the steep and
rugged mountain. The third and fourth divisions
fought their way up through similar defenses. So
steep was the hill that the assailants could only
climb it by grasping the trees and bushes, and so
obstinate was the defense that the troops were
sometimes mixed up together.
The bravery and superior numbers of the British
troops bore down all resistance, and the whole of


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
167
the four divisions reached their places round the
fort. They then summoned it to surrender, and its
commander, after half an hour's consideration, see-
ing the impossibility of resisting the assault which
was threatened, opened the gates.
Upon the English side about eight hundred men
were killed and wounded, of whom the majority
were Hessians. These troops fougbt with extrenie
bravery. The American loss, owing to their supe-
rior position, was about one hundred and fifty killed
and wounded, but the prisoners taken amounted to
over three thousand.
On the 18th Lord Howe landed a strong body on
the Jersey shore under Lord Cornwallis, who
marched to Fort Lee and surprised it. A deserter
had inforined the enemy of his approach and the
garrison had fled in disorder, leaving their tents,
provisions, and military stores behind them. Lord
Cornwallis, pushing forward with great energy,
drove the Americans out of New Jersey. Another
expedition occupied Rhode Island.
Cold weather now set in and the English went
into winter quarters. Their success had been com-
plete, without a single check, and had they been led
vigorously the army of Washington might on two
occasions have been wholly destroyed. In such a
case the moderate portion of the population of the
colonies would have obtained a hearing and a peace
honorable to both parties might have been arrived
at.
The advantage gained by the gallantry of the


168
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
British troops was, however, entirely neutralized by
the lethargy and inactivity of their general, and
the colonists had time given them to recover from
the alarm which the defeat of their troops had
given them to put another army in the field and
to prepare on a great scale for the following cam-
paign.
The conduct of General Howe in allowing Wash-
ington's army to retire almost unmolested was to
the officers who served under him unaccountable.
His arrangements for the winter were even more
singularly defective. Instead of concentrating his
troops he scattered them over a wide extent of
country at a distance too great to support each
other, and thus left it open to the enemy to crush
them in detail.
General Howe now issued a proclamation offer- .
ing a free pardon to all who surrendered, and great
numbers of colonists came in and made their sub-
mission. Even in Philadelphia the longing for
peace was so strong that General Washington was
obliged to send a force there to prevent the town
from declaring for England.
During the operations which had taken place
cince the landing of the British troops on Long
Island Captain Wilson's company had taken but
little part in the operations. All had been straight-
forward work and conducted on the principles of
European warfare. The services of the volunteers
as scouts had not, therefore, been called into requisi-
tion. The success which at first attended the ex-


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
169
pedition had encouraged Captain Wilson to hope
for the first time since the outbreak of the Revolu-
tion that the English might obtain such decisive suc-
cesses that the colonists would be willing to accept
some propositions of peace such as those indicated
by Lord Howe--a repeal of all obnoxious laws, free-
dom from any taxation except that imposed by
themselves, and a recognition of the British au-
thority. When he saw that Lord Howe, instead of
actively utilizing the splendid force at his disposal,
frittered it away in minor movements and allowed
Washington to withdraw with his beaten army un.
molested, his hopes again faded, and he felt that
the colonists would in the long run succeed in gain-
ing all that they contended for.
When the army went into winter quarters the com-
pany was ordered to take post on the Delaware.
There were four frontier posts, at Trenton, Borden-
town, White Horse, and Burlington. Trenton, oppo-
site to which lay Washington with the main body
of his army, was held by only twelve hundred Hes-
sians, and Bordentown, which was also on the Dela-
ware, was, like Trenton, garrisoned by these troops.
No worse choice could have been made. The
Hessians were brave soldiers, but their ignorance of
the language and of the country made them pecul-
iarly unsuitable troops for outpost work, as they
were unable to obtain any information. As foreign-
ers, too, they were greatly disliked by the country
people.
Nothing was done to strengthen these frontier


170
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
posts, which were left wholly without redoubts or
intrenchments, into which the garrison could with-
draw in case of attack.
Captain Wilson's little company were to act as
scouts along the line of frontier. Their headquar-
ters were fixed at Bordentown, where Captain
Wilson obtained a large house for their use. Most
of the men were at home at work of this kind, and
Peter Lambton, Ephraim, and the other frontiers-
men were dispatched from time to time in different
directions to ascertain the movements and intentions
of the enemy. Harold asked his father to allow
him, as before, to accompany Peter. The inactivity
of a life at a quiet little station was wearisome, and
with Peter he was sure of plenty of work, with a
chance of adventure. The life of exercise and
activity which he had led for more than a year had
strengthened his muscles and widened his frame,
and he was now able to keep up with Peter, how-
ever long and tiresome the day's work might be.
Jake, too, was of the party. He had developed
into an active soldier, and although he was but of
litttle use for scouting purposes, even Peter did not
object to his accompanying him, for the negro's un-
failing good temper and willingness to make himself
useful bad made him a favorite with the scout.
The weather was now setting in exceedingly cold.
The three men had more than once crossed the
Delaware in a canoe and scouted in the very heart
of the enemy's country. They were now sitting by
the bank watching some drifting ice upon the
river.


T'RUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
171
“ There won't be many more passages of the
river by water,” Peter remarked. “Another ten
days and it'll be frozen right across.
“Then we can cross on foot, Peter."
“Yes, we can do that,” the scout said, “and so
can the enemy. Ef their general has got any inter-
prise with him, and ef he can get them chaps as he
calls soldiers to fight, he'll be crossing over one
of these nights and capturing the hull of them
Hessians at Trenton. What General Howe means
by leaving 'em there is more nor I can think; he
might as well have sent so many babies. The
critters can fight, and fight well too, and they're
gooil soldiers; but what's the good of 'em in a
frontier post ? They know nothing of the country;
they can't speak to the people nor ask no questions
nor find out nothing about what's doing the other
side of the river. They air no more than mere
machines. What was wanted was two or three
battalions of light troops, who would make friends
with the country people and larn all that's doing
opposite. If the Americans are sharp they'll give
us lots of trouble this winter, and you'll find there
won't be much sitting quiet for us at Bordentown.
Fortunately Bordentown and Trenton ain't far
apart, and one garrison ought to be able to arrive
to the assistance of the other before it's over-
powered. We shall see. Now, I propose that we
cross again to-night and try and find out what the
enemy's doing. Then we can come back and man-
age for you to eat your Christmas dinner with yer


172
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
father, as you seem to have bent yer mind upon
that, though why it matters about dinner one day
more than another is more nor I can see."
That night the three scouts crossed the river in
the canoe. Avoiding all houses, they kept many
miles straight on beyond the river and lay down for
a few hours before morning dawned; then they
turned their faces the other way and walked up to
the first farm-house they saw.
“Can we have a drink of milk ?” the hunter
asked.
“ You can," the farmer replied, “and some break-
fast if you like to pay for it. At first I was glad to
give the best I had to those who came along, but
there have been such numbers oing one way and
the other, either marching to join the army or run-
ning away to return to their homes, that I should
be ruined if I gave to all comers."
“We're ready to pay,” Peter said, drawing some
money from his pocket.
“ Then come in and sit down."
In a few minutes an excellent breakfast was put
before them.
“You are on your way to join the army, of
course ?” the farmer asked.
“Jest that,” Peter replied. “We think it's about
our time to do a little shooting, though I don't sup-
pose there'll be much done till the spring.”
"I don't know,” the farmer said. “I should not
be surprised if the general wakes up them Germans
when the Delaware gets frozen. I heard some talk


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
173
about it from some men who came past yesterday,
Their time was expired, they said, and they were
going home. I hear, too, that they are gathering a
force down near Mount Holly, and I reckon that
they are going to attack Bordentown.”
“Is that so ?" Peter asked. “In that case we
might as well tramp in that direction. It don't
matter a corn shuck to us where we fight so as it's
soon. We've come to help lick these British and
we means to do it.”
“Ah!" the farmer said, “I have heard that senti-
ment a good many times, but I have not seen much
come of it yet. So far it seems to me as the licking
has been all the other way.”
“That's so," Peter agreed. “But every one
knows that the Americans are just the bravest
people on the face of the habitable arth. I reckon
their dander's not fairly up yet; but when they be-
gin in arnest you'll see what they'll do."
The farmer gave a grunt which might mean any-
thing. He had no strong sympathies either way,
and the conduct of the numerous deserters and dis-
banded men who had passed through his neighbor-
bood had been far from impressing him favorably.
“I don't pretend to be strong either for the Con-
gress or the king. I don't want to be taxed, but I
don't see why the colonists should not pay some-
thing toward the expenses of the government; and
now that Parliament seems willing to give all we
ask for, I don't see what we want to go on fight-
ing for.”


174
TRUE TO TËE OLD FLAG.
“Waal!" Peter exclaimed in a tone of disgust·
“you're one of the balf-hearted ones."
“I am like the great majority of the people of this
country. We are of English stock and we don't
want to break with the old country; but the affairs
have got into the hands of the preachers, and the
newspaper men, and the chaps that want to push
themselves forward and make their pile out of the
war. As I read it, it's just the civil war in England
over again. We were all united at the first against
what we considered as tyranny on the part of the
Parliament, and now we have gone setting up de-
mands which no one dreamed of at first and which
most of us object to now, only we have no longer
the control of our own affairs."
“ The great heart of this country beats for free-
dom,” Peter Lambton said.
“Pooh !” said the farmer contemptuously. “The
great heart of the country wants to work its farms
and do its business quietly. The English general
has made fair offers which might well be accepted;
and as for freedom, there was no tyranny greater
than that of the New England States. As long as
they managed their own affairs there was neither
freedom of speech nor religion. No, sir, what they
called freedom was simply the freedom to make
every one else do and think like the majority.”
“Waal, we won't argue it out,” Peter said, “ for
I'm not good at argument, and I came here to fight
and not to talk. Besides, I want to get to Mount
Holly in time to jine in this battle, so I guess we'll
be moving.”


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
175
Paying for the breakfast, they started at once in
the direction of Mount Holly, which lay some
twenty-five miles away. As they approached the
place early in the afternoon they overtook several
men going in the same direction. They entered
into conversation with them, but could only learn
that some four hundred and fifty of the militia from
Philadelphia and the counties of Gloucester and
Sailing had arrived on the spot. The men whom
they had overtaken were armed countrymen who
were going to take a share in the fight on their own
account.
Entering the place with the others, Peter found
that the information given him was correct.
“ We better be out of this at once,” he said to
Harold, “and make for Bordentown.”
“ You don't think that there is much importance
in the movement,” Harold said as they tramped
along.
“ There ain't no importance whatever," Peter
said, "and that's what I want to tell 'em. They're
never thinking of attacking the two thousand Hes-
sians at Bordentown with that ragged lot."
“But what can they have assembled them for
within twelve miles of the place?” Harold asked.
“It seems to me," the hunter replied, “that it's
jest a trick to draw the Germans out from Borden-
town and so away from Trenton. At any rate, it's
well that the true account of the force here should
be known. These things gets magnified, and they
may think that there's a hull army here.”


176
TRUE TO THE OLT FLAG.
It was getting dusk when they entered Borden.
town, and Harold was glad when he saw the little
town, for since sunset on the evening before they
bad tramped nearly sixty miles. The place seemed
singularly quiet. They asked the first person they
met what had become of the troops, and they were
told that Colonel Donop, who commanded, had
marched an hour before with his whole force of two
thousand men toward Mount Holly, leaving only
eighty men in garrison at Bordentown.
“We are too late,” Harold said. They have gone
by the road and we kept straight through the woods
and so missed them.”
• Waal, I hope no harm’ill come of it. I sup-
pose they mean to attack at daybreak, and in
course that rabble will run without fighting. I
hope when the colonel sees as how thar's no enemy
there worth speaking of he'll march straight back
again."
Unfortunately this was not the case. The mili-
tia, according to their orders, at once dispersed
when their outposts told them of the approach of
the British, but the German officer, instead of
returning instantly, remained for two days near
Mount Holly, and so gave time to Washington to
carry out his plans.
Captain Wilson's company had gone out with the
force, and Peter and his companions had the house
to themselves that night. Harold slept late, being
thoroughly fatigued by his long march the day be-
fore, carrying his rifle, blanket, and provisions.
Peter woke him at last.


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
197
5« Now, young un, you've had a good sleep; it's
eleven o'clock. I'm off to Trenton to see what's
doing there. Will you go with me or will you stop
here on the chance of eating your dinner with your
father?”
“Oh, it's Christmas Day,” Harold said, stretch-
ing. “ Well, wbat do you think, Peter—are they
likely to come back or not ?”
“They ought to be back, there's no doubt about
that, but whether they will or not is a different
affair altogether. I've never seed them burry
themselves yet, not since the war began; things
would have gone a good deal better if they had;
but time never seems of no consequence to them.
They marched twelve miles last night, and I reckon
it's likely they'll halt to-day and won't be back till
to-morrow. I feel oneasy in my mind about the
whole affair, for I can't see a single reason for the
enemy sending that weak force to Mount Holly,
unless it was to draw away the troops from here,
and the only motive there could be for that would
be because they intended to attack Trenton.”
“ Very well, Peter, I will go with you.”
Accompanied by Jake they set out at once for
Trenton. On arriving there they found no partic.
ular signs of vigilance. Since the Hessians had
reached Trenton their discipline had much relaxed.
A broad river separated them from the enemy, who
were known to be extremely discontented and dis-
organized. They had received instruction on no ac-
count to cross the river to attack the colonials, and


178
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
the natural consequence of this forced inactivity bad
manifested itself. Discipline was lax and but a
slight watch was kept on the movements of the
enemy across the stream. Ignorant of the language
of the people, they were inca pable of distinguishing
between those who were friendly and those who
were hostile to the crown, and they behaved as if
in a conquered country, taking such necessaries as
they required without payment, and even sending
parties to a considerable distance on plundering ex-
peditions.
Peter, on his arrival, proceeded to the head-
quarters of Colonel Rhalle, who was in command-
an officer of great bravery and energy. One of his
officers was able to speak English, and to bim Peter
reported the departure of the force from Borden-
town, of which Colonel Rhalle was already aware,
and the weakness of the American force at Mount
Holly. He stated also his own belief that it was
merely a feint to draw off Colonel Donop, and that
preparatory to an attack on Trenton. The officer
treated the information lightly, and pointing to the
mass of ice floating down the river asked whether
it would be possible for boats to cross.
“When the river freezes,” he said, “there may be
some chance of attack. Till then we are absolute--
ly safe.”
Peter, shaking his head, rejoined his companions
and told them of the manner in which his advice
had been received.
“But it would be difficult to cross the river,"


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
179
Harold said. “Look at the masses of ice on the
water."
“It would be difficult,” the hunter admitted, " but
not by no manner of means impossible. Determined
men could do it. Waal, I've done my duty and can
do no more. Ef the night passes off quietly we'll
cross again before day break and go right into the
Yankee camp and see what they're up to. Now,
Harold, you can take it easy till nightfall; there's
naught to be learned till then, and as we shall be
on foot all night ye may as well sleep to-day.”
Returning to a spot on the bank of the river at a
short distance from the town, they made a fire, on
which Jake cooked some steaks of venison they had
procured. After smoking a pipe the hunter set the
example by stretching himself on the ground near
the fire and going to sleep. Used as he was to
night marches, he had acquired the faculty of going
to sleep at any hour at will. Jake and Harold were
some time before they followed his example, but
they too were at last asleep. At sunset they were
on their feet again, and after taking supper pro-
ceeded along the river.
The night passed off quietly, and Harold became
convinced that his companion's fears were un-
founded. Toward morning he suggested that it
was time to be crossing the river.
“I'm not going yet," the hunter said. “Before I
start we'll go down to Trenton Ferry, a mile below
the town. Ef they come over at all it's likely
enough to be there. There'll be time then to get


180
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
back and cross before it's light. It's six o'clock
now.”
They kept along the road by the river until they
were within a quarter of a mile of the ferry. Pres-
ently they saw a dark mass ahead.
“Jerusalem !” Peter exclaimed. “There they
are.”
They immediately discharged their rifles and ran
back at full speed to the outposts, which were but a
quarter of a mile from the town. The Americans
had also pressed forward at full speed, and the out-
posts, who had been alarmed by the discharge of
the rifles, were forced at once to abandon the post
and to run into the town, whither they had, on
hearing the rifles, already sent in one of their
number with the news. Here all was in confusion.
The Hessian leader was trying to collect his troops,
who were hurrying in from their quarters, but
many of them thought more of storing their plunder
away in the wagons than of taking their places in
the ranks.
Washington had crossed with twenty-five hun-
dred men and a few field-pieces, and upon gain-
ing the Jersey side had divided his troops into two
detachments, one of which marched by the river
side, the other by an upper road. Hurrying for-
ward they surrounded the town, and placing their
field-pieces in the road opened fire on the astonished
Hessians. Rhalle had by this time succeeded in as-
sembling the greater part of his force and charged
the Americans with his usual courage. He received,


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
181
however, a mortal wound as he advanced. His
troops immediately lost heart, and finding their re-
treat cut off at once surrendered. A body of Hes-
sian light horse succeeded in making their escape.
The casualties were few on either side, but a thou-
sand prisoners were taken. Two other divisions of
the Americans had attempted to cross, the one at
Bordentown, the other at Mackenzie's Ferry, but
both had failed owing to the quantity of floating
ice. Washington retired across the Delaware the
same afternoon.
The consequences of this success were great.
The spirits of the Americans, which had fallen to
the lowest ebb in consequence of the uninterrupted
series of defeats, rose greatly. They found that
the British were not invincible, and that if unable
to oppose them in great battles they might at least
inflict heavy losses on them and weary them out
with skirmishes and surprises. The greatest joy
reigned throughout the various States; fresh levies
were ordered ; the voices of the moderate party,
which had been gaining strength, were silenced,
and the determination to continue the war vigor.
oulsy was in the ascendency.
The lesson given at Trenton was wholly lost upon
the English commander-in-chief. Instead of at once
ordering General Leslie to advance from Princeton
and to hold the enemy in check by reoccupying
and fortifying Trenton, he allowed Colonel Donop
to abandon Bordentown and to fall back to Prince-
ton—thus laying it open to Washington to cross


182
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
the Delaware again and carry the war into New
Jersey. Washington, after waiting eight days, see-
ing the indecision and ineptitude of the British
general, again crossed with four thousand men and
occupied Trenton.
Peter Lambton and his two companions were not
among the prisoners taken at Trenton. On enter-
ing the town Harold was about to join the Hessians
assembling under Colonel Rhalle, but Peter gave a
violent tug to his coat.
“Come along, young un,” he said. “The darned
fools have let themselves be caught in a trap and
they'll find there's no way out of it. In ten minutes
the Americans will be all round the place, and as I
don't wish to spend a year or two in a Yankee
prison at present I'm going to make tracks at once.
Fighting aren't no good now. Men who'll let
’emselves be caught in a trap like this'll never be
able to cut their way out of it. Come on.”
Much against his will Harold yielded to Peter's
wishes, and the three kept straight on through the
town by the river side and issued into the country
beyond before the Americans bad surrounded it.
A minute or two after leaving the town the light
horse galloped past.
“There are some more out of the hole, and I
reckon that's about all. There, do ye hear the
guns? The Yanks have brought their artillery
over-I reckon the fight won't last long."
For two or three minutes there was a roar of
musketry; then this suddenly ceased.


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
183
“ I thought as much," Peter said. “They've sur-
rendered. If they had only kept together and
fought well they should have cut their way through
the enemy. Lord ! what poor things regular soldiers
are in the dark! A frontiersman would just as
soon fight in the dark as in the light; but here are
the men who climbed up the hill to Fort Washing-
ton--and that was no child's play-no better nor a
pack of women when they're attacked half-asleep
and balf-a wake just as day is breaking.”
The three comrades walked to Bordentown,
which, they were relieved to find, had not been
attacked. A few miles beyond this place they met
Colonel Donop marching back at full speed with his
corps, having received the news of the disaster at
Trenton from the horsemen who had fled. They
joined their company and marched to Princeton.
A fortnight later Lord Cornwallis, with the
forces at Lrunswicl', under General Grant, advanced
to Princeton and then moved forward to attack the
army at Trenton. General Washington on his ap-
proach retired from the town and, crossing a'rivulet
at the back of it, took post on some high ground
there, with the apparent intention of defending him.
self against an attack. It was late in the afternoon,
and a heavy cannonade was kept up till night-time.
Lord Cornwallis determined to attack next morn-
ing. At two in the morning Washington retired
suddenly, leaving his fires burning. Quitting the
main road he made a long circuit through Allen-
town and marched with all speed toward Prince-
ton, which place he intended to surprise. When


184
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
Lord Cornwallis advanced he had left the Seven-
teenth, Fortieth, and Fifty-fifth Regiments there.
On arriving at Trenton he had sent word back
for the Seventeenth and Fifty-fifth to advance to
Maidenhead, a village half-way between Princeton
and Trenton. Colonel Mawhood, who commanded,
marched at daylight, but scarcely had he started
when he met Washington advancing with his army.
The morning was foggy, and it was at first supposed
that the enemy were a body of British troops
marching back to Princeton, but it was soon found
that the force was a hostile one. Its strength could
not be seen on account of the fog, and he deter-
mined to engage it. Possessing himself of some
high ground, he sent his wagons back to Princeton
and ordered the Fortieth Regiment to come out to
his assistance.
As the Americans advanced, the artillery on both
sides opened fire. The leadings columns of the
colonists soon showed signs of disorder. The
Seventeenth Regiment fixed bayonets and with
great gallantry charged the enemy in front of them,
driving them back with considerable slaughter; and
so far did they advance that they were separated
from the other battalions, and cutting their way
through the American force the regiment pursued
its march to Maidenhead. The Fortieth and Fifty-
fifth fought stoutly, but were unable to make their
way through the American force, and fell back to
Brunswick, while the Americans occupied Prince-
ton. At daybreak Lord Cornwallis discovered the
retreat of the American army, and being apprehen-


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
185
sive for the safety of Brunswick, where great stores
of the army were accumulated, marched with all
baste toward that town.
Brigadier Matthew, the officer commanding there,
on hearing of the approach of the enemy at once
dispatched the store wagons toward the rear and
drew up his small command to defend the place to
the last. The gallant resistance before Princeton
had delayed the Americans so long that the ran of
the army of Cornwallis was already close to their
rear as they approached Brunswick. Seeing this,
Washington abandoned his design on that town and
crossed the Millstone River, breaking down the
bridge at Kingston to stop pursuit.
Washington now overran East and West Jersey,
penetrated into Essex County, and making himself
master of the country opposite to Staten Island,
thus regained almost all the district which the Eng-
lish had taken from him in the autumn.
All this greatly heightened the spirit and courage
of the Americans, while the loyalists and the Eng-
lish troops were disheartened and disgusted at see-
ing an army of thirty thousand fine troops kept in-
active, while the enemy, with but four thousand
men, who were wholly incapable of opposing an
equal number of English troops, were allowed to
wander unchecked, to attack and harass the Eng-
lish pickets, and to utilize the whole of the resources
of their country. Had General Home entertained
a fixed desire to see English authority overthrown
in America he could not have acted in a manner
more calculated to carry those wishes into effect.


186
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
CHAPTER X.
A TREACHEROUS PLANTER.
It must not be supposed that the whole of the
time was spent in scouting and fightin“. Between
the armies lay a band of no man's land. Here, as
elsewhere, thủ people of the country wer divided
in their opinions, but generally mad very little dis-
play of these, whatever they might be. It is true
that as a rule non-combatants were but little inter-
fered with; still, a warm and open display of sym-
pathy with one side or the other w us likely to be
attended by the loss of cattle and damage to crops
when tie other party got the upper hånd. In some
other States feeling ran much higher. In the
Carolinas the royalists were most cruelly perse-
cuted. Their property was destroyed and they
were in many cases shot down without mercy; but
generally throughout the colonies a considerable
latitude of opinion was allowed. This was especially
so in the zone between the armies in the erseys.
None could tell what the positions of " armies a
week hence might be, and any persecution inflicted
by the one party might lead to retaliation upon a
shift of positions a few weeks later. A general
toleration therefore reigned.


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
187
Next to Peter Lambton, Harold's greatest friend
in the corps was a young man named Harvey. He
was of good family and belonged to New York.
Being a strong loyalist, he had, like many other
gentlemen, enlisted for service under the old flag.
He had naturally many acquaintances among the
county families, and Harold often accompanied him
in bis visits to one or other of them.
During the winter, when things were quiet, the
duties of the scouts were light, and it was the babit
among them that one-third should be on outpost
duty at a time, the rest being free to move about as
they liked. The scouts had no fixed order or posi-
tion. They went out alone or in twos or threes, as
it pleased them, their duty simply being to watch
everything that was going on along the enemy's
line of outposts, to bring in the earliest news of any
intended movements, and to prevent dashing parties
of the enemy's horsemen from making raids into or
behind the British lines. They were not, of course,
expected to check bodies of cavalry starting on a
raid, but simply to obtain information of their hav-
ing left tbeir lines and of the direction taken, and
then to hurry back to the British posts, whence a
force of cavalry would be sent out to intercept or
check the invaders. Many dashing exploits were
performed by the cavalry on both sides in the way
of getting bebind their opponents' quarters, cutting
off provision trains, attacking small posts, and carry-
ing off straggling parties.
One of the houses to which Harold used most


188
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
frequently to accompany his friend Harvey was
situated nearly half-way between the rival armies
and was about eight miles from either. The owner
-Mr. Jackson—was a man of considerable wealth,
and the house was large and well appointed. He
had before the troubles began a fine business as a
lawyer in New York, but wben the outbreak of
hostilities put a stop to all business of a legal kind
in that city he had retired to his country house.
Although himself born in England, he professed to
be entirely neutral, but his family were undis-
guisedly loyal. It consisted of his wife and two
daughters, girls of seventeen and eighteen years
old.
When the English army advanced to the neigh-
borhood of his property Mr. Jackson was always
ready to offer his hospitality to the officers of corps
which might be stationed near him, and he similarly
opened his bouse to the Americans when they in
turn advanced as the British turned back. Being,
as he always made a point of saving, perfectly neu-
tral in the struggle, he was glad to meet gentlemen,
irrespective of the opinions they beld. The line
taken by Mr. Jackson was one which was very
largely pursued among the inhabitants of the coun-
try houses and farms scattered over what was
throughout the war a debatable land. So frequent
were the changes of the position of the armies that
none could say who might be in possession in a
week's time, and it was therefore an absolute neces-
sity for those who wished to live unmolested to ab-
stain from any strong show of partisanship.


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
189
As is always the case in struggles of this kind,
the female population were more enthusiastic in
their partisanship and more pronounced in their
opinions than the men ; and although, upon the ar-
rival of a troop of cavalry or a detachment of foot
belonging to the other side, the master of the house
would impartially offer what hospitality he was
capable of, it was not difficult to perceive, by the
warmth or coldness of the female welcome, wbat
were the private sentiments of the family.
Harold was not long in discovering, from the
frequency with which Harvey proposed an excur-
sion to the Jacksons' and from his conduct there,
that Isabelle, the eldest daughter, was the object
which mainly attracted him. The families had long
been friends, and Harvey, although now serving as
a simple scout, was of a position equal to her own.
The friends were always cordially received by Mr.
Jackson, and Harold was soon as intimate there as
his comrade. They usually left their quarters a lit-
tle before dusk and started back late at night.
Often as Mr. Jackson pressed them to stay, they
never accepted his invitation.
The scouts, from their activity and ubiquitous
ness, were the bêtes-noirs of the Americans, whose
most secret plans were constantly detected and
foiled by the sagacity and watchfulness of these
men, whose unerring rifles made frequent gaps in
the ranks of the officers. They therefore spared no
pains, whenever there was a chance, of killing or
capturing any of these most troublesome foes, and


190
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
Harvey and Harold knew that a report of their
presence at the Jacksons' would suffice to bring a
party of horsemen from the American lines. Their
visits, therefore, were always made after dark and
at irregular intervals, and in spite of their inclina-
tion to the contrary, they made a point of return-
ing at night to their quarters.
Other visitors were often present at the Jacksons',
the sons and daughters of neighbors, and there was
generally music and singing, and sometimes the
young people stood up for a dance.
The scouts wore no regular uniform, although
there was a general similarity in their attire, which
was that of an ordinary backwoods hunter. When
off duty they were allowed to dress as they pleased,
and at Mr. Jackson's the two friends were attired
in the ordinary dress of colonists of position. At
these little gatherings political subjects were never
discussed, and a stranger spending an evening there
would not have dreamed that the house stood be-
tween two hostile armies, that at any moment a
party of horsemen belonging to one side or other
might dash into the court-yard, and that even those
laughing and talking pleasantly together might be
of opinions diametrica ' v opposea.
Harvey and Harold were introduced to visitors
simply as friends from New York, and although the
suspicions as to their character and position might
be strong, no one thought of asking questions.
“I do not like that fellow Chermside,” Harvey
said one night as he and his friend were returning
to their quarters.


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
191
They were mounted; for although when on duty
the scouts worked on foot, many of them, who were
men of property, kept horses which they used when
not so engaged. Harvey had two horses, and one
of these was always at Harold's service.
“ I am not surprised you don't like him,” Harold
replied with a laugh, “and I imagine the dislike is
mutual. When two gentlemen are paying atten-
tions to one lady they seldom appreciate each
other's merits very cordially."
“I don't think it is entirely that,” Harvey
laughed. “Isabelle and I understand each other,
and I have no fear of his rivalry; but I do not like
him."
“I do not think I like him myself,” Harold said
more seriously; "and yet I do not know why I
should not. When he has been there alone with us
and the family he has frequently used expressions
showing his strong leaning toward the loyalists'
side.”
“I don't put much faith in that,” Harvey said.
“He knows how strongly Mr. Jackson and the
girls lean toward the crown, and would say anything
that be thought would please Isabelle. I have
spoken to her and she thinks that he is sincere; in
fact, she has rather a good opinion of him. How-
ever, we shall see. It was rather curious that that
party of Morgan's cavalry should have ridden up
the other night and searched the house two hours
after we left. You see, we had agreed to sleep
there that night and only changed our minds after


192
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
the others had all left, when we remembered that
we were both for duty early next morning. It
might have been a coincidence, of course, but it bad
an ugly look. I think Mr. Jackson thought so too,
for he did not ask us to stop to-night; anyhow I
wish Chermside's plantation was not so near this
and that he did not drop in so often.”
A week later they paid another visit. When
dinner was over Harold was chatting with Mr. and
Mrs. Jackson. Harvey was sitting at the piano,
where the eldest girl was playing, and the younger
was looking out of window.
“ We are going to have another fall of snow," she
said. “There is not a star to be seen. Oh !" she
exclaimed suddenly.
“ What is it, my dear ?” Mr. Jackson asked.
“There is a rocket gone up from the woods."
“ A rocket!” Mr. Jackson repeated.
“Yes, papa ; there are the stars falling now.”
“ That is a curious thing,” Mr. Jackson said,
while the others went to the window. They stood
watching for some minutes, but nothing was to be
seen.
“I do not like that rocket,” Mr. Jackson said as
they left the window. “It means something. It
can only be a signal. People don't let off rockets
for amusement nowadays. Did you meet any one
on the road?”
“No, sir,” Harvey said, “not a soul.”
“I do not like it,” their host repeated. “It means
mischief of some sort or other. I do not wish to



AGB
MR. JACKSON'S SUSPICIONS AROUSED. - Page 193,


TR
193
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
seem in hospitable, but my advice to you is, get on
your horses at once and ride to your quarters. You
are on duty to-morrow, and you told me you would
pass near here on your way toward the enemy's
lines. You might look in as you go past and hear
whether anything came of it. If I mistake not we
shall have another visit from Morgan's horse this
erening.”
Much against their inclination the young men
followed Mr. Jackson's advice.
The next day they, with Peter and Jake, stopped
at the house as they passed.
“I was right,” their host said as the two young
men entered. “An hour after you left twenty of
Morgan's horse rode up here. They would not
take my word that we were alone, but searched the
house from top to bottom and were evidently greatly
disappointed at finding no one. I have been mak-
ing inquiries this morning and find that all the
servants were in the house at the time my daughter
saw the rocket, so I hope that I have no traitor
here. Still, it is clear that some one must be keep-
ing watch over your movements.”
“Have you asked, sir,” Harvey said after a
pause, “whether any one came after we had ar.
rived ?"
“I do not see how any one could come, but I will
ask.”
He rang the bell and a negro servant appeared.
“ Did any one come to the house yesterday, Cæsar,
after these gentlemen came—any beggar or ped-
dler, or any one of that sort ?”


194
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
“No, sir, no one came except Massa Chermside.
He get off his horse and ask if you hab any visitors.
I said that Massa Harvey and Massa Wilson were
here. He say he call again another night when the
family alone, and rode off.”
“ Just what I expected, sir,” Harvey said when
the servant left the room. “I have always doubted
that fellow's honesty."
“Oh, nonsense !” Mr. Jackson replied. “You
must be mad, Harvey. Chermside's father was an
old friend of mine, and I have known the young
fellow since he was a child. I should as soon sus-
pect one of my own daughters of being capable of
such an act of gross treachery as laying a plot to
bring the American cavalry down upon guests of
mine. The idea is preposterous. Bless me, how
amused the girls will be at your suspecting their old
playfellow !”
“I hope I may be mistaken, sir,” Harvey said,“ but
Harold's opinion of him agrees with mine, and in
talking it over last night we buth put our finger on
him as the man who fired the rocket. Well, now,
we must be pushing on. We are bound for the ford
where Morgan's horse must have come over, and
shall hear from our fellows there whether they rode
straight bere after crossing, as if so there can be no
doubt whatever that the rocket was a signal.”
Upon arriving at the ford they found that Mor-
gan's horse had only crossed an hour before the time
at which they arrived at Mr. Jackson's. One of the
scouts had instantly taken word to the nearest cav.


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
195
alry outpost, but the enemy bad recrossed the river
before these had arrived on the spot.
After three days on duty at the front the party
returned to their lines, and the next time that the
young men rode out to their friends they took with
them Jake and Peter, to whom they related the
circumstances.
The scouts proceeded on foot and separated from
the others a mile before reaching the house, having
arranged that Peter should scout round it, while
Jake should proceed to the plantation of Mr. Cherm-
side and keep a sharp lookout there.
They had arranged with Mr. Jackson that no
mention of the rocket should be made to any one,
however intimate with the family.
“I am glad to see you again,” the host said as
they entered the room where the family were as-
sembled, “ although I own that these two raids of
Morgan's horse have made me uneasy. The girls
have been immensely amused at your suspicions of
young Chermside.”
“How could you think such a thing ?" Isabelle
said. “He was here on the following evening and
was as indignant as we were at the thought of
treachery being at work. He quite agreed with us
that the coming of the Yankees could hardly have
been accidental.”
“ You said nothing about the rocket, I hope ?"
Harvey asked.
“No, we kept quite silent about that, as you
made such a point of it; but it seemed ridiculous



WARNA
WA
EV
wyth
A TREACHEROUS FRIEND CAUGHT.–Page 196





TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
197
As Jake spoke he held out a rocket. Several
times while Jake had been speaking the planter bad
tried to interrupt him, but each time Jake, who
had not released his hold of him, gave him so
violent a shake that he was fain to be silent.
“ This is a scandalous indignity,” he exclaimed
furiously when Jake finished. “What do you
mean, sir," be demanded of Harvey, “ by setting
this nigger to watch my abode? I will have satis-
faction for this treatment.”
“It seems, sir,” Mr. Jackson said, signing to Har-
vey to be silent, “ that you have been detected in a
gross act of treachery. My friends have suspected
you of it, but I indignantly denied it. Could we be-
lieve, I and my family, that you, whom we have
known as a child, would betray our guests to the
Americans? Loyalists and republicans are alike
welcome here. I do not ask my friends their
opinions. My house is neutral ground, and I did
not think that any who used it would bave had the
treachery to turn it into a trap; still less did I
imagine you would do so. These gentlemen would
be perfectly within their right did they take you
out and hang you from the nearest tree; but for
my sake I trust that they will do so; but should
the American cavalry ever again visit this house
under circumstances which may lead it to be sup-
posed that they have been brought here to capture
my guests, I shall let them punish you as you
deserve. No word of mine will be raised in your
favor. Now, sir, go, and never again enter this


198
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
house, where the loathing and contempt that I feel
for you will, I know, be shared by the ladies of my
family.”
At a nod from Harold Jake released his hold of
the captive, who, without a word, turned and left
the room.
Not a word was spoken for a minute or two after
he had left. The youngest girl was the first to
speak.
“The wretch !” she exclaimed. “To think that
Herbert Chermside should turn out such a mean
traitor! Papa, I would have let them hang him at
once. It would have served him right. Now he
may do us all harm.”
“I do not know that you are not right, Ada," Mr.
Jackson replied gravely. “I am far from saying
that I acted wisely. Young Chermside has many
friends among the Americans, and it is possible that
he may work us harm. However, my position as a
neutral is well established. Officers on both sides
have at times been welcomed here, and his report,
therefore, that our friends here are often with us
can do us no harm. Henceforth he must be
regarded as an enemy, and there will always be
danger in these visits. So long as the American
outposts are within an hour's ride he can have the
road watched, and although he is not likely to ven-
ture upon signaling with rockets, he may send or
take word on horsebaek. A bonfire, too, might be
lit at the other side of the bill to call them over.
Altogether you will never be safe from home except


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
199
when you have a strong body of your own troops
between this and the river.”
“I am glad to say,” Harvey answered, “that in
consequence of the news of Morgan's raids on this
side a body of two hundred infantry and a troop of
cavalry are to move to-morrow and take up their
position by the ford, so we shall be safe from any
surprise from that direction."
“I am very glad to hear it,” Mr. Jackson said.
“It will relieve me of a great anxiety. But pray
be watchful when you are in this neighborhood.
You have made a bitter enemy, and after what he
has proved himself capable of we cannot doubt that
he would hesitate at nothing. I understand," he
went on with a smile toward his eldest daughter,
“ what is at the bottom of his conduct, and as I
have long suspected his hopes in that quarter I am
not surprised that he is somewhat hostile to you.
Still, I never for a moment deemed him capable of
this."
The next day Mr. Jackson learned that his neigh-
bor had left his plantation and had told his servants
that he was not likely to return for some time.
Shortly after this a series of bad luck attended
the doings of the British scouts. Several parties
were killed or captured by the enemy and they were
constantly baffled by false reports, while the
Americans appeared to forestall all their movements.
It was only when enterprises were set on foot and
carried out by small bodies that they were ever
successful, anything like combined action by the
orders of the officers constantly turning out ill.


200
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
“There must be a traitor somewhere,” Peter said
upon the return of a party from an attempt which,
although it promised well, bad been frustrated, to
carry off a number of cattle from one of the
American depots. “It ain't possible that this can
be all sheer bad luck. It ain't no one in our com-
pany, I'll be bound. We ain't had any new re-
cruits lately, and there ain't a man among us whom
I could not answer for. There must be a black
sheep in Gregory's or Vincent's corps. The enemy
seem up to every move, and between us we have
lost more than thirty men in the last few weeks.
There ain't no doubt about it—there's a traitor
somewhere and he must be a clever one, and he
must have pals with him, or he couldn't send news
of what we are doing so quickly. It beats me al-
together, and the men are all furious.”
“I've been talking with some of our men,” Peter
said a few days afterward, “and we agree that we
are bound to get to the bottom of this matter.
We're sartin sure that the traitor don't belong to
us. What we propose is this, that the hull of us
shall go up together, without saying a word to a
soul, and scatter ourselves along the river at all the
points where a chap going with a message to the
enemy would be likely to cross. The night we go
out we'll get the three captains all to give orders to
their men for an expedition, so that whoever it is
that sends messages from here would be sure to send
over word to the Yankees; and it'll be hard if we
don't ketch him. What do you say ?”


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
201
“I think the plan is a very good one,” Harold
answered. “If you like I will go with my father
and ask Gregory and Vincent to send their men."
Captain Wilson at once went to these officers.
They were as much irritated and puzzled as were
their men by the failures which had taken place,
and agreed that next evening an order should be
issued for the men of the three corps to act in com-
bination, and to allow it to leak out that they in-
tended to surprise an American post situated near
the river, twenty-one miles distant. Captain Wil.
son's scouts, instead of going with the others, were
to act on their own account.
On the day arranged, as soon as it became dark,
the forty scouts quietly left their quarters in
small parties and made their way toward the river,
striking it at the point where a messenger would be
likely to cross upon his way to give warning to the
American post of the attack intended to be made
upon it. They took post along the river at a dis-
tance of fifty or sixty yards apart and silently
awaited the result. Several hours passed and no
sound broke the stillness of the woods. An hour
before dawn Peter Lambton heard a slight crack,
as that of a breaking twig. It was some distance
back in the woods, but it seemed to him by the di-
rection that the man who caused it would strike the
river between himself and Jake, who was stationed
next to him. He noiselessly stole along toward the
point. Another slight sound afforded him a sure
indication of the direction in which the man, who-


202
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
ever he might be, was approaching. He hastened
his steps, and a minute later a negro issued from
the wood close to him. He stood for an instant on
the river bank and was about to plunge in, when
Peter threw his arms around him.
Although taken by surprise, the negro struggled
desperately and would have freed himself from the
grip of the old scout had not Jake run up instantly
to his comrade's assistance. In a minute the negro
was bound and two shots were then fired, the con-
certed signal by which it would be known along
the line that a capture had been effected. In a few
minutes the whole body was assembled. The negro,
who refused to answer any questions, was carried
far back into the woods and a fire was lighted.
“Now, nigger,” Peter said, taking as captor the
lead in the matter, “jest tell us right away where
you was going and who sent you.”
The negro was silent.
“ Now, look ye here, darky, you're in the hands
of men who are no jokers. Ef you tell us at once
who put ye on to this trick no harm will happen to
you; but ef ye don't we'll jest burn the skin off
your body bit by bit.”
Still the negro was silent.
“Half a dozen of yez,” Peter said, “as have got
iron ramrods shove them into the fire. We'll soon
find this nigger's tongue."
Not a word was spoken until the ramrods were
heated red-hot.
“Now,” Peter said, “two of yez clap your ram-
rods against this darky's flanks.”


T'RUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
203
The negro struggled as the men approached him
and gave a terrific yell as the hot iron was applied
to his sides.
“ I will tell you, sars-oh! have mercy upon me
and I will tell you eberyting!”
“I thought,” Peter said grimly, “ that you'd find
a tongue soon enough. Now, then, who sent you ?”
“My massa,” the negro answered.
“And who is your master ?”
The negro was again silent, but as, at a nod from
Peter; the men again raised the ramrods, he blurted
out:
“ Massa Chermside."
The name was known to many of the scouts, and
a cry of anger broke from them.
“I thought as much,” Harvey said. “I suspect-
ed that scoundrel was at the bottom of it all along.
Where is he ?” he asked the negro.
“Me not know, sar.”
“ You mean you won't say,” Peter said. “ Try
the vartue of them ramrods again."
“No! no!” tbe negro screamed. “Me swear me
do not know where him be. You may burn me to
death if you will, but I could not tell you."
“I think he is speaking the truth,” Harvey said.
“Wait a minute. Have you done this before ?” he
asked the negro.
“Yes, sar. Eight or ten times me swim de river
at night."
“ With messages to the Americans ?"
“Yes, sar; messages to American officers.”


204
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
"Have you any written message—any letter ?”
“No, sar, me never take no letter. Me only carry
dis.” And he took out from his hair a tiny ball of
paper smaller than a pea.
It was smoothed out and upon it were the words
6 General Washington.”
“Where I go, sar, I show dem dis, and dey know
den dat de message can be believed."
“But how do you get the message? How do you
see your master ?”
“Massa's orders were dat me and two oders were
to meet him ebery night after it got dark at a tree
a mile from de place where de soldiers are. Some-
times he no come. When he come he gibs each of
us a piece of money and tell us to carry a message
across the river. We start by different ways, swim
across de water in different places, take de message,
and come back to de plantation.”
“A pretty business !" Peter said. “Now you
must come back with us to the post and tell your
story to the commanding officer. Then we must
see if we can't lay hands on this rascally master of
yours”
Upon the news being told, the general in com-
mand sent a party out, who, after searching the
house and out-buildings of the plantation in vain,
set fire to them and burned them to the ground.
The negroes were all carried away and employed to
labor for the army. The town and all the surround-
ing villages were searched, but no trace could be
obtained of the missing man. One of the men of


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
205
Gregory's corps of scouts disappeared. He had re-
cently joined, but his appearance as a man with
beard and whiskers in no way agreed with that of
tbe planter. He might, however, have been dis-
guised, and his disappearance was in itself no proof
against him, for the scouts were under no great dis-
cipline, and when tired of the service often left
without giving notice of their intention of doing so.
It was, moreover, possible that he might have fallen
by an enemy's bullet.
The strongest proof in favor of the deserter being
Chermside was that henceforth the scouts were
again as successful as before, often surprising the
enemy successfully.
Now that the ford nearest to Mr. Jackson's was
strongly guarded, the young men had no apprehen-
sion of any surprise, although such an event was
just possible, as the cavalry on both sides often
made great circuits in their raids upon each other's
country. That Chermside was somewhere in the
neighborhood they believed, having indeed strong
reason for doing so, as a rifle was one evening fired
at them from the wood as they rode over, the ball
passing between their heads. Pursuit at the time
was impossible, but the next day a number of
scouts searched the woods without success. Soon
after they beard that Chermside had joined the
Americans and obtained a commission in a body of
their irregular horse.
Harvey was now formally engaged to Isabelle
Jackson, and it was settled that the wedding should


206
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
take place in the early spring at New York. When
not on duty he naturally spent a good deal of his
time there, and Harold was frequently with bim.
Since he had been fired at in the woods Isabelle
had been in the highest state of nervous anxiety
lest her lover's enemy should again try to assassinate
him, and she begged Harold always to come over
with him if possible, as the thought of his riding
alone through the wood filled her with anxiety.
Although he had no order to do so, Jake, when-
ever he saw Harold and his friend canter off toward
the Jacksons', shouldered his rifle and went out
after them to the house, where, so long as they
stayed, he scouted round and round with the
utmost vigilance. Very often Harold was ignorant
of his presence there, but when, after his return, he
found by questioning him how he had been
employed, he remonstrated with him on such ex-
cessive caution.
“ Can't be too cautious, massa," Jake said. “You
see dat fellow come one of dese days."
Jake's presentiment turned out correct. One
evening when with several friends the young men
were at Mr. Jackson's the sound of the report of a
rifle was heard at a short distance.
“ That must be Jake's rifle !” Harold exclaimed.
“Quick, Harvey, to your horse.”
It was too late. As they reached the door a
strong party of American cavalry dashed up to it.
“Surround the house !" an officer shouted. “Do
not let a soul escape.”


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
207
The young men ran upstairs again.
“We are caught,” Harvey said. “Escape is cut
off. The Yankee cavalry are all round the house.
Good-by, Isabelle. We shall meet one of these
days again, dear.”
The girl threw herself into his arms.
“Be calm, love,” he said. “Do not let this
scoundrel have the satisfaction of triumphing over
you."
A moment later Chermside, accompanied by sev-
eral soldiers, entered the room.
“I am sorry to disturb so pleasant a party," he
said in a sneering voice, “but if Americans choose
to entertain the enemies of their country they must
expect these little disagreeables."
Mr. Jackson abruptly turned his back upon him,
and no one else spoke, although he was personally
well known to all.
“These are the two men,” he said to the soldiers
-“two of the most notorious scouts and spies on
the frontier. We will take them to headquarters,
where a short shrift and two strong ropes will be
their lot.”
“ The less the word spy is in the mouth of such a
pitiful traitor as yourself the better, I should say,"
Harvey said quietly; and walking forward with
Harold he placed himself in the hands of the
soldiers.
No one else spoke. Isabelle had fainted when
she heard the threat of execution against her lover.
Ada stood before her with a look of such anger


208
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
and contempt on her young face that Chermside
fairly winced under it.
“ To horse !” he said sullenly, and turning, fol-
lowed his men and prisoners downstairs.
The troop, Harold saw, numbered some two hun-
dred sabers. They had with them a number of
riderless horses, whose accouterments showed that
they belonged to an English regiment; most of the
men, too, had sacks of plunder upon their horses.
They had evidently made a successful raid, and had
probably attacked a post and surprised and driven
off the horses of a squadron of cavalry, and were
now on their return toward their lines.
“This is an awkward business, Harold,” Harvey
said as in the midst of their captors they galloped
off from the Jacksons'. “Of course it's all nonsense
about our being hung. Still, I have no wish to see
the inside of a prison, where we may pass years be-
fore we are exchanged. Once handed over to the
authorities we shall be safe, but I shall not feel that
we are out of danger so long as we are in this
scoundrel's hands. Fortunately there are officers of
superior rank to himself with the squadron, other-
wise I have no doubt at all that he would hang us
at once.”
Such was indeed the case, and Chermside was at
that moment fuming intensely at the chance which
had thrown his rival in his hands at a time when be
was powerless to carry out his vengeance. He had,
indeed, ventured to suggest that it would be less
trouble to hang the prisoners at once, but the major


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
209
in command had so strongly rebuked him for the
suggestion that he had at once been silenced.
“I blush that I should have heard such words
from the mouth of an American officer. It is by
such deeds, sir, that our cause is too often dis-
graced. We are soldiers fighting for the independ.
ence of our country, not lawless marauders. Had
these men been taken in their civilian dress over on
our side of the river they would have been tried
and hung as spies; but they were on neutral
ground, and in fact in the rear of their own posts.
There is no shadow of defense for such an accusa-
tion. Should I ever hear a similar suggestion I
shall at once report your conduct to General Wash-
ington, who will know how to deal with you."
“I wonder what has become of Jake,” Harold
said to his comrade. “I trust he was not shot
down.”
Not he," Harvey said. “He made off after fir-
ing his rifle, you may be sure, when he saw that there
was nothing to be done. The fellow can run like a
bare, and I have no doubt that by this time he has
either got back to the village and given the alarm
there or has made for the ford. There are one hun-
dred cavalry there now as well as the infantry.
Jake will be there in an hour from the time he
started. The dragoons will be in the saddle five
minutes later, and it is just possible they may cut
off our retreat before we have crossed the river.
Peter is on duty there, and if he happens to be at
the post when Jake arrives he will hurry up with
all the scouts he can collect.”


210
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
Jake bad taken flight as Harvey supposed. He
had, after firing his rifle, taken to the wood, and
had remained near the house long enough to see
which way the cavalry rode when they started.
Then he made for the post at the ford at the top of
his speed. It was less than an hour from starting
when he arrived there, and three minutes later the
cavalry trumpets were blowing “ To horse!” After
giving his message to the officer in command Jake
went into the village, where the sounds of the trum.
pet brought all the soldiers into the little street.
“ Hullo, Jake! is that you ?” a familiar voice
asked. “What the tarnal is up now ?"
Jake hastily related what had taken place.
“ Tarnation !" Peter exclaimed. “This is a bad
job. They're making, no doubt, for Finchley's
Ford, fifteen mile down the river. With an hour's
start they're sure to be there before us.”
“What are you going to do, Peter? Are you
tinking of running wid de cavalry ?"
“Thinking of running to the moon !" the scout
said contemptuously. “You can run well, I don't
deny, Jake, but you couldn't run fifteen mile with
the dragoons; and if you could you'd get there too
late. Yer bellows are going pretty fast already.
Now don't stand staring there, but hurry through
the camp and get all our boys together. Tell them
to meet by the water side. Get Gregory and Vin-
cent's men as well as our own. There's twenty or
thirty altogether in the place.”
Without asking a question Jake ran off to carry


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
211
out the orders, and in a few minutes twenty-four
men were collected together on the bank.
“Now, you fellows,” Peter said, “we've got to
rescue these two young chaps out of the hands of
the Yankees. Them who don't want to jine, and
mind you the venture is a risky one, bad better say
so at once and stop behind."
No one mored.
“What I propose is this: we'll take the ferry-
boat, which ain't no good to no one seeing as how
the Yankees are one side of the river and we the
other, and we'll drop down the stream about ten
mile. Then we'll land on their side of the river and
strike inland, hiding the boat under the bushes
somewhere. They'll halt for the night when they're
safe across the river. There's five or six hundred of
their infantry camped on the ford. There's two
hundred on our side, but the Yankees'll ride through
in the dark and get across before the red-coats are
awake. Now, I propose that after we've landed we
make a sweep round until we get near the Yanks'
camp. Then the rest'll wait and two or three of
us'll go in and see if we can't get the young fellows
out of wharever they've put 'em. Then we'll jine
you and make a running fight of it back to the
boat.”
The others assented. The boat was amply large
enough for all, and pulling her out into the stream
they dropped down, keeping under shelter of the
trees on the British side. Half an hour after they
had started they heard the faint sound of distant
musketry.


212
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
“ There,” Peter said, “the Yanks are riding
through the British camp, close to the ford.”
A few more shots were heard and then all was
silent. The stream was swift, for it was swollen by
recent rains, and at three in the morning the boat
touched the bank about a mile above the ford.
The party disembarked noiselessly, and fastening
the boat to a tree moved along toward the camp.
When they were within four or five hun-
dred yards of the village Peter chose Jake and
two others of his band, and telling the rest to re-
main where they were, ready for action, he struck
inland. He made a détour and came in at the back
of the camp.
Here there were no sentries, as the only danger
to be apprehended was upon the side of the river.
Peter therefore entered boldly. In front of the
principal house a sentry was walking up and down,
and he, in the free-and-easy manner usual in the
American army, gladly entered into conversation
with the new-comers.
“All pretty quiet about here ?" Peter asked.
66 We're from the West, and have jest come down
to do a little fighting with the Britishers. I reckon
they ain't far off now ?"
“They are just across the river," the sentry said.
“ Have you come far ?"
“We've made something like two hundred mile
this week, and mean to have a day or two's rest be-
fore we begin. We've done some Injun fighting,
my mates and me, in our time, and we says to our-


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
213
selves it was about time we burned a little powder
against the red-coats. Things seem quiet enough
about here. Nothing doing, eh ?”!
“Not much," the sentry said; “ just skirmishes.
Some of our cavalry came across through the red-
coats late to-night. I hear they have got a quantity
of plunder and some fine horses, and they have
brought in a couple of the British scouts.”
“And what have they done with 'em ?” Peter
asked. “Strung 'em up, I suppose.”
“No, no; we ain't fighting Indians now; we
don't hang our prisoners. No, they are safe under
guard over there in the cavalry camp, and will be
taken to headquarters to-morrow.”
“ Waal,” Peter said, stretching himself, “I feel
mighty tired and shall jest look for a soft place for
an hour's sleep before morning.”
So saying he sauntered away, and the sentry
resumed his walk.
Peter and his three companions now moved off
toward the spot where, as the sentry had indicated,
the cavalry were encamped. They were not in
tents, but were sleeping wrapped up in their
blankets. Two tents bad been erected, lent prob-
ably by the infantry on the spot. One was much
larger than the other and sentries were placed be-
fore each. They had some difficulty in making
their way, for the night was dark and the cavalry
had picketed their horses without order or regu-
larity. In their search they had to use great
caution to avoid stumbling over the sleeping men,


214
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
but at last they saw the tents faintly against the
sky. They crawled cautiously up. There were two
sentries on the smaller tent.
“Now, Jake,” Peter whispered, “you're the
blackest and so had better do the trick. Don't cut
a hole in the tent, for they'd be safe to hear the
canvas tear. Crawl under. It's been put up in
haste and ain't likely to be pinned down very tight.
They're safe to be bound, and when you've cut the
cords and given them tirne to get the use of their
feet, then crawl along and jine us.”
Jake dia as he was instructed. One of the
sentries was pacing up and down before the en-
trance, the other making a circuit round the tent.
The circle was a somewhat large one to avoid
stumbling over the tent ropes. Jake, watching his
opportunity, had no difficulty in crawling up and
squeezing himself under the canvas before the
sentry returned.
“Hush !” he whispered as he let the canvas fall
behind him. “It's Jake."
· Both the captives were fast asleep. Jake, feeling
about in the darkness, found them one after the
other, and putting his hands on their mouths to
prevent them making an exclamation he woke them,
and soon cut the cords with which they were bound
hand and foot. Then in whispers he told them
what had happened. They chafed their limbs to
produce circulation, for they had been tightly tied,
and then one by one they crawled out of the tent.
Harvey went first and was safely across before


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
215
the sentry returned. Harold followed, but as he
went in his hurry he struck a tent rope.
“What's that ?" the sentry in front asked sharp-
ly. “Bill, was that you ?”
“No,” his comrade replied. “Something's up.
Look into the tent.”
And so saying he ran round behind, while the .
sentry in front rushed into the tent and, kicking
about with his feet, soon found that it was empty.
Jake, on hearing the exclamation, at once crawled
from the tent, but as he did so the sentry, running
round, saw him and leveled his rifle. Before he
could fire a shot was heard and the man fell dead.
Jake started to his feet and joined his friends.
The other sentry also discharged his rifle, and the
whole camp awoke and sprang to their feet. The
horses, alarmed at the sudden tumult, plunged and
kicked; men shouted and swore, every one asking
what was the matter. Then loud cries were heard
that the sentry was shot and the prisoners had
escaped.
Running closely together and knocking down all
who stood in their way, the fugitives hurried in the
darkness until at the edge of the camp and then
started at full speed.
The trumpets were now sounding to horse and
several shots were fired after them. Many of the
horses had not been unsaddled and mounted men at
once dashed off. Several had seen the little party
rush away, and the horsemen were speedily on their
track. The six men ran at the top of their speed
and were soon close to their hidden friends.


216
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
“This way! this way! I see them !” shouted a
voice, which Harold and Harvey recognized as that
of their enemy, who a minute later galloped up with
half a dozen troopers. It was not until he was
within a few yards that his figure was clearly dis-
cernible; then Peter Lambton's rifle flashed out
and the planter fell from his horse with a bullet in
his brain.
Jake and the other two men also fired, and the
horsemen, astonished at their number, reined in
their horses to await the coming up of more of
their comrades.
In another minute the fugitives were with their
friends, and at a rapid trot the whole ran up the
river bank toward the spot where they had hidden
their boat.
The country was covered with brushwood and
forest, and as the cavalry, now swollen to a consid-
erable force, advanced, they were greeted by so
heavy a fire that, astonished at this strong force of
foes upon their side of the river and not knowing
how numerous they might be, they halted and
waited for the infantry to come up. Long before
the enemy were prepared to advance against the
unknown foe the scouts reached their boat and
crossed in safety to the other side.
Shortly after this adventure Mr. Jackson and his
family moved for the winter to New York, where
soon after their arrival the wedding between Har-
vey and Isabelle took place, the former retiring
from the corps of scouts.


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG
217
CHAPTER XI.
THE CAPTURE OF PHILADELPHIA.
DURING the course of the spring of 1777 a large num-
ber of loyal colonists had volunteered their services.
They had been embodied into battalions, and when
the army prepared to take the field they were
placed in garrisons in New York and other places,
thus permitting the employment of the whole of
the British force in the field. The Americans bad
occupied themselves in strongly fortifying the
more defensible positions, especially those in a
mountain tract of country called the Manor of
Courland. This was converted into a sort of
citadel, where large quantities of provisions, forage,
and stures of all kinds were collected. About fifty
miles from New York, up the North River, was a
place called Peekskill, which served as a port to the
Manor of Courland. The country was so difficult
and mountainous that General Howe shrank from
engaging his army in it. He determined, however,
to attack and destroy Peekskill, and a party of five
hundred men, under the command of Colonel Bird,
of the Fifteenth Regiment, were sent up the river
in two transports to destroy it. The garrison, con-
sisting of eight bundred men, set fire to the place


218
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
and withdrew without firing a shot. The British
completed the destruction of the stores and returned
to New York.
A little later two thousand men were sent on a
similar expedition against the town of Danbury,
another place on the confines of Courland Manor,
where great stores had also been collected. They
proceeded up the East River and landed at Camp's
Point. They started on foot at ten o'clock at night,
and after a ten hours' march arrived at eight o'clock
at Danbury. The enemy evacuated the place on
their approach, and the English set fire to the great
magazines filled with stores of all kinds.
The news of the march of the English bad spread
rapidly, and the enemy assembled from all quarters
and posted themselves under the command of Gen-
eral Arnold at a town called Ridgefield, through
which the English would have to pass on their re-
turn. Here they threw up intrenchments. It was
late in the afternoon when the English, fatigued
with the long march, arrived at this spot. They
did not hesitate, but when the Americans opened
fire they boldly assailed the intrenchments and car-
ried them with the bayonet. They were unable to
march further, and lying down so as to form an
oblong square, slept till morning. All night the
Americans continued to come up in great force, and
in the morning as the troops advanced a terrible
fire was opened upon them from the houses and
stone walls in which the country abounded. The
British had to fight every foot of their way. Gen-


TRUE TO THE OLD TLAG.
219
eral Wooster had brought up some field-artillery on
the side of the Americans. Gradually the column
fought its way forward until it arrived within half
a mile of Camp's Point. Here two strong bodies of
the enemy barred their way. The column were by
this time greatly exhausted; the men had had no
real rest for three days and two nights and several
dropped on the road with fatigue. Brigadier-Gen-
eral Erskine picked out four hundred of those who
were in the best condition and attacked the two
bodies of the enemy with such vigor that he put
them utte, ly to flight, and the column again ad-
vancing reached their destination without further
molestation. Nearly two hundred men, including
ten officers, were killed and wounded on the part of
the British ; the loss of the Americans was still
greater, and General Wooster and some field-officers
were among the slain.
Many other skirmishes took place with varied
success. The Americans at Bond wick, seven miles
from Brunswick, twelve hundred in number, were
surprised and routed by Cornwallis, while on the
other hand the American Colonel Meigs carried out
a most dashing expedition by crossing to Long
Island and destroying quantity of stores at a place
called Sag Harbor, burning a dozen brigs and sloops
which lay there, taking ninety prisoners, and re-
turning safely across the sound.
In June Washington with eight thousand men
was encamped in a strong position at Middlebrook.
General Howe, although he had thirty thousand


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
221
stead of doing so he sailed down to Chesapeake Bay
and there disembarked the whole army, which had
been pent up in transports from July 3 to August
24. Not till September 11 did they advance in ear-
nest toward Philadelphia. The Americans thus had
ample time to take up a strong position and fortify
it. This they did on the other side of Brandy wine
Creek. Under cover of a cannonade the British ad-
vanced, mastered the fort, and carried the intrench-
ments. General Sullivan, with a considerable force,
had now arrived, accompanied by General Wash-
ington himself. He took up his position a short dis-
tance from the Brandywine, his artillery well placed
and his flanks covered with woods.
The following afternoon the British attacked.
The Americans fought well, but the British were
not to be denied, and rushing forward drove the
enemy from their position into the woods in their
rear. Here they made a stand and were only dis-
lodged after a desperate resistance. The greater
portion of them fled in all directions. Washington
himself, with his guns and a small force, retreated
eight miles from Chester and then marched by
Derby to Philadelphia. Here he waited three days
rallying his troops, and then having recruited his
stores from the magazines, marched a way.
All this time the British remained inactive on the
ground they had won. In the battle the Americans
lost three hundred killed, six hundred wounded, and
four hundred prisoners. Several guns were also
taken. The British lost one hundred killed and four
hundred wounded.


222
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
On September 20 they advanced toward Phila-
delphia. The American General Wayne had con-
cealed himself in the woods with fifteen hundred
men, with the intention of harassing the rear of the
British army. News of this having been obtained,
Major-General Grey was dispatched at once to sur-
prise him ; he ordered his men not to load, but to
rely wholly on the bayonet. The success of the ex-
pedition was complete. General Wayne's outpost
was surprised and the British troops rushed into his
encampment. Three hundred of the Americans
were killed or wounded and one hundred taken
prisoners. The rest escaped through the woods.
On the English side one officer was killed and
seven privates killed and wounded.
The capture of Philadelphia was an important
advantage to the British, but it could not be thor-
oughly utilized until the fleet could come up the
river to the town. The American Congress, wbich
had sat at Pbiladelphia until General Howe ap-
proached the town, had taken extensive measures
for rendering the passage impracticable. Three
rows of chevaux-de-frise, composed of immense
beams of timber bolted and fastened together and
stuck with iron spikes, were sunk across the chan-
nel, and these lines were protected by batteries.
At these forts were fourteen large row-boats, each
carrying a heavy cannon, two floating batteries
carrying nine guns each, and a number of fire-ships
and rafts.
The forts commanding the chevaux-de-frise were


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
223
abandoned on the approach of the British, and Cap-
tain Hammond, of the Roebuck, succeeded, in spite
of the opposition of the enemy's boats and batteries,
in making an opening through the chevaux-de-frise
sufficiently wide for the fleet to pass.
Large numbers of troops having been sent away
from Germantown, a place seven miles from Phila-
delphia, where the main body of the British army
were posted, General Washington determined to
attempt the surprise of that position. For this pur-
pose he reënforced his army by drawing fifteen
hundred troops from Peekskill and one thousand
from Virginia, and at day break on October 4,
under cover of a thick fog, he made an attack on
the troops posted at the head of the village.
Half of the British force lay on one side of the
village and half on the other, and had the attack
upon the place succeeded the British army would
have been cut in two. The village was held by the
Fortieth Regiment, who, fighting obstinately, were
driven back among the houses. The Americans
were pushing forward in five heavy columns, when
Lieutenant-Colonel Musgrave, who commanded the
Fortieth, threw himself into a large stone house.
Here he offered a desperate resistance, and so im-
peded the advance of the enemy that time was
given for the rest of the British troops to get under
arms. .
General Washington ordered a whole brigade of
infantry to attack the house and turned four guns
against it. Colonel Musgrave and his men resisted


224
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
desperately and held the post until Major-General
Grey, with the third brigade, and Brigadier-Gen-
eral Agnew, with the fourth brigade, came up and
attacked the enemy with great spirit. The engage-
ment was for some time very hot. At length a
part of the right wing fell upon the enemy's flank,
and the Americans retired with great precipitation.
The fog was so dense that no pursuit could be
attempted.
On the part of the English six hundred were
killed and wounded. The loss of the Americans
amounted to between two and three hundred killed,
six hundred wounded, and four hundred taken
prisoners. General Howe had on the previous
night been acquainted with the intention of Gen-
eral Washington to attack the place, and had be
taken the proper measures to have received them
the American army would have been destroyed.
He took no measures whatever, gave no warning to
the army, and suffered the camp to be taken by
surprise.
After this battle the feet and army united,
cleared away the chevaux-de-frise across the Dela-
ware, and took the forts commanding them after
some hard fighting.
The passage of the Delaware being thus opened
and the water communication secured, the army
went to their winter quarters at Philadelphia.
Captain Wilson and his son had taken no part in
any of these operations, as a short time after the
capture of Harold and Harvey by the American


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
225
cavalry the company had been disbanded. The
men when they entered the service had volunteered
for a year. This time already had been greatly
exceeded—twenty months had passed since the
battle of Bunker's Hill—and although the men
were willing to continue to give their services so
long as it appeared to them that there was a pros-
pect of a favorable terminatior of the war, no such
hope any longer remained in their minds. The
great army which England had sent over had done
nothing toward restoring 'b king's authority in the
colonies, and if after a year fighting its outposts
were still within a few miles of New York, how
could it be expected or evin hoped that it could
ever subdue a country containing hundreds of
thousands of square miles? The retreat from the
Delaware and the virtual handing over of New
Jersey again to Washington was the finishing
stroke which decided the volunteers to demand
their discharge, according to the terms of their
engagement. Except during the Canadian cam-
paign they had bad but little fighting, nor in such a
warfare as that which General Howe was carrying
on was there much scope for their services. Many
of the gentlemen who formed the majority of the
company, and who for the most part had friends
and connections in England, sailed for that country;
some had left wives and families on their estates
when they took up arms; and most of them, de-
spairing of the final success of the war, bad instruct- -
ed their agents to sell these estates for any sum that


226
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
they would fetch; others-among them Captain
Wilson—now followed their example. It was but a
mere tithe of the value of the property that was
obtained, for money was scarce in the colonies, and
so many bad sold out and gone to England, rather
tban take part on one side or the other of the
fratricidal strife, that land and houses fetched but
nominal prices.
Mrs. Wilson had long since gone to England, and
her husband, having made arrangements for the
disposal of his property, now determined to join
her. Fortunately be possessed means irrespective
of his estate in America. This had come to him
through his wife, and his own fortune and the
money obtained by the sale of his commission had
remained invested in English securities. While
determined on this course for himself, he left it to
his son to choose his own career. Harold was
now nearly eighteen, and his life of adventure and
responsibility had made a man of him. His father
would have preferred that he should have returned
with him to England, but Harold finally decided
upon remaining. In war men's passions become
heated, the original cause of quarrel sinks into
comparative insignificance, and the desire for vic-
tory, the determination to resist, and a feeling of
something like individual hatred for the enemy
become predominant motives of the strife.
This was especially the case in the American war.
On both sides there were many circumstances which
heightened the passions of the combatants. The


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
227
loyalists in the English ranks had been ruined by
the action of their opponents—many had been
reduced from wealth to poverty, and each man felt
a deep passion of resentment at what he regarded
his personal grievance. Then, too, the persistent
misrepresentations both of facts and motives on the
part of the American writers and speakers added to
the irritation. The loyalists felt that there were vast
numbers throughout the colonies who agreed with
them and regarded Congress as a tyrannical faction
rather than the expression of the general will. In
this, no doubt, they were to some extent mistaken,
for by this time the vast majority of the people had
joined heart and soul in the conflict. Men's passions
had become so stirred up that it was difficult for
any to remain neutral; and although there were
still large numbers of loyalists throughout the
States, the vast bulk of the people had resolved
that the only issue of the contest was complete and
entii a separation from the mother country.
Harold had now entered passionately into the
struggle. He was in constant contact with men who
had been ruined by the war. He heard only one side
of the question, and he was determined, so long as
England continued the struggle, to fight on for a
cause which he considered sacred. He was unable
to regard the prospects of success as hopeless; he
saw the fine army which England had collected ;
he had been a witness of the defeat of the
Americans whenever they ventured to stand the
shock of the British battalions; and in spite of the


228
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
unsatisfactory nature of the first campaign, he could
not bring himself to believe that such an army could
fail.
When the company was disbanded he decided to
continue to serve as a scout, but, sharing in the
general disgust in the army at the incapacity of
General Howe, he determined to take ship again
for Canada and take service under General Bur-
goyne, who was preparing with a well-appointed
army to invade the States from that side.
When he communicated his determination to
Peter Lambton the latter at once agreed to accom-
pany him.
“I've gone into this business,” the hunter said,
“and I mean to see it through. Settling down don't
suit me. I ain't got any friends at New York, and
I'd be miserable just loafing about all day dcing
nothing. No, I'll see this business out to the ind,
and I'd much rather go with you than any one
else.”
Jake was of the same opinion. Accustomed all
his life to obey orders and to the life on his master's
plantation, he would not have known what to do if
left to his own devices. Captain Wilson pointed
out to him that he could easily obtain work on the
wharves of New York or as a laborer on a farm,
but Jake would not listen to the proposal and was
hurt at the thought that he could leave his young
master's side as long as Harold continued in the
war.
Accordingly the day after Captain Wilson sailed


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
229
for England the three comrades embarked in a ship
for Halifax, whence another vessel took them to
Quebec. They then sailed up the river to Montreal
and took service as scouts in General Burgoyne's
army.
For political reasons General Burgoyne had been
appointed to the command of the expedition which
had been prepared, and General Carleton, naturally
offended at being passed orer, at once resigned the
governorship. His long residence in Canada, his
knowledge of the country, of the manners of its
inhabitants and the extent of its resources, and his
acquaintance with the character of the Indians,
rendered him far more fit for command than was
General Burgoyne. In military knowledge and ex-
perience, too, he was his superior, and bad he
retained a command the fate of the expedition
would probably have been very different.
The army under General Burgoyne consisted
of seven thousand one hundred and seventy-three
men, exclusive of artillerymen. Of these about
half were Germans. The Canadians were called
upon to furnish men sufficient to occupy the
woods on the frontier and to provide men for the
completion of the fortifications at Sorel, St. John's,
Chamblée, and Isle-aux-Noix, to furnish horses and
carts for carriage, and to make roads when neces-
sary. A naval force was to go forward with him
on the lake. The Indian question had again to be
decided. Several tribes volunteered to join the
British. General Burgoyne hesitated, as General


230
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
Carleton had done before, to accept their services,
and only did so finally on the certainty that if he
refused their offers they would join the Americans.
He resolved to use them as little as possible. He
knew that their object in all wars was murder and
destruction, and although he wished to conquer the
Americans, he did not desire to exterminate them.
On June 16, 1777, General Burgoyne advanced
from St. John's. The naval force had preceded the
army and opened a way for its advance. The
troops were carried in a flotilla of boats, and under
the protection of the fleet passed Lake Champlain
and landed at Crown Point.
Harold and his companions had joined the army a
fortnight previously, and as they crossed the lake
with the fleet they could not but remember their
last expedition there. At Crown Point they were
joined by one thousand Indians, who marched round
the lake, and at this place General Burgoyne gave
them a great feast and afterward made a speech to
them, exborting them to abstain from all cruelty, to
avoid any ill-treatment of unarmed combatants, and
to take as prisoners all combatants who fell into
their hands.
But while thus exhorting the Indians to behave
with humanity and moderation, the general took a
most ill-judged step, which not only did the English
cause great harm, but was used by the Americans
with much effect as a proof of the cruel way in
which England warred against the colonists. He
issued a proclamation threatening to punish with


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
231
the utmost severity all who refused to attach them-
selves to the British cause, and at the same time he
magnified the ferocity of the Indians, pointing out
with great emphasis their eagerness to butcher
those who continued hostile to the mother country,
whose interests they had espoused.
This proclamation was naturally construed by the
Americans as a threat to deliver over to the tender
mercies of the Indians to slay, scalp, and destroy all
who ventured to resist the authority of the king.
The Americans had fallen back on the approach
of the British, and upo' the landing being effected
the scouts were instantly sent forward.
Among the Indians who had joined at Crown
Point were the Senecas-among them their old
friend Deer Tail.
The scouts received no particular orders and were
free to regulate their own movements. Their duty
was to reconnoiter the country ahead and to bring
in any information they might gather as to numbers
and position of the enemy.
Finding that Peter and his companions were
about to start, Deer Tail said that instead of waiting
for the feast he would take five of his warriors and
accompany them.
It was at Ticonderoga that the Americans had
prepared to make their first stand. The place lies
on the western shore of the lake a few miles to the
north ward of the narrow inlet uniting Lake Cham-
plain to Lake George. It was to reconnoiter the
fort that the party now set out. News had been


232
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
brought that the Americans had been executing
great additional works, and the British general was
anxious to learn the nature of these before he ad-
vanced.
It was certain that the enemy would on their side
have sent out scouts to ascertain the movements of
the royal army, and the party proceeded with the
greatest care. They marched in the usual fasbion-
in Indian file; the Seneca chief led the way, fol-
lowed by one of his braves ; then came Peter, Harold,
and Jake; the other Senecas marched in the rear.
When they came within a few miles of the fort
their progress was marked with profound caution.
Not a word was spoken, their tread was noiseless,
and the greatest pains were taken to avoid stepping
on a twig dried stick. The three scouts when
they left St ohn's bad abandoned their boots and
had taken to Indian moccasins. Several times
slight murmurs were heard in the forest, and once
a party of four American frontiersmen were seen in
the wood. The party halted and crouched in the
bushes. The Senecas turned toward Peter as if
asking if an attack should be made, but the latter
shook his head. A single shot would have been
heard far away in the woods and their further proy-
ress would have been arrested. Their object now
was not to fight, but to penetrate close to the Amer-
ican intrenchments.
When the enemy had passed on the party con-
sinued its way. As they neared the fort the caution
observed increased. Several times they halted,


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
233
while the Seneca, with one of his braves, crawled
forward to see that all was clear. At last they
stood on the edge of a great clearing. Before them,
just within gun-shot range, stood the fort of Ticon-
deroga. Peter Lambton was well acquainted with
it, and beyond the fact that the space around had
been cleared of all trees and the stockades and
earthworks repaired, little change could be seen.
As he was gazing the Indian touched his shoulder
and pointed to a high hill on the opposite side of
the narrow straits. This had been cleared of
trees and on the top a strong fort had been erected.
Many cannon were to be seen along its crest, the
roofs of huts, and a large number of men. Half-
way up the bill was another battery and a third
still lower down to sweep the landing.
“They've been working hard," the hunter said,
" and the army'll have a mighty tough job before
it. What do you think of that, Harold ?"
“It is a very strong position,” Harold said, " and
will cost us a tremendous number of men to take it.
The fort cannot be attacked till that bill has been
carried, for its guns completely command all this
clearing.”
For some time they stood gazing at the works,
standing well back among the trees, so as to be
screened from all observation. At last Harold said :
“Look at that other hill behind. It is a good bit
higher than that which they have fortified and must
be within easy range both of it and the fort. I
don't see any works there—do you ?”


234
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
Peter and the Seneca chief both gazed long and
earnestly at the bill and agreed that they could see
no fortification there.
“ It won't do to have any doubt about it,” Peter
said. “We must go round and have a look at it.”
• We shall have to cross the river,” Harold re-
marked.
“Ay, cross it we must,” Peter said. “That hill's
got to be inspected.”
They withdrew into the wood again and made a
circuitous deviation till they came down upon the
river, two miles above Ticonderoga. They could
not reach the water itself, as a road ran along
parallel with it and the forest was cleared away for
some distance. A number of men could be seen
going backward and forward on the road.
Having made their observations, the scouts re-
tired again into a thick part of the forest and waited
till nightfall.
“How are we to get across ?” Harold asked
Peter. “It's a good long swim, and we could not
carry our muskets and ammunition across."
“ Easy enough,” the scout said, “Didn't you
notice down by the road a pile of planks ? I suppose
a wagon has broke down there, and the planks
have been turned out and nobody has thought any-
thing more about 'em. We'll each take a plank,
fasten our rifle and ammunition on it, and swim
across ; there won't be any difficulty about that.
Then when we've seen what's on the top of that
'ere bill we'll tramp round to the other end of the


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
235
lake. I heard that the army was to advance half
on each side, so we'll meet 'em coming.”
When it was perfectly dark they left their hiding-
place and crossed the clearing to the spot where
Peter had seen the planks. Each took one of them
and proceeded to the river side. Peter, Harold,
and Jake divested themselves of some of their
clothes and fastened these with their rifles and
ammunition to the planks. To the Indians the
question of getting wet was one of entire indiffer-
ence, and they did not even take off their hunting
shirts. Entering the water the party swam noise-
-lessly across to the other side, pushing their planks
before them. On getting out they carried the
planks for some distance, as their appearance by
the water's edge might excite a suspicion on the
part of the Americans that the works had been re-
connoitered.
After hiding the planks in the bushes they made
their way to Sugar Hill, as the eminence was called.
The ascent was made with great circumspection,
the Indians going on first. No signs of the
enemy were met with, and at last the party stood
on the summit of the hill. It was entirely unoccu-
pied by the Americans.
: “Well, my fine fellows," laughed the scout, “I
reckon ye've been doing a grist of work, and ye
might jest as well bave been sitting down quietly
smoking yer pipes. What on arth possessed ye to
leave this hill unguarded ???
In point of fact General St. Clair, who commanded


236
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
the Americans, had perceived that his position was
commanded from this spot. He had only three
thousand men under him, and he considered this
number too small to hold Ticonderoga, Mount Inde-
pendence, and Sugar Hill. The two former posts
could afford no assistance to the garrison of a fort
placed on Sugar Hill, and that place must therefore
fall if attacked by the British. On the other hand,
he hoped that should the attention of the English
not be called to the importance of the position by
the erection of works upon it, it might be over-
looked, and that General Burgoyne on his arrival
might at once attack the position which he had pre-
pared with so much care.
Having ascertained that the bill was unoccupied,
Peter proposed at once to continue the march.
Harold suggested to him that it would be better to
wait until morning, as from their lofty position
they would be able to overlook the whole of the
enemy's lines of defense and might obtain informa-
tion of vital importance to the general. Peter saw
the advantage of the suggestion. Two of the In-
dians were placed on watch, and the rest of the
party lay down to sleep. At daybreak they saw
that the delay had been fully justified, for they had
now a view of the water which separated Ticon-
deroga from Mount Independence, and perceived
that the Americans had made a strong bridge of
communication between these posts. Twenty-two
piers had been sunk at equal distances, and between
them boats were placed, fastened with chains to the


238
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
CHAPTER XII.
THE SETTLER’HUT.
BEFORE starting they stood for a minute or two
looking over the forest which they were to traverse.
To Harold's eye all appeared quiet and still. Here
and there were clearings where settlers had estab-
lished themselves, but with these exceptions the
forest stretched away like a green sea.
“ Tarnation !” Peter exclaimed. “We'll bave all
our work to get through safely, eh, chief ?”
The Seneca nodded.
“ What makes you say so?” Harold asked in
surprise. “I see nothing."
Peter looked at him reproachfully.
“ I'm downright ashamed of ye, lad. You should
have been long enough in the woods by this time to
know smoke when you see it. Why, there it is
curling up from the trees in a dozen-ay, in a score
of places. There must be hundreds of men out
scouting or camping in them woods."
Harold looked fixedly again at the forests, but
even now he could not detect the signs which were
so plain to the scout.
“You may call me as blind as a bat, Peter," he
said with a laugh, " but I can see nothing. Look-


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
239
ing hard I imagine I can see a light mist here and
there, but I believe it is nothing but fancy."
“It's clear enough to me, lad, and to the redskins.
What do you say, chief ?"
“ Too much men," the Seneca replied senten-
tiously.
For another minute or two he and Peter stood
watching the forest, and then in a few words con-
sulted together as to the best line to follow to avoid
meeting the foe who, to their eyes, swarmed in the
forest.
“It's mighty lucky,” the hunter said as they
turned to descend the bill, which was covered with
trees to its very summit, “ that they're white men
and not redskins out in the woods there. I don't
say that there's not many frontiersmen who know
the way of the woods as well as the redskins. I do
myself, and when it comes to fighting we can lick
'em on their own ground; but in scouting we ain't
nowhere—not the best of us. The redskin seems to
· have an instinct more like that of an animal than a
man. I don't say as he can smell a man a mile off
as a dog can do, but he seems to know when the
enemy's about ; his ears can hear noises which we
can't; his eyes see marks on the ground when the
keenest-sighted white man sees nothing. If that
wood was as full of redskins as it is of whites to-
day, our sculps wouldn't be worth a charge of
powder.”
“You are not going to follow the shores of the
lake, I suppose ?” Harold asked.


240
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
“No,” Peter said. “They'll be as thick as peas
down there watching for the first sight of our fleet.
No, we must just keep through the woods and be
as still and as silent as ef the trees had ears. You'd
best look to the priming of yer piece before we goes
further, for it's likely enough you'll have to use it
before the day's done, and a miss-fire might cost you
yer life. Tell that nigger of your'n that he's not to
open his mouth again till I gives him leave."
With a long, stealthy tread the party descended
the mountain and took their way through the
woods. Every hundred yards or so they stopped
and listened intently. Wben any noise, even of the
slightest kind, was heard, all dropped to the ground
until the chief bad scouted round and discovered
the way was clear. Once or twice they heard the
sound of men's voices and a distant laugh, but they
passed on without seeing those who uttered them.
Presently they again heard voices, this time
raised as if in angry dispute. The Seneca would,
as before, have made a long détour to avoid them,
but Peter said :
“ Let's have a squint at what's going on, chief."
With redoubled caution they again advanced
until they stood at the edge of the clearing. It was
a patch of land some hundred yards wide and ex-
tending from the shore of the lake nearly a quarter
of a mile inland. In the center stood a log hut,
neatly and carefully built. A few flowers grew
around the house, and the whole bore signs of
greater neatness and comfort than was usual in the
cabins of the backwood settlers.


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
241
The point where the party had reached the edge
of the wood was immediately opposite the house.
Near it stood a group of some twenty men, one of
whom, apparently their leader, was gesticulating
angrily as he addressed a man who stood facing
him.
“I tell ye, ye're a darned royalist-ye're a traitor
to the country, and I've a mind to hang ye and all
belonging to ye to the nearest bough."
“I tell you," the man answered calmly, but in the
still air every word he said could be heard by those
at the edge of the forest, “I hae naething to do
with the trouble ane way or the ither. I am a quiet
settler, whose business only is to mak a hame for
my wife and bairn; but if you ask me to drink suc-
cess to the Congress and confusion to the king's
troops, I tell you I willna do it; not even if you
are brutal enough, but this I canna believe possible,
to carry your threats into execution. I hae served
my time in a king's regiment. With the bounty I
received instead o' pension on my discharge I settled
here wi' my wife and bairn, and no one shall say
that Duncan Cameron was a traitor to his king.
We do no harm to any one; we tak no part for or
against you; we only ask to be allowed to live in
peace.”
“That ye shall not,” the man said. “The king's
troops have got Injuns with 'em, and they're going
to burn and kill all those who won't take part with
'em. It's time we should show 'em as we can play
at that game too. Now ye’ve either got to swear


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
243
friends were placed, but keeping down toward the
lake so as to be out of their line of fire.
“Make down to 'em, Harold,” Peter said. “ Tell
'em they'd best go to some neighbor's and stop
there for a day or two. The army'll be here to-
morrow or next day. Be quick about it, and come
back as fast as ye can. I tell ye we're in a hornet's
nest, and it'll be as much as we can do to get out
of it."
A scattering fire was now being exchanged be-
tween the redskins behind the shelter of the trees
and the Americans firing from the windows of the
log house. Harold was but two or three minutes
absent.
“All right, Peter!” he exclaimed as he rejoined
them.
“ Come along, then,” the hunter said. “Now,
chief, let's make up round the top of this clearing
and then foot it.”
The chief at once put himself at the head of the
party and the nine men strode away again through
the forest. It was no longer silent. Behind them
the occupants of the hut were still keeping up a
brisk fire toward the trees, while from several
quarters shouts could be heard, and more than once
the Indian war-whoop rose in the forest.
“That's jest what I was afeard of,” Peter mut-
tered. “There's some of those darned varmint with
'em. We might have found our way through the
whites, but the redskins'll pick up our trail as sar-
tin as if we were driving a wagon through the
woods."


244
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
Going along at a swinging noiseless trot the party
made their way through the forest. Presently a
prolonged Indian whoop was heard in the direction
from which they had come. Then there were loud
shouts and the firing ceased.
“ One of the red reptiles has found our trail,"
Peter said. “He's with a party of whites, and
they've shouted the news to the gang in the clear-
ing. Waal, we may calculate we've got thirty on
our trail, and as we can hear them all round it'll be
a sarcumstance if we git out with our sculps."
As they ran they heard shouts from those behind,
answered by others on both flanks. Shots, too,
were fired as signals to call the attention of other
parties. Several times the Seneca chief stopped
and listened attentively, and then changed his course
as he heard suspicious noises ahead. Those behind
them were coming up, although still at some dis-
tance in the rear. They could hear the sound of
breaking trees and bushes as their pursuers followed
them in a body.
“Ef it was only the fellows behind,” Peter said,
“we could leave them easy enough, but the wood
seems alive with the varmint.”
It was evident the alarm had spread through the
forest, and that the bands scattered here and there
were aware that an enemy was in their midst. The
dropping fire which the pursuers kept up afforded
an indication as to the direction in which they were
making, and the ringing war-whoop of the hostile
Indians conveyed the intelligence still more surely.


246
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
was strewn with broken crockery and portions of
wearing apparel.
Harold looked round. Several of the party were
bleeding from slight wounds.
“ Now to the windows,” Peter said as he barred
the door. “Pile up bedding and anything else that
ye can find against the shutters, and keep yerselves
well under cover. Don't throw away a shot; we'll
want all our powder, I can tell ye. Quickly now-
there ain't no time to be lost.”
Wbile some began carrying out his instructions
below, others bounded upstairs and scattered them-
selves through the upper rooms. There were two
windows on each side of the house-one at each
end. Disregarding the latter, Peter and Harold
took post at the windows looking toward the forest
from which they had just come. The chief and an-
other Indian posted themselves to watch the other
side. At first no one was to be seen. The party
who had fired at them as they ran across the open
had waited for the coming up of the strong band
, who were following before venturing to show them-
selves. The arrival of the pursuers was heralded
by the opening of a heavy fire toward the house.
As the assailants kept themselves behind trees no
reply was made, and the defenders occupied them-
selves by piling the bedding against the shutters,
which they had hastily closed. Loop-holes had
been left in the walls when the hut was first built ;
the moss with which they were filled up was torn
out, and each man took his post at one of these.





TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
247
As no answering shot came from the house, the as-
sailants became bolder and one or two ventured to
show themselves from behind shelter. In a moment
Harold and Peter, whose rifles would carry more
truly and much further than those of the Indians,
fired.
“ Two wiped out !" Peter said as the men fell and
shouts of anger arose from the woods. “That'll
make them careful.”
This proof of the accuracy of the aim of the be-
sieged checked their assailants, and for some time
they were very careful not to expose themselves.
From both sides of the forest a steady fire was
maintained. Occasionally an answering shot flashed
out from the house when one of the enemy incau-
tiously showed an arm or a part of his body from
behind the trees, and it was seldom the rifles were
fired in vain. Four or five of the Americans were
shot through the head as they leaned forward to
fire, and after an hour's exchange of bullets the at-
tack ceased.
“What are they going to do now?” Harold asked.
“I expect they're going to wait till nightfall,”
Peter said. “There's no moon and they'll be able
to work up all round the house. Then they'll make
a rush together at the door and lower windows.
We'll shoot down a good many on 'em, and then
they'll burst their way in or set fire to the hut, and
there'll be an end of it. That's what'll happen.”
“And you think there is no way of making our
way out?” Harold asked.


248
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
“It's a mighty poor chance, if there's one at all,”
the hunter replied. “I should say by the fire there
must be nigb a hundred of 'em now, and it's likely
that by nightfall there'll be three times as many.
As soon as it gets dusk they'll creep out from the
woods and form a circle round the house and grad-
ually work up to it. Now let's cook some vittles ;
we've had nothing to eat this morning yet, and it
must be nigh eleven o'clock. I don't see why we
should be starved, even if we have got to be killed
to-night.”
One of the party was left on watch on each side
of the house, and the others gathered in the room
below, where a fire was lit and the strips of dried
deer flesh which they carried were soon frying over
it. Harold admired the air of indifference with
which his companions set about preparing the meat.
Every one was aware of the desperate nature of
the position, but no allusion was made to it. The
negro had caught the spirit of his companions, but
his natural loquacity prevented his imitating their
habitual silence.
“Dis bad affair, Massa Harold,” he said. “We
jess like so many coons up in tree, wid a whole
pack ob dogs round us, and de hunters in de distance
coming up wid de guns. Dis child reckon dat some
ob dem hunters will get hit hard before dey get us.
Jake don't care one bit for himself, massa, but he
bery sorry to see you in such a fix.”
“It can't be helped, Jake,” Harold said as cheer-
fully as he could. “It was my firing that shot


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
249
which got us into it, and yet I cannot blame myself.
We could not stand by and see those ruffians murder
a woman and child.”
“Dat’s so, Massa Harold ; dere was no possin bility
of seeing dat. I reckon dat when dose rascals come
to climb de stairs dey'll find dat it are bery bard
work.”
“I don't think they will try, Jake. They are
more likely to heap brush wood against the door and
windows and set it alight, and then shoot us down
as we rush out. This hut is not like the one I had
to defend against the Iroquois. That was built to
repel Indians' attacks; this is a mere squatter's
hut."
After the meal was over Peter and the Seneca
chief went upstairs, looked through the loop-holes,
and talked long and earnestly together; then they
rejoined the party below.
“The chief and I are of opinion, Peter said to
Harold, “ that it are of no manner of use our wait-
ing to be attacked here. They'd burn us out to a
sartinty; we should have no show of a fight at all.
Anything's better than that. Now, what we
propose is that directly it gits fairly dark we'll all
creep out and make for the lake. Even ef they
have formed their circle round us, they ain't likely
to be as thick there as they are on the other side.
What they'll try to do, in course, is to prevent our
taking to the forest; and there'll be such a grist of
'em that I don't believe one of us would git through
alive if we tried it. Now they'll not be so strong


250
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
toward the lake, and we might break through to
the water. I don't say as there's much chance of
our gitting away, for I tell you fairly that I don't
believe that there's any chance at all; but the chief
here and his braves don't want their sculps to hang
in the wigwams of the Chippewas, and I myself, ef
I had the choice, would rather be drownded than
shot down. It don't make much difference, but of
the two I had rather. Ef we can reach the lake we
can swim cut of gunshot range. I know you can
swim like a fish, and socan Jake, and the Injuns
swim as a matter of course. Ef we dive at first we
may git off ; it'll be so dark they won't see us with
any sartinty beyond fifty yards. When we're once
fairly out in the lake we can take our chance."
“And is there a chance, Peter? Although, if
there is none, I quite agree with you that I would
rather be drowned than shot down. If one were
sure of being killed by the first shot that would be
the easiest death; but if we were only wounded
they would probably hang us in the morning."
“ That's so," the hunter said. “Waal, I can
hardly say that there's a chance, and yet I can't say
as how there ain't. In the first place, they may
have some canoes and come out after us; there's
pretty safe to be sore along the shore here. The
settlers would have had 'em for fishing."
“But what chance will that give us?” Harold
asked.
“Waal,” the hunter replied, “I reckon in that
case as our chance is a fair one. Ef we dive and


252
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
It was perfectly dark when the bars were noiselessly
removed from the door and the party stole out.
Everything seemed silent, but the very stillness
made the danger appear more terrible. Peter had
impressed upon Harold and Jake the necessity for
moving without making the slightest noise. As
soon as they left the house the whole party dropped
on their hands and knees. Peter and the Seneca
chief led the way; two of the braves came next;
Harold and Jake followed; the remaining Indians
crawled in the rear. Peter had told his comrades
to keep as close as possible to the Indians in front
of them, and grasping their rifles they crept along
the ground. As they led the way Peter and the
Seneca carefully removed from before them every
dried twig and threw it on one side.
The distance to be traversed from the but to the
water was about two hundred yards, and half of
this was passed over before they encountered any
obstacle. Then suddenly there was an exclamation,
and Peter and the Seneca .sprang to their feet as
they caine in contact with two men crawling in the
opposite direction. They were too close to use their
rifles, but a crushing blow from the Seneca's tonia-
hawk cleft down the man in front of him, while
Peter drew his long knife from its sheath and buried
it in the body of his opponent.
The others had also leaped to their feet, and each
as he did so fired at the dark figures which rose
around them. They had the advantage of the sur-
prise; several scattered shots answered their volley,


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
253
then with their rifles clubbed they rushed forward.
For a moment there was a hand-to-hand fight.
Harold had just struck down a man opposite to him
when another sprang upon him; so sudden was the
attack that he fell from the shock. But in an in-
stant Jake buried his knife between his opponent's
shoulders and dragged Harold to his feet.
“Run for your life, Massa Harold. De whole
gang's upon us !"
And indeed the instant the first shot broke the
silence of the woods a babel of sounds arose from
the whole circuit of the clearing; shouts and yells
burst out from hundreds of throats. There was no
further use for concealment, and from all sides the
men who had been advancing to the attack rushed
in the direction where the conflict was taking place.
This lasted but a few seconds. As Peter had ex-
pected, the line was thinner toward the lake than
upon the other sides, and the rush of nine men had
broken through it. Shouts were heard from the
woods on either side extending down to the water,
showing that the precaution had been taken by the
assailants of leaving a portion of their force to guard
the line of forest should the defenders break through
the circle.
At headlong speed the little band rushed down
to the water's side, dropped their ammunition
pouches by its edge, threw their rifles a few yards
into the water, to be recovered, perhaps, on some
future occasion, and then dived in. The nearest of
the pursuers were some thirty yards behind when


254
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
they neared the water's edge. Swimming as far
under water as they could hold their breath, each
came to the surface for an instant and then again
dived. Momentarily as they showed themselves
they heard the rattle of musketry behind, and the
bullets splashed thickly on the water. The night,
however, was so dark that the fire could only be a
random one. Until far out from the shore they
continued diving and then gathered together.
“ We're pretty well out of range now," Peter
said, “and quite out of sight of the varmints. Now
we can wait a bit and see what they do next.”
The enemy were still keeping up a heavy fire
from the shore, hallooing and shouting to each
other as they fancied they caught a glimpse of their
enemies.
“There must be two or three hundred of 'em,"
Peter said. “We've fooled 'em nicely so far."
By the crashing of the bushes the fugitives could
hear strong parties making their way along the
shore in either direction. An hour passed, during
which the fugitives floated nearly opposite the
clearing.
“Hullo !” Peter exclaimed presently. “There's
a canoe coming along the lake. I expect they got
it from Cameron's.”
As he spoke a canoe appeared round the point.
Two men were standing up holding blazing torches;
two others paddled ; while two, rifle in hand, sat by
them. Almost at the same moment another canoe,
similarly manned, pushed out from the shore im-
mediately opposite.


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
255
“I wish we had known of that canoe," Peter
said ; “it would have saved us a lot of trouble ; but
we had no time for looking about. I suspected
them settlers must have had one laid up some-
wheres. Now," he went on,“let's make our plans.
The canoes are sure to keep pretty nigh each other.
They'll most likely think as we've gone down the
lake and'll not be looking very sharply after us at
present. It'll never do to let 'em pass us. Now
Jake and I and two of the Injuns will take one
canoe and the chief and three of his braves the
other. We must move round so as to get between
'em and the shore and then dive and come up close
to 'em. Now, Harold, do you swim out a bit further
and then make a splash so as to call their attention.
Do it once or twice till you see that they've got
their eyes turned that way. Then be very quiet, so
as to keep 'em watching for another sound. That'll
be our moment for attacking 'em."
They waited till the two canoes joined each other
and paddled slowly out from shore. Then the eight
swimmers started off to make their détour, while
Harold swam quietly further out into the lake. The
canoes were about three hundred yards from shore
and were paddling very slowly, the occupants keep-
ing a fixed look along the lake. There was perfect
quiet on the shore now, and when Harold made a
slight splash with his hand upon the water he saw
it was heard. Both canoes stopped rowing, the
steerers in each case giving them a steer so that
they lay broadside to the land, giving each man a


256
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
view over the lake- They sat as quiet as if carved
in stone. Again Harold made a splash, but this
time a very slight one, so slight that it could hardly
reach the ears of the listeners.
A few words were exchanged by the occupants
of the boats.
“ They are further out on the lake, Bill,” one
said.
“I am not sure," another answered. “I rather
think the sound was further down. Listen again.”
Again they sat motionless. Harold swam with
his eyes fixed upon them. Every face was turned
his way and none was looking shoreward. Then,
almost at the same instant, there was a shout from
both boats. The men with torches seemed to lose
their balance. The lights described a half circle
through the air and were extinguished. A shout of
astonishment broke from the occupants, mingled
with the wild Seneca war-yell, and he knew that
both canoes were upset.
There was the sound of a desperate struggle going
on. Oaths and wild cries rose from the water.
Heavy blows were struck, while from the shore
arose loud shouts of dismay and rage. In two min-
utes all was quiet on the water. Then came Peter's
shout:
“This way, Harold. We'll have the canoes
righted and bailed in a minute. The varmin's all
wiped out.”
With a lightened heart Harold swam toward the
spot. The surprise had been a complete success.


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
257
The occupants of the canoes, intent only upon the
pursuit and having no fear of attack—for they
knew that the fugitives must have thrown away
their rifles— were all gazing intently out on the
lake, when close to each canoe on the shore side
four heads rose from out of the water. In an in-
stant eight bands had seized the gunwales, and be-
fore the occupants were aware of their danger the
canoes were upset.
Taken wholly by surprise the Americans were no
match for their assailants. The knives of the latter
did their work before the frontiersmen had
thoroughly grasped what had happened. Two or
three, indeed, had made a desperate fight, but they
were no match for their opponents and the struggle
was quickly over.
On Harold reaching the canoes he found them
already righted and half-emptied of water. The
paddles were picked up, and in a few minutes, with
a derisive shout of adieu to their furious enemy on
the shore, the two canoes paddled out into the lake.
When they had attained a distance of about half a
mile from the shore they turned the boats' heads
and paddled north. In three hours they saw lights
in the wood.
“There's the troops,” Peter said. “Soldiers are
never content unless they're making fires big
enough to warn every redskin within fifty miles
that they're coming."
As they approached the shore the challenge from
the English sentinel came over the water :


258
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
“ Who comes there?”
“ Friends,” Peter replied.
“Give the pass-word.”
“How on arth am I to give the pass-word,” Peter
shouted back, “when we've been three days away
from the camp ?”
“If you approach without the pass-word I fire,”
the sentinel said.
“I tell ye,” Peter shouted, “we're scouts with
news for the general.”
“I can't help who you are," the sentinel said. “I
have got my orders.”
“Pass the word along for an officer,” Harold
shouted. “We hare important news.”
The sentry called to the one next him, and so
the word was passed along the line. In a few min-
utes an officer appeared on the shore, and after a
short parley the party were allowed to land, and
Peter and Harold were at once conducted to the
headquarters of General Burgoyne.


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
259
CHAPTER XIII.
SARATOGA.
“What is your report ?” asked General Bur-
goyne as the scouts were conducted into his tent.
“We have discovered, sir, that the Americans
bave strongly fortified Mount Independence, which
faces Ticonderoga, and have connected the two
places by a bridge across the river, which is pro-
tected by a strong boom. Both positions are, how-
ever, overlooked by Sugar Hill, and this they have
entirely neglected to fortify. If you were to seize
this they would have to retire at once."
The general expressed his satisfaction at the
news and gave orders that steps should be taken to
seize Sugar Hill immediately. He then questioned
the scouts as to their adventures and praised them
highly for their conduct.
The next day the army advanced, and at night-
fall both divisions were in their places, having
arrived within an hour or two of each other from
the opposite sides of the lake. Sugar Hill was
seized the same night, and a strong party were set
to work cutting a road through the trees. The
next morning the enemy discovered the British at
work erecting a battery on the bill, and their gen-


260
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
eral decided to evacuate both Ticonderoga and
Mount Independence instantly. Their baggage,
provisions, and stores were embarked in two hun-
dred boats and sent up the river. The army started
to march by the road.
The next morning the English discovered that
the Americans had disappeared. Captain Lutwych
immediately set to work to destroy the bridge and
boom, whose construction bad taken the Americans
nearly twelve months' labor. By nine in the
morning a passage was effected, and some gunboats
passed through in pursuit of the enemy's convoy.
They overtook them near Skenesborough, engaged
and captured many of their largest craft, and
obliged them to set several others on fire, together
with a large number of their boats and barges.
A few hours afterward a detachment of British
troops in gunboats came up the river to Skenes-
borough. The cannon on the works which the
Americans had erected there opened fire, but the
troops were landed, and the enemy at once evacu-
ated their works, setting fire to their store-houses
and mills. While these operations had been going
on by water Brigadier-General Fraser, at the head
of the advance corps of grenadiers and light infantry,
pressed hard upon the division of the enemy wbich
had retired by the Hubberton Road and overtook
them at five o'clock in the morning.
The division consisted of fifteen hundred of the
best colonial troops under the command of Colonel
Francis. They were posted on strong ground and


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
261
sheltered by breastworks composed of logs and old
trees. General Fraser's detachment was inferior in
point of numbers to that of the defenders of the
position, but as he expected a body of the German
troops under General Reidesel to arrive immedi-
ately he at once attacked the breastworks. The
Americans defended their post with great resolution
and bravery. The reënforcements did not arrive
so soon as was expected, and for some time the
British made no way.
General Reidesel, hearing the fire in front,
pushed forward at full speed with a small body of
troops. Among these was the band, which he or-
dered to play.
The enemy, hearing the music and supposing that
the whole of the German troops had come up, evacu-
ated the position and fell back with precipitation.
Colonel Francis and many others were killed and
two hundred taken prisoners. On the English side
one hundred and twenty men were killed and
wounded.
The enemy from Skenesborough were pursued by
Colonel Hill, with the Ninth Regiment, and were
overtaken near Fort Anne. Finding how small was
the force that pursued them in comparison to their
own, they took the offensive. A hot engagement
took place, and after three hours' fighting the
Americans were repulsed with great slaughter and
forced to retreat after setting fire to Fort Anne
and Fort Edward.
In these operations the British captured one


262
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hundred and forty-eight guns, with large quantities
of stores. At Fort Edward General Schuyler was
joined by General St. Clair, but even with this ad-
dition the total American strength did not exceed
forty-four hundred.
Instead of returning from Skenesborough to
Ticonderoga, whence he might have sailed with his
army up to Lake George, General Burgoyne pro-
ceeded to cut his way through the woods to the
lake. The difficulties of the passage were immense :
swamps and morasses had to be passed, bridges had
to be constructed over creeks, ravines, and gulleys.
The troops worked with great vigor and spirit.
Major-General Phillips had returned to Lake George
and transported the artillery, provisions, and bag-
gage to Fort George and thence by land to a point
on the Hudson River, together with a large number
of boats for the use of the army in their intended
descent to Albany.
So great was the labor entailed by this work that
it was not until July 30 that the army arrived on
the Hudson River. The delay of three weeks had
afforded the enemy time to recover their spirits and
recruit their strength. General Arnold arrived
with a strong reënforcement, and a force was de-
tached to check the progress of Colonel St. Leger,
who was coming down from Montreal by way of
Lake Ontario and the Mohawk River, to effect a
junction with General Burgoyne.
General Burgoyne determined to advance at
once. The army was already suffering from want


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
263
of transportation, and he decided to send a body
of troops to Bennington, twenty-four miles to
the eastward of the Hudson River, where the
Americans had large supplies collected. Instead of
sending light infantry he dispatched six hundred
Germans—the worst troops he could have selected
for this purpose, as they were very heavily armed
and marched exceedingly slowly. Several of the
officers remonstrated with him, but with his
usual infatuated obstinacy be maintained his dis-
position.
On approaching Bennington Colonel Baum, who
commanded the Germans, found that a very strong
force was gathered there. He sent back for re-
enforcements, and five hundred more Germans,
under Lieutenant-Colonel Breyman, were dispatched
to his assistance. Long, however, before these
slowly moving troops could arrive Colonel Baum
was attacked by the enemy in vastly superior pum-
bers. The Germans fought with great bravery and
several times charged the Americans and drove
them back. Fresh troops continued to come up on
the enemy's side, and the Germans having lost a
large number of men, including their colonel, were
forced to retreat into the woods. The enemy then
advanced against Colonel Breyman, who was
ignorant of the disaster that had befallen Baum,
and with his detachment had occupied twenty-four
hours in marching sixteen miles. The Germans
again fought well, but after a gallant resistance
were obliged to fall back. In these two affairs they
lost six hundred men.


264
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
In the mean time Colonel St. Leger had com-
menced his attack upon Fort Stanwix, which was
defended by seven hundred men. The American
General Herkimer advanced with one thousand
men to its relief. Colonel St. Leger detached Sir
John Johnson with a party of regulars and a num-
ber of Indians, who had accompanied him, to meet
them. The enemy advanced incautiously and fell
into an ambush. A terrible fire was poured into
them, and the Indians then rushed down and at-
tacked them hand to hand. The Americans, al-
though taken by surprise, fought bravely and
succeeded in making their retreat, leaving four
hundred killed and wounded behind them.
Colonel St. Leger had no artillery which was
capable of making any impression on the defenses
of the fort. Its commander sent out a man who,
pretending to be a deserter, entered the British
camp and informed Colonel St. Leger that General
Burgoyne had been defeated and his army cut to
pieces, and that General Arnold, with two thousand
men, was advancing to raise the siege. Colonel St.
Leger did not credit the news, but it created a panic
among the Indians, the greater portion of whom at
once retired without orders, and St. Leger having
but a small British force with him was compelled to
follow their example, leaving his artillery and stores
'behind him.
On September 13 General Burgoyne, having with
immense labor collected thirty days' provisions on
the Hudson, crossed the river by a bridge of boats


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
265
and encamped on the heights of Saratoga. His
movements had been immensely bampered by the
vast train of artillery which he took with him. In
an open country a powerful force of artillery is of
the greatest service to an army, but in a campaign
in a wooded and roadless country it is of little utility
and enormously hampers the operations of an army.
Had General Burgoyne, after the capture of Ticon-
deroga, pressed forward in light order without
artillery he could unquestionably have marched
to New York without meeting with any serious
opposition, but the six weeks' delay had enabled
the Americans to collect a great force to oppose
him.
On the 19th, as the army were advancing to Still-
water, five thousand of the enemy attacked the
British right. They were led by General Arnold
and fought with great bravery and determination.
The brunt of the battle fell on the Twentieth,
Tiventy-fourth, and Sixty-second Regiments. For
four hours the fight continued without any advan-
tage on either side, and at nightfall the Americans
drew off, each side baving lost about six hundred
men. After the battle of Stillwater the whole of
the Indians with General Burgoyne left him and
returned to Canada.
Hampered with his great train of artillery, un-
provided with transportation, in the face of a power-
ful enemy posted in an exceedingly strong position,
General Burgoyne could neither advance nor re-
treat. The forage was exhausted and the artillery
La


266
TRCE TO THE OLD FLAG.
horses were dying in great numbers. He had
hoped that Sir William Howe would have sailed
up the Hudson and joined him, but the English
commander-in-chief had taken his army down to
Philadelphia. Sir Henry Clinton, who commanded
at New York, endeavored with a small force at
his command to make a diversion by operating
against the American posts on the Hudson River,
but this was of no utility.
Burgoyne's army was now reduced to little more
than five thousand men, and he determined to fall
back upon the lakes. Before doing this, however,
it would be necessary to dislodge the Americans
from their posts on his left. Leaving the camp
under the command of General Hamilton, Bur-
goyne advanced with fifteen hundred men against
them. But scarcely had the detachment start-
ed when the enemy made a furious attack
on the British leſt. Major Ackland, with the
grenadiers, was posted here, and for a time defend-
ed himself with great bravery. The light infantry
and Twenty-fourth were sent to their assistance, but,
overpowered by numbers, the left wing was forced
to retreat into their intrenchments. These the
enemy, led by General Arnold, at once attacked
with great impetuosity. For a long time the result
was doubtful, and it was not until the American
leader was wounded that the attack ceased. In:
the mean time the intrenchments defended by the
German troops under Colonel Breyman had also
been attacked. Here the fight was obstinate, but


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
267
the German intrenchments were carried, Colonel
Breyman killed, and his troops retreated with the
loss of all their baggage and artillery. Two hun-
dred prisoners fell into the hands of the Americans.
That night the British army was concentrated on
the heights above the hospital. General Gates,
who commanded the Americans, moved his army so
as to entirely inclose the British, and the latter, on
the night of October 8, retired to Saratoga, being
obliged to leave all their sick and wounded in
hospital. These were treated with the greatest
kindness by the Americans. An attempt was now
made to retreat to Fort George or Fort Edward,
but the Americans had taken up positions on each
road and fortified them with cannon.
Only about thirty-five hundred fighting men
now remained, of whom but one-half were Brit-
ish, and scarcely eight days' provisions were left.
The enemy, four times superior in point of num-
bers, held every line of retreat and eluded every
attempt of the British to force them to a general
engagement.
The position was hopeless, and on October 13 a
council of war was held and it was determined to
open negotiations for a surrender. Two days were
spent in negotiations, and it was finally agreed
that the army should lay down its arms and that it
should be marched to Boston, and there allowed to
sail for England on condition of not serving again
in North America during the contest. The Cana-
dians were to be allowed to return at once to their


268
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
own country. On the 16th the army laid down
its arms. It consisted of thirty-five hundred
fighting men and six hundred sick and nearly
two thousand boatmen, teamsters, and other non-
effectives.
Never did a general behave with greater incom-
petence than that manifested by General Burgoyne
from the day of his leaving Ticonderoga, and the
disaster which befell his army was entirely the re-
sult of mismanagement, procrastination, and faulty
generalship.
Had Harold remained with the army until its
surrender his share in the war would have been at
an end, for the Canadians, as well as all others who
laid down their arms, gave their word of honor not
to serve again during the war. He had, however,
with Peter Lambton and Jake, accompanied Colonel
Baum's detachment on its march to Bennington.
Scouting in front of the column, they had ascertained
the presence of large numbers of the enemy, and
had by hastening back with the news enabled the
German colonel to make some preparations for
resistance before the attack was made upon him.
During the fight that ensued the scouts, posted
behind trees on the German left, had assisted them
to repel the attack from that quarter, and when the
Germans gave way they effected their escape into
the woods and managed to rejoin the army.
They had continued with it until it moved to the
hospital heights after the disastrous attack by the
Americans on their camp. General Burgoyne then


270
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
sent for Peter Lambton, who was, be knew, one of
his most active and intelligent scouts.
“Could you make your way through the enemy's
lines down to Ticonderoga ?” he asked.
“I could try, general,” Peter said. “Me and the
party who work with me could get through if any
one could, but more nor that I can't say. The
Yanks are swarming around pretty thick, I reckon,
but if we have luck we might make a shift to get
through.”
“I have hopes,” the general said, “ that another
regiment, for which I asked General Carleton, has
arrived there. Here is a letter to General Powell,
who is in command, to beg him to march with all
his available force and fall upon the enemy posted
on our line of communication. Unless the new
regiment has reached him he will not have a suffi-
cient force to attempt this, but if this has come up
he may be enabled to do so. He is to march in the
lightest order and at full speed, so as to take the
enemy by surprise. Twelve hours before he starts
you will bring me back news of his coming and I
will move out to meet him. His operations in their
rear will confuse the enemy and enable me to
operate with a greater chance of success. I tell you
this because if you are surrounded and in difficulties
you may have to destroy my dispatch. You can
then convey my instructions by word of mouth to
General Powell if you succeed in getting through."
Upon leaving headquarters Peter joined his
friends.


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
271
“It's a risksome business,” he went on after in-
forming them of the instructions he had received,
“ but I don't know as it's much more risksome than
stopping here. It don't seem to me that this army
is like to get out of the trap into which their general
has led 'em. Whatever he wanted to leave the
lakes for is more nor I can tell. However, general-
ing ain't my business, and I wouldn't change places
with the old man to-day, not for a big sum of
money. Now, chief, what do you say? How's
this 'ere business to be carried out ?”
The Seneca, with the five braves who bad from
the first accompanied them, were now the only In-
dians with the British army. The rest of the red-
skins, disgusted with the dilatory progress of the
army and foreseeing inevitable disaster, had all be-
taken themselves to their homes. They were,
moreover, angered at the severity with which the
English general had endeavored to suppress their
tendency to acts of cruelty on the defenseless
settlers. The redskin has no idea of civilized war-
fare. His sole notion of fighting is to kill, burn,
and destroy, and the prohibition of all irregular
operations and of the infliction of unnecessary suffer-
ing was in his eyes an act of incomprehensible
weakness. The Seneca chief remained with the
army simply because his old comrade did so. He
saw that there was little chance of plunder, but he
and his braves had succeeded in fair fight in obtain-
ing many scalps, and would, at least, be received
with high honor on their return to their tribe.


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
273
They now struck off to the right, and by day-
break were far round beyond the American army,
on their way to Ticonderoga. They had walked for
fifteen hours when they halted, and it was not until
late in the afternoon that they continued their
journey. They presently struck the road which the
army had cut in its advance, and keeping parallel
with this through the forest they arrived the next
morning at Fort Edward. A few hours' rest here
and they continued their march to Ticonderoga.
This place had been attacked by the Americans a
few days previously, but the garrison had beaten
off the assailants.
On the march they had seen many bodies of the
enemy moving along the road, but their approach
had in every case been detected in time to take
refuge in the forest. On entering the fort Peter at
once proceeded to General Powell's quarters and
delivered the dispatch with which he had been in-
trusted. The general read it.
“No renëforcements have arrived,” the general
said, “and the force here is barely sufficient to de-
fend the place. It would be madness for me to set
out on such a march with the handful of troops at
my disposal.”
He then questioned Peter concerning the exact
position of the army, and the latter had no hesita-
tion in saying that he thought the whole force
would be compelled to lay down their arms unless
some reënforcements reached them from below.
This, however, was not to be. General Clinton



INT
RAN
M
DONALD CAMERON'S DESPAIR.–Page 275.





TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
275
whether their interference had saved him and his
family. Upon arriving at the spot whence Harold
had fired the shot which had brought discovery
upon them, they saw a few charred stumps alone
remaining of the snug house which had stood there.
In front of it, upon the stump of a tree, Cameron
himself was sitting in an attitude of utter depression.
They walked across the clearing to the spot, but
although the sound of their footsteps must have
reached his ear, the man did not look up until Har-
old touched him on the shoulder.
“ What has happened ?” he asked. “Who has done
this ruin ?”
The man still remained with his head bent down,
as if he had not heard the question.
“We had hoped that you had escaped," Harold
'went on. “We were hidden in the wood when we
saw those ruffians drive your wife and daughter out,
and it was the shot from my rifle that killed their
leader and brought them down on us; and a narrow
escape we bad of it; but we hoped that we had
diverted tbem from their determination to kill you
and your family.”
Cameron looked up now.
“I thank ye, sir," he said. “I thank ye wi' a'
my hairt for your interference on our behalf. I
heerd how closely ye were beset that night and how
ye escaped. They thought nae mair o’us, and when
the royal army arrived the next day we were safe;
but ye might as weel ha' let the matter gang on-
better, indeed, for then I should be deed instead o'


276
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
suffering. This wark,” and he pointed toward the
remains of the bouse, “is redskin devilry. A fort-
night sin' a band o’ Indians fell upon us. I was
awa'. They killed my wife and burned my house
and ba’ carried off my bairn."
“Who were they ?” Harold asked.
“I dinna ken," Cameron replied ; “ but a neebor
o' mine whose place they attacked, and whom they
had scalped and left for deed, told me that they
were a band o' the Iroquois who had come down
from Lake Michigan and advanced wi' the British.
He said that they with the other redskins desairted
when their hopes o'plunder were disappointed, and
that on their way back to their tribes they burned
and ravaged every settlement they cam' across.
My neebor was an old frontiersman; he had fought
against the tribe and knew their war-cry. He deed
the next day. He was mair lucky than I am."
“The tarnal ruffians !” Peter exclaimed ; "the
murdering varmints ! and to think of 'em carrying
off that purty little gal of yours! I suppose by this
time they're at their old game of plundering and
slaying on the frontier. It's naught to them which
side they fight on; scalps and plunder is all they
care for.”
The unfortunate settler had sat down again on
the log, the picture of a broken-hearted man. Har-
old drew Peter a short distance away.
“ Look here, Peter,” he said. “ Now Burgoyne's
army has surrendered and winter is close at hand,
it is certain that there will be no further operations


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
277
here, except perhaps that the Americans will recap-
ture the place. What do you say to our undertak-
ing an expedition on our own account to try and
get back this poor fellow's daughter? I do not
know whether the Seneca would join us, but we
three—of course I count Jake—and the settler might
do something. I have an old grudge against these
Iroquois myself, as you have heard ; and for aught
I know they may long ere this have murdered my
cousins.”
“The Seneca will jine," Peter said, “ willing
enough. There's an old feud between his tribe and
the Iroquois. He'll jine fast enough. But mind,
youngster, this ain't no child's play; it ain't like
fighting them American clodhoppers. We'll have
to deal with men as sharp as ourselves, who can
shoot as well, hear as well, see as well, who are in
their own country, and who are a hundred to one
against us. We've got hundreds and hundreds of
miles to travel afore we gets near 'em. It's a big
job; but if, when ye thinks it all over, you're ready
to go, Peter Lambton ain't the man to hold back.
As you say, there's naught to do this winter, and
we might as well be doing this as anything else.”
The two men then went back to the settler.
“Cameron,” Harold said, “it is of no use sitting
here grieving. Why not be up in pursuit of those
who carried off your daughter ?”
The man sprang to his feet.
“In pursuit !” he cried fiercely ; “in pursuit! Do
ye think Donald Cameron wad be sitting here


278
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
quietly if he kenned where to look for his daughter
- where to find the murderers o' his wife? But
what can I do? For three days after I cam' back
and found what had happened I was just mad. I
couldna think nor rest, nor do aught but throw
mysel' on the ground and pray to God to tak’ me.
When at last I could think, it was too late. It wad
hae mattered naething to me that they were a
hundred to one. If I could ha' killed but one o'
them I wad ha’ died happy ; but they were gone,
and how could I follow them—how could I find
them? Tell me where to look, mon-show me the
way; and if it be to the ends o'the airth I will go
after them.”
“We will do more than that,” Harold said.
“My friends and myself have still with us the seven
men who were with us when we were here before.
Five are Senecas, the other a faithful negro who
would go through fire and water for me. There is
little chance of our services being required during
the winter with the British army. We are interest-
ed in you and in the pretty child we saw here, and
if you will, we will accompany you in the search
for her. Peter Lambton knows the country well,
and if any one could lead you to your child and res-
cue her from those who carried her off, he is the
man."
• Truly !” gasped the Scotchman. “And will ye
truly gang wi’ me to find my bairn? May the guid
God o heaven bless you !" and the tears ran down
his cheeks.


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
279
“Git your traps together at once, man," Peter
said. “Let's go straight back to the fort; then I'll
set the matter before the chief, who will, I warrant
me, be glad enough to jine the expedition. It's
too late to follow the track of the red varmints;
our best plan will be to make straight for the St.
Lawrence; to take a boat if we can git one ; if not,
two canoes; and to make up the river and along
Ontario. Then we must sell our boat, cross to Erie,
and git fresh canoes and go on by Detroit into Lake
Huron, and so up in the country of these reptiles.
We shall have no difficulty, I reckon, in discovering
the whereabout of the tribe which has been away
on this expedition.”
The Scotchman took up the rifle.
“I am ready,” he said, and without another word
the party started for the fort.
Upon their arrival there a consultation was held
with the Seneca. The prospect of an expedition
against his hereditary foes filled him with delight,
and three of his braves also agreed to accompany
them. Jake received the news with the remark:
“All rigbt, Massa Harold. It make no odds to
dis chile whar he goes. You say de word—Jake
ready.”
Half an hour sufficed for making the preparations,
and they at once proceeded to the point where they
had hidden the two canoes on the night when they
joined General Burgoyne before his advance upon
Ticonderoga. These were soon floating on the
lake, and they started to paddle to the mouth of the


280
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
Sorel, down this river into the St. Lawrence, and
thence to Montreal. Their rifles they had recov-
ered from the lake upon the day following that on
which Ticonderoga was first captured, Deer Tail
having dispatched to the spot two of his braves,
who recovered them without difficulty by diving
and brought them back to the fort.
At Montreal they stayed but a few hours. An
ample supply of ammunition was purchased and
provisions sufficient for the voyage; and then em-
barking in the two canoes they started up the St.
Lawrence. It was three weeks later when they
arrived at Detroit, which was garrisoned by a
British force. Here they heard that there had been
continuous troubles with the Indians on the frontier;
that a great many farms and settlements had been
destroyed and numbers of persons murdered.
Tbeir stay at Detroit was a short one. Harold
obtained no news of his cousins, but there were so
many tales told of Indian massacres that he was
filled with apprehension on their account. His
worst apprehensions were justified when the canoes
at length came within sight of the well-remembered
clearing. Harold gave a cry as he saw that the
farm-house no longer existed. The two canoes
were headed toward shore, and their occupants dis-
embarked and walked toward the spot where the
house had stood. The site was marked by a heap
of charred embers. The out-houses had been
destroyed, and a few fowls were the only living
things to be seen in the fields.


282
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“A chief's eyes are not blind," the redskin an-
swered with a slight smile of satisfaction at having
for once succeeded when his white comrade was at
fault. “Let my friend look up tbe bill—two dead
men there."
Harold looked in the direction in which the chief
pointed, but could see nothing. The hunter ex-
claimed:
“ There's something there, chief, but even my eyes
couldn't tell they were bodies.”
The party proceeded to the spot and found two
skeletons. A few remnants of clothes lay around,
but the birds had stripped every particle of flesh
from the bones. There was a bullet in the fore-
head of one skull; the other was cleft with a sharp
instrument.
“It's clear enough,” the hunter said, “ there's
been a surprise. Likely enough the hull lot was
killed without a shot being fired in defense.”


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
283
CHAPTER XIV.
RESCUED.
HAROLD was deeply touched at the evidences of
the fate which had befallen the occupants of his
cousin's plantation.
“If there are any more of these to be found,"
pointing to their remains, “we might learn for a
certainty whether the same fate befell them all.”
The Seneca spoke a word to his followers and the
four Indians spread themselves over the clearing.
One more body was found-it was lying down near
the water as if killed in the act of making for the
canoe.
“ The others are probably there,” Peter said,
pointing to the ruins. “The three hands was killed
in the fields, and most likely the attack was made
at the same moment on the house. I'm pretty sure
it was so, for the body by the water lies face down-
ward with his head toward the lake. He was no
doubt shot from behind as he was running. There
must have been Injuns round the house then, or he
would have made for that instead of the water.”
The Seneca touched Peter on the shoulder and
pointed toward the farm. A figure was seen ap-
proaching. As it came nearer they could see that


284
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
he was a tall man dressed in the deer-skin shirt and
leggings usually worn by hunters. As he came near
Harold gave an exclamation :
“It is Jack Pearson !"
“ It are Jack Pearson," the hunter said, “but for
the moment I can't recollect ye, though yer face
seems known. Why !” he exclaimed in changed
tones, “it's that boy Harold growed into a man.”
“It is,” Harold replied, grasping the frontiers-
man's hand.
“And ye may know me too,” Peter Lambton
said, “ though it's twenty year since we fought side
by side against the Mohawks.”
“Why, old hoss, are you above ground still ?” the
hunter exclaimed heartily. “I'm glad to see you
again, old friend. And what are you doing here,
you and Harold and these Senecas ? for they is
Senecas sure enough. I've been in the woods for
the last hour and have been puzzling myself nigh to
death. I seed them Injuns going about over the
clearing sarching, and for the life of me I couldn't
think what they were a-doing. Then I seed 'em
gathered down here, with two white men among
'em, so I guessed it was right to show myself.”
“They were searching to see how many had
fallen in this terrible business,” Harold said, point-
ing to the ruins.
The hunter shook his head.
“I'm afeared they've all gone under. I were here
a week afterward; it were just as it is now. I
found the three hands lying killed and sculped in


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
285
the fields; the others, I reckon, is there. I has no
doubt at all about Bill Welch and his wife, but it
may be that the gal has been carried off.”
“Do you think so ?” Harold exclaimed eagerly.
“If so, we may find her too with the other."
“What other ?” Pearson asked.
Harold gave briefly an account of the reason
which had brought them to the spot and of the ob-
ject they had in view.
“You can count me in,” Pearson said. “There's
just a chance that Nelly Welch may be in their
hands still; and in any case I'm longing to draw a
bead on some of the varmints to pay 'em for this,”
and he looked round him, “and a hundred other
massacres round this frontier.”
“I'm glad to hear ye say so," Peter replied. “I
expected as much of ye, Jack. I don't know much
of this country, having only hunted here for a few
weeks with a party of Delawares twenty year
afore the Iroquois moved so far west.”
“I know pretty nigh every foot of it,” Jack
Pearson said. “When the Iroquois were quiet I
used to do a deal of hunting in their country. It
are good country for game.”
“Well! shall we set out at once ?” Harold asked,
impatient to be off.
“We can't move to-night,” Pearson answered ;
and Harold saw that Peter and the Indians agreed
with him.
“Why not?” he asked. “Every hour is of im-
portance.”


286
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
“That's so,” Peter said, “ but there's no going
out on the lake to-night. In half an hour we'll have
our first snow-storm, and by morning it will be two
foot deep.”
Harold turned his eyes toward the lake and saw
what his companions had noticed long before. The
sky was overcast and a thick bank of hidden clouds
was rolling up across the lake, and the thick mist
seemed to hang between the clouds and the water.
“That's snow,” Peter said. “It's late this year,
and I'd give my pension if it was a month later."
“That's so," Pearson said. “Snow ain't never
pleasant in the woods, but when you're scouting
round among Injuns it are a caution. We'd best
make a shelter afore it comes on.”
The two canoes were lifted from the water, un-
loaded, and turned bottom upward ; a few charred
planks which had formed part of the roof of the out-
houses were brought and put up to form a sort of
shelter. A fire was lit and a meal prepared. By
this time the snow had begun to fall. After the
meal was over pipes were lit and the two hunters
earnestly talked over their plans, the Seneca chief
throwing in a few words occasionally; the others
listened quietly. The Indians left the matter in the
hands of their chief, while Harold and Cameron
knew that the two frontiersmen did not need any
suggestion from them. As to Jake, the thought of
asking questions never entered his mind. He was
just at present less happy than usual, for the negro,
like most of his race, hated cold, and the prospect


TRUE TO TIR OLD FLAG.
287
of wandering through the woods in deep snow made
him shudder as he crouched close to the great fire
they had built.
Peter and Jack Pearson were of opinion that it
was exceedingly probable that the Welches bad
been destroyed by the very band wbich had carried
off little Janet Cameron. The bodies of Indians
who had been on the war-path with the army had
retired some six weeks before, and it was about that
time Pearson said that the attack on the settle-
ments had been made.
“I heard some parties of redskins who had been
with the British troops had passed through the
neighborhood, and there was reports that they were
greatly onsatisfied with the results of the cam-
paign. As likely as not some of that band may
have been consarned in the attack on this place
three year ago, and passing nigh it may have de-
termined to wipe out that defeat. An Injun never
forgives. Many of their braves fell here, and they
could scarcely bring a more welcome trophy back
to their villages than the scalps of Welch and his
men."
“Now, the first thing to do,” Peter said, “ is to
find out what particular chief took his braves with
him to the war; then we've got to find his village;
and there likely enough we'll find Cameron's daugh-
ter and may be the girl from here. How old was
she ?”
“ About fifteen,” Pearson said, “and a fine girl,
and a pretty girl too. I dun know," he went on


288
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
after a pause, “ which of the chiefs took part in the
war across the lakes, but I suspect it were War
Eagle. There's three great chiefs, and the other
two were trading on the frontier. It was War
Eagle who attacked the place afore, and would be
the more likely to attack it again if he came any-
wheres near it. He made a mess of it afore and’d
be burning to wipe out his failure if he had a
chance."
“ Where is his place ?”
“ His village is the furthest of them all from
here. · He lives up near the falls of Sault Ste.
Marie, betwixt Lakes Superior and Huron. It's a
village with nigh three hundred wigwams."
“ It ain't easy to see how it's to be done. We
must make to the north shore of the lake. There'll
be no working down here through the woods, but
it's a pesky difficult job—about as hard a one as
ever I took part in."
"It is that,” Pearson said ; “it can't be denied.
To steal two white girls out of a big Injun village
ain't a easy job at no time; but with the snow on
the ground it comes as nigh to an impossibility as
anything can do."
For another hour or two they talked over the
route they should take and their best mode of pro-
ceeding. Duncan Cameron sat and listened with
an intent face to every word. Since he had joined
them he had spoken but seldom ; his whole soul was
taken up with the thought of his little daughter.
He was ever ready to do his share and more than


290
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by hiding up the canoes at different places we give
ourselves so much more chance of being able to get
to one or the other. They're all large canoes, and
at a pinch any one of them might hold the hull
party, with the two gals throwed in. But,” he
added to Harold in a low voice,“ don't you build too
much on these gals, Harold. I wouldn't say so
while that poor fellow's listening, but the chance is
a desperate poor one, and I think we'll be mighty
lucky ef we don't leave all our scalps in that 'ere
redskin village.”
The traps were soon placed in the canoes, and
just as the sun burst out the three boats started. It
was a long and toilsome journey. Stormy weather
set in, and they were obliged to wait for days by
the lake till its surface calmed. On these occasions
they devoted themselves to hunting and killed
several deer. They knew that there were no Indian
villages near, and in such weather it would be im-
probable that any redskins would be in the woods.
They were enabled, therefore, to fire without fear
of the reports betraying their presence. The Senecas
took the opportunity of fabricating snow-shoes for
the whole party, as these would be absolutely
necessary for walking in the woods. Harold, Jake,
and Duncan Cameron at once began to practice
their use. The negro was comical in the extreme
in his first attempts, and shouted so loudly with
laughter each time that he fell head foremost into
the snow that Peter said to him angrily :
“Look a-here, Jake, it's dangerous enough letting


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
291
off a rifle at a deer in these woods, but it has to be
done because we must lay in a supply of food; but
a musket-shot is a mere whisper to yer shouting.
Thunder ain't much louder than you laughing—it
shakes the bull place and might be heard from here
well-nigh to Montreal. Ef you can't keep that
mouth of your'n shut ye must give up the idee of
learning to use them shoes and must stop in the
canoe while we're scouting on shore.”
Jake promised to amend, and from this time when
he fell in the soft snow-wreaths he gave no audible
vent to his amusernent; but a pair of great feet,
with the snow-shoes attached, could be seen waving
above the surface until he was picked up and righted
again.
Harold soon learned, and Cameron went at the
work with grim earnestness. No smile ever crossed
his face at his own accidents or at the wild vagaries
of Jake, which excited silent amusement even
among the Indians. In a short time the falls were
less frequent, and by the time they reached the spot
where they were determined to cross the lake at
the point where Lakes Huron and Michigan join,
the three novices were able to make fair progress in
the snow-shoes.
The spot fixed upon was about twelve miles from
the village of War Eagle, and the canoes were
hidden at distances of three miles apart. First
Pearson, Harold, and Cameron disembarked ; Jake,
Peter, and one of the Indians alighted at the next
point; and the Seneca chief and two of his followers


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
293
They had before crossing the lake cooked a
supply of food sufficient for some days. Intense as
was the cold outside, it was perfectly warm in the
tent. The entrance as they crept into it was closed
with a blanket, and in the center a lamp composed
of deer's fat in a calabash with a cotton wick gave
a sufficient light.
“ What is the next move ?” Harold asked.
“The chief'll start, when it comes dusk, with
Pearson," Peter said. “When they git close to the
village he'll go in alone. He'll paint Iroquois
before he goes."
“Cannot we be near at hand to help them in case
of a necessity ?” Harold asked.
“No,” Peter said. “It wouldn't be no good at
all. Ef it comes to fighting they're fifty to one,
and the lot of us would have no more chance than
two. If they're found out, which ain't likely, they
must run for it, and they can get over the snow a deal
faster than you could, to say nothing of Cameron
and Jake. They must shift for themselves and'll
make straight for the nearest canoe. In the
forest they must be run down sooner or later,
for their tracks would be plain. No, they must go
alone.”
When night came on the Seneca produced his
paints, and one of his followers marked his face and
arms with the lines and flourishes in use by the
Iroquois; then without a word of adieu he took his
rifle and glided out from the tent, followed by Pear-
son. Peter also put on his snow-shoes and prepared
to follow.


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
295
a mile and more with the squaws coming and going
for wood and the hunters going out on the chase.
I've crossed a dozen tracks or more on my way
back. Ef it wasn't for that we daren't have gone
at all, for ef the snow was new fallen the sight of
fresh tracks would have set the first Injun that
come along a-wondering; and when a redskin
begins to wonder he sets to to ease his mind at
once by finding out all about it, ef it takes him a
couple of days' sarch to do so. No, you can lie
down now for some hours. They won't be here till
morning."
So saying, the scout set the example by wrapping
himself up and going to sleep, but Cameron's eyes
never closed until the blanket was drawn on one
side again and in the gray light of the winter
morning the Seneca and Pearson crawled into the
tent.
“What news ?” Harold asked, for Oameron was
too agitated to speak.
“Both gals are there,” Pearson answered.
An exclamation of thankfulness broke from
Harold. A sob of joy issued from the heart of the
Scotchman, and for a few minutes his lips moved
as he poured forth his silent thankfulness to God.
“Waal, tell us all about it," Peter said. “I can
ask the chief any questions afterward."
“We went on straight enough to the village,” the
hunter began. “It are larger than when I saw it
last, and War Eagle's influence in the tribe must
have increased. I didn't expect to find no watch,


296
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the redskins having, so far as they knew, no enemies
within five hundred mile of 'em. There was a lot
of fires burning and plenty of redskins moving about
among 'em. We kept on till we got quite close, and
then we lay up for a time below a tree at the edge
of the clearing. There were a sight too many of
'em about for the Seneca to go in yet awhile. About
balf an hour arter we got there we saw two white
gals come outen one of the wigwams and stand for
awhile to warm theirselves by one of the fires. The
tallest of the two, well-nigh a woman, was Nelly
Welch. I knew her, in course. The other was
three or four years younger, with yaller hair over
her shoulders. Nelly seemed quiet and sad-like, but
the otber 'peared more at home-she laughed with
some of the redskin gals and even jined in their
play. You see,” he said, turning to Cameron, “she'd
been captured longer and children's spirits soon rise
again. Arter awhile they went back to the wig-
wam. When the fires burned down and the crowd
thinned and there was only a few left sitting in groups
round the embers, the Seneca started. For a long
time I saw nothing of him, but once or twice I
thought I saw a figure moving among the wigwams.
Presently the fires burned quite down and the last
Injun went off. I had begun to wonder what the
chief was doing, when he stood beside me. We
made tracks at once and have been tramping in a
long circle all night. The chief can tell ye his part
of the business hisself.”
“ Well, chief, what have you found out ?" Peter
asked.


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
297
The Indian answered in his native tongue, which
Peter interpreted from time to time for the benefit
of his white companions :
“When Deer Tail left the white hunter he went
into the village. It was no use going among the
men, and he went round by the wigwams and
listened to the chattering of the squaws. The tribe
were all well contented, for the band brought back
a great deal of plunder which they had picked up
on their way back from the army. They had lost
no braves and every one was pleased. The destruc-
tion of the settlement of the white man who had
repulsed them before was a special matter for re-
joicing. The scalps of the white man and his wife
are in the village. War Eagle's son, Young Elk, is
going to marry the white girl. There are several
of the braves whose heads have been turned by her
white skin and her bright eyes, but Young Elk
is going to have her. There have been great feast-
ings and rejoicings since the return of the warriors,
but they are to be joined to-morrow by Beaver's
band, and then they will feast again. When all was
quiet I went to the wigwam where the white girls
are confined. An old squaw and two of War Eagle's
daughters are with them. Deer Tail had listened
while they prepared for rest and knew on which
side of the wigwam the tall white maiden slept.
He thought tbat she would be awake. Her heart
would be sad and sleep would not come to her soon,
so be crept round there and cut a slit in the skin
close to where she lay. He put his head in at the


298
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hole and whispered, “Do not let the white girl be
afraid; it is a friend. Does she hear him ? She
whispered, “Yes.' 'Friends are near,' he said.
“The young warrior, Harold, whom she knows, and
others, are at hand to take her away. The Iroquois
will be feasting to-morrow night. When she hears
the cry of a night-owl let her steal away with her
little white sister and she will find her friends
waiting. Then Deer Tail closed the slit and stole
away to his friend the white bunter. I have
spoken."
“Jest what I expected of you, chief,” Peter said
warmly. “I thought as how you'd manage to git
speech with 'em somehow. If there's a feast to-
night it's hard ef we don't manage to get 'em off.”
“I suppose we must lie still all day, Peter.”
“ You must so," the hunter said. “Not a soul
must show his nose outside the tent except that one
of the redskins'll keep watch to be sure that no
straggler has come across our tracks and followed
'em up. Ef he was to do that he might bring the
hull gang down on us. Ye'd best get as much sleep
as ye can, for ye don't know when ye may get an-
other chance."
At nightfall the whole party issued from the tent
and started toward the Indian village. All ar-
rangements had been made. It was agreed that
Pearson and the Seneca should go up to the village,
the former being chosen because he was known to
Nelly. Peter and one of the redskins were to take
post a hundred yards further back ready to give


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
299
assistance in case of alarm, while the rest were to
remain about half a mile distant. Cameron had
asked that he might go with the advance party, but
upon Peter pointing out to him that his com-
paratively slow rate of progression in snow-shoes
would, in case of discovery, lead to the recapture
of the girls, he at once agreed to the decision. If
the flight of the girls was discovered soon after
leaving the camp, it was arranged that the Seneca
and Peter should hurry at once with them to the
main body, while the other two Indians should
draw off their pursuers in another direction. In
the event of anything occurring to excite the
suspicion of the Indians before there was a chance
of the girls being brought safely to the main body,
they were to be left to walk quietly back to camp,
as they had nothing to fear from the Indians.
Peter and the Seneca were then to work round by a
circuitous route to the boat, where they were to be
joined by the main body, and to draw off until an-
other opportunity offered for repeating the at-
tempt.
It was eight o'clock in the evening when Pearson
and the Seneca approached the village. The fires
were burning high, and seated round them were all
the warriors of the tribe. A party were engaged
in a dance representing the pursuit and defeat of an
enemy. The women were standing in an outer
circle clapping their hands and raising their voices
in loud cries of applause and excitement as the
dance became faster and faster. The warriors


300
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bounded high, brandishing their tomahawks. A
better time could not have been chosen for the
evasion of the fugitives. Nelly Welch stood close
to a number of Indian girls, but slightly behind
them. She held the hand of little Janet Cameron.
Although she appeared to share in the interest of
the Indians in the dance, a close observer would
have had no difficulty in perceiving that Nelly was
preoccupied. She was, indeed, intently listening for
the signal. She was afraid to move from among
the others lest her absence should be at once de-
tected, but so long as the noise was going on she
despaired of being able to hear the signal agreed
upon. Presently an Indian brave passed close to
her, and as he did so whispered in her ear in
English, “Behind your wigwam—friends there."
Then he passed on and moved round the circle as if
intending to take his seat at another point.
The excitement of the dance was momentarily
increasing, and the attention of the spectators was
riveted to the movements of the performers. Hold-
ing Janet's hand, Nelly moved noiselessly away
from the place where she had been standing. The
movement was unnoticed, as she was no longer
closely watched, a flight in the depth of winter ap-
pearing impossible. She kept round the circle till
no longer visible from the spot she had left. Then
leaving the crowd she made her way toward the
nearest wigwams. Once behind these the girl stole
rapidly along under their shelter until they stood
behind that which they usually habited. Two


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
301
figures were standing there. They hesitated for a
moment, but one of them advanced.
“Jack Pearson !” Nelly exclaimed, with a low
cry of gladness.
“Jest that same, Nelly, and right glad to see you.
But we've no time for greeting now; the hull tribe
may be after us in another five minutes. Come
along, pretty,” he said turning to Janet. “You'll
find somebody ye know close at hand.”
Two minutes later the child was in her father's
arms, and after a moment's rapturous greeting be-
tween father and child and a very delighted one
between Nelly Welch and her Cousin Harold the
flight was continued.
“How long a start do you think we may have ?”
“Half an hour may be. The women may be some
time afore they miss her, and they'll sarch for her
everywhere afore they give the alarm, as they'll be
greatly blamed for their carelessness."
There had been a pause in the flight for a few
seconds when the Seneca and Pearson arrived with
the girls at the point where Peter and the other
Indians were posted, two hundred yards from the
camp. Up to this point the snow was everywhere
thickly trampled, but as the camp was left further
behind the footprints would naturally become more
scarce. Here Pearson fastened to the girls' feet
two pairs of large moccasins; inside these wooden
soles had been placed. They therefore acted to
some extent like snow-shoes and prevented the girls'
feet from sinking deeply, while the prints which


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
303
“What is that?”
“I'm afeared that without waiting to find the
tracks they may send off half a dozen parties to the
lake. They'll be sure that friends have taken the
gals away and will know that their only chance of
escape is by the water. On land we should be
bunted down to a certainty, and the redskins, know-
ing that the gals could not travel fast, will not hurry
in following up the trail. So I think they'll at once
send off parties to watch the lake and'll like enough
make no effort to take up the trail till to-morrow
morning.”
This was said in a low whisper, for although they
were more than two miles from the village it was
necessary to move as silently as possible.
“You had best tell the others what you think,
Pearson. It may make a difference in our move-
ments.”
A short halt was called, and the Seneca and Peter
quite agreed with Pearson's idea.
“ We'd best make for the canoe that's furthest off.
When the redskins find the others, which they're
pretty sure to do, for they'll huntevery bush, they're
likely to be satisfied and to make sure they'll ketch
us at one or the other.”
Thus much decided upon, they continued their
flight, now less rapidly, but in perfect silence. Speed
was less an object than concealment. The Indians
might spread and a party might come across them
by accident. If they could avoid this they were


304
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sure to reach their canoe before morning and un-
likely to find the Indians there before them.
It was about twelve miles to the spot where they
had hidden the canoe, and although they heard dis-
tant shouts and whoops ringing through the forest,
no sound was heard near them.


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
305
CHAPTER XV.
THE ISLAND REFUGE.
The night was intensely cold and still and the
stars shone brightly through the bare boughs over-
head.
“ Are you sure you are going all right ?" Neily
asked Harold. “It is so dark bere that it seems
impossible to know which way we are going."
“ You can trust the Indians,” Harold said. “Even
if there was not a star to be seen they could find
their way by some mysterious instinct. How you
are grown, Nelly! Your voice does not seem much
changed, and I am longing to see your face."
“I expect you are more changed than I am,
Harold,” the girl answered. “You have been going
through so much since we last met, and you seem
to have grown so tall and big. Your voice has
changed very much, too; it is the voice of a man.
How in the world did you find us bere?”
Pearson had gone on ahead to speak to the
Seneca, but he now joined them again.
“ You mustn't talk,” he said. “I hope there's no
redskins within five miles of us now, but there's
never any saying where they may be.”
There was, Harold thought, a certain sharpness in


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
307
ice up into cakes again and again, while the frost as
often bad bound them together.
They had struck the river within a few hundred
yards of the place where the canoe was bidden, and
after a short consultation between the Seneca chief,
Peter Lambton, and Pearson, moved down toward
that spot.
“What are you thinking of doing ?” Harold
asked when they gathered round the canoe.
“ We're going to load ourselves with the ammu-
nition and deer's flesh,” Peter said, “and make for
a rocky island which lies about a mile off here. I
noticed it as we landed. There's nothing to do but
to fight it out to the last there. It are a good place
for defense, for the redskins won't like to come out
across the open, and even covered by a dark night
they'd show on this white surface."
“Perhaps they won't trace us.”
“Not trace us !" the trapper repeated scornfully.
“Why, when daylight comes they'll pick up our
track and follow it as easy as you could that of a
wagon across the snow.”
They were just starting when Harold gave a
little exclamation.
“ W bat is it, lad ?”
“A flake of snow fell on my face.”
All looked up. The stars had disappeared. An-
other flake and another fell on the upturned faces
of the party.
“Let's thank the good God,” Peter said quietly.
“ There's a chance for our lives yet. Half an hour's
snow and the trail'll be lost.”


308
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Faster and faster the snow-flakes came down.
Again the leaders consulted.
“We must change our plans now," Peter said,
turning to the others. “ So long as they could
easily follow our tracks it mattered nothing that
they'd find the canoe here; but now it's altogether
different. We must take it along with us.”
The weight of the canoe was very small. The
greater part of its contents had already been re-
moved. There was a careful look round to see that
nothing remained on the bank; then four of the
men lifted it on their shoulders, and the whole
party stepped out upon the ice. The snow was now
falling heavily, and to Harold's eyes there was noth-
ing to guide them in the direction they were follow-
ing. Even the Indians would have been at a loss
had not the Seneca, the instant the snow began to
fall, sent on one of his followers at full speed to-
ward the island. Harold wondered at the time
what his object could be as the Indian darted off
across the ice, but he now understood. Every min-
ute or two the low hoot of an owl was heard, and
toward this sound the party directed their way
through the darkness and snow.
So heavy was the fall that the island rose white
before them as they reached it. It was of no great
extent—some twenty or thirty yards across and
perhaps twice that length. It rose steeply from the
water to a height of from ten to fifteen feet. The
ground was rough and broken, and several trees
and much brush wood grew in the crevices of the
rock.



THE INDIAN STARTED OFF ACROSS THE ICE-Page 808.





TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
309
The Seneca and the hunters made a rapid exam-
ination of the island and soon fixed upon the spot
for their camp. Toward one end the island was
split in two and an indentation ran some distance
up into it. Here a clear spot was found some three
or four feet above the level of the water. It was
completely hidden by thick bushes from the sight
of any one approaching by water. There the canoe
was turned over, and the girls, who were both suf-
fering from the intense cold, were wrapped up in
blankets and placed under its shelter. The camp
was at the lower end of the island and would there-
fore be entirely hidden from view of Indians
gathered upon the shore. In such a snow-storm
light would be invisible at a very short distance,
and Peter did not hesitate to light a fire in front of
the canoe.
For three hours the snow continued to fall. The
fire had been sheltered by blankets stretched at
some distance above it. Long before the snow
ceased it had sunk down to a pile of red embers. A
small tent bad now been formed of blankets for the
use of the girls; brush wood had been heaped over
this, and upon the brushwood snow had been
thrown, the whole making a shelter which would
be warm and comfortable even in the bitterest
weather. A pile of hot embers was placed in this
little tent until it was thoroughly heated ; blankets
were then spread, and the girls were asked to
leave the shelter of the canve and take their place
there.


310
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
The canoe itself was now raised on four sticks
three feet from the ground; busbes were laid round
it and snow piled on, thus forming the walls of
which the canoe was the roof. All this was finished
long before the snow had ceased falling, and this
added a smooth white surface all over, so that to a
casual eye both tent and hut looked like two
natural ridges of the ground. They were a cheer-
ful party which assembled in the little but. The
remainder of the embers of the fire had been
brought in, and intense as was the cold outside, it
was warm and comfortable within. Tea was made
and the pipes filled, and they chatted some time be-
fore going to sleep.
Duncan Cameron was like a man transfigured.
His joy and thankfulness for the recovery of his
daughter were unbounded. Harold's pleasure, too,
at the rescue of his cousin was very great, and the
others were all gratified at the success of their ex-
pedition. It was true that the Indians had as yet
gained no scalps, but Harold had promised them
before starting that should the expedition be suc-
cessful they should be handsomely rewarded.
“We mustn't reckon as we are safe yet," Peter
said in answer to one of Harold's remarks. « The
redskins ain't going to let us slip through their
fingers so easy as all that. They've lost our trail
and have nothing but their senses to guide 'em, but
an Injun's senses ain't easily deceived in these woods.
Ef this snow begins again and keeps on for two or
three days they may be puzzled; but ef it stops


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
311
they'll cast a circle round their camp at a distance
beyond where we could have got before the snow
ceased, and ef they find no new trails they'll know
that we must be within that circle. Then as to the
boats, when they find as we don't come down to the
two as they've discovered and that we've not made
off by land, they'll guess as there was another canoe
hidden somewhere and they'll sarch high and low
for it. Waal, they won't find it; and then they'll
suppose that we may have taken to the ice and
they'll sarch that. Either they'll git to open water
or to the other side. Ef there's open water any-
where within a few miles they may conclude that
we've carried a canoe, launched it there, and made
off. In that case, when they've sarched everywhere
they may give it up. Ef there ain't no such open
water they'll sarch till they find us. It ain't likely
that this island will escape 'em. With nine good
rifles here we can hold the place against the hull
tribe, and as they'd show up against the snow they
can no more attack by night than by day.”
“I don't think our food will hold out beyond
seven or eight days,” Harold said.
“Jest about that,” Peter answered; “ but we can
cut a hole in the ice and fish, and can hold out that
way, if need be, for weeks. The wust of it is that
the ice ain't likely to break up now until the spring.
I reckon our only chance is to wait till we git an-
other big snow-storm and then to make off. The
snow will cover our trail as fast as we make it, and
once across to the other shore we may git away


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
313
dians was placed on watch, and two or three hours
later he reported that the Indians were now entirely
out of sight and were when last seen scouting along
the edge of the forest.
“Now," Peter said, “ the sooner we git another
snow-storm the better. Ef we'd been alone we
could have pushed on last night, but the gals was
exhausted and would soon have died of the cold.
Now with a fresh start they'd do. Ef we can't
cross the lake I calculate that we're about thirty
mile from a pint on the north shore below the falls
of Ste. Marie, and we could land there and strike
across through the woods for the settlement. It'd
be a terrible long journey round the north of
Huron, but we must try it ef we can't get across.”
“But we could go off by night, surely,” Harold
said, " even if there is no fresh snow.”
“We could do that,” Peter replied; “no doubt of
it. But ef they were to find our track the next
day, ay, or within three days, they'd follow us and
overtake us afore we got to the settlements. Ef we
was alone itd be one thing; but with the gals it'd
be another altogether. No, we must stop here till
a snow-storm comes, even ef we have to stop for a
month. There's no saying how soon some of them
Injuns may be loafing round, and we daren't leave
a trail for 'em to take up."
They had scarcely ceased speaking when a low
call from the Indian placed on watch summoned the
chief to his side. A minute later the latter rejoined
the group below and said a few words to Peter.


314
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
“ Jest as I thought!" the latter grumbled, rising
with his rifle across bis arm. “Here are some of
the varmints coming out this 'ere way. Likely
enough it's a party of young braves jest scouting
about on their own account to try and get honor by
discovering us when their elders have failed. It
would have been better for them to have stopped at
home.”
The party now crept up to the top of the rock,
keeping carefully below its crest.
“Ef you show as much as a hair above the top
line,” Peter said, “ they'll see you sartin.”
“Would it not be as well,” Harold asked, “ for
one of us to show himself? There is no possibility
of further concealment, and if they go off without
any of them being killed the others might be less
bitter against us than they would if they had lost
some of their tribe.”
Peter laughed scornfully.
“Ye haven't had much to do with Injuns, lad, but
I should have thought you'd have had better sense
nor that. Haven't these Injuns been a-murdering
and a-slaying along the frontier all the summer, fall-
ing on defenseless women and children ? Marcy
and pity ain't in their natur, and fight or no fight,
our scalps will dry in their wigwams if they git us
into their power. They know that we can shoot
and mean to, and that'll make 'em careful of at-
tacking us, and every hour is important. Now,"
he said to the others, “ each of you cover a man and
fire straight through your sights when I gives the



-
WATCHING THE INDIANS' APPROACH.–Page 315.





TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
315
word. There's others watching 'em, you may be
sure, and ef the whole five go down together it'll
make 'em think twice afore they attack us again."
Peering between some loose rocks so that he could
see without exposing his head above the line, Har-
old watched the five Indians approaching. They
had evidently some doubts as to the wisdom of the
course they were pursuing, and were well aware
that they ran a terrible risk standing there in the
open before the rifles of those concealed should the
fugitives be really there. Nevertheless the hope of
gaining distinction and the fear of ridicule from
those watching them on shore should they turn
back with their mission unaccomplished inspired
them with resolution. When within three hundred
yards of the island they halted for a long time.
They stood gazing fixedly, but although no signs of
life could be perceived, they were too well versed in
Indian warfare to gain any confidence from the ap-
parent stillness. Throwing themselves flat on the
snow and following each other in single line, by
which means their bodies were nearly concealed
from sight in the track which their leader made
through the light, yielding snow, they made a com-
plete circuit of the island. They paused for some
time opposite the little forked entrance in which the
camp was situated, but apparently saw nothing, for
they kept round until they completed the circuit.
When they reached the point from which they
had started there was apparently a short consultation
among them. Then they continued their course in


316
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
the track that they had before made until they
reached a spot facing the camp. Then they changed
order, and still prone in the snow advanced abreast
toward the island.
“The varmints have guessed that ef we're here
this is the place where we'd be bid,” Peter whispered
in Harold's ear.
As the Indians had made their circuit the party
in the island had changed their position so as always
to keep out of sight. They were now on the top
of the island, which was a sort of rough plateau.
The girls had been warned when they left them to
remain perfectly quiet in their shelter whaterer
noise they might hear. Peter and the Seneca
watched the Indians through holes which they had
made with their ramrods through a bank of snow.
The others remained flat in the slight depression
behind it. At the distance of one hundred and
fifty yards the Indians stopped.
"The varmints see something !" Peter said.
“Maybe they can make out the two snow heaps
through the bushes; maybe they can see some of
our footsteps in the snow. They're going to fire!”
he exclaimed. “Up, lads! They may send a bul-
let into the hut whar the gals is hid.”
In an instant the line of men sprang to their feet.
The Indians, taken by surprise at the sudden ap-
pearance of a larger number of enemies than they
expected, fired a hasty volley and then sprang to
their feet and dashed toward the shore. But they
were deadly rifles which covered them. Peter,


TRUE TO THE OLD HLAG.
317
Harold, and Pearson could be trusted not to miss
even a rapidly moving object at that distance, and
the dien were all good shots. Not in regular order,
but as each covered his man the rifles were dis-
charged. Four out of the five Indians fell and an
arm of the fifth dropped useless by his side; how-
ever, he still kept on. The whites reloaded rapidly,
and Harold was about to fire again when Pearson
put his hand on his shoulder.
“Don't fire. We've shown them that we can
shoot straight. It's jest as well at present that
they shouldn't know how far our rifles will carry.”
The four Senecas dashed out across the snow and
speedily returned each with a scalp hanging at his
belt.
A loud yell of anger and lamentation had risen
from the woods skirting the shore as the Indians
fell, but after this died away a deep silence reigned.
“What will be their next move?” Cameron asked
Peter as they gathered again in their low but, hav-
ing placed one of the Indians on watch.
“ We'll hear nothing of 'em till nightfall,” Peter
said. “Their first move, now they know as we're
here, will be to send off to fetch up all the tribe
who're in search of us. When it comes on dark
they'll send scouts outside of us on the ice to see as
we don't escape-not that they'd much mind ef we
did, for they could track us through the snow and
come up with us whenever they chose. No, they
may be sure we'll stay where we are. It may be
they'll attack us to-night, maybe not. It'd be a


318
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
thing more risksome than redskins often undertake
to cross the snow under the fire of nine rifles. I
ain't no doubt they'd try and starve us out, for they
must know well enough that we can have no great
store of provisions. But they know as well as we
do that ef another snow-storm comes on we might
slip away from 'em without leaving a foot-mark be-
hind. It's jest that thought as may make 'em at-
tack.”
“ Well, we can beat them off if they do,” Harold
said confidently.
“ Waal, we may and we may not," the scout
answered. “Anyhow we can kill a grist of 'em
afore they turn us out on this 'ere island.”
“ That's sartin enough,” Pearson put in; “but
they're a strong tribe, and ef they can harden their
hearts and make a rush it's all up with us. I allow
that it's contrary to their custom, but when they
see no other way to do with they may try."
“I suppose if they do try a rusb,” Harold said,
“ they will do it against this end of the island ?”
“Yes, you may bet your money on that,” the
scout answered. “In other places the rock goes
pretty nigh straight up from the water, but here it's
an easy landing. Being so close to 'em they're sure
to know all about it; but even ef they didn't, the
chap that got away would tell 'em. I don't much
expect an attack to-night-the bands won't be back
yet. They'll have a grand palaver to-night, and
there'll be a big talk afore they decide what is
best to be done; so I think we're safe for tonight.


320
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
and approval. The process of blasting was one
wholly unknown to them.
“I will mak’ the holes," Cameron said. “I hae
seen a deal of blasting when I was in the army. I
oan heat the end of a ramrod in a fire and hammer
it to the shape of a borer.”
“A better way than that, Cameron,” Harold
said, “ will be to heat the end of a ramrod white-
hot. You will melt holes in the ice in half the time
it would take you to bore them. That was what I
was thinking of doing.”
“Right you are, lad !” Pearson said. “ Let's set
about it at once."
A large fire was now lighted outside the hut, for
there was no longer any occasion for secrecy. The
ends of three or four of the ramrods were placed in
the fire, and two lines of holes were bored in the
ice across the mouth of the little cove. These lines
were twelve feet apart, and they calculated that the
ice between them would be completely broken up,
even if the fractures did not extend a good way be-
yond the lines. The holes were of rather larger
diameter than the interior of a gun-barrel. It was
found that the ice was about fifteen inches thick,
and the holes were taken down ten inches. Three
or four charges of powder were placed in each ; a
stick of a quarter of an inch in diameter was then
placed in each hole, and pounded ice was rammed
tightly in around it until the holes were filled up,
a few drops of water being poured in on the top so
as to freeze the whole into a solid mass. There was


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
321
no fear of the powder being wetted, for the frost
was intense. Then the sticks were withdrawn and
the holes left filled with powder. With the heated
ramrods little troughs were sunk half an inch deep,
connecting the tops of the holes; lines of powder
were placed in these trenches ; narrow strips of skin
were laid over them and the snow was then thrown
on again. The two lines of trenches were connect-
ed at the ends at the shore, so that they could be
fired simultaneously.
While the men were occupied with this work the
girls had cooked some venison steaks and made some
cakes.
It was just nightfall when they had finished, and
all sat down and enjoyed a hearty meal. Peter and
one of the Senecas undertook the watch for half the
night, when they were to be relieved by Pearson
and the chief. The early part of the night passed
off quietly, but an hour before morning the party
were aroused by the sharp crack of two rifles.
Seizing their arms all rushed out.
“What is it, Pearson ?”
“Two of their scouts,” Pearson answered, point-
ing to two dark bodies on the snow at a distance of
about one hundred yards. “I suppose they wanted
to see ef we was on the watch. We made 'em out
almost as soon as they left the shore, but we let 'em
come on until we was sartin of our aim. There
ain't no more about as we can see, so ye can all turn
in again for another hour or two.”
There was no fresh alarm before morning, and


322
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
when the sun rose it shone over a wide expanse of
snow, unbroken save where lay the bodies of the
two Indians--whose scalps already hung at the belt
of the Seneca—and those of their four comrades
who had fallen in the first attack.
The day passed quietly. Toward the afternoon
two Indians were seen approaching from the shore.
They were unarmed and held their hands aloft as a
sign of amity. Peter and Pearson at once laid
down their guns, left the island, and advanced to
meet them. They were Indian chiefs of importance.
“Why have my white brothers stolen in at night
upon the village of War Eagle and slain his young
men ?"
“It's what you've been doing all last year, chief,”
Pearson, who spoke the dialect better than Peter,
replied. “But we injured no one. We didn't kill
women and children, as your warriors have done in
the white villages. We only came to take what you
had stolen from us, and ef your young men have
been killed it's only because they tried to attack us.”
“The white men must see,” the chief said, “ that
they cannot get away. The water is hard and their
canoe will not swim in it. The snow is deep and the
tender feet cannot walk through it. My warriors
are very numerous and the white men cannot fight
their way through them. The white settlements
are very far away and their friends cannot reach
them; and it will be many months before the water
softens, and long before that the white men will
have eaten their moccasins."


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
323
“ Waal, chief,” Pearson said, “we're in a tight
hole, I grant you; but I'm far from allowing that
we ain't no chances left to us yet. What do you
propose? I suppose you've some proposition to
make.”
“Let the white men leave behind them their guns
and their powder and the maidens they have taken
from War Eagle's camp, then let them go in peace.
They shall not be harmed.”
Pearson gave a short laugh.
“War Eagle must think the white men are fool-
ish. What's to prevent the red warriors from
taking all our sculps when our arms are in their
hands ?”
“The word of a great chief,” War Eagle said.
“ War Eagle never lies.”
“You may not lie, chief,” Pearson said bluntly,
“but I've known many a treaty broken afore now.
You and your people may not touch us, but there's
other redskins about, and I wouldn't give a beaver's
skin for our sculps ef we were to take the back trail
to the settlements without arms in our hands. BH-
sides that, we've among us the father of the gal who
was stole far away off from Lake Champlain and a
relative of ber whose parents you've killed down on
the lake. Ef we were to agree to give up our arms,
it stands to reason it ain't likely they'd agree to
give up the gals. No, no, chief; your terms aren't
reasonable. But I tell ye what we will do: ef
you'll give us your word that neither you nor your
tribe'll molest us in our retreat we'll go back to the
hief," po broken put the


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
325
CHAPTER XVI.
THE GREAT STORM.
“ LET us overhaul our packages,” Harold said,
“and see what provisions we have left. It would
be as well to know how we stand.”
It was found that they had a sufficient supply of
flour to last with care for a fortnight. The meal
was nearly exhausted ; of tea they had an abun-
dance; the sugar was nearly out and they had three
bottles of spirits.
“ Could we not make the flour last more than the
fourteen days by putting ourselves on half-rations ?”
Harold asked.
“We might do that,” Peter said, “ but I tell you
the rations would be small even for fourteen days.
We've calkilated according to how much we eat
when we've plenty of meat, but without meat it'd be
only a starvation ration to each. Fortunately we've
fish-books and lines, and by making holes in the ice we
can git as many fish as we like. Waal, we can live
on them alone if need be, and an ounce or two of
flour, made into cakes, will be enough to go with
’em. That way the flour would last us pretty nigh
two months. I don't say that if the wust comes to
the wust we might not hold on right to the spring


326
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
on fish. The lake's full of 'em, and some of 'em
have so much oil in 'em that they're nigh as good
as meat."
“Do you think, Peter, that if the Indians make
one great attack and are beaten off they will try
again ?”
“No one can say," Peter answered. “Injun
natur' can't never be calkilated on. I should say
if they got a thundering beating they ain't likely to
try again ; but there's never no saying.”
“ The sooner they attack and get it o'er the better,"
Cameron said. “I hae na slept a wink the last
twa nights. If I doze off for a moment I wake up
thinking I hear their yells. I am as ready to fight
as ony o' you when the time comes, but the thought
o'my daughter here makes me nervous and anxious.
What do you say, Jake?”
“It all de same to Jake, Massa Cameron. Jake
sleeps bery sound, but he no like de tought ob eating
noting but fish for five or six months. Jake nebber
bery fond ob fish."
“You'll like it well enough when you get used to
it, Jake,” Pearson said. “It's not bad eating on a
pinch, only you want to eat a sight of it to satisfy
you. Well, let's see how the fish'll bite.”
Four holes were cut in the ice at a short distance
apart. The hooks were attached to strong lines
and baited with deer's flesh, and soon the fishing be-
gan. The girls took great interest in the proceed-
ing. Nelly was an adept at the sport, having
generally caught the fish for the consumption of


TRUE TO THE OLD 331
UL
RLAL
FLAG.
“Why, this business ain't nothing to that affair
we had by Lake Champlain. That were as bad a
business, when we was surrounded in that log hut,
as ever I went through—and I've been through a
good many. Pearson and me nigh got our har
raised more nor once in that business of Pontiac's.
He were a great chief and managed to get up the
biggest confederation agin' us that's ever been
kdown. It were well for us that that business didn't
begin a few years earlier when we was fighting the
French; but you see, so long as we and they was at
war the Indians hoped as we might pretty well ex-
terminate each other, and then they intended to
come in and finish off whoever got the best of it.
Waal, the English they drove the French back and
finally a treaty was made in Europe by which the
French agreed to clear out.
“It was jest about this time as Pontiac worked
upon the tribes to lay aside their own quarrels and
jine the French in .fighting agin' us. He got the
Senecas, and the Delawares, and the Shawnees, the
Wyandots, and a lot of other tribes from the lakes
and the hull country between the Niagara River and
the Mississippi.
“Jack Pearson and me, we happened to be with
the Miamis when the bloody belt which Pontiac
were sending round as a signal for war arrived at
the fort there. Jack and me knew the redskins
pretty well, and saw by their manner as something
unusual had happened. I went to the commandant
of the fort and told him as much. He didn't think
"PPI,


332
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
much of my news. The soldier chaps always
despises the redskins till they see 'em come yelling
along with their tomahawks, and then as often as
not it's jest the other way. Howsumdever, he
agreed at last to pay any amount of trade goods
I might promise to the Miamis if the news turned
out worth finding out. I discovered that a great
palaver was to be held that evening at the chief's
village, which was a mile away from the fort.
“I'd seen a good deal of the Miamis and had
fought with 'em against the Shawnees, so I could do
as much with 'em as most. Off Pearson and I goes
to the chief; and I says to him, "Look ye here,
chief, I've good reasons to believe you've got a mes.
sage from Pontiac and that it means trouble. Now
don't you go and let yourself be led away by him.
I've heard rumors that he's getting up a great con-
federation agin' the English. But I tell you, chief,
if all the redskins on this continent was to
jine together, they couldn't do nothing agin the
English. I don't say as you mightn't wipe out a
number of little border forts, for no doubt you
might; but what would come of it? England would
send out as many men as there are leaves in the
forest, who would scorch up the redskin nations as a
fire on the prairie scorches up the grass. I tell yer,
chief, no good can come on it. Don't build yer
hopes on the French; they've acknowledged that
they're beaten and are all going out of the country.
It'd be best for you and your people to stick to the
English. They can reward their friends handsomely,


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
333
and ef you jine with Pontiac, sooner or later trouble
and ruin will come upon you. Now I can promise
you, in the name of the officer of the fort, a good
English rifle for yerself and fifty guns for your
braves and ten bales of blankets ef yer'll make a
clean breast of it and first tell us what devilry
Pontiac is up to and next jine us freely-or anyway
hold aloof altogether from this conspiracy till yer
see how things is going
“Waal, the chief he thought the matter over and
said he'd do his best at the palaver that night, but
till that was over and he knew what the council
decided on he couldn't tell me what the message
was. I was pretty well satisfied, for Prairie Dog
were a great chief in his tribe, and I felt pretty
sartin he'd git the council to go the way he wanted.
I told him I'd be at the fort and that the gov-
ernor would expect a message after the council was
over.
“It was past midnight when the chief came with
four of his braves. He told us that the tribe had
received a bloody belt from Pontiac and a message
that the Mingoes and Delawares, the Wyandots and
Shawnees were going to dig up the hatchet against
the wbites, and calling upon him and his people to
massacre the garrison of the fort and then march to
jine Pontiac, who was about to fall upon Detroit
and Fort Pitt. They were directed to send the belt
on to the tribes on the Wabash, but they loved the
English and were determined to take nu part
against them; so they delivered the belt to their


334
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
friend the white commander, and hoped that he'd
tell the great king in England that the Miamis were
faithful to him. The governor highly applauded
their conduct and said he'd send the news to the
English governor at New York, and at once ordered
the presents which I promised to be delivered to the
chief for bimself and his braves. When they'd gone
he said :
“«You were right, Peter. This news is important
indeed, and it's clear that a terrible storm's about to
bust upon the frontier. Whether the Miamis will
keep true is doubtful; but now I'm on my guard
they'll find it difficult to take the fort. But the
great thing is to carry the news of what's happened
to Detroit, to put them on their guard. Will you
and Pearson start at once ?
"In course we agreed, though it was clear that
the job was a risksome one, for it wouldn't be no
easy matter to journey through the woods with the
hull redskin tribes out on the war-path.
“The commander wanted me to carry the belt
· with me, but I said, 'I might jest as well carry my
death-warrant to the first redskins as I come across.'
Major Gladwin, who commanded at Detroit, knew
me, and I didn't need to carry any proof of my
story. So afore the Miamis had been gone balf an
hour Jack and me took the trail for Detroit. We
had got a canoe hid on the lake a few miles away,
and we was soon on board. The next morning we
seed a hull fleet of canoes coming down the lake.
We might have made a race with 'em, but being


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
near Detroit we would jest say good-by to him and
tramp in.
“Why should my wbite brothers hurry? he
said. “It is not good for them to go on alone, for
the woods are very full of Indians. But,' I said,
the hatchet's buried between the whites and the
redskins, so there's no danger in the woods. The
chief waved his band. "My white brothers have
joined the Wyandots, and they will tarry with them
until they go into Detroit. There are many red-
skins there, and there will be a grand palaver. The
Wyandots will be present.
“ Jack and me made no signs of being dissatisfied,
but the position weren't a pleasant one, I can tell
you. Here was the redskins a-clustering like bees
around Detroit, ready to fall upon the garrison and
massacre 'em, and we, who was the only men as
knew of the danger, was prisoners among the red-
skins. It was sartin, too, that though they mightn't
take our lives till they had attacked the garrison,
they was only keeping us for the pleasure of tor-
turing us quietly arterward. The situation was
plain enough ; the question was, what were to be
done? There was about sixty of the varmints
around us sitting by their fires and looking as ef
they didn't even know as we was there, but we
knew as sharp eyes was watching us and that afore
we'd gone five yards the hull lot would be on our
track.
“ Jack and me didn't say much to each other, for
we knew how closely we was watched and didn't


338
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
“ The third morning, after a runner had come in,
the chief gave the word for a move and we set out.
We saw they wasn't taking the direct line to De-
troit, although still going in that direction, and
after two hours' marching through the woods we
got down on to the Detroit River. Here was a big
encampment, and some three or four hundred
Shawnees and Delawares was gathered here. A
chief come up to us as we entered the open. He
gave an order to the Wyandots, and in a minute
we was bound hand and foot, carried to a small
wigwam, and chucked down inside like two logs of
wood.
“ After a little talk Jack and I agreed as after all
we bad a better chance of escaping now than when
we was watched by a hull tribe, and we concluded
that there weren't no time to be lost. The Wyan-
dots bad no doubt been brought up in readiness to
strike the blow, and even if we'd known nothing
about the belt, we'd have been sure that mischief
was intended when these three bands of red
varmints had gathered so close to the fort. It was
sartin we couldn't do nothing till night, but we both
strained our cords as much as possible to get 'em to
stretch a bit and give us a better chance of slipping
out of 'em. No one come near us for some time,
and as we could hear the sound of voices we guessed
that a great council was taking place, and we
agreed at once to loosen the knots, so as to be in
readiness for work, as like enough they'd put a
sentry over us at night.


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
339
“It was a risky thing to try, for we might be dis-
turbed at any minute. Still we thought it were our
only chance, so Jack set to work with his teeth at
my knots and in a quarter of an hour had loosened
them; then I undone his. We unbound our thongs
and then fastened 'em up again so that to the eye
they looked jest the same as before, but really with
a jerk they'd fall off.
“I must teach you how to do that, Harold, some
time; ye may find it of use. The knots was tied up
as tightly as before, and it would have needed a
close examination to see that we was not tied as
tight as ever. Not a word was spoken and we was
as quiet as mice, for we could hear two redskins
talking outside. You may guess we was pretty
slick about it; and I don't know as ever I felt so
thankful as when we laid ourselves down again, jest
as we had been throwed, without the slit in the tent
having opened and a red face peered in.
“A quarter of an hour later a redskin come in
and looked at us. Seeing, as it seemed to him, as
we hadn't moved, he went out again. Jest before
nightfall two on 'em came in together, rolled us
over, and looked at the knots; they found as these
was all right; then one sat down jest in the door
of the tent and the other took his place outside.
We waited some hours.
“At last the fires burned low and the camp got
quiet. We knew it was well-nigh hopeless to wait
for 'em all to be asleep, for redskin natur' is a rest-
less one, and especially when there's anything on


340
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
hand they'll turn out two or three times in the
night to smoke their pipes by the fires, and they'd
be the more restless since, as we'd seen, there was
only four or five wigwams and all would be sleep-
ing on the ground. At last I thought the time
were come and gave Jack a nudge and we both sat
up.
“It were a ticklish moment, young un, I can tell
ye, for we knew that it were scarce possible to get
off without the alarm being raised. Ef the wigwam
had stood close to the edge of the forest it would
have been compar’tively easy, for once among the
trees we might bave hoped to have outrun 'em,
though the moon was so pesky bright; but unfortu-
nately it was built not far from the river, and we
should have to cross the hull clearing to gain the
woods. The chances weren't good, I can tell you,
but it was clear as we had to try 'em. We had
purposely moved about pretty often so that our
movements would not attract the attention of the
Injun now. It didn't take a minute to slip out of
the cords, which, tight as they looked, really were
not fastened at all, there being two loose double
ends between our arms and our bodies. We could
see the outside sentry through the open door, and
we waited till he turned his back and looked out on
the river. Then sudilenly I gripped the redskin
sitting at the entrance by the neck with both my
hands, pretty tight as you may reckon, and Jack
ketched his knife from his helt and buried it in his
body.


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
341
“That was soon over, and not a sound made
as would have startled a mouse. Then, standing
up, I made a spring on to the sentry, while Jack
used his knife as before. We let him drop softly
down and prepared to bolt, when of a sudden the
war-whoop sounded not twenty feet away. One of
the redskins, finding the ground hard, I suppose, was
strolling up to speak to the sentry when he saw us
tackle him. For a moment he were too much sur.
prised to holler, but when he did he gave a yell as
brought the hull tribe to their feet. Jack had
taken up the sentry's rifle.
“* Ye'd better have held yer tongue,' he said as
he leveled on the redskin, and before the whoop was
out of his lips the bullet hit him and he went down
like a log. It didn't need to look round to see as
there was no chance of getting to the trees, for two
hundred redskins was between us and them. “We
must take to the river, Jack,' I said. It were but
thirty yards away. I expected every moment, as
we run, to hear the rifle bullets whistle round us,
but I guess Pontiac had given orders that no gun
was to be fired lest it might be heard at the fort.
Anyhow, not a shot was fired and we got down safe
to the bank.


342
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.'
CHAPTER XVII.
THE SCOUT'S STORY.
“LUCKILY enough there was a canoe lying close at
our feet. 'Shove it out, Jack,' says I, and then
keep along the bank. We gave it a shove with all
our strength and sent it dancing out into the river.
Then we dived in and swum down close under the
bank. There was bushes growing all along, and we
came up each time under 'em. The redskins was
some little distance behind us as we reached the
river, and in course thought we had throwed our-
selves flat in the canoe. In a minute or two they
got another and paddled off to it, and we soon beard
the shout as they raised when they found it was
empty. By this time we was a hundred yards be-
low the spot where we had taken to the water, and
knowing as they would be off along the bank and
would find us in no time, we scrambled straight up
and made for the trees.
“We was within fifty yards of the edge of the
forest, and none of the redskins was near us, as the
hull body bad clustered down at the spot where we
had jumped in. We hadn't fairly set foot on the
bank afore they saw us and with a whoop—which
sometimes wakes me even now in my sleep and


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
343
makes me sit up with the sweat on my forehead-
they started. I could run faster then than I can
now, and ye may guess I went my best. We
plunged into the trees and went as hard as we could
foot it, the redskins being fifty or sixty yards
behind.
“Our hope was to find a place with a thickish
underwood. It was darker a deal under the trees
than in the clearing, still it was not dark enough to
hide us from red:kin eyes. We run straight, for we
knew they could see us, and arter about four hun.
dred yards we come upon a place where the under-
growth grew thick. Here we began to dodge 'em,
turning now one way and now another, keeping al-
ways low in the bushes. They had lost us by sight
now, but there was so many of 'em that we pretty
nigh despaired of getting through. Some of 'em
had tried to follow us, but the best part had run
straight on for a bit, and then, when sure they had
headed us, scattered right and left, so that they
were ahead of us now as well as on our traces, and
we could hear 'em shouting all round us, so we did
the only thing there was to be done and made the
best of our way back to the clearing, keeping low
and taking good care not to cross any patch where
the moonlight through the trees fell on the ground.
“It were lucky for us that it was a camp of
braves. Had it been an ordinary redskin encamp-
ment there would have been squaws, and boys, and
wuss still, dogs, who would have seed us the moment
we got back; but being all braves on the war-path


344
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
the hull gang had started arter us, and not a soul
had remained in the clearing. We did not rest there
long, you may be sure, but made straight down to
the water. There we picked out a canoe, crossed
the river, and got into the shade of the trees the
other side. Then we kept along down it till we got
close to the fort of Detroit.
“We could see a good many smoldering fires
out afore it, and guessed that a strong body of red-
skins, pretending to be friends, had camped there.
We made round 'em and reached the gate of the
fort safe. The sentries wouldn't let us in, but when
a sergeant was fetched it turned out as he knew us,
seeing that we had been scouting out from thar in
the summer. Pretty thankful we was when the
gate closed arter us. Our news would keep, so we
waited till morning afore we saw the major, and
then told him the whole history of the matter, and
how Pontiac had raised all the tribes east of the Mis-
sissippi against us.
6 We found that Pontiac had been into the camp
with fifty of his warriors three days afore, profess-
ing great friendship, and had said that in two or
three days he would call again and pay a formal
visit.
“Detroit then was but a trading post, defended
by a stockade twenty feet bigh and twelve hundred
yards in circumference. About fifty houses of trad-
ers and storekeepers stood within it. The garrison
was composed of one hundred and twenty men
of the Eighteenth Regiment and eight officers.


346
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
like with our rifles, so that in case of any sudden
attack we could keep them back for a moment or
two. I noticed that Pontiac carried in his hand a
wampum belt. I noticed it because it was green on
one side and white on the other, and it turned out
arterward that when he twisted that belt with two
hands it was to be the signal for an attack.
“Pontiac spoke soft for a time. He was a fine
redskin; that can't be denied. He was a Catawba
by birth, but had been adopted into the tribe of
Ottawas and had risen to be their chief. He were
a great brave and one of the best speakers I
ever heard. He was a wise chief, as you may guess
by the way he got all the tribes to lay aside their
private quarrels and make common cause against
us. I watched him close. He kept his eyes on the
major and spoke as cool and as calm as if he had
nothing on his mind; but I could see the warrior
glancing about, wondering, no doubt, what had be-
come of the soldiers. Presently the chief changed
his tone and began to pretend as he was in a rage
at some grievance or other.
“ The major jest put his whistle to his lips, and in
a moment from behind the houses the soldiers and
traders marched out rifle in band. You never saw
a more disgusted crew than them redskins. I'll do
Pontiac justice to say that he never so much as
moved, but jest went on talking as if he hadn't
noticed the troops at all. The major answered him
in the same way, and after half an hour's talk the
redskins went out again without so much as a knife


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
347
having been shown. Major Gladwin gave Jack and
me papers testifying as how we had saved Detroit
from destruction, and sent an account of it to Gov.
ernor Amherst, and to this day Jack and me draws
special pensions for that 'ere business besides what
we earned as British scouts.”
“ That was an adventure, Peter !” Harold said.
“They did not take Detroit after all, did they ?”
“No; we beat 'em off handsome when they
tried it. Then they laid siege to Fort Pitt and
tried very hard there too, but the place held out till
some troops who had come up marched out from
here and raised the siege. At some of the little
places they succeeded. Lots of settlers was massa-
cred. At Fort Sandusky Ensign Paulli and the
garrison was massacred by a party of Hurons and
Otta was who come in as friends. This was on the
same day as they had intended to do for us at
Detroit.
“At St. Joseph's an English ensign with four-
teen soldiers was killed by the Pottawatomies, but
nowhere did Pontiac obtain any real successes.
The French in Illinois were preparing to leave and
he couldn't git no assistance from them. After the
siege of Fort Pitt was raised peace was patched up
again. Pontiac's confederacy, finding as they
hadn't got none of the successes he promised 'em,
was beginning to break up, and the English saw
no chance of doing any good by hunting the red-
skins among the forests, so both parties was willing
for peace.


348
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
“Pontiac never gave any more trouble, and some
years arterward, coming into one of the towns, he
was killed by an Injun who had a private grudge
agin' him. And now I'm longing for a quiet pipe,
and you'd better turn in. There's no saying
whether we'll have a quiet night of it.”
A fortnight passed without further incident.
Then the sky became overcast, and Peter and the
Indians agreed that snow would soon fall. All
hands were at once set to work to make up their
stores into packages. The deer-skins and blankets
were tied in bundles; besides these there were only
two kegs of powder and about two hundred pounds
of frozen fish.
Harold was in high glee at the thought that their
imprisonment was to come to an end, although
there was no doubt that the attempt would be a
hazardous one, as the backwoodsmen were sure that
the instant the snow began to fall the Indians
would be out in great numbers round the island to
prevent the defenders taking advantage of the
storm.
Several times Harold observed the two back-
woodsmen talking with the Seneca chief and look-
ing at the sky, and he thought that their counte-
nances expressed some anxiety.
" What is it, Peter ?” he asked at length. “Don't
you think we shall have a snow-storm ?”
“We may have snow," Peter said, “but I think
it's more than a snow-storm that's coming. The
clouds are flying past very fast, and it seems to me
as ef we're in for a big gale of wind.”


350
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
on sech a big sheet of ice will move it, and like
enough you'd see it piled up in a bank forty feet
high on this side of the lake, and there'll be a strip
of clear water balf a mile wide on the other. That's
why we must take the canoe."
Harold was silent. In the face of such a prob-
ability, it was clear that they must incumber them-
selves with the canoe.
The prevision of the scout proved well founded.
Before evening the wind was blowing with tre-
mendous force. Small flakes of snow were driven
before it, inflicting stinging blows on the face and
eyes of those who ventured out of shelter. As it
became dark the lookout announced that he could
see large numbers of Indians starting from the
shore at some distance to the right and left of them,
showing that the redskins were fully alive to the
possibility of the garrison of the island taking ad-
vantage of the storm, which would hide their trail,
to effect their escape.
Every hour the fury of the gale increased, and it
was unanimously agreed that until it diminished it
would be impossible for the girls and for men carry-
ing a canoe to face it.
Two men were placed on watch at the mouth of
the cove, where mines similar to the first had been
sunk in the ice in a semicircle some little distance
outside that before exploded. This precaution had
been taken on the day succeeding the great repulse
of the enemy, although the scouts felt assured that
the attempt would not be repeated. But it was


352
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
was no longer a brilliant wbite. Every particle of
snow had been swept away and the dull gray of the
rough ice lay unbroken.
He made his way at once to the hut of the men,
and just as he reached the entrance Peter (who had
also been out to reconnoiter) came up, and before
Harold had turned to speak he put his head into the
but.
“Turn out,” he said. “I tell ye we're in a fix.
This ain't no common gale. I don't know as ever
I've been in a worse one."
“What's the use of turning out ?” Pearson asked.
“We can't do nothing and it's warmer here a sight
than it is outside.”
“I tell ye ye've got to go. The ice is breaking
up fast and it's level with the top of the island al-
ready. Unless I'm mistaken there'll be forty foot
of ice piled over this island afore an hour.”
This was, indeed, alarming news. And in a min-
ute the occupants of the hut were all in the open
air.
“You can call in your scouts, Seneca. There
ain't no fear of an attack to-night. No mortal soul-
not even an Injun—could stand the force of the
wind out on the lake."
A very short examination sufficed to show the
truth of Peter's anticipations.
Already the upper part of the bank was sliding
over the rock, and it was clear that in a very short
time the whole would be covered.
6 What is to be done, Peter ?” Harold shouted.


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
353
We must take to the canoe. There's clear water
on the other side.”
Harold crossed the island and saw that what
Peter said was correct. A broad strip of black
water stretched away in the darkness toward the
shore. The whole ice sheet was moving bodily be-
fore the wind, and as the island stood up in its course
the ice to windward of it was forced up over it,
while under its lee the lake was clear. Not a mo-
ment was lost. The canoe was got out, carried over
the rocks, and carefully lowered into the water un-
der shelter of the island. All the stores and pro-
visions were lowered into it. A deer-skin was
spread on the bottom, and the girls, having been
helped down into the boat, were told to lie down
and were then covered with blankets. The men
wrapped themselves up in skins and blankets and
took their places in the canoe, the four Indians
taking paddles.
Quickly as the preparations had been made, there
were but a few feet of the island uncovered by the
ice as the last man descended into the boat and
they pushed off and, after a couple of strokes, lay
with the boat's head facing toward the island at a
distance of fifty yards from it. Although some-
what sheltered from the wind, the Indians were
obliged to paddle hard to maintain their position.
Harold wondered at first that they had not kept
closer to the island, but he soon understood their
reason for keeping at a distance. The massive
blocks of ice, pressed forward by the irresistible


354
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
force behind, began to shoot from the top of
the island into the water, gliding far on be-
neath the surface with the impetus of the fall, and
then shooting up again with a force which would
have destroyed the canoe at once had they touched
it.
Soon a perfect cataract of ice was falling. Peter
and Pearson took tbeir places on each side of the
bow of the canoe, with poles to push off the pieces
as they drifted before the gale toward the shore.
The work required the utmost strength and care.
One touch from the sharp-edged blocks would have
ripped open the side of the bark canoe like a knife,
and in the icy cold water, incumbered by floating
fragments of ice, even the best swimmer could not
have gained the solid ice. The peril was great, and
it needed all the strength and activity of the white
men and the skill of the paddlers to avoid the dan-
ger which momentarily threatened them. So quickly
did the blocks float down upon them that Pearson
thought it might be impossible to avoid them all.
The skins, therefore, were hung round the boat,
dropping some inches into the water, and these,
although they could not have prevented the boat
from being stove in by the larger fragments, yet
protected its sides from the contact of the smaller
ones.
For upward of an hour the struggle continued,
and Harold felt something like despair at the
thought of a long night passed in a such a struggle.
Presently sounds like the booming of cannon were
heard above the gale.


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
355
“What is that ?” he shouted to the Seneca chief,
• next to whom he was sitting.
“Ice break up," the chief replied. “Break up
altogether.”
This proved to be the case. As the ice was driven
away from the further side of the lake the full force
of the wind played upon the water there, and as the
streak widened a beavy sea soon got up. The force
of the swell extended under the ice, aiding the effect
of the wind above, and the vast sheet began to
break up. The reports redoubled in strength, and
frequently the ice was seen to heave and swell.
Then with a sound like thunder it broke and great
cakes were forced one on the top of another, and
soon, instead of a level plain of ice, a chaos of
blocks were tossing about on the waves.
Harold watched the change with anxiety. No
longer was the channel on either side marked by
regular defined lines, but floating pieces encroached
upon it, and looking toward the shore the channel
appeared to be altogether lost. The danger was
overwhelming, but the Indians, paddling with in-
creased strength, urged the boat forward unti)
within ten yards of the island.
A few minutes before such an approach would
have assured the immediate destruction of the boat.
But Harold saw with surprise that almost simul-
taneously with the breaking up of the ice-sheet the
fall of blocks from the island had ceased. A mo.
ment's reflection showed him the reason of this
phenomenon. With the break-up of the ice-field
TU,


356
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
the pressure from behind had suddenly ceased. No
longer were the blocks piled on the island pushed
forward by the tremendous pressure of the ice-field.
The torrent was stayed and they could approach
the island with safety. As soon as they were as-
sured that this was so the canoe was brought close
to the rocks.
Pearson leaped ashore, climbed the rocks and the
ice piled twenty feet above them, and with his pole
convinced himself that at this point there were no
loose blocks likely to fall. Having satisfied himself
on this head he descended again and took his place
in the boat. This was moored by a rope a few feet
long to a bush growing from a fissure in the rock
close to the water's edge. He and Peter remained
on watch with their poles to fend off any pieces of
ice which might be brought round by the waves,
while the rest of the crew, wrapping themselves up
in their blankets, lay down at the bottom of the
boat.
The next morning the storm still raged and the
lake presented the appearance of an angry sea.
Sheltered under the lee of the island, the party
were protected from its effects, although the light
canoe rose and fell on the heavy swell. The ice had
wholly disappeared from the lake, the pieces having
been ground to atoms against each other in the
storm. Along the line of shore there was a great
bank of ice as high as the tree-tops.
“ The ways of the Lord are won'erful,” Donald
Cameron said. “The storm which threatened to


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
· 357
be our destruction hae proved our salvation. When
it abates we shall be able to paddle down the lake
without fear of interruption.”
“ Yes,” Peter said, " the varmints are not likely
to follow us. In the first place, unless they thought
of taking their canoes into the forest when the
storm first began, which ain't likely, as they was
a-thinking only of cutting off our escape, they'd 're
been smashed into tinder. In the second place,
they couldn't ketch us if they had canoes, for as
we've eight paddles, counting them we made out of
the seats when we was on shore, we'd be able to
laugh at 'em. And lastly, they've had such a
taste of the quality of our rifles that even if they
had a dozen canoes on hand I doubt if they'd care
to attack us. No, sir, when this storm's over we
have nothing to do but paddle down to the settle-
ments at the other end of the lake.”
Toward the afternoon the storm abated, and next
morning the sun was shining brilliantly and the
waves had gone down sufficiently to enable the
canoe to start on her voyage.
“Now, boys,” Pearson said cheerfully, “ef ye
don't want to git froze up again you'd best be
sharp, for I can tell ye about thirty-six hours of this
weather and the lake'll be solid again.”
Five minutes later the canoe with its eight sturdy
paddlers started on its way, speeding like an arrow
from the ice-covered island which had done them
such good service in their greatest need.
“Now, Jake," Peter said, "the more strength


358
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
you put into that paddle of your'n the sooner you'll
have a piece of meat atween your jaws.”
The negro grinned.
“Don't talk ob bim, Massa Peter; don't say a
word about him until I see him. Fish bery good
when dere's noting else to eat, but Jake never want
to see him again. He hab eat quite enough for de
rest ob his life.”
Cameron, who was not accustomed to the use of
the paddle, sat in the stern with the two girls; but
the others were all used to the exercise, and the
boat literally bounded along at each stroke from
the sinewy arms, and by nightfall they had reached
the opposite shore. After some hours' work to-
gether two of them had rested, and from that time
they took it by turns, six paddles being kept con-
stantly going.
Without any adventure they arrived safely at the
end of the lake. The clearing where Nelly had
lived so long and where her father and mother had
been killed was passed in the night, much to Harold's
satisfaction, as he was afraid that she would have
been terribly upset at the many sad memories which
the sight of the place could not but call up. On
their way down they had seen many gaps in the
forest caused by the gale, but it was not until they
reached the landing-place that the full effect of its
destructive force was visible. Several scows and
other boats lay wrecks upon the shore, every house
in the little village was leveled to the ground, the
orchards were ruined, palings and fences torn down,
and the whole place strewn with fragments.


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
363
of the English would induce the colonists to make
peace, she came forward, recognized their independ-
ence, and engaged herself to furnish a large fleet
for their assistance.
The colonists joyfully accepted the offer, seeing
that the intervention of France in the struggle
would completely alter its conditions. Heretofore
the British had been enabled to send over men and
stores at will, but were they blockaded by a French
fleet their difficulties would be immensely increased.
As there had been no cause of quarrel between
England and France, this agreement was an act of
wanton hostility on the part of the latter. On ob-
taining information of the signature of the treaty
between France and the colonies, the English am.
bassador was recalled from Paris and both countries
prepared vigorously for war.
The first result was that the English deemed it
prudent to evacuate Philadelphia and retreat to
New York. Washington endeavored to cut off their
retreat, and a battle took place at Freehold Court-
House, in which the Americans were worsted.
Washington drew off his army and the British army
continued its march to New York without further
opposition. Early in May the French sent off a
fleet of twelve ships of the line and six frigates
carrying a large number of troops commanded by
Count D'Estaing. An English fleet, under Admiral
Byron, was lying at Portsmouth, and this sailed on
June 9 in pursuit; for it was not until that time
that information was received of the intended des-
tination of the French fleet.


364
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
D'Estaing reached the American coast upon the
very day on which the English army reëntered New
York, and after making a demonstration before that
town the French fleet sailed for Rhode Island to
expel the British troops, under Sir Robert Pigott,
who held it.
Lord Howe sailed with the fleet from New York
to give battle to that of D’Estaing. For two days
the fleets maneuvered in sight of each other. Howe,
being inferior in force, wished to gain the weather-
gauge before fighting. Failing to do this on the
third day he offered battle, but a tremendous storm
prevented the engagement and dispersed both fleets.
The French vessels retired to Boston and the
English to New York.
Taking advantage of the departure of the French
fleet, Sir Robert Pigott attacked the American force,
which had crossed to Rhode Island to act with the
French, and drove them from it. While crossing
the Atlantic the fleet under Admiral Byron had met
with a tremendous storm, which had entirely dis-
persed it, and the vessels arrived singly at New
York. When their repairs were completed the
whole set out to give battle to the French, but
D'Estaing, finding that by the junction of the two
English fleets he was now menaced by a superior
force, sailed away to the West Indies.
After his departure an expedition was sent down
along the coast to Georgia and East Florida. This
met with great success. Savannah was captured
and the greater part of South Carolina was oc-


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
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TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
cupied. The majority of the inhabitants joyfully
welcomed the troops and many companies of volun-
teers were raised.
Harold had arrived in New York early in the
spring. He had been offered a commission, but he
preferred remaining with his two comrades in the
position of scout. In this way he had far greater
independence, and while enjoying pay and rations
sufficient for his maintenance, he was to a great ex-
tent master of his own movements. At an earlier
period of the war he was offered by General Howe
a commission in the army, and his father would have
been glad had he accepted it. Harold, however,
although determined to fight until the struggle be-
tween the colonists and the mother country came to
an end one way or the other, bad no great liking
for the life of an officer in the regular army, but
had resolved at the conclusion of the war to settle
down upon a farm on the lakes-a life for which he
felt far more fitted than for the strict discipline and
regularity of that of an officer in the army.
· As, with the exception of the attack by the
French fleet and American army upon Rhode
Island, both parties remained quiet all through the
summer of 1778, the year passed uneventfully to
him, and the duties of the scouts were little more
than nominal. During the winter fighting went on
in the Carolinas and Georgia with varied success.
In the spring of 1779 Harold and his comrades
were, with a party of scouts, sent down to Georgia,
where constant skirmishes were going on and the


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
367
services of a body of men accustomed to outpost
duty rere required. They were landed in May
and joined General Prevost's force on the island of
St. John, situated close to the mainland and con-
nected with it by a bridge of boats, at the end of
which on the mainland a post bad been erected.
Shortly afterward General Prevost left for Savan-
nah, taking with him most of the troops, which
were carried away in the sloops which had formed
the bridge of boats. On the American side General
Lincoln commanded a considerable army, which
bad been dispatched by Congress to drive the Eng-
lish from that State and the Carolinas.
Lieutenant-Colonel Maitland, who commanded
the post on the mainland, was left with only a flat-
boat to keep up his communication with the island.
He had under his command the first battalion of
the Seventy-first Highlanders, now much weakened
in numbers, part of a Hessian regiment, some pro-
vincial volunteers, and a detachment of artillery,
the whole not exceeding five hundred effective men.
Hearing that General Lincoln was advancing against
him, Colonel Maitland sent all his sick, baggage,
and horses across to the island and placed the post
as far as possible in a defensive position. Most of
the scouts who had come down from New York had
accompanied General Prevost to Savannah, but
Harold, with Peter Lambton, Jake, and three or
four others, had been ordered to remain with Colo-
nel Maitland, and were sent out to reconnoiter
when the enemy were known to be approaching.


370
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
It was as Peter predicted. The Highlanders took
post behind a hedge and maintained a desperate re-
sistance to the advance of the enemy. Harold and
his comrades for some time fought with them.
“It's time for us to be out of this,” Peter said
presently. “Let's jest get back to the fort.”
“ We cannot fall back till they do, Peter.”
“I don't see that,” Peter said. “We're scouts,
and I don't see no advantage in our chucking away
our lives because these hot-beaded Highlanders
choose to do so. Peter Lambton's ready to do a
fair share of fighting, but when he's sure that fight-
ing ain't no good, then he goes."
And suiting the action to the word, Peter rose
from bis recumbent position and began to make his
way back to the camp, taking advantage of every
bit of cover.
Harold could not help laughing. For an instant
he remained irresolute, and then, seeing the over-
whelming forces with which the enemy were ap-
proaching, he called to Jake and followed Peter's
example. So obstinately did the Highlanders fight
that they did not retreat until all their officers were
killed or wounded, and only eleven men out of the
two companies succeeded in regaining the camp.
The whole force of the enemy now advanced
against the works, and halting at a distance of three
hundred yards opened a tremendous fire from their
cannon on the intrenchments. The defenders re-
plied, but so overwhelming was the force of the
assailants that the Hessians abandoned the portion
of the works committed to them and fell back.



MOV
29
THE HIGHLANDERS MAINTAINED A DESPERATE RESISTANCE.–Page 870.





TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
371
The enemy pressed forward and had already
gained the foot of the abattis, when Colonel Mait-
land brought up a portion of the Seventy-first upon
the right, and these gallant troops drove the Amer-
icans back with slaughter. Colonel Maitland and
his officers then threw themselves among the Hes-
sians and succeeded in rallying them and bringing
them back to the front. The provincial volunteers
had also fought with great bravery. They had for
a time been pressed backward, but finally main-
tained their position.
The Americans, finding that all their efforts to
carry the post were unavailing, fell back to the for-
est. On the English side the loss amounted to one
bundred and twenty-nine. The Americans fought
in the open and suffered much more heavily.
The position of matters was suddenly changed by
the arrival of Count D’Estaing with a fleet of forty-
one ships of-war off the coast. The American gen-
eral, Lincoln, at once proposed to him to undertake
a combined movement to force the English to quit
Georgia. The arrival of the French fleet was wholly
unexpected, and the Experiment, a frigate of fifty
guns, commanded by Sir James Wallace, having
two or three ships under his convoy, fell in with
them off the mouth of the Savannah River. Al
though the Experiment had been much crippled by
a gale through which she had recently passed, Sir
James Wallace would not haul down his flag and
opposed a desperate resistance to the whole of the
French fleet, and did not surrender until the Expe-


374
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
town and embark on board vessels lying in the river,
there to await the issue of the fight; but the French
commander refused the request in a letter couched
in insulting terms.
The position of Savannah was naturally strong.
The river protected one of its sides and a deep
swamp partially flooded by it covered another.
The other two were open to the country, which in
front of them was for several miles level and clear
of wood. The works which had been thrown up on
these sides were extremely strong. When the
French first landed there were but ten pieces of
cannon upon the fortifications, but so incessantly
did the garrison work that before the conclusion of
the siege nearly one hundred pieces of artillery were
mounted on the redoubts and batteries erected round
the town. Upon the side of the swamp there was
not much fear of attack, but three redoubts were
erected to prevent a surprise from this direction.
The defense on the right face of the town was con-
ducted by Colonel Maitland. The defense on the
left, consisting of two strong redoubts and several
batteries, was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel
Cruger. In the center were several strong works,
of which General Prevost himself took the special
supervision. The whole British line, except where
the swamp rendered no such defense necessary, was
surrounded by a thick abattis.
The French fire made no sensible impression upon
the English defenses, and finding that the British
artillery equaled his own, D’Estaing determined to


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
379
defended it, was covered by the fire of numerous
batteries of artillery. The water of the bay was
too shallow to admit of the larger men-of-war pass-
ing, and the passage was defended by Fort Moul-
trie, a very formidable work. Admiral Arbuthnot,
with the Renown, Romulus, Roebuck, Richmond,
Blonde, Raleigh, and Virginia frigates, with a favor-
able wind and tide ran the gantlet of Fort Moultrie,
succeeded in passing up without great loss, and co-
operated on the sea face with the attack of the
army on the land side.
A force was landed on Sullivan's Island, on which
Fort Moultrie stvod, and the fort, unprepared for an
attack in this direction, was obliged to surrender.
The American cavalry force which had been col-
lected for the relief of the town was defeated by the
English under General Tarleton. The trenches
were pushed forward with great vigor and the bat-
teries of the third parallel opened at short range on
the town witb great execution. The advances were
pushed forward at the ditch, when the garrison,
seeing that further resistance was impossible, sur-
rendered. Five thousand prisoners were taken, one
thousand American and French seamen, and ten
French and American ships-of-war.
With the fall of Charleston all resistance ceased
in South Carolina. The vast majority of the inhab-
itants made their submission to the British govern-
ment and sereral loyalist regiments were raised.
Colonel Tarleton, with one hundred and seventy
cavalry and one hundred mounted infantry, was dis-


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
381
Mills, a few miles distant, leaving the defense of
Camden to Major M’Arthur, with some provincials
and convalescent soldiers and a detachment of the
Sixty-third Regiment which was expected to arrive
during the night.
The army marched in the following order : The
first division, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel
Webster, consisting of four companies of light in-
fantry and the Twenty-third and Thirty-tbird Regi-
ments, preceded by an advanced guard of forty
cavalry. The second division, consisting of provin-
cial troops and two battalions of the Seventy-first
Regiment, followed as a reserve. The dragoons of
the legion formed the rear-guard. The force
marched at ten o'clock on the night of August 16,
intending to attack at day break the next morning,
but it happened that at the very same hour in which
the British set out, General Gates with his force
were starting from Rugeley's Mills with the inten.
tion of attacking Camden in the morning.
At two o'clock in the night the advanced guards
of the two armies met and fired into each other. In
the confusion some prisoners were taken on both
sides, and the generals finding that the two armies
were face to face halted and waited till morning.
Lord Cornwallis placed Webster's division on the
right; the second division, which was under the
command of Lord Rawdon, on the left; the
battalion known as the Volunteers of Ireland
were on the right of Lord Rawdon's division and
communicated with the Thirty-third Regiment on


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
383
nearly three-quarters of an hour were driven into
total confusion and forced to give way on both
sides. Their rout was completed by the cavalry,

20
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August 16th
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who continued their pursuit twenty-two miles from
the field of action.
Between eight and nine hundred of the enemy


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
387
bread and no beef. For five days it was supported
on Indian corn, which was collected in the fields,
five ears being served out as a daily allowance to
each two soldiers. They had to cook it as they
could, and this was generally done by parching it
over the fire. One of the officers of the quarter-
master's department found some of the loyal militia
grating their corn. This was done by breaking up
a canteen and punching holes in the bottom with
their bayonets, thus making a kind of rasp. The
idea was communicated to the adjutant-general and
afterward adopted for the army.
The soldiers supported their hardships and priva-
tions cheerfully, as their officers were no better
provided than themselves and the fare of Lords
Cornwallis and Rawdon was the same as their
own.
The toilsome march came to an end at last, and
the army had rest after its labors. The only other
incident of importance which occurred was an
action between a force under Colonel Tarleton and
one of considerably superior strength under General
Sumpter strongly posted on a commanding position.
The British attack was repulsed, but General Sump-
ter being badly wounded was carried off the field
during the night, and the force under his command
at once dispersed.
No other event occurred, and the army passed its
time in winter quarters till the spring of 1781.
During this winter the enemies of Great Britain
were reënforced by the accession of the Dutch. At


388
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
this time the efforts which England was called upon
to make were indeed great. In Europe France,
Spain, and Holland were banded against her; in
India our troops were ivaging a desperate war with
Hyder Ali; while they were struggling to retain
their hold on their American colonies. Here, in
deed, the operations had for the last two years lar-
guished. The reënforcements which could be
spared were extremely small, and although the
British had almost uniformly defeated the Ameri-
cans in every action in which there was any ap-
proach to equality between the forces engaged, they
were unable to do more than hold the ground on
which they stood. Victorious as they might be, the
country beyond the reach of their rifles swarmed
with their enemies, and it became increasingly
clear to all impartial observers that it was impossi-
ble for an army which in all did not amount to
more than twenty thousand men to conquer a con-
tinent in arms against them.
Harold was not present at the later events of the
campaign of 1780. He and Jake had been with the
column of Major Fergusson. Peter Lambton had
not accompanied him, having received a bullet
wound in the leg in a previous skirmish, which, al-
though not serious, had compelled him to lay up for
a time.
“Me no like de look ob dis affair, Massa Harold,”
Jake said as the Americans opened fire upon the
troops gathered at the top of King's Mountain.
“ Dese chaps no fools; dey all backwoodsmen; dey


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
389
know how to fight de redskins; great hunters all
ob dem."
“Yes,” Harold agreed, “ they are formidable op-
ponents, Jake. I do not like the look of things.
These men are all accustomed to fighting in the
woods, while our inen have no idea of it. Their
rifles are infinitely superior to these army muskets,
and every man of them can hit a deer behind the
shoulder at the distance of one hundred and fifty
yards, while at that distance most of our men would
miss a haystack.”
The scouts and a few of the provincials who had
been accustomed to forest warfare took up their
position behind trees and fought the advancing
enemy in their own way. The mass of the defend-
ers, however, were altogether puzzled by the
stealthy approach of their foes, who advanced from
tree to tree, seldom showing as much as a limb to
the fire of the defenders and keeping up a deadly
fire upon the crowd of soldiers.
Had there been time for Major Fergusson, before
being attacked, to have felled a circle of trees and
made a breast work round the top of the hill, the
result might have been different. Again and again
the British gallantly charged down with the bayo-
net, but the assailants as they did so glided away
among the trees after firing a shot or two into the
advancing troops, and retreated a hundred yards or
so, only to recommence their advance as soon as
the defenders retired again to their position. The
loss of the assailants was very slight, the few who


390
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
fell being for the most part killed by the rifles of
the scouts.
“ It am no use, Massa Harold,” Jake said. “ Jest
look how dem poor fellows am being shot down.
It's all up wid us dis time."
When upon the fall of Major Fergusson bis suc-
cessor in coinmand surrendered the post, the de-
fenders were disarmed. The Kentucky men, accus-
tomed only to warfare against Indians, had no idea
of the usages of war and treated the prisoners with
great brutality. Ten of the loyalist volunteers of
Carolina they bung at once upon trees. There was
some discussion as to the disposal of the rest. The
border men having accomplished their object were
anxious to disperse at once to their homes. Some
of them proposed that they should rid themselves of
all further trouble by shooting them all. This was
overruled by the majority. Presently the prisoners
were all bound, their hands being tied behind them,
and a hundred of the border men surrounded them
and ordered them to march across the country.
Jake and several other negroes who were among
the captives were separated from the rest, and being
put up at auction were sold as slaves. Jake fell to
the bid of a tall Kentuckian, who without a word
fastened a rope round his neck, mounted his horse,
and started for his home. The guards conducted
the white prisoners to Woodville, eighty miles from
the scene of the fight. This distance was accom-
plished in two days' march. Many of the unfortu-
nate men, unable to support the fatigue, fell and


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
393
“ Dat were a bery easy affair," Jake said. “Me
tell you all about it.”
“Have you shut the door again, Jake? There is
a sentry coming along the passage every five
minutes."
“Me shut him, massa, but dere ain't no fastening
on dis side, so Jake will sit down wid him back
against him.”
Harold got up and partly dressed himself and
then sat down by the side of his follower.
“No need to whisper,” Jake said. “De walls and
de doors bery thick, no one hear. But de sentries
on de walls hear if we talk too loud."
The windows were without glass, which was in
those days an expensive article in America, and the
mildness of the climate of Virginia rendered glass a
luxury rather than a necessity. Confident that even
the murmur of their voices would not be overheard
if they spoke in their usual way, Jake and Harold
were enabled to converse comfortably.
“Well, massa," Jake said, “my story am not a
long one. Dat man dat bought me he rode in two
days someting like one hundred miles. It wor a
lucky ting dat Jake had tramp on his feet de last
four years, else soon enough he tumble down, and
den de rope round him neck hang him. Jake awful
footsore and tired when he git to de end ob dat
journey. De Kentucky man he lib in a clearing
not far from a village. He had two oder slaves;
dey hoe de ground and work for him. He got
grown-up son, who look after dem while him fader


394
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
away fighting. Dey not afraid ob de niggers run-
ning away, because dere plenty redskin not far
away, and nigger scalp jest as good as white man's.
De oder way dere wor plenty ob villages, and dey
tink nigger git caught for sure if he try to run
away. Jake make up his mind he not stop dere
bery long. De Kentuckian was a bery big, strong
man, but not so strong as he was ten years ago, and
Jake tink he more dan a match for him. Jake pret-
ty strong himself, massa.”
“I should think you were, Jake,” Harold said.
“There are not many men, white or black, who can
lift as great a weight as you can.”
“For a week Jake work bery bard. Dat Ken-
tuckian bab a way ob always carrying his rifle
about on his arm, and as long as he do dat dere no
chance ob a fair fight. De son he always hab a
stick and he mighty free wid it. He hit Jake
seberal times, and me say to him once, 'Young
man, you better mind what you do.' Me suppose
dat he not like de look dat I gib him. He speak to
his fader, and he curse and swear awful, and stand
wid de rifle close by and tell dat son ob his to larrup
Jake. Dat he do, massa, for some time. Jake not
say noting, but he make a note ob de affair in his
mind. De bery next day de son go away to de
village to buy some tings he want. De fader he
come out and watch me at work ; he curse and
swear as usual; he call me lazy hound and swear he
cut de flesh from my back; presently he come quite
close and shake him fist in Jake's face. Dat was a


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
399
“ Bery well, Massa Harold; if you say so, dat's
all right. Jake can git de wood easy enough ; dere's
plenty ob pieces among de fire-wood dat would do
for us.”
“Roll it with strips of stuff the same way as the
ladder steps, so as to prevent it making a noise
when it strikes the wall. In addition to the ladder
we shall want a length of rope long enough to go
from this window to the ground, and another length
of thin rope more than twice the height of the
wall.”
“ Bery well, Massa Harold, me understand ex-
actly what's wanted; but it'll take two or tree
days to make de ladder, and me can only work ob
a night.”
“There is no burry, Jake; do not run any risk of
being caught. We must choose a dark and windy
night. Bring two files with you, so that we can
work together, and some oil.”
“ All right, massa. Now me go.”
“Shut the door quietly, Jake, and do not forget
to lock it behind you,” Harold said as Jake stole
noiselessly from the cell.
A week passed without Jake's again visiting
Harold's cell. On the seventh night the wind had
got up and whistled around the jail, and Harold,
expecting that Jake would take advantage of the
opportunity, sat down on his bed without undress-
ing and awaited his coming. It was but half an
hour after the door had been locked for the night
that it quietly opened again.


400
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
“Here me am, sar, wid eberyting dat's wanted ;
two files and some oil, de rope-ladder, de short rope
for us to slide down, and de long thin rope and de
piece ob wood six feet long and thick as de wrist.”
They at once set to work with the files, and in an
hour had sawn through two bars, making a hole
sufficiently wide for them to pass. The rope was
then fastened to a bar. Harold took off his shoes
and put them in his pocket and then slid down the
rope into the court-yard. With the other rope Jake
lowered the ladder and pole to him and then slid
down himself. Harold had already tied to the pole,
at four inches from one end, a piece of rope some
four feet long, so as to form a loop about half that
length. The thin rope was put through the loop
and drawn until the two ends came together.
Noiselessly they stole across the yard until they
reached the opposite wall. The night was a very
dark one, and although they could make out the
outline of the wall above them against the sky-
line, the sentry-boxes at the corners were invisible.
Harold now took hold of the two ends of the rope,
and Jake, stepping back a few yards from the wall,
threw the pole over it. Then Harold drew upon
the rope until there was a check, and he knew that
the pole was hard up against the edge of the wall.
He tied one end of the rope-ladder to an end of the
double cord and then hauled steadily upon the
other. The rope running through the loop drew
the ladder to the top of the wall. All this was done
quickly and without noise.


402
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
Neither Harold nor Jake bad had much ex-
perience in boat-sailing, but the wind was with
tbem and the boat ran rapidly down the river, and
before daylight they were many miles from their
point of starting. The banks of the James River
are low and swampy, and few signs of human babi-
tation were seen from the stream. It widened
rapidly as they descended and became rougher and
rougher. They therefore steered into a sheltered
spot behind a sbarp bend of the river and anchored.
In the locker they found plenty of lines and bait,
and setting to work had soon balf a dozen fine fish
at the bottom of the boat. They pulled up the
kedge and rowed to shore and soon made a fire,
finding flint and steel in the boat. The fisu were
broiled over the fire upon sticks. The boat was
hauled in under some overhanging bushes, and
stretching themselves in the bottom, Harold and
Jake were soon fast asleep.
The sun was setting when they woke.
“What you going to do, sar?” Jake asked. “ Are
you tinking ob trabeling by land or ob sailing to
New York ?”
“Neither, Jake,” Harold answered. “I am
thinking of sailing down the coast inside the line of
keys to Charleston. The water there is comparative-
ly smooth, and as we shall be taken for fishermen
it is not likely that we shall be overhauled. We
can land ocasionally and pick a few ears of corn to -
eat with our fish, and as there is generally a breeze
night and morning, however still and hot the day,


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
403
we shall be able to do it comfortably. I see that
there is an iron plate here which has been used for
making a fire and cooking on board, so we will lay
in a stock of dry wood before we start.”
The journey was made without any adventure.
While the breeze lasted they sailed; when it fell
calm they fished, and when they had obtained a
sufficient supply for their wants they lay down and
slept under the shade of their sail stretched as an
awning. Frequently they passed within hail of
other fishing-boats, generally manned by negroes.
But beyond a few words as to their success, no
questions were asked. They generally kept near
the shore, and when they saw any larger craft they
either hauled the boat up or ran into one of the
creeks in which the coast abounds. It was with
intense pleasure that at last they saw in the distance
the masts of the shipping in Charleston harbor.
Two hours later they landed. They fastened the
boat to the wharf and made their way into the
town unquestioned. As they were walking along
the principal street they saw a well-known figure
sauntering leisurely toward them. His head was
bent down and he did not notice them until Harold
hailed him with a shout of “Halloo ! Peter, old
fellow, how goes it ???
Peter, although not easily moved or excited,
gave a yell of delight which astonished the passers-
by.
“ Ah! my boy,” he exclaimed, “ this is a good
sight for my old eyes. Here have I been a-fretting


TRUE TO THE OID FLAG.
.
405
CHAPTER XX.
THE WAR IN SOUTH CAROLINA.
The fishing-boat was disposed of for a few
pounds, and Harold and Jake were again fitted out
in the semi-uniform worn by the scouts. On De-
cember 13, the very day after their arrival, a con-
siderable detachment of troops, under General
Leslie, arrived, and on the 19th marched, fifteen
hundred strong, to join Lord Cornwallis. Harold
and his mates accompanied them, and the united
army proceeded northwest, between the Roanoke
and Cata w ba rivers. Colonel Tarleton was detached
with a force of one thousand men, consisting of
light and German legion infantry, a portion of the
Seventh Regiment and of the first battalion of the
Seventy-first, three hundred and fifty cavalry, and
two field-pieces. His orders were to pursue and
destroy a force of some eight hundred of the enemy
under General Morgan. The latter, finding himself
pressed, drew up his troops for action near a place
called the Cow pens. Then ensued the one action
in the whole war in which the English, being supe-
rior in numbers, suffered a severe defeat.
Tarleton, confident of victory, led his troops to
the attack without making any proper preparations


408
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
infantry companies under Colonel Hall. The river
was five hundred yards across, and the stream so
strong that the men, marching in fours, had to sup-
port one another to enable them to withstand its
force. The ford took a sharp turn in the middle of
the river.
The night being dark, the guards were not per-
ceived until they had reached this point, when the
enemy immediately opened fire upon them. The
guide at once fled without his absence being noticed
until it was too late to stop him. Colonel Hall, not
knowing of the bend in the ford, led his men
straight forward toward the opposite bank, and al-
though their difficulties were much increased by the
greater depth of water through which they had to
pass, the mistake was really the means of saving
them from much loss, as the Americans were assem-
bled to meet them at the head of the ford, and
would have inflicted a heavy loss upon them as they
struggled in the stream. They did not perceive the
change in the direction of the column's march until
too late, and the guards on landing met them as
they came on and quickly routed and dispersed
them. The British lost four killed, among whom
was Colonel Hall, and thirty-six wounded.
The rest of the division then crossed. Colonel
Tarleton, with the cavalry, was sent against five
hundred of the Americans who had fallen back from
the various fords, and burning with the desire to re-
trieve the defeat of the Cowpens, the legion horse


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
411
lery. While the cannonade continued the British
formed in order of attack. The Seventy-first, with
a provincial regiment supported by the first battal-
ion of the guards, formed the right; the Twenty.
third and Thirty-third, led by Colonel Webster, with
the grenadiers and second battalion of guards,
formed the left. The light infantry of the guards
and the cavalry were in reserve.
When the order was given to advance the line
moved forward in perfect steadiness, and at one
hundred and fifty yards the enemy opened fire.
The English did not fire a shot till within eighty
yards, when they poured in a volley and charged
with the bayonet. The first line of the enemy at
once fell back upon the second ; here a stout resist-
ance was made. Posted in the woods and shelter-
ing themselves behind trees, they kept up for some
time a galling fire which did considerable execution.
General Leslie brought up the right wing of the
first battalion of guards into the front line and
Colonel Webster called up the second battalion.
The enemy's second line now fell back on their
third, which was composed of their best troops, and
the struggle was a very obstinate one.
The Americans, from their vastly superior num-
bers, occupied so long a line of ground that the
English commanders, in order to face them, were
obliged to leave large gaps between the different
regiments. Thus it happened that Webster, who
with the Thirty-third Regiment, the light infantry,
and the second battalion of guards turned toward


412
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
the left, found himself separated from the rest of
the troops by the enemy, who pushed in between
him and the Twenty-third. These again were
separated from the guards. The ground was very
billy, the wood exceedingly thick, and the English
line became broken up into regiments suparated
from each other, each fighting on its own account
and ignorant of what was going on in other parts of
the field.
The second battalion of guards was the first that
broke through the wood into the open grounds of
Guilford Court-House. They immediately attacked
a considerable force drawn up there, routed them,
and took their two cannon with them; but, pursu-
ing them with too much ardor and impetuosity
toward the woods in the rear, were thrown into
confusion by a beavy fire from another body of
troops placed there, and being instantly charged by
Washington's dragoons, were driven back with
great slaughter and the cannon were retaken.
At this moment the British guns, advancing along
the road through the wood, issued into the open
and checked the pursuit of the Americans by a well-
directed fire. The Seventy-first and the Twenty-
third now came through the wood. The second
battalion of guards rallied and again advanced,
and the enemy were quickly repulsed and put
to flight. The two guns were recaptured with two
others.
Colonel Webster, with the Thirty-third, returned
across the ravine through which he bad driven the


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
413
enemy opposed to him and rejoined the rest of the
force. The Americans drew off in good order.
The Twenty-third and Twenty-first pursued with
the cavalry for a short distance and were then re-
called. The fight was now over on the center and left,
but on the right heavy firing was still going on.
Here General Leslie, with the first battalion of
guards and a Hessian regiment, bad been greatly
impeded by the excessive thickness of the woods,
which rendered it impossible to charge with the
bayonet. As they struggled through the thicket
the enemy swarmed around them, so that they were
at times engaged in front, flanks, and rear. The
enemy were upon an exceedingly steep rise, and
lying along the top of this they poured such a beavy
fire into the guards that these suffered exceedingly;
nevertheless they struggled up to the top and
drove the front line back, but found another far
more numerous drawn up behind. As the guards
struggled up to the crest they were received by a
tremendous fire on their front and flanks and suf-
fered so heavily that they fell into confusion. The
Hessian regiment, which had suffered but slightly,
advanced in compact order to the left of the guards,
and wheeling to the right took the enemy in the
flank with a very heavy fire. Under cover of this
the guards re-formed and moved forward to join the
Hessians and complete the repulse of the enemy op-
posed to them. They were again attacked both in
the flank and the rear, but at last they completely
dispersed the troops surrounding them and the
battle came to an end.


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
415
be exposed on its retreat to the most cruel persecu-
tions by the enemy.
Three days after the battle Lord Cornwallis re-
tired, leaving seventy of the wounded who were
unable to move under the protection of a flag of
truce. From Guilford Court-House be moved his
troops to Wilmington, in North Carolina, a seaport
where he hoped to obtain provisions and stores,
especially clothing and shoes.
General Greene, left unmolested after his defeat,
reassembled his army, and receiving reënforcements,
marched at full speed to attack Lord Rawdon at
Camden, thinking that he would, with his greatly
superior force, be able to destroy him in his isolated
situation. The English commander fortified his
position and the American general drew back and
encamped on Hobkirk Hill, two miles distant, to
• await the coming of his heavy baggage and cannon,
together with some reënforcements. Lord Rawdon
determined to take the initiative, and marching out
with his whole force of nine hundred men, advanced
to the attack. The hill was covered at its foot by a
deep swamp, but the English marched round this
and stormed the position. The Americans made an
obstinate resistance, but the English climbed the
hill with such impetuosity, in spite of the musketry
and grape-shot of the enemy, that they were forced
to give way. Several times they returned to the
attack, but were finally driven off in confusion.
One hundred prisoners were taken, and Lord Raw-
don estimated that four hundred of the enemy were


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
417
Colonel Cruger, being uneasy at the length of
time which had elapsed since he had received any
communication, sent Harold and the two scouts out
with instructions to make their way toward the en-
emy's lines and, if possible, to bring in a prisoner.
This they had not much difficulty in doing. Find-
ing out the position of two parties of the Americans,
they placed themselves on the road between them.
No long time elapsed before an American officer
came along. A shot from Peter's rifle killed his
horse, and before the officer could recover his feet
he was seized by the scouts. They remained hidden
in the wood during the day and at night returned
with their prisoner to Ninety-six, thirty miles dis-
tant, avoiding all villages where resistance could be
offered by hostile inhabitants.
From the prisoner Colonel Cruger learned that
Lord Rawdon had retreated from Camden and that
he was therefore entirely isolated. The position
was desperate, but he determined to defend the post
to the last, confident that Lord Rawdon would as
soon as possible undertake an expedition for his
release.
The whole garrison was at once set to work,
stockades were erected, earth works thrown up, a
redoubt formed of casks filled with earth construct-
ed, and the whole strengthened by ditches and
abattis. Block-houses were erected in the village to
enable the troops to fire orer the stockades, and
covered communications made between the various
works. The right of the village was defended by


418
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
a regular work called the Star. To the left was a
work commanding a rivulet from which the place
drew its supply of water.
Colonel Cruger offered the volunteers, who were
a mounted corps, permission to return to Charleston,
but they refused to accept the offer, and tarning
their horses into the woods, determined to share the
fate of the garrison. In making this offer the colo-
nel was influenced partly by motives of policy, as
the stock of provisions was exceedingly scanty, and
he feared that they would not last if the siege should
be a long one. Besides this, be feared that, as had
already too often happened, should the place fall,
even the solemnn engagement of the terms of the
surrender would not be sufficient to protect the loy-
alists against the vengeance of their countrymen.
On May 21 General Greene with his army ap-
peared in sight of the place and encamped in a wood
within cannon-shot of the village. He lost no time,
and in the course of the night threw up two works
within seventy paces of the fortifications. The
English commander did not suffer so rash and dis-
dainful a step to pass unpunished. The scouts, who
were outside the works, brought in news of what
was being done, and also that the working parties
were protected by a strong force.
The three guns which constituted the entire
artillery of the defenders were moved noiselessly to
the salient angle of the Star opposite the works, and
at eleven o'clock in the morning these suddenly
opened fire, aided by musketry from the parapets.


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
423
At length one day, to the delight of the garrison,
an American royalist rode right through the pickets
under the fire of the enemy and delivered a verbal
message from Lord Rawdon to the effect that he
had passed Orangeburg and was on his march to
raise the siege.
Lord Rawdon had been forced to remain at
Charleston until the arrival of three fresh regiments
from Ireland enabled him to leave that place in
safety and march to the relief of Ninety-six. His
force amounted to eighteen hundred infantry and
one hundred and fifty cavalry. General Greene
had also received news of Lord Rawdon's move-
ments, and finding from his progress that it would
be impossible to reduce the fort by regular ap-
proaches before his arrival, he determined to hazard
an assault.
The American works had been pushed up close to
the forts, the third parallel had been completed,
and a mine and two trenches extended within a few
feet of the ditch. On the morning of June 18 a
heavy cannonade was begun from all the American
batteries. The whole of the batteries and trenches
were lined with riflemen, whose fire prevented the
British from showing their heads above the parapets.
At noon two parties of the enemy advanced under
cover of their trenches and made a lodgment in the
ditch. These were followed by other parties with
hooks to drag down the sand-bags and tools to over-
throw the parapet. They were exposed to the fire
of the block-houses in the village, and Major


426
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
CHAPTER XXI.
THE END OF THE STRUGGLE.
BEING unable to obtain any supplies at Wilming-
ton, Lord Cornwallis determined to march on into
Virginia and to effect a junction with the British
force under General Arnold operating there.
Arnold advanced to Petersburg and Cornwallis
effected a junction with him on May 20. The
Marquis de la Fayette, who commanded the colonial
forces here, fell back. Just at this time the Count
de Grasse, with a large French fleet, arrived off the
coast, and after some consultation with General
Washington determined that the French fleet and
the whole American army should operate together
to crush the forces under Lord Cornwallis.
The English were hoodwinked by reports that the
French fleet was intended to operate against New
York, and it was not until they learned that the
Count de Grasse had arrived with twenty-eight
ships of the line at the mouth of the Chesapeake
Bay that the true object of the expedition was seen.
A portion of the English fleet encountered them,
but after irregular actions, lasting over five days,
the English drew off and retired to New York.
The commander-in-chief then attempted to effect a
diversion, in order to draw off some of the enemy


TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
429
and fall on the French rear with his whole force
and then turn northward and force his way through
Maryland, Pennsylvania, and the Jerseys. In the
night the light infantry, the greater part of the
guards, and part of the Twenty-third were embarked
in boats and crossed to the Gloucester side of the
river before midnight. At this critical moment a
violent storm arose which prevented the boats re-
turning. The enemy's fire reopened at day break,
and the engineer and principal officers of the army
gave it as their opinion that it was impossible to
resist longer. Only one eight-inch shell and a bun-
dred smal} ones remained. The defenses had in
many places tumbled to ruins, and no effectual
resistance could be opposed to an assault.
Accordingly Lord Cornwallis sent out a flag of
truce and arranged terms of surrender. On the
24th the fleet and reënforcements arrived off the
mouth of the Chesapeake. Had they left New
York at the time promised the result of the cam-
paign would have been different.
The army surrendered as prisoners of war until
exchanged, the officers with liberty to proceed on
parole to Europe and not to serve until exchanged.
The loyal Americans were embarked on the Bonito
sloop-of-war and sent to New York in safety, Lord
Cornwallis having obtained permission to send off
the ship without her being searched, with as many
soldiers on board as he should think fit, so that they
were accounted for in any further exchange. He


430
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
was thus enabled to send off such of the inhabitants
and loyalist troops as would have suffered from
the vengeance of the Americans.
The surrender of Lord Cornwallis' army virtually
ended the war. The burden entailed on the people
· in England by the great struggle against France,
Spain, Holland, and America, united in arms
against her, was enormous. So long as there ap-
peared any chance of recovering the colony the
English people made the sacrifices required of
them, but the conviction that it was impossible for
them to wage a war with half of Europe and at the
same time to conquer a continent had been gaining
more and more in strength. Even the most
sanguine were silenced by the surrender of York-
town, and a cry arose throughout the country that
peace should at once be made.
As usual under the circumstances, a change of
ministry took place. Negotiations for peace were
at once commenced, and the war terminated in the
acknowledgment of the entire independence of the
United States of America.
Harold with his companions had fallen back to
Charleston with Lord Rawdon after the relief of
Ninety-six and remained there until the news ar
rived that the negotiations were on foot and that
peace was now certain. Then he took his discharge
and sailed at once for England, accompanied by
Jake; Peter Lambton taking a passage to Canada
to carry out his intention of settling at Montreal.


432
TRUE TO THE OLD FLAG.
land, but after her death his family and farm had
so increased that it was inconvenient to leave them ;
his father therefore returned with him to Canada
and ended his life there. Jake lived to a good old
age and was Harold's faithful friend and right-hand
man to the last.
THE END.


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