In the year 1812 the United States of America declared war against
Great Britain. They were eager to conquer Canada and seemed confident
of success. The Canadians were filled with dismay at the news, for
their country was then in a desperate position. In the whole of Canada
there were less than forty-five hundred regular troops. Great Britain
was at war with Napoleon and could not lend much aid; but the brave men
who responded to the call to arms were determined to repel the invaders
and to save their country.
One of the most terrible battles of the war was fought in October,
at Queenston Heights on the Niagara River. It resulted in a victory
for the Canadians, but the victory was dearly bought. Brave General
Brock was killed, and the battle-field was strewn with the bodies of
volunteers who had died or been wounded in defence of their homes.
Among those who had been wounded, and lay helpless on the hillside, was
Captain James Secord of Queenston. Laura Secord, his wife, had watched
the battle from a distance, and hearing of his danger rushed up the
hill to his aid. While she knelt at his side, three American soldiers
attempted to kill him, but the slender, pale-faced woman stood in front
of her wounded husband and called for help. The captain of the cowardly
soldiers ordered them away, and Laura Secord, believing her husband to
be dead, lifted him in her arms and carried him to their home. It was
soon found that he still lived, and his wife’s tender nursing saved his
life. When the summer came again, he was still an invalid and unable to
walk.
The Canadians had retired from Queenston and the town was occupied by
an American force. The Secords had been compelled to remain in the
neighborhood on account of the captain’s health, and were frequently
forced to entertain the enemy in their home.
One June day a number of officers entered the house and commanded
Mrs. Secord to give them food. She pretended to be a very humble and
dull person, and began at once to prepare the meal. In the meantime
the officers discussed their general’s plans, and did not pay much
attention to the woman who had appeared so simple. Laura Secord,
however, listened to all they said, and discovered that they intended
to surprise the little handful of soldiers who were defending Beaver
Dam, and capture Lieutenant Fitzgibbon, the officer in charge.
When James Secord heard this news, he was in despair. The defenders of
Beaver Dam should be warned of the attack, but how could he, a crippled
soldier, carry the message? He was trying to think of a way out of the
difficulty when his wife startled him by saying, “I shall take the
message, to-morrow at daybreak. You are unable to go, and there is no
one else.”
This meant that she would have to pass the American pickets, and travel
in the heat, through twenty miles of bush. The woods were infested with
fierce Indians belonging to both armies, and attacks from them were
always to be expected. Her husband was unwilling to let her go, but
seeing no other way, he finally consented.
Laura Secord arose at daybreak on the morning of the 23d of June, and
began to prepare for her journey. Dressed in a short flannel skirt and
cotton jacket, without shoes or stockings, her milking-stool in one
hand, her pail in the other, she drove one of her cows close to the
American lines and sat down to milk it. Immediately the cow kicked
over the milking-pail and ran towards the bush. This happened two or
three times and the soldiers laughed heartily, and chaffed at the
sullen milkmaid’s clumsiness. She mumbled something about the cow being
“contrary” and ran past the sentry into the bush to catch it. Her
scant clothing and her evident anger at the cow deceived the man, who
let her pass without asking any questions. He did not know that the
cow’s antics had been caused by the pinches Mrs. Secord had given it,
and that the angry milkmaid was hurrying on her way to Beaver Dam.
A mile away she hid the pail and stool under the bushes, first milking
the cow to prevent her returning too soon to the clearing. Hour after
hour she tramped on, going over unbeaten paths to avoid the American
scouts. The underbrush in the first of the forest was tangled and
dense. Soon her feet were torn and bleeding, and every step she took
gave her pain. The slopes of the hills were thick with brush and
hard to climb, and swamps and streams had to be crossed in the most
dangerous ways. When night came, it was hard to tell which of the many
blazed trails she should take, and faint with hunger and pain she fell
to the ground many times.
About midnight she came to a clearing and began to hope her journey was
nearly ended, when the air was filled with the war-whoop of the Red
Indians. She was soon surrounded by a dozen savages who were covered
with warpaint and decked with feathers. Thinking her to be a spy, one
of them stepped close to her and demanded, “Woman! what does woman
want?” She was terrified, but knew that everything depended upon her
self-possession. She asked for the “Big Chief” and explained by signs
that the “Long knives” (the Americans) were coming, and that she must
reach the British. She soon discovered that the Indians were scouts
of the British and that she need have no fear. With a hearty “Ugh” of
understanding, one of them beckoned her to follow, and led the way
through the meadows to the British lines.
She gave her message to Lieutenant Fitzgibbon, who praised her bravery
and made her comfortable for the rest of the night. Her warning
prepared the little garrison for the attack which took place next day,
and so well were the plans made that the fifty men under Fitzgibbon
compelled the American force of five hundred soldiers to surrender,
almost without a struggle.
Laura Secord lived to be ninety-three years old, and when she died
in 1868, she was buried beside her husband on the ground which had
been the old battle-field of Lundy’s Lane. A handsome monument was
erected over her grave by Canadians, who wished to do honor to the
great courage of the woman who saved her countrymen from danger and
defeat.--HELEN PALK.
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He that is down needs fear no fall;
He that is low, no pride;
He that is humble ever shall
Have God to be his guide.