THE FIGHT AT FORT ANNE, AND THE ESCAPE OF AMOS
When night came on, we retreated with the wounded we had saved. The next
morning the whole army reembarked and rowed up Lake George to the ruins
of Fort William Henry and landed. This time we were not admiring the
beauty of the scene. We were filled with sorrow and dismay at the
failure of the expedition and our terrible disaster. We lost nearly two
thousand men. The French lost only about three hundred.
The whole army, regulars and provincials, were indignant with our
cowardly and incompetent general, Abercrombie, or Mrs. Nabby Crombie, as
the soldiers nicknamed him. We knew that the battle had been badly
conducted. We wished to have the cannon brought to the front to batter
down the breastworks, and were willing and eager to fight again. But
Abercrombie began to entrench, and sent most of his artillery to Albany,
lest it should fall into the hands of the enemy.
[Sidenote: THE RANGERS SENT AGAINST THE ENEMY]
The Rangers heard little of this grumbling and dissatisfaction; for as
soon as we returned from Ticonderoga we were sent out scouting near the
south end of Lake Champlain, and very nearly fell into the hands of a
large force of French and Indians. Fortunately we saw them in time to
escape.
A few days later, a wagon-train was attacked and one hundred and
seventy-six men were killed, of whom sixteen were Rangers. The news of
this disaster came in the night, and at two in the morning Rogers
started out with a large party of regulars, provincials, and Rangers to
head off the enemy. We rowed down Lake George at the top of our speed,
and then marched over the mountain to the narrow waters of Lake
Champlain. But though we made all possible haste, so did the enemy, and
we missed them by a couple of hours.
We rested for a time; for we were much exhausted by our efforts, and
were about to march back, when a messenger arrived, who gave us orders
to go to Fort Anne at Wood Creek, and cut off a party of French and
Indians who were near Fort Edward.
We had about five hundred men, eighty of whom were Rangers. The rest was
made up of some of Gage's light infantry and Connecticut troops, under
Major Israel Putnam.
On the 7th of August we reached the spot where old Fort Anne had stood,
and camped there.
The forest for a mile around the old fort had been cut down and burned
years before. But the fort had rotted away, and the clearings had become
overgrown with bushes, with here and there an open space.
Early the next morning we began our march. Putnam and his men were in
front, the light infantry in the centre, and the Rangers in the rear.
Rogers had been shooting at a mark that morning with Lieutenant Irwin of
the regulars. The enemy had overheard the firing and ambuscaded us.
Putnam was leading his men. As he left the clearing, and entered the
forest, the yelling and firing began. Several Indians rushed at him. His
gun missed fire, and he with three or four men was captured by the
Indians.
[Sidenote: BEN WRESTLES WITH AN INDIAN]
The redskins forced the Connecticut men back, the light infantry held
their ground, and we of the Rangers struggled through the bushes as best
we could, to get to the front.
Every one fought for himself. I had fired my gun just as I reached an
open space, and seeing a number of men on the other side, I started to
run across to them.
Of course I should have reloaded before I attempted this; but one does
not always do the right thing, especially in a hot fight. I had gone but
a short distance when an Indian fired at me from the bushes, and then
ran at me with a tomahawk.
I turned, parried the blow with my gun, and the tomahawk was struck from
his hand.
We grappled each other. He was a fine, large man, decked out with
feathers and warpaint, and was the strongest and most active man I ever
got hold of. He seemed to be made of steel springs. As I struggled with
him, I couldn't help thinking, "What a splendid wrestler you would make
if you only knew the tricks!" I gave him Jonas Parker's best throw, and
we came down together, and I on top.
The fall knocked the wind out of him and partly stunned him. I got hold
of my hatchet and brained him. I had not noticed or thought of anything
but him. But now I heard a crack! crack! zip! zip!
As I started to run I felt a pain in my left arm, and also in my left
leg. But I got off to our men among the bushes, and they bound my arm
up, and put a bandage round my leg.
I saw an Indian leap in among the regulars, and kill two men with his
hatchet. Then he jumped on a log and taunted our men. A soldier struck
at him with his gun and made him bleed. The Indian was returning the
blow with his tomahawk, when Rogers shot him.
I was still able to load and shoot. We fought some two hours before they
gave way. At last they broke up into little parties and ran off. We
remained and buried our dead.
[Sidenote: BEN WOUNDED]
We lost about fifty men. The French and Indians left over one hundred
dead on the field; and their loss was much heavier, for they carried off
most of their dead.
My wounds now made me so lame and stiff that I could not walk, and was
carried on a litter of branches.
Rogers came alongside, and said: "That was a mighty pretty wrestle,
Comee. Big stakes up too; glad you won. But I believe if that Indian had
been taught the tricks like a Christian, you would have met your match."
"That's just what I was thinking myself, major, all the time I was
wrestling with him. It's an awful pity to have to kill a man like that."
"Oh, pshaw, nothing but a cussed redskin. That makes one less of the
vermin. All of us on both sides round that clearing watched you and him,
and did not pay much attention to each other till it was over. When you
killed him, and got up, they fired at you, and we began to fire at them
again. But for a short time all of us watched you. He must have been a
big Injun among them."
"Major, where is Amos Locke?"
"I don't know. I don't think he was among the killed or wounded; and if
he isn't with our party here, he's probably a prisoner, perhaps roasted
and scalped by this time."
Edmund came up later. "I'm afraid, Ben, we shan't see Amos again. He and
I were together for a while. But in running through the bushes we got
separated, and I can't find him among our men. If he were with our
party, he would have come to us by this time."
"Poor fellow! I can't bear to think of him in the woods, dead; or worse
still, being tortured by the Indians. He may turn up again, after all."
When we arrived at camp at Lake George, we found that it had been
strongly intrenched.
The camp was dirty and filthy, particularly the portion occupied by the
provincials, for our officers were ignorant in such matters.
On the way to and from Ticonderoga the men had drunk a good deal of lake
water, and this with the grief over our defeat and the filthy state of
our camp had caused much sickness.
[Sidenote: PROVINCIALS BEAT REGULARS SHOOTING]
Having been out in the woods on scouts, I was in good condition, and my
wounds began to heal quickly. Edmund took me over to see the man we had
rescued at Ticonderoga. We found him doing well, cursing the French, and
aching to get at them again. We looked up our kinsmen Hector and Donald
and struck up a great friendship with the men of the Black Watch. Hector
and Donald were both God-fearing men, and went with us several times to
hear Parson Cleveland of Bagley's regiment preach. He gave us sermons
full of meat, and we enjoyed them.
The regulars and provincials did not get on well together. The
Englishmen looked down on the provincial officers and men, and this
caused much hard feeling. One day in August, the regulars and
provincials practised firing with great guns at a target in the lake,
and our men beat the regulars thoroughly. That pleased us and made the
old country men feel pretty glum. Although the regulars scorned the
provincials, yet they held the Rangers in high esteem.
"Why is it, Donald," I asked, "that the regulars think so well of us,
and laugh at the rest of the provincials?"
"Well, man, one reason is, because you're no province soldiers at all,
being in the direct pay and service of the King, like ourselves. And
then you're a braw set of men, and ken this fighting in the woods a deal
better than we do, and we know it. But the provincials are gawks from
country towns, without discipline, and with no more knowledge of the
woods than we have."
"But Edmund and I are from a town like them."
"You've keppit gude company, since you've been with the Rangers, and
have been long enough with them to look and act like the rest of them.
One would take you for hunters and woodsmen."
"But the provincials were the last to leave the field at Ticonderoga."
"I'm no denying it. They fought well."
"And for country greenhorns, they did pretty well with the cannon the
other day."
"Aye, man, I'm no saying they didn't. I'm a truthful man, and I maun say
I was sair disappointed when they beat us shooting." And he changed the
subject.
[Sidenote: LAKE GEORGE]
Though our camp was foul, yet the lake was the fairest spot I have ever
seen--dotted with islands and hemmed in by mountains. Even Hector and
Donald said it was "a bonny place, just for all the world like old
Scotland."
We used to row on the lake, among the pretty islands, or lie in the boat
and gaze at the mountains and the clouds floating over them. It seemed
absurd that two great bodies of men should come to such a serene,
peaceful place, and occupy their time killing each other.
About two weeks after the Fort Anne fight, Edmund and I had a chance to
get away from camp for several hours, and started off with 'Bijah
Thompson of Woburn, whom we found in Colonel Nichols's regiment.
We pulled out on the lake, went in swimming, and then rowed slowly along
with our fish-lines trailing behind. But the fish didn't bite. We cut
across the upper part of the lake, and as we approached the further
side, Edmund said: "What's that over on the shore, Ben? There's some
one there who seems to be making motions to us."
We rowed in that direction, and saw a man waving his arms, and heard a
"hello!"
"That's no Frenchman. That's one of our men who has got lost in the
woods, or who has escaped from the French."
As we came nearer, we saw that he was almost naked. We pulled toward the
shore, and beheld a pitiful, haggard fellow, with nothing on him but a
pair of ragged breeches and a tattered shirt. We were about to ask him
some questions, when he exclaimed:--
"B-B-Ben and Edmund, and 'B-Bijah Thompson too, by gum! An-An-And ain't
I glad to see you?"
"Amos Locke! And we're glad to see you, too. Where have you been?"
"B-Been? I've been in h-hell. Say, have you got anything to eat? I'm
starved."
We had a lot of rye and Injun bread, cheese, and boiled beef with us. We
brought it out, and Amos gulped away at it like a hungry dog. We also
had a wooden bottle into which we had poured our rations of rum, and
then filled it up with water. We passed it to Amos, and he took a long
swig at it. As he took it away from his mouth, a happy grin came over
his face.
[Sidenote: AMOS COMES BACK]
"B-Boys, that goes to the spot. I'm not a rum-drinker, but when a
fellow's been frozen, and starved, and water-logged, he does sort of
hanker after something that has a t-tang to it."
He put down the bottle, and went to work at the food again. In a short
time our dinner had disappeared--and we had put up what we considered
was an ample supply for three hearty men.
I picked up my jacket and handed it to him to put on; for though it was
a warm day, he looked cold and peaked. His feet were badly cut, and were
done up in bandages of cloth. Then I filled my pipe, and taking out my
flint and steel, lit it and gave it to him.
"This isn't b-bad. Now row to the place where the victuals are."
Edmund and 'Bijah rowed, while I questioned Amos.
"Well, I was running through the b-bushes, just a little behind you,
Edmund, when my foot caught in a root or vine, and over I went
ker-flummux. My gun flew out of my hands, and as I was g-getting up, two
Frenchmen grabbed me and p-pulled me off through the woods. When they
had gone quite a distance, they t-tied me to a tree, and went back to
fight. I heard the firing and tried to get loose, but couldn't.
"A young Injun came along and had some f-fun throwing his tomahawk at
the tree, just over my head, seeing how near he could come to it without
hitting me.
"After he had done this half a dozen times, he stood in front of me, and
said, 'Ugh! Me big Injun.' I said, 'Yes, you big Injun. Big Injun better
go fight.' He went away, and in about an hour my two Frenchmen came
running back with more men. They untied me, and fastening a line around
my neck, one led and the other drove me, hitting me with his loaded gun,
punching the muzzle into my b-back. When they got to the place where
they had left their packs, they p-pulled off my jacket and waistcoat,
t-tied a heavy pack on my back, and drove me along again.
[Sidenote: ISRAEL PUTNAM HAS A WARM TIME]
"Every now and then I sank down, and thought I c-couldn't go any
further; but the man behind put his gun to my head, r-r-ripped out a lot
of oaths at me, and told me he would blow my head off if I didn't get up
and hustle.
"Oh, no, I don't know their lingo; but I could understand just what he
said, and what's m-more, I know he m-meant it. I didn't want to be a
c-cold corpse out there in the woods, so I got up and struggled on
again.
"At last they camped for the night. They laid me on my back and t-tied
my hands and feet to stakes d-driven into the ground.
"I saw Major P-Putnam, who had been captured by some Injuns. They took
his pack off, and he looked as if he would drop. They r-rushed at him,
stripped him, t-tied him to a tree, piled dry branches and brush about
him, and set them on fire. Then they formed a ring around him, and
taunted and insulted him. A shower came up and put the fire out. They
g-got more branches and lighted the fire again. The fire was burning
well, and P-Putnam was squirming away from the heat, when a French
officer ran up, k-kicked the branches aside, cut the cords, told the
Injuns to stand back, and led P-Putnam away. I heard afterward that this
man's name was Morin, and that he was the leader of the expedition.
"The next morning at daybreak we got into the b-batteaux and canoes, and
rowed down Wood Creek. I was in a b-batteau. They gave me an oar, and
made me work for all I was worth. If I let up for a minute, they hit me
and threatened to k-kill me. That ugly fellow who swore at me the day
before was in the boat, and I c-could understand him. He made things
very clear, as he jabbed the m-muzzle of his gun into my ribs, and
h-held his finger on the trigger.
"They were in a hurry to get out of the way of any f-force of our men
that might be sent to cut them off. We reached T-Ticonderoga that night.
They turned us prisoners out into a pasture with some scrubby trees in
it, and p-put a guard around us. And there they k-kept us, giving us
hardly anything to eat, t-till at last we grew so hungry that we
p-pulled the bark off the b-black birches, and ate it to stay our
stomachs. I thought considerable of home while I was b-browsing round in
that p-pasture, and of what I used to do. Not so m-much of
pigeon-shooting and fox-hunting as of things I disliked, p-ploughing in
the spring, hilling corn till my back ached, cutting logs into lengths
for firewood till my arms were t-tired out and my hands b-blistered.
[Sidenote: FOND RECOLLECTIONS]
"These were all unpleasant, but I remembered the comfortable home and
the supper that came after the work, and how I used to eat my fill in
safety. And here I was, likely to be scalped or burned to death, and my
innards just a griping and a yearning for a b-bit of solid food.
"There were some four thousand Frenchmen in the fort, Canadians,
Indians, and the regulars in their white coats.
"I was bound to get away if I could, and watched for a chance. We were
not f-far from the breastwork.
"Sentinels walked up and down on the inner side, and I knew that I could
not c-crawl over it, without being seen. They did not pay so much
attention to the swampy ground at either end. I made up my mind to g-get
to the low land, and pass by the end of the breastwork.
"After we had been there six days, a storm began in the afternoon. The
rain came down in torrents, and the wind b-blew hard.
"We were out in the wet, soaking. When the French had gone to sleep, I
walked to the f-fence which was round our pasture, and waited for the
sentinel to pass. Then I crept under the fence, and crawled along till I
got to the swamp, and went into the edge of it and walked toward the end
of the breastwork. The f-fall of rain had made the swamp worse than
usual.
"As I walked along in the mire, I felt that I was sinking, and caught
hold of a t-tree and pulled myself out, but left my shoes behind. Then I
kept close to the edge of the swamp, and went along carefully, t-till I
got near the breastwork.
[Sidenote: A STROLL THROUGH THE WOODS]
"I heard the sentinel c-coming my way, and lay down till he t-turned and
walked away from me.
"I passed by the end of the breastwork, and kept along the edge of the
forest, t-till I felt there was an opening, which I knew must be the
path we travelled over on our way from Lake George. It was blind going,
p-pitch dark. Every now and then I found myself wandering from the path,
b-but luckily the passage of our large army had t-trodden it down into a
road, so that I k-kept my way, though it was with great d-difficulty.
"As it began to grow light, I reached a point where a ledge came down to
the road; and I thought this would be a good place to leave the path,
because if the Indians searched for me, they would lose my trail on the
r-rocks.
"I walked on the rocks for over an hour, t-till the sun rose, and the
rain ceased. I came across a blueberry patch, and ate my fill. It was
good to be free and to have something to eat.
"I found a hollow where I would not be seen, and where the sun would
shine on me, and I lay down and slept. When I w-woke up, and was
thinking what to do, a rabbit came hopping along, feeding. I kept quiet
until he had passed me, and rose up and c-cried out, Hooh! He sat up on
his hind legs, pricked up his ears, and I knocked him over with a stone
and ate him. Then I came to the brook where we had our f-first fight,
but it was so full from the rain that I had to wait a day before I could
cross it. It ran like a m-mill-race. My feet were all cut up, and I tore
off the arms of my shirt and bound the cloth round my feet. I didn't
d-dare to follow the paths, but kept through the woods t-till I struck
the lake. I only travelled in the morning and afternoon, for when the
sun was overhead I c-couldn't tell where I was going; so I ate berries
and slept at midday. I reached the lake above the Narrows and went back
to the path. I didn't care m-much if I were caught or not. I don't want
to eat another b-berry in my life. Several times I saw boats on the lake
and tried to get their attention, but c-couldn't. D-Didn't I feel happy
when I saw you coming toward me! And when I knew who it was, I felt as
if I were at home again m-milking the cows or up on old B-Bull Meadow
shooting fifty-two pigeons at a clip. Have you heard anything from Davy
Fiske?"
[Sidenote: NEWS FROM WEAVER DAVID]
"Well, yes; 'Bijah here came out late, and he says Davy has been telling
him some story about killing a bear in Grimes's cornfield up on the
Billerica road."
"That must have b-been before we left and we didn't hear anything about
it. How was it, 'Bijah?"
"I met Davy early this spring over in the woods by Listening Hill, and
he told me about hunting a bear in Bill Grimes's young corn, which was
about three feet high. He and Bill chased the bear; the bear ran off,
climbed over a stone wall, and got stuck in a snowdrift, and they came
up and killed him."
"That's D-Davy all over. He's m-mighty careless about those hunting
yarns of his. Pretty soon the bears will be wearing rackets in the
summer to k-keep out of his way. And now, boys, if you don't mind, I'll
stretch out in the bottom of the boat and get a little nap. I haven't
had a good sleep I don't know when, and the f-food and the warm sun make
me terrible sleepy."
Amos lay down, and we rowed till we reached the shore.