AFTER THE BATTLE
If it were advisable to spend the time, one might write page after
page, detailing the acts of heroism performed by the Minute Boys in
this their first battle, when, taken by surprise, and with odds of not
less than three to one against them, they saved the fort from capture.
Master Bartlett, who should be a judge in such matters, declares that
never one of us flinched from his duty; but I could speak only of what
occurred as I myself took part in it, and it seemed as if we were
favored by God, else the enemy must literally have overrun us.
There were times during the battle when it was possible for us to
reload our weapons; but before twenty minutes had passed, my gun was
so foul that I could not drive a bullet home, and was forced to depend
upon the weapon as a club, or use my knife.
And yet we drove those human wolves back from whence they came, all
save eight, who remained inside the stockade with no breath of life in
their ugly bodies.
I have always maintained that an Indian is a coward who can fight well
only when his adversary has been taken by surprise, or is too feeble
for resistance. So it was here. During half an hour, mayhap, they
fought like the wolves that they are, and then, as one after another
was cut down, the remainder of them turned tail, striving to make their
way out, and we did our best to lessen the number of John Butler’s
followers.
One there was who showed himself courageous, despite the fact that he
battled in a wicked cause, and, when we pressed him hard, stood with
his back against the logs, fighting until he fell dead.
The others were as curs. Not until the last of the horde who could
move had escaped did we count up our losses, and grievous they were as
compared with our numbers. Ezra Simpson lay dead across the body of a
stalwart Indian, with evidences enough near by to show that he had left
his mark upon more than one of those who would turn our peaceful valley
into a shambles.
Two of the company were seriously wounded, and three others, including
myself, bore marks of either knife or hatchet, but not to such an
extent that we were disabled.
It was a victory for us; but should we win two or three more in the
same manner, then were we undone for a verity, because of being wiped
out entirely.
It goes without saying that Master Bartlett did valiant duty. Two
others, besides myself, owed their lives to him, for it was as if he
saw all that was going on, and wherever the battle raged hottest he
sought to aid him who was hardest pressed. Without the old man, I fear
there would have been a different ending to this poor tale.
There was no rest for us when the battle had come to an end. Those
whose turn it was to sleep threw themselves down on the floor of the
blockhouse, and the rest of us did duty on the walls, all save five,
who were told off to drag out through the small gate, even at risk of
being shot down, the dead bodies of our enemies.
That done, we buried Ezra Simpson hurriedly but reverentially, and
perchance the tears which flowed from our eyes were caused by the
knowledge that our time of greater suffering was yet to come, while
they had done with the agony of death.
I think the fever of battle was yet upon Giles March, when we had
finished the mournful task of laying our comrade in his last bed, for
no sooner was that done than he said eagerly to me:
“Now is the time when we may make an effort to release Daniel
Hinchman’s sister, with more chance of success than ever before.”
“What do you mean, Giles?” I cried, in surprise. “We have but just
brought to an end as severe a battle as we shall ever again fight,
however long we claim to be soldiers, and would you run another
hazardous venture on the heels of this?”
“Ay, that I would, Jonathan Ogden. The Indians have been beaten
thoroughly, and for a certain time are cowed by failing to capture this
stockade, which, doubtless, they believed would fall into their hands
like a rotten apple. Now is come the time for us to strike.”
“I believe the lad speaks truly,” Master Bartlett said, as he joined
us. “If I know anything of the red sneaks, they will not make another
assault upon this fort to-night, but will spend the time mourning over
the dead, and patching up the living who bear the marks of our weapons.
More than that, it is not reasonable for them to suppose we would
attempt so soon to strike a blow in return.”
“It is my right to leave the stockade this time,” Giles said, in a
tone so firm that I realized it would be useless to argue against his
proposal, whereupon I replied, turning to Master Bartlett:
“If it so be you think it right for three of this small party to
venture into yet further danger, leaving us weak as we are, go,
although it would please me better that Giles took the command of the
fort while I journeyed toward Wintermoot’s.”
“Are you ready, Master Bartlett?” the lad asked, eagerly, and I fancied
there was somewhat of grim pleasure in the old man’s heart at the
thought of such a venture, for he replied promptly:
“Ay, that I am, lad, and the sooner we set off, the sooner will we be
trying to get back inside this fence of logs.”
“Yes, if you live to return,” I said, moodily, whereat the old man
clapped me on the shoulder heartily, as he cried:
“Those who venture most are apt to live the longest,--at least, that
has been my experience. I’m not claiming that we’ll be able to release
the girl; but ’twixt now and sunrise we shall know if it be possible.”
Giles had already gone into the blockhouse to find Daniel Hinchman, and
I was hardly yet recovered from the daze which had come over me with
the idea of setting out on a venture directly on the heels of a battle,
when the three were marching toward the small gate.
I ran after them to unbar it, wishing to have even that slight share in
the task, after which they crept silently out.
“God be with you,” I whispered.
“If He goes with either party this night, it will be with us,” Master
Bartlett said grimly, and then the three were lost to view in the gloom.
I was left with but eighteen lads to defend the fort, and it seemed,
with the going of the old man, that our strength had departed. It was
necessary I pull myself together with a will, else had my heart grown
so heavy that those who called me the captain of the Minute Boys would
have seen by one look at my face that I was no longer capable of
controlling even myself, let alone my comrades.
At such a time work, and plenty of it, does a fellow a deal of good.
I went here and there, doing whatsoever my hands could find to do, in
order to drive away the timorousness which was creeping into my heart.
As yet, those of us who were slightly wounded had given no attention to
their hurts. Now I insisted that each lad be looked after carefully,
saying to those who laughed at such coddling that it was necessary,
because our numbers were so few that the loss of one would be serious
indeed, and he who might be disabled because of neglecting his wounds
was nearly as much to be blamed as the coward who ran away.
It goes without saying that all this while we kept strictest watch from
the top of the stockade, but without seeing anything whatsoever of the
enemy, however recklessly we exposed ourselves.
It was as Master Bartlett had said, they were cowed for the time being,
because of failing in an attempt which they believed could be carried
through without severe loss.
And now am I come to that part of my story which seems almost
improbable even to myself.
The night passed, and the next day was nearly half spent before
anything occurred to cause either joy or sorrow. We had seen nothing
whatsoever of the Indians; it was as if the siege had suddenly been
raised, and I was such a simple as to question whether that might not
be the fact.
Because we had beaten back such an overwhelming number of Mohawks, we
lads were heartened wondrously, believing it possible to accomplish
far more than we had ever supposed ourselves capable of, and were in
fine fettle for whatsoever might come, when suddenly the watcher on the
south side of the stockade cried out:
“Here comes Giles March, and with a supply of provisions.”
I thought the lad had taken leave of his senses, and sprang up on the
platform, fearing the Indians were playing some new trick, when, to my
amazement, I saw Giles staggering toward the fort under the weight of a
heavy buck.
Behind him came Master Bartlett with a bag of what I judged might be
meal on his shoulder. Directly in his wake was the same girl I had seen
in the Indian encampment, and, bringing up the rear, appeared Daniel
Hinchman, burdened as were the others.
Had John Butler’s army marched out of the forest arraying themselves in
battle-line, I could not have been more astonished than I was to see
returning so soon those whom I feared had gone to certain death.
It is not necessary I should say that we unbarred the gate without
delay, and, when Giles came in, throwing down the buck with the air of
one who has borne his burden as long as possible, I cried out, even
before greeting the others:
“How did you dare spend time in hunting when the woods are filled with
savages?”
“In the first place I didn’t spend any time hunting, and next, it seems
as if all the Indians who were round about the stockade had beat a
retreat to Wintermoot’s.”
Then Master Bartlett, dropping his load on the ground, said, with
boyish glee:
“There is meal enough, lad, to fatten your larder for two or three
days, at all events, and Daniel has got of dried deer flesh as much as
will serve to keep your jaws working for a full fortnight.”
The girl entered the stockade hurriedly, looking around with an air of
most intense relief, as if she had at last arrived at some secure place
of refuge, instead of having come where the chances were that death
awaited her.
“There is little need to keep more than one sentinel on duty,” Master
Bartlett said, with a laugh, “for, from what we have seen, the brave
band of Mohawks has decided to throw up the job with which John Butler
entrusted them, and are spending their time in all kinds of heathenish
mummery round about their lodges at Wintermoot’s.”
Hearing this, every fellow leaped from the platform and gathered around
those whose mission had been so quickly but thoroughly performed, to
hear their story.
“I will stand on guard while you tell us how it happened that you could
not only do what seemed impossible; but have brought with you that of
which we stood sorely in need,” I cried, all that burden of fear and
responsibility suddenly lifted from my shoulders, as I sprang upon the
platform just over the small gate.
“I reckon Giles had best spin the yarn,” Master Bartlett said, “while I
attend to my rheumatics, for spending the night nearabout the river has
not done my old joints any good.”
Then the old man fell to rubbing his knees energetically, and I knew,
despite the smile which he forced to his face, that he was suffering;
but, when I taxed him with it, he denied that he was in any great
pain, saying it was better to drive away the ache before it had fairly
settled down, than wait until it gained firm lodgment.
The remainder of the company clamored for a recital of what had been
done, so Giles could do no less than go into the details, while Daniel
led his sister to the blockhouse as if, which undoubtedly was the case,
she needed repose.
“It was all so easy that, but for our precautions, we might have got
back by daylight,” Giles began. “Believing the Indians were stationed
as they had been before the attack, we wormed our way through the
underbrush, thinking ourselves wondrously fortunate in not coming
across any, and only when we were within an hundred yards, perhaps, of
Wintermoot’s did we see the first show of an enemy.”
“Meaning that when we gave them the dose they needed inside the
stockade, all the others grew disheartened,” Master Bartlett
interrupted. “It is the way the sneaks have. If you once get the upper
hand of them, they are whipped to a standstill.”
“It was not until nearly morning that we came to a little hill this
side the fort, where we could have a view of all that was going on,”
Giles continued; “but long before arriving there, we heard the howls
and yells of the Mohawks, as they sang what we fancied was a dirge for
those who had been left behind. By the light of the many fires which
had been built, for they believed themselves secure from an attack
because of being so near the fort, we could see not less than two
hundred of the villains, with here and there a white man among them,
and I have the idea that John Butler has got a reasonably big job on
his hands to hold the red allies in place, simply because the Minute
Boys of Wyoming Valley thrashed them out of their boots.”
“There is no question but that the one fight would have sent them back
home, save for the fact that others are on the way to join them,”
Master Bartlett added.
“The lodges appeared to be deserted, and we could see Esther Hinchman
sitting outside that one on the river bank. Now you must know that
all this hullabaloo was going on in front of the stockade, and perhaps
two hundred yards from the nearest wigwam, therefore, taking Master
Bartlett’s advice, we made our way down to the stream, where a dead
tree was floating in the eddy. Wading into the water, we pushed that
off. The branches hid our heads from view, and the remainder of our
bodies were beneath the surface. It was an easy matter to make it
appear as if the tree grounded by accident directly in front of the
lodge where Esther Hinchman was sitting, and then, watching his chance,
Daniel went up to her. The only fear was that the girl might scream;
but it so happened she did not, and in less than five minutes she also
was in the water, clinging to the tree.”
“But surely you could not get up-stream in the same way,” I
interrupted, and Giles replied, with a laugh:
“No, and neither did we try, for about the time Esther Hinchman joined
us, the whole gang of Indians filed into the fort, where, most likely,
they were to be feasted, in order to brace them up after the disaster
of the night. Then was the time when I believed we should make our way
into the thicket again, but Master Bartlett insisted that it would be
little less than wicked to lose the chance of adding to our store of
provisions, so he and I made a regular search of the lodges.”
“You were taking too big a risk,” I cried.
[Illustration: “‘WATCHING HIS CHANCE, DANIEL WENT UP TO HER.’”]
“Having gotten the girl, you should have been satisfied.”
“In which case you wouldn’t have so good a show of sleeping with a
full stomach this night, lad,” Master Bartlett said, grimly. “We could
do our work without being seen, even though the Tories had had their
sentinels on the stockade, which they didn’t. Giles is right about the
feasting part of it, for, as I came away, it was possible to see that
rum was being distributed generously, and a savage always expects to
gorge himself at such a time.”
“We brought away all that we could carry,” Giles continued. “I took as
my share from the lodges a bag of meal; but when we were in the thicket
once more and found this buck hanging up to season, I believed it was
a good trade to swap corn-meal for deer. If any of you fellows think
we ran our noses into danger, you are mistaken, for it was as safe as
any pleasure excursion you ever heard about, although had we waited
four and twenty hours before setting out, I question if Esther Hinchman
would not have remained a prisoner with the Mohawks.”
“And she may thank you for her release, Giles March,” I said,
determined that he should have his full share of the credit.
His cheeks reddened with pleasure, and he would have declared that he
was not entitled to any praise if, at that moment, I had not startled
the company by saying in astonishment, as my eye caught a glimpse of
something moving amid the foliage:
“There are white people coming this way,--women as well as children!”
Every fellow leaped to the platform, and then we saw that which at
first filled us with wonderment, but was afterward easily explained.
Four men, two of whom were walking on crutches, six or eight women,
all of whom carried burdens of some kind, and not less than a dozen
children, the largest weighted down with what appeared to be provisions
and household utensils, were coming toward us.
“Refugees from nearabout the burnt lands, if I’m not mistaken,” Master
Bartlett exclaimed, as he clambered up beside me.
“And why have they come here?” I asked, in bewilderment. “It would have
been safer for them to have gone to Forty Fort.”
“I’m afraid, lad, their coming means that John Butler’s forces are
advancing, and they have fled to the nearest fortified place.”
There was little need for us to speculate very long as to why these
people had come, for within five minutes they were all inside the fort,
and we heard the pitiful story.
Stephen Morley, a settler who had taken up land in what was known as
the burnt district, some six miles away, was the only able-bodied man
among the party, and he it was who told the tale.
There were in that district, within a radius of perhaps five miles,
six families. Four of the husbands were in the American army. Stephen
Morley himself was a soldier, but had been given a three months’
furlough because of illness, and arrived home just as a large body of
Indians suddenly appeared in the neighborhood.
He, knowing much of the condition of affairs, and understanding that
this must be the advance of Butler’s force, realized the necessity of
immediate flight, and, taking with them such goods and provisions as
could be carried through the wilderness, the party set out the night
before, travelling in the darkness, all unsuspicious of the fact that
Fort Jenkins had been besieged.
Save for the fact of the attack upon us, they would have been made
prisoners at the very moment when they believed themselves near a place
of safety, and, except for the number of mouths to be fed, I could have
rejoiced at their coming. As it was, however, I might not complain,
because they were fleeing for their lives, and had brought with them,
as we afterward learned, a sufficiency of provisions for three or four
days’ consumption.
It was a welcome addition to our number, for in those days, and in our
valley, the women could and did fight as valiantly as the men. The only
phase of the matter which troubled me was that we might be hemmed in
so long that starvation would finally stare us in the face, and, with
those children crying for bread, one could not hold out as long as he
otherwise might.
Master Morley could give us little information concerning the strength
of the party which had driven him and his neighbors from their homes.
It seems that the savages were yet several miles from the settlement
when their whereabouts were discovered, and Morley had advised
immediate flight, because of the rumors regarding Butler’s intentions,
not making an effort to learn any particulars concerning the enemy.
Among the other things which these guests of ours brought was a
quantity of powder equal to all we had in the fort, and this, as may be
imagined, was very welcome to us, for I had been looking forward with
cowardly fear to that time when we would be reduced to the last round
of ammunition.
As a matter of course the women and children were given quarters in the
blockhouse. My company and the male refugees could gain all the repose
which might be allowed us by the enemy on the ground outside, while the
weather was so warm.
With Stephen Morley, who had served in the American army nearly a year,
and Master Bartlett, we Minute Boys had good advisers, and I felt as
if I might well shift the heaviest of the responsibility on to their
shoulders.
As a matter of course, we took Master Morley into our confidence,
and Master Bartlett, Giles, and I held a council of war, as it were,
as soon as matters were settled down inside the stockade. Then it
was decided, in view of the success which had attended the visit to
Wintermoot’s, that we make some attempt to get game before night should
come. It was believed there would be no danger in venturing out, at
least until sunset, for it was not probable that those who had driven
the settlers from the burnt district would arrive before dark, or, even
if they did, their course would be far to the westward of the river.
Therefore it was that I called the lads together, asking if any of them
were minded to go out in search of game, and found that it would be
necessary to make a detail by name, since every member of the company
was willing to take the chances in order to add to the store of food.
I selected two of the lads whom I knew to be good shots, and Giles
March named two others. These four we sent out at once, with
instructions for them to remain near the bank of the river, and not to
venture above three miles from the stockade.
When they had gone we added the names of the newcomers to our company
of Minute Boys, dividing the whole into three squads as before, and
settled down to routine duty, with good reason to believe nothing
menacing would occur, at least until another day had come.
Then it was that Giles and I threw ourselves on the ground in the shade
of the blockhouse to sleep, and when we awakened night had fully come.
Rising to my feet, wonderfully refreshed by the few hours of dreamless
repose, I asked, curiously, of the first lad I saw, whether the hunters
had brought much game.
“They haven’t come back yet,” was the reply. “Master Morley and Simon
Bartlett are yonder on the eastern angle, watching for them.”
“Haven’t come back!” I cried, in dismay. “It was understood that even
though they were on the track of a deer, there should be no question of
returning before sunset,” and, filled with apprehension, I ran toward
that portion of the enclosure where I saw the two men of whom the lad
had spoken, peering intently into the thicket.
“What can have happened?” I asked, nervously, climbing up by the side
of Master Bartlett, and he replied in a whisper:
“According to my belief, lad, they have met the advance of Butler’s
force, and been taken prisoners.”
“But they were told to stay near the bank of the river!” I cried.
“True, and that was because you and I were so stiff in our own opinions
as to believe the Tory crew would keep on the direct course from the
burnt district to Wintermoot’s, whereas the chances are the scoundrels
counted on first having a look at Fort Jenkins.”
“We must go at once in search of them,” I cried, not stopping to
realize that but a short time before, when Daniel Hinchman pleaded
for aid to find his sister, I refused to allow any one to depart on so
hazardous a venture in the night.
“To what end, lad?” Master Bartlett asked, sorrowfully. “If matters are
as Stephen Morley and I fear, then, even though you turn this entire
force out, nothing could be done. To my mind, if four lads well armed
were overcome, then was it done by such numbers as are too many for us.”
“And are we to sit here idle?” I cried, almost beside myself with
grief, since it seemed as if I was directly responsible for their
safety because of having allowed them to go.
“There is nothing else you can do, Jonathan Ogden, in justice to those
who call you their captain,” Master Bartlett replied, and he had hardly
more than ceased speaking before a bright light flashed up near the
river, considerably beyond musket-shot from where we were standing, and
at the same time we heard shrieks and yells as of rejoicing.
“It is as we feared,” Master Morley said, turning suddenly upon me,
and speaking for the first time since I had come. “The savages have
captured the lads, and we know full well the meaning of that fire.”
“The meaning of it?” I screamed, understanding what he meant, but at
the same time refusing to admit it.
“Ay, lad,” Master Bartlett replied, in a tearful tone. “Now is the
time when those whom we whipped inside the stockade will have their
revenge, and, if I mistake not, the fiends count on doing their bloody
work where we must witness it.”
“Then you believe they have taken our lads, and are about to torture
them?” I whispered.
The old man nodded his head, and then turned away as if unwilling to
say more.