UP THE MOHAWK VALLEY
"Henry! Sam! Schnitzer! Wake up! The camp is surrounded by Indians!"
Dave uttered the cry loudly, and on the instant Barringford leaped to
his feet, reaching for his ever-ready gun as he did so. The Dutch
trapper was also awake in short order, and Henry followed.
"Injuns?" queried Barringford. "Whar?"
"In those bushes, and behind yonder trees. What shall we do?"
Before the old frontiersman could answer that question, a voice came out
of the darkness:
"Are the white men English?"
"Yes, we're English," answered Barringford.
"Then the redmen are glad to meet their brothers. The redmen were afraid
the sleeping ones were French."
"Who are you?" asked Henry.
"Arrow Head, of the Miamis. We have joined the great English warrior
Johnson, to fight the French. Let us be friends."
A few words more followed, and Barringford told the Indians to come
forward. At this eight redmen advanced to the camp-fire, on which the
boys threw some extra brushwood, so that they might see the new
arrivals. The Indians had slung their weapons over their shoulders, as a
sign of peace, and our friends did likewise.
Schnitzer had met Arrow Head before, and said he would vouch for it that
the warrior was all right. From the under chief it was learned that
General Johnson, with seven hundred Indians, had already marched to meet
General Prideaux and that the camp of the army was some forty miles
distant, up the river. Arrow Head had been left behind to "drum up" a
few stragglers, but was now ready to go forward with the redmen under
him.
"The war talk at Canajoharie castle was a great one," said the under
warrior. "Your General Johnson has treated us like brothers, and we will
fight for him to the bitter end. We have sung our war songs and put on
our war paints, and no French soldiers shall stand up against us.
Henceforth the English shall be our brothers for evermore."
"Yah, now you vos talkin' common sense," put in Schnitzer. "Ven you
fight mid dem Frenchers you vos all fools--for dem Frenchers vill pe
licked chust so sure as Henry Hudson discovered New York. I peen a
Dutch prophet, und I know," and he said this so earnestly that Arrow
Head was duly impressed. Schnitzer, who afterward made himself famous as
a pioneer in Ohio, could do a few sleight of hand tricks, and because of
these tricks many of the redmen considered him something of a wizard.
All rested until daybreak and then, after a hasty breakfast, in which
the Indians joined the whites, the march forward was resumed. Soon it
began to rain, but the drops did not come down heavily, and Barringford
said the storm had shifted to the westward. In this he was right for by
noon the sun was shining as brightly as ever.
As they trudged along, Dave and Henry questioned Arrow Head concerning
the French Indians and their captives, and about Jean Bevoir. They
could, however, get little satisfaction, excepting that Arrow Head had
heard that all the captives had been removed to the shores of Lake Erie
and Lake Ontario, and that a general movement toward Montreal and Quebec
was contemplated.
While our friends were trudging through the woods northward, General
Prideaux had gone to Schenectady. He had with him his own division of
the army consisting of two regiments of English soldiers and twenty-six
hundred Americans, principally from New York, although with the New
Yorkers were a good sprinkling of rangers from Vermont, Massachusetts,
New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia, men who roamed from one colony to
another, looking for a chance to better themselves and ever ready for a
fight, be it with the French or the Indians.
From Schenectady General Prideaux moved up the Mohawk Valley, which was
the most direct route to the lakes. This old Indian trail was protected
by Fort Herkimer, Fort William, Fort Stanwix, Fort Bull, and other
fortifications along the river and Lake Oneida. But this great
wilderness was a wilderness still, with stopping places few and far
between, and had it not been for the friendliness of the Indians--thanks
to the good work done by General Johnson--matters might have gone badly
with the English. More than once there was an alarm and at night
sentries were posted with as much care as though they were in the very
heart of the enemy's country.
It was not until three days after meeting Arrow Head and his followers
that our friends came in sight of General Prideaux's command, toiling
painfully around some of the rapids in the river. This first sight of
the army was a thrilling one, for uniforms and weapons shone brightly in
the clear sunlight. Dave's heart gave a bound.
"Puts me in mind of the time I marched with Braddock," he said to Henry.
"Indeed, it might almost be the same scene over again."
"Well, let us hope it isn't the same defeat over again," returned his
cousin, grimly.
The army came to a halt half an hour later, and then they learned that
General Johnson and his Indians were miles away. They talked the matter
over and at length concluded to move forward with the soldiers, trusting
to luck to interview Johnson later.
It was an easy matter for Barringford and Hans Schnitzer to locate a
number of friends among the rangers, and they received a hearty welcome,
and Dave and Henry were put at their ease. One old soldier asked Dave if
he had seen much of the war, and when the lad told him he had been both
with Braddock and with Forbes in the attacks on what was now Fort Pitt
the old soldier shook his hand warmly and "reckoned as how" he'd "do
fust-rate to fight them Frenchmen at Fort Niagara."
Our four friends were assigned to a company under Captain John Mollett,
who was known to Barringford, and inside of a couple of days felt
thoroughly at home.
In those days the Mohawk River was navigable with canoes and batteaux to
within four miles of Lake Oneida. From this point the boats had to be
carried across the watershed, on the backs of horses, Indians, and
soldiers to the lake. From Lake Oneida it was clear sailing down the
Oswego River to Lake Ontario.
As they had done so many times in the past, some of the English soldiers
were apt to sneer at the provincials, and this led to more than one
wordy quarrel and not infrequently to blows.
"They make me sick!" declared Henry, one day, after listening to the
bluster of several grenadiers. "To hear them talk one would think only
they were able to fight. I reckon we can do our full share."
"If they say anything to me I'll tell 'em what happened under Braddock,"
returned Dave. "And they can take it as they please."
Barringford counseled moderation, but secretly he was as much put out as
the boys even though some of the English were his warm friends. He had
come near to having a quarrel with an English lieutenant named Naster
and he was still much disturbed over this.
That very night Dave, while on picket duty, heard Lieutenant Naster
finding fault with an old ranger named Campwell. Campwell was a pioneer
over sixty-five years of age, and while a good shot and a good fighter
was at times not just right in his mind, although he could by no means
be called crazy. The pair came close to where Dave was on guard and the
young soldier heard the lieutenant poke all manner of fun at the old
man.
"Better go home and mind the babies, Campwell," said the English
lieutenant. "It's more in your line of duty, isn't it now?"
"Let me alone!" cried the old man. "If I was to mind babies I'd not mind
such a one as you, I'll warrant. 'T would have been better had you
remained in England."
"Ha! so you call me a baby?" roared Lieutenant Naster, sourly. "If I am,
how do you like that from me?" And he gave the old pioneer a shove that
sent him headlong over the roots of a nearby tree.
The action was so cowardly, and so entirely uncalled for, that it made
Dave's temper rise on the instant, and regardless of consequences he
leaped to where Lieutenant Naster was standing and caught him by the
shoulder.
"Leave him alone, you brute!" he ejaculated. "How dare you treat an old
man like that?"
In sudden fear the English lieutenant wheeled around. When he saw it was
only a boy who had spoken, and a hated provincial at that, his rage
returned.
"What do you mean by placing your dirty hand on me!" he roared. "I'll
have you arrested on the spot! This to me--an officer of the King's
Guard! Preposterous!"
"It wasn't right to molest old Campwell," returned Dave, sturdily. "He
is as brave as any of us, and I have heard tell that he has fought well
all through this war. You ought----"
"Don't tell me what I ought to do, you dirty little plantation hand! Say
another word and I'll report you at headquarters."
"As you please," answered Dave, recklessly. "But if you worry Campwell
any more you'll have an account to settle with Colonel Haldimand--and I
can tell you that he won't put up with it any more than any of us."
At the mention of the officer in charge of the provincials the English
lieutenant was for the moment nonplussed. He knew Colonel Haldimand to
be a Swiss-American of stern military bearing and one to whom many of
the pioneers were warmly attached.
"You--you threaten me?" he asked, after an ugly pause.
"You can take it as you please."
"My affair with this old man was my own--not yours."
"Yes, but I'm glad he took my part," came from Campwell, as he arose
slowly to his feet, for the fall had deprived him of his breath. "You
took a mean advantage o' me. I've a good mind to fill ye full o'
buckshot!" And he caught hold of his gun threateningly.
It was now that Lieutenant Naster showed his true nature. Much of his
color forsook him and he retreated in alarm.
"Don't--don't!" he cried, hurriedly. "I--I didn't mean to
be--ah--serious. The whole thing was meant in fun."
"No fun in shoving me down."
"I--ah--I didn't mean to shove you so hard--upon my honor I did not,
Campwell. Let us drop it; won't you?"
The old pioneer gave a grunt. He was too open-hearted to understand such
a mean, sneaking nature as that of the Englishman.
"We'll drop it--but keep your hands off of me in the future," he said,
at last.
"I won't bother you. But you--" The lieutenant turned to Dave. "I'll
bear you in mind, my fine young cock-of-the-walk,--and I'll take you
down a peg or two ere I'm done with you, remember what I say!" And with
a shake of his fist he hurried away in the darkness.
A minute after this Barringford came up, asking what was the matter.
When told his brow contracted.
"That lieutenant is a regular sneak," he said. "Keep your eye open fer
him, Dave--an' don't trust him a farthing's worth. He is just the kind
to play you dirty the first chance he gits."