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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/34536-0.txt b/34536-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..38a4e3d --- /dev/null +++ b/34536-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,4645 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Strange Stories of Colonial Days, by Various + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Strange Stories of Colonial Days + +Author: Various + +Release Date: December 1, 2010 [EBook #34536] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STRANGE STORIES OF COLONIAL DAYS *** + + + + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, S.D., and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + +[Illustration: [See page 43 + +HE MANAGED TO PULL HIM UP BEHIND] + + + + + STRANGE STORIES + + OF + + COLONIAL DAYS + + BY + + FRANCIS STERNE PALMER, G. T. FERRIS + HEZEKIAH BUTTERWORTH + FRANCIS S. DRAKE + ROWAN STEVENS + AND OTHERS + + ILLUSTRATED + + [Illustration] + + NEW YORK AND LONDON + HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS + + + Copyright, 1907, by Harper & Brothers. + + *** + + All rights reserved. + + Published May, 1907. + + + + +CONTENTS + + + I + THE CROWNING OF POWHATAN + Adventures in Early Indian History + By Francis S. Drake + + II + CORNELIS LABDEN’S LEAP + A Legend of 1645 Retold + By G. T. Ferris + + III + TOMMY TEN-CANOES + A Tale of King Philip’s Scouts + By Hezekiah Butterworth + + IV + JONATHAN’S ESCAPE + A Young Hero of Hadley who Fought at Turner’s + Falls in 1676 + By Robert H. Fuller + + V + THE CROWN OF AN AMERICAN QUEEN + In the Days of Bacon’s Rebellion in Virginia + By Sally Nelson Robins + + VI + HOW A BLACKSMITH’S BOY BECAME A KNIGHT + The Treasure-hunt of William Phipps in the late + Seventeenth Century + By Paul Hull + + VII + THE GIRL CAPTAIN OF CASTLE DANGEROUS + How Three Children Fought the Iroquois in 1692 + By G. T. Lanigan + + VIII + HOW MARC WAS MADE CAPTAIN + A Rescue from the “Lords of the Woods” in 1695 + By Francis Sterne Palmer + + IX + CAPTAIN KIDD + An Overrated Pirate + By Rowan Stevens + + X + HOWARD THE BUCCANEER + A Captain of Many Ships + By Rowan Stevens + + XI + TEW, OF RHODE ISLAND + A Fighter from the Seas + By Rowan Stevens + + XII + THE VROUW VAN TWINKLE’S KRULLERS + A Story of Old New York + By Agnes Carr Sage + + XIII + THE SIGN OF THE SERPENT + A Story of Louisiana in the Early Eighteenth + Century + By G. T. Ferris + + XIV + A DRUMMER OF WARBURTON’S + How a Boy Held Fort George at Cape Canso, in + 1757 + By Percie W. Hart + + XV + ROGER’S RANGERS + The Famous New Hampshire Scouts of the Old + French War + By Francis S. Drake + + XVI + THE PLOT OF PONTIAC + How Detroit was Saved in 1763 + By Francis S. Drake + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + + HE MANAGED TO PULL HIM UP BEHIND Frontispiece + + “MEIN VROUW! MEIN GILDREN!” THE DUTCHMAN GROANED Facing p. 16 + + “GOOD-BYE, TOMMY FIVE-CANOES” “ 32 + + THE THONGS WERE CUT “ 92 + + HE PLUNDERED AND BURNED “ 108 + + THE HELPLESS PIRATES WERE SWEPT BACK “ 122 + + HE WAS KNOCKED OVERBOARD BY A PIKE-THRUST “ 144 + + SHE ROLLED AND PITCHED LIKE A MAD THING “ 204 + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +These pictures of Colonial life and adventure make up a panorama which +extends from Powhatan and John Smith, in the days of the Jamestown +colony, to Pontiac’s attempt upon Detroit in the period which preceded +the Revolution. Here one may read stories which are strange indeed, of +King Philip’s War in New England, of a Dutch hero’s exploit on the +shores of Long Island Sound, of conflicts with the fierce Iroquois in +the North, of a young New Englander’s successful treasure-hunt, and of +famous or infamous pirates of Colonial times. They carry the reader from +a boy’s defence of Fort George in Nova Scotia to battle against the +Natchez at an advance post of the Louisiana colony. For the most part +these thrilling tales are in the form of fiction, but it is fiction +based upon historical incidents. The imaginative stories, and others +which are historical narratives, will, it is believed, illustrate many +unfamiliar dramas in Colonial life, and will help to give a clearer view +of the men and boys who fought and endured to clear the way for us upon +this continent. + + + + +STRANGE STORIES OF COLONIAL DAYS + + + + +I + +THE CROWNING OF POWHATAN + +Adventures in Early Indian History + + +The first European visitors to the shores of North America met with a +most friendly reception from the natives. Powhatan, the Indian Emperor +of Virginia, who ruled in savage state over twenty-six Indian nations, +on more than one occasion kept the Virginia colonists from starvation by +sending them corn when they were almost famished. To retain his +good-will a crown was sent over from England, and the Indian monarch was +crowned with as much ceremony as possible. A present from King James of +a basin and ewer, a bed, and some clothes was also brought to Jamestown, +but Powhatan refused to go there to receive it. + +“I also am a King, and gifts should be brought to me,” said the proud +monarch of the Virginia woods. They were accordingly taken to him by the +colonists. + +The coronation was “a sad trouble,” wrote Captain John Smith, but it had +its laughable side also, as we shall see. Custom required that the +Indian ruler should kneel. Only by bearing their whole weight upon his +shoulders could the English upon whom this duty devolved bring the chief +from an up-right position into one suitable to the occasion. By main +force he was made to kneel. + +The firing of a pistol as a signal for a volley from the boats in honor +of the event startled his copper-colored Majesty. Supposing himself +betrayed, Powhatan at once struck a defensive attitude, but was soon +reassured. The absurdity of the whole affair reached its climax when +Powhatan gave to the representatives of his royal brother in England +his old moccasins, the deer-skin he used as a blanket, and a few bushels +of corn in the ear. + + * * * * * + +On the New England coast the anger of the natives had been aroused by +the conduct of visiting sailors, who would persuade them to come on +board their ships, and then carry them off and sell them into slavery. + +One of these natives, named Epanow, “an Indian of goodly stature, +strong, and well proportioned,” after being exhibited in London as a +curiosity, came into the service of Sir Ferdinand Gorges, Governor of +Plymouth. This gentleman was much interested in New England, and was +about fitting out a ship for a voyage to this country. + +The Indian soon found out that gold was the great object of the +Englishman’s worship, and he was cunning enough to take advantage of the +fact. He assured Sir Ferdinand that in a certain place in his own +country gold was to be had in abundance. The Englishman believed him, +and Epanow sailed in Gorges’s vessel to point out the whereabouts of +the supposed gold-mine. + +When the ship entered the harbor many of the natives came on board. +Epanow arranged with them a plan of escape, which was successfully +carried out the next morning. + +At the appointed time twenty canoes full of armed Indians came to within +a short distance of the ship. The captain invited them to come on board. +Epanow had been clothed in long garments, that he might the more easily +be laid hold of in case he attempted to escape, and he was also closely +guarded by three of Gorges’s kinsmen. + +The critical moment arrived. Epanow suddenly freed himself from his +guards, and springing over the vessel’s side, succeeded in reaching his +countrymen in safety, though many shots were fired after him by the +English. + +In this affair the European was completely outwitted by the ignorant +savage. Gorges was bitterly disappointed. Writing of it he says, “And +thus were my hopes of that particular voyage made void and frustrate.” +And thus, we may add, the first gold-hunting expedition to the coast of +Maine “ended in smoke”--from the Englishmen’s guns. + + * * * * * + +For many years after the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth the +relations of the English with the Massachusetts Indians were peaceful. +Only once was there any attempt to disturb them. To try the mettle of +the colonists, Canonicus, the powerful Narragansett chief, sent them by +a messenger a bundle of arrows wrapped in the skin of a snake--a +challenge to fight. Governor Bradford returned the skin filled with +powder and shot, with the message that if they had rather have war than +peace they might begin when they pleased, he was ready for them. This +prompt defiance impressed the chief. He would not receive the skin, and +wisely concluded to keep the peace. + + * * * * * + +What is known as King Philip’s War broke out in 1675. Though it lasted +but little over a year, it was terribly destructive, and it carried +misery to many a hearth-stone. + +Philip of Pokanoket, the chief of the Wampanoags, had for years been +suspected of plotting against the English. He had resisted all their +efforts to convert his people to Christianity, and had told the +venerable apostle Eliot himself that he cared no more for the white +man’s religion than for the buttons on his (Eliot’s) coat. On another +occasion he refused to make a treaty with the Governor of Massachusetts, +sending him this answer: + +“Your Governor is but a subject of King Charles of England. I shall not +treat with a subject. I shall treat of peace only with the King, my +brother. When he comes, I am ready.” + +On the morning of April 10, 1671, the meeting-house on Taunton Green +presented a scene of extraordinary interest. Seated on the benches upon +one side of the house were Philip and his warriors, and on the other +side were the white men. Both parties were equipped for battle. The +Indians looked as formidable as possible in their war-paint, their hair +“trimmed up in comb fashion,” with their long bows and quivers of +arrows, and here and there a gun in the hands of those best skilled in +its use. The English wore the costume of Cromwell, with broad-brimmed +hats, cuirasses, long swords, and unwieldly guns. Each party looked at +the other with unconcealed hatred. + +The result of this conference was that the Indians agreed to give up all +their guns, and Philip, upon his part, also promised to send a yearly +tribute of five wolves’ heads--“If he could get them.” + +As the Indians had almost forgotten how to use their old weapons, the +taking of their fire-arms away was a serious grievance. Other causes of +enmity arose, and at last the war begun, which in its course caused the +destruction of thirteen towns and hundreds of valuable lives. + +Philip was joined by the Nipmucks, as the Indians of the interior were +called, and by the Narragansetts, whose stronghold was captured in the +winter of 1675-76. Here seven hundred of this hapless tribe perished by +fire or the sword. The death of Philip, in August, 1676, ended the war. +Many of the Indians fled to the west, and a large number died in slavery +in the West Indies. The power of the Indians of southern New England was +broken forever. + + * * * * * + +Captain Benjamin Church, a prominent actor in this war, was the most +celebrated Indian fighter of his day. One of his most remarkable feats +was the capture of Annawan, Philip’s chief captain. Annawan often said +that he would never be taken by the English. + +Informed by a captured Indian where Annawan lay, Church, with only one +other Englishman and a few friendly Indians, succeeded in gaining the +rear of the Indian camp. + +The approach to this secluded spot was extremely difficult. It was +nearly dark when they reached it, and the Indians were preparing their +evening meal. A little apart from the others, and within easy reach of +the guns of the party, the chief and his son were reclining on the +ground. An old squaw was pounding corn in a mortar, the noise of which +prevented the discovery of Church’s approach, as he and his companions +cautiously lowered themselves from rock to rock. They were preceded by +an old Indian and his daughter, whom they had captured, and who, with +their baskets at their backs, aided in concealing their approach. + +By these skilful tactics Church succeeded in placing himself between the +chief and the guns, seeing which, Annawan suddenly started up with the +cry, “Howoh!” (“I am taken.”) Perceiving that he was surrounded, he made +no attempt to escape. + +After securing the arms, Church sent his Indian scouts among Annawan’s +men to tell them that their chief was captured, and that Church with his +great army had entrapped them, and would cut them to pieces unless they +surrendered. This they accordingly did, and, on the promise of kind +treatment, gave up all their arms. This well-executed surprise was the +closing event of King Philip’s War. + + + + +II + +CORNELIS LABDEN’S LEAP + +A Legend of 1645 Retold + + +The scene was only thirty miles from New York, on the shores of Long +Island Sound. At the time of which we write it was a sweep of dense +forest. + +Outside of the block-house, built where the Myanos River enters a bay of +the Sound, one September day in 1645 walked two elderly men, grizzled of +beard and soldierly in bearing. Broadswords swung from their cross-belts +and huge pistolets were stuck in their girdles. These were famous +fighting men in New England history, Daniel Patrick and John Underhill. +Bred to camps, they had chafed under Puritan laws, and had finally +deserted the older settlements. Indeed, Captain Patrick had been the +leader of the little colony which had made this beautiful place its +home. + +“I tell thee, John, I trust not the savage any longer. Ponus hath been +as surly as a bear with a sore head of late. I fear the Sagamore plots +evil.” + +“Belike you are right, good Captain,” said Underhill, “and we must match +craft with craft.” + +“Rumor hath it, too,” said Captain Patrick, with growing trouble on his +face, “that strange runners have been back and forth during the month at +the Sinoway village. We cannot look to our English friends for help, +since we signed the pact with his Excellency Governor Kieft, accepting +the rule of New Netherland. If an outbreak occurs, it must be from the +Manhattans that relief will come. But look! there rides Dutch Cornelis +with a bale of peltries to his crupper.” + +Among a few Dutch who mingled with the English of the settlement was +Cornelis Labden, a bold hunter and trapper, who, unlike the rest of the +colonists, got his livelihood by the fur-trade. He sold his pelts at the +Dutch trading-post about seven miles west, just over the line which now +separates New York from Connecticut. Thither he was riding when accosted +by the two captains. Cornelis was noted for his daring and skill in +woodcraft, and had always lived on specially friendly terms with the +Indians, as was, indeed, his interest. His log house was built on the +brow of a great precipice of beetling rock one hundred feet or more in +height, in the heart of a gloomy forest two miles from the outskirts of +the settlement. The spot is still known as Labden’s Rock, and the writer +has shot many a squirrel there in woods still solemn with deepest +shadow. Here Cornelis lived with his English wife and two children, Hans +and Anneke. + +“Well met, Cornelis,” said Patrick. “We were holding counsel concerning +our Indian neighbors. What think you of their peaceful purpose?” + +The Dutchman shook his head. He was a man of few words. “Der outlook ist +pad, Cabdain. Dot yoong Gief Owenoke say to me toder day, ‘Cornelis, +Indian’s friend, bedder go ’way. Indian very angry at bale-faces.’ +Owenoke’s vader, Ponus, means misgief. But no tanger dill der snow +vlies. Der Indians, if dey addack, waid dill grops all in.” + +“You are bound, I suppose, to Byram Fort with your peltries. Tarry +awhile, and carry me a letter for the Governor. I will write it +forthwith.” Captain Patrick disappeared in the block-house, and wrote to +the Dutch Governor as follows: + + “_To his Excellency, Wilhelm Kieft, Governor-General of New + Netherland at New Amsterdam, greeting_: + + “This in haste:--Whereas it cometh to me with some surety that + the savages on our border plot an early outbreak, I would urge + that a company of musketeers be sent to the trading-post at + Byram to protect the outlying country. Thence sure help may + reach this settlement. Once the savages break loose they will + ravage the region for many miles with torch and tomahawk. I + would entreat your Excellency to act right speedily in this + affair. Cornelis Labden, who is well skilled in Indian + matters, bears this letter. + + “DANIEL PATRICK.” + +It will be seen by this that Captain Patrick did not share the +confidence of Cornelis. But all the people were very busy afield at that +time gathering their crops, and they were loath to think that danger was +pressing. The women and children, however, were gathered every night in +the block-house. It may be that this measure of care on the part of the +settlers quickened the action of the Indians in the fear that their +purpose had been discovered. Within three days the outbreak came. The +forest was glowing with all the rich hues of autumn, when through its +arches burst at different points bands of naked warriors, painted with +as many colors as the leaves themselves, and yelling their shrill +war-whoops. Every colonist amid the yellowing corn-stalks of the fields +had his firelock close at hand. They all skirmished back through this +cover and across the rye and buckwheat stubble towards the block-house, +firing and loading as they ran. Yet several fell under the cloud of +arrows before the fugitives reached the little fort. The two captains, +each with a party of men, charged the savages fiercely on either flank +as they leaped into the open, and drove them back with heavy loss. The +settlers then withdrew behind the palisades, awaiting attack. + +The red besiegers, having exhausted their arts of attack and met with +heavy loss, for musket-balls told with terrible effect against flint +arrows, determined to starve out the little garrison. It was on the +morning of the third day that a rider galloped furiously from the west +to the bank of the Myanos, where the log bridge had been destroyed by +the Indians. Dutch Cornelis had ridden daringly through the midst of +them. A band of howling braves swarmed almost at his horse’s tail. He +leaped his beast into the river amid the whizzing arrows, several of +which stung both steed and rider sharply. Captain Underhill, with a +score of colonists, sallied out from the palisades, driving the redskins +from their front and opening a heavy fire on those lining the opposite +bank. Under cover of this Cornelis landed safely. He had been sent on +from Byram to New Amsterdam with Patrick’s letter, and it was only by +hard spurring that he had made such speed in return. He brought the good +news that even then a company of Dutch musketeers was on the march. + +The women and children trooped out of the block-house to hear the +tidings. Cornelis cast his eyes over them with agony stamped on his +usually stolid face. + +“Mein vrouw! mein gildren!” the Dutchman groaned. “What for you leave +dem to de mercy of de savage?” with a look of fierce reproach at the two +English captains. + +[Illustration: “MEIN VROUW! MEIN GILDREN!” THE DUTCHMAN GROANED] + +“Nay! nay! Cornelis, blame us not,” they answered, almost in a breath. +“We were sharp beset. ’Twas not easy to gather in all the outlying +people in season. There be others as well not saved in the block. The +savage, too, is far more friendly to you than to us English. There’s +right good hope that at the worst the lost are but captives.” + +This cold comfort seemed to madden the bereaved man. Muttering to +himself in his own tongue, and darting wild looks around, as if his +brain were turned and he were about to run amuck, he suddenly sprang on +his horse, which panted there, fagged and dripping. + +“Oben der gate!” he shouted, in a tone so commanding that, though +several tried to seize his horse’s head by the bit, fearing some act of +desperate folly, others unbarred the entrance. Cornelis dashed through +as swiftly as an Indian arrow. Two miles of clearing and forest lay +between him and his cabin. The way was thick with savages thirsting for +blood. Cornelis spurred on, numb to all sense of danger. The smoke even +yet curled from the embers of smouldering homesteads at every turn. But +he saw only one house in his mind’s eye--that was a cabin perched in the +midst of a clearing on top of a great rock, with flames bursting from +its roof; he heard but one sound--the shrieking of wife and children in +their last peril. + +Perhaps it was the wild gestures of the rider, signalling as if to +unseen beings, the motions of a maniac, which barred any pursuit at the +outset, for the American Indian as well as the Mohammedan of the East +fancies the madman under the protection of God; perhaps it was that many +of the savages felt more kindly to Cornelis than to other whites. It was +not till he neared the base of the precipice, on the crest of which he +had built his home, that he saw six Indians on his track, leaping at a +pace which outran the strides of his weary horse. + +The Dutchman turned in his saddle, and his unerring aim dropped one of +the pursuers; then he urged his way amid the gloom of the great trees up +the hill. When he gained the clearing at the top he saw what had once +been his happy home, now only a pile of cold ashes and half-charred +logs. He had no time to search if by chance there might yet remain some +ghastly relic of those he had loved and lost. The red men were upon him, +running as fleetly as stag-hounds, for now they were on the level. + +They were sure of their prey. A triumphant whoop rang out. Tomahawks +whizzed through the air, one of them striking Cornelis in the shoulder, +as the savages pressed on at top speed. The white man laughed loud and +long with a laughter that filled the forest with shrill echoes, and +motioning to them as if he were their leader, leaped his horse from the +top of the terrible rock, crashing through the branches of trees down, +down a hundred feet. The human hounds so hot in the chase were going +with a rush which could not be stayed, and they too plunged to death in +the pathway of their victim. Cornelis escaped with broken limbs, though +his horse was killed, and all the Indians perished but one, who saved +himself by clutching at the limb of a tree. He fled and carried the +story to his tribe. + +With the coming of the Dutch soldiers the settlers were strong enough to +scatter their assailants. But most of the colonists, discouraged, +drifted away to the New Netherlands or to the more easterly settlements. +It was not till two years later that a force of Dutch and English +stormed the Sinoway village and crushed the power of the tribe, after +which the town was successfully settled. + + * * * * * + +Ten years have passed. The skill and toil of the whites have swept away +the scars of Indian warfare. Pleasant homes rise amid smiling fields of +maize and rye. One summer day, Cornelis Labden, a helpless cripple and +almost half-witted, sat on the porch of Captain Underhill’s house, +smoking his long Dutch pipe and looking at the shining waters of the +Sound. Here or in the good Captain’s hearth-corner he would doze and +mumble all day long summer and winter. An Indian youth, nearly grown, +walked up the lane and stood before this poor wreck of a man. Cornelis +shut his eyes, and waved him off as if to drive away some thought that +troubled his weak brain. + +“Lapten, me find Lapten,” said the Indian, whose blue eyes and brown +hair were queerly amiss with the copper skin, the breech-clout, and the +moccasins of the savage. + +The sound of the voice stirred Cornelis strangely, and as if by some +instinct he spoke in Dutch. The lad listened eagerly, for the words +seemed to be half known to him, and he repeated them. Cornelis watched +him with an intent look, like the gaze of one just awakened from a long +sleep. He trembled, and for the first time in years intelligence burned +in his eyes. Without another word he led the Indian lad within and began +to rub the skin of his face with soap and water, and in a few moments +the clear white was shown. While he was thus engaged over the +unresisting youth, Captain Underhill entered. + +“Cabdain, Cabdain,” said Cornelis, with a shaking voice, “mein Hans ist +goom back. Done ye know yer old vader, leedle Hans? Vare ist Anneke?” +And he threw his arms with a passion of sobs about the lad’s neck. This +opened the gates of memory for father and son, and the identity was soon +made clear. In recovering his son, Dutch Cornelis had also regained his +reason. + +By gradual questioning, the facts were fully obtained as the +half-forgotten language of childhood came back. Hans and Anneke had been +carried off by strange Indians of the more northern tribes, who had +sent warriors to join in the Sinoway attack. The children had been +separated, and Anneke was lost forever. As Hans grew up, forgetting +much, he still remembered his father’s name and his white blood. He had +finally escaped from his adopted tribe, and worked his way by a strange +series of accidents and guesses back to the place of his birth. Such, in +the main, is the legend of Labden’s Rock. + + + + +III + +TOMMY TEN-CANOES + +A Tale of King Philip’s Scout + + +There once lived in New York an Indian warrior by the name of Peter +Twenty-Canoes. Tommy Ten-Canoes lived in New England, at Pokanoket, near +Mount Hope, on an arm of the Mount Hope Bay. + +He was not a warrior, but a runner; not a great naval hero, as his +picturesque name might suggest, but a news agent, as it were; he used +his nimble feet and his ten canoes to bear messages to the Indians of +the villages of Pokanoket and to the Narragansetts, and, it may be, to +other friendly tribes. + +Pokanoket? You may have read Irving’s sketch of Philip of Pokanoket, but +we doubt if you have in mind any clear idea of this beautiful region, +from whose clustering wigwams the curling smoke once rose among the +giant oaks along the many waterways. The former site of Pokanoket is now +covered by Bristol and Warren (Rhode Island) and Swansea +(Massachusetts). It is a place of bays and rivers, which were once rich +fishing-grounds; of shores full of shells and shellfish; of cool springs +and wild-grape vines; of bowery hills; and of meadows that were once +yellow with maize. + +Tommy Ten-Canoes was a great man in his day. As a news agent in peace he +was held in high honor, but as a scout in war and a runner for the great +chiefs he became a heroic figure. There were great osprey’s nests all +about the shores of old Pokanoket on the ancient decayed trees, and +Tommy made a crown of osprey feathers, and crowned himself, with the +approval of the great Indian chiefs. + +Once when swimming with this crown of feathers on his head, he had been +shot at by an Englishman, who thought him some new and remarkable bird. +But while his crown was shattered, it was not the crown of his head. He +was very careful of both his crowns after that alarming event. + +Tommy Ten-Canoes was a brave man. He was ready to face any ordinary +danger for his old chief Massasoit, and for that chief’s two sons, +Wamsutta (Alexander) and Pomebacen (Philip). He would cross the Mount +Hope or the Narragansett bay in tempestuous weather. He used to convey +the beautiful Queen Weetamoc from Pocassett to Mount Hope to attend +Philip’s war-dances under the summer moons, and when the old Indian war +began he offered his two swift legs and all of his ten canoes to the +service of his chief. + +“Nipanset”--for this was his Indian name--“Nipanset’s bosom is his +chief’s, and it knows not fear. Nipanset fears not the storm or the foe, +or the gun of the pale-face. Call, call, O ye chiefs; in the hour of +danger call for Nipanset. Nipanset fears not death.” + +So Tommy Ten-Canoes boasted at the great council under the moss-covered +cliff at Mount Hope. + +He was honest; but there was one thing that Nipanset, or Tommy +Ten-Canoes, did fear. It was enchantment. He would have faced torture or +death without a word, but everything mysterious filled him with terror. +If he had thought that a bush contained a hidden enemy and flintlock, he +would have been very brave; but had he thought that the same bush was +stirred by a spirit, or was enchanted, he would have run. + +Tommy Ten-Canoes had been friendly to the white people who had settled +in Pokanoket. There was a family by the name of Brown, who lived on +Cole’s River, that he especially liked, and he became a companion of one +of the sons named James. The two were so often together that the people +used to speak of those who were very intimate as being “as _thick_ as +little James Brown and old Tommy Ten-Canoes,” or rather as “Jemmie +Brown” and our young hero of the many birch boats. + +The two hunted and fished together; they made long journeys together; in +fact, they did everything in common, except work. Tommy did not work, +at least in the field, while James did at times, when he was not with +Tommy. + +When the Indian war began, King Philip sent word to the Brown family, +and also to the Cole family, who lived near them, both of whom had +treated him justly and generously, that he would do all in his power to +protect them, but that he might not be able to restrain his braves. + +Tommy Ten-Canoes brought a like friendly message to Jemmie Brown. + +“I will always be true to you,” he said; “true as the north wind to the +river, the west wind to the sea, and the south wind to the flowers. +Nipanset’s heart is true to his friends. Our hearts will see each other +again.” + +The Indian torch swept the settlements. One of the bravest scouts in +these dark scenes was Tommy Ten-Canoes. He flew from place to place like +the wind, carrying news and spying out the enemy. + +Tommy grew proud over his title of “Ten-Canoes.” He felt like ten +Tommies. He wore his crown of osprey feathers like a royal king. His +ten canoes ferried the painted Indians at night, and carried the chiefs +hither and thither. + +There was a grizzly old Boston Captain, who had done hard service on the +sea, named Moseley. He wore a wig, a thing that the Indians had never +seen, and of whose use they knew nothing at all. + +Tommy Ten-Canoes had never feared the white man nor the latter’s +death-dealing weapons. He had never retreated; he had always been found +in front of the stealthy bands as they pursued the forest trails. But +his courage was at last put to a test of which he had never dreamed. + +Old Captain Moseley had led a company of trained soldiers against the +Indians from Boston. Tommy Ten-Canoes had discovered the movement, and +had prepared the Indians to meet it. Captain Moseley’s company, which +consisted of one hundred men, had first marched to a place called Myles +Bridge in Swansea. Here was a garrison house in which lived Rev. John +Myles. The church was called Baptist, but people of all faiths were +welcome to it; among the latter, Marinus Willett, who afterwards became +the first Mayor of New York. It was the first church of the kind in +Massachusetts, and it still exists in Swansea. + +Over the glimmering waterways walled with dark oak woods came Tommy +Ten-Canoes, with five of his famous boats, and landed at a place near +the thrifty Baptist colony, so that his little navy might be at the +ready service of Philip. It was the last days of June. There had been an +eclipse of the moon on the night that Tommy Ten-Canoes had glided up the +Sowans River towards Myles Bridge. He thought the eclipse was meant for +him and his little boats, and he was a very proud and happy man. + +“The moon went out in the clear sky when we left the bay,” said he; “so +shall our enemies be extinguished. The moon shone again on the calm +river. For whom did the moon shine again? For Nipanset.” + +Poor Tommy Ten-Canoes! He was not the first hero of modern times who +has thought that the moon and stars were made for him and shone for him +on special occasions. + +In old Captain Moseley’s company was a Jamaica pilot who had visited +Pokanoket and been presented to Tommy, and told that the latter was a +very renowned Indian. + +“_What_ are you?” asked the Pilot. + +“I am Tommy One-Canoe.” + +“Ah!” + +“I am Tommy Two-Canoes.” + +“Indeed! Ah!” + +“I am Tommy Three-Canoes.” + +“Oh! Ah! Indeed!” + +“I am Tommy Four-Canoes, _and_ I am Tommy Five-Canoes, _and_ I am Tommy +Six-Canoes, _and_ I am Tommy TEN-Canoes.” + +“Well, Tommy Ten-Canoes,” said the Pilot, “don’t you ever get into any +trouble with the white people, because you might find yourself merely +Tommy No-Canoes.” + +Tommy was offended at this. He had no fears of such a fall from power, +however. + +The old Jamaica pilot had taken a boat and drifted down the Sowans +River one long June day, when he chanced to discover Tommy and his five +canoes. The canoes were hauled up on the shore under the cool trees +which overshadowed the water. The Pilot, who had with him three men, +rowed boldly to the shore and surprised Tommy Ten-Canoes, who had gone +into the wood, leaving his weapons in one of his canoes. + +The Pilot seized the canoe with the weapons and drew it from the shore. + +Tommy Ten-Canoes beheld the movement with astonishment. He called to the +old Pilot, “I am Tommy Ten-Canoes!” + +“No, no,” answered the Pilot. “You are Tommy Nine-Canoes.” + +Presently the Pilot drew from the shore another canoe. Tommy called +again: + +“Don’t you know me? I am--” + +“Tommy Eight-Canoes,” said the Pilot. + +Another boat was removed in like manner, and the Pilot shouted, “And now +you are Tommy Seven-Canoes.” Another, and the Pilot called again, “Now +you are Tommy Six-Canoes.” Another. “Good-bye, Tommy Five-Canoes,” said +the Pilot, and he and his men drew all of the light canoes after them up +the river. + +[Illustration: “GOOD-BYE, TOMMY FIVE-CANOES”] + +Xerxes at Salamis could hardly have felt more crushed in heart than +Tommy Ten-Canoes. But hope revived; he was Tommy Five-Canoes still. He +was not quite so sure now, however, that the moon on that still June +night had been eclipsed expressly for him. + +The scene of the war now changed to the western border, as the towns of +Hadley and Deerfield were called, for these towns in that day were the +“great west,” as afterwards was the Ohio Reserve. Tommy having lost five +of his canoes, now used his swift feet as a messenger. He still had +hopes of doing great deeds, else why had the moon been eclipsed on that +beautiful June night? + +But an event followed the loss of his five canoes that quite changed his +opinion. As a messenger or runner he had hurried to the scene of the +brutal conflicts on the border, and had there discovered that Captain +Moseley, the old Jamaica pirate, was subject to some spell of +enchantment; that he had two heads. + +“Ugh! ugh! him no good!” said one of the Indians to Tommy; “he take off +his head and put him in his pocket. It is no use to fight him. Spell set +on him--enchanted.” + +Tommy Ten-Canoes’ fear of the man with two heads, one of which he +sometimes took off and put in his pocket, spread among the Indians. One +day in a skirmish Tommy saw Moseley take off one of his enchanted heads +and hang it on a blueberry bush. Other Indians saw it. “No scalp him,” +said they. “Run!” And run they did, not from the open foe, but from the +supposed head on the bush. Moseley did not dream at the time that it was +his wig that had given him the victory. + +Across the Mount Hope Bay, among the sunny headlands of Pocassett, there +was an immense cedar swamp, cool and dark, and in summer full of +fire-flies. Tommy Ten-Canoes called it the swamp of the fire-flies. It +was directly opposite Pokanoket, across the placid water. A band of +Indians gathered there, and covered their bodies with bushes, so that +they might not be discovered on the shore. + +One moonlight night in September Tommy went to visit these masked +Indians in four of his canoes. He rowed one of his canoes, and three +squaws the others. On reaching the fire-fly cedar swamp the party met +the masked Indians, and late at night retired to rest, the three Indian +squaws sleeping on the shore under their three canoes. + +Captain Moseley had sent the old Jamaica pilot to try to discover the +hiding-place of this mysterious band of Indians. The Pilot had seen the +four canoes crossing the bay from Pokanoket under the low September +moon, and had hurried with a dozen men to the place of landing. He +surprised the party early the next morning, when they were disarmed and +asleep. + +The crack of his musket rang out in the clear air over the bay. A naked +Indian was seen to leap up. + +“Stop! I am Tommy Ten-Canoes.” + +“No, Tommy Five-Canoes,” answered the Pilot; “and now you are only +Tommy Four-Canoes.” Saying which, the Pilot seized the _sixth_ canoe. + +A shriek followed; another, and another. Three canoes hidden in the +river-weeds were overturned, and three Indian squaws were seen running +into the dark swamp. + +“And now you are Tommy Three-Canoes,” said the Pilot, seizing the +seventh canoe. “And now Tommy Two-Canoes,” seizing the eighth. + +“And only Tommy One-Canoe,” taking possession of the ninth canoe. “And +now you are Tommy No-Canoes, as I told you you would be if you went to +war,” said the Pilot, taking according to this odd reckoning the +Indian’s last canoe. + +But Tommy had one canoe left, notwithstanding the dark Pilot had taken +his _tenth_. He was glad that it was not here. It would have been his +_eleventh_ canoe, although he had but ten. He knew that the Pilot was +one of Moseley’s men, the Captain who put his head at times in his +pocket or hung it upon a bush. Poor Tommy Ten-Canoes! He uttered a +shriek, like the fugitive squaws, and fled. + +“Don’t shoot at him,” said the old Pilot to his men. “I have taken from +him all of his ten canoes; let him go.” + +Tommy had not a mathematical mind or education, but he knew that somehow +he had no eleventh canoe, and that one of his ten canoes yet remained. +And even the old Pilot must have at last seen that his count of ten was +only nine. Tommy fled to a point on the Titicut River at which he could +swim across, and then made his solitary way back to the shores of +Pokanoket and to his remaining canoe, which did not belong to +mathematics. + +One morning late in September Tommy Ten-Canoes turned his solitary canoe +towards Cole’s River, near which lived his boy friend, James Brown. He +paddled slowly, and late in the dreamy afternoon reached the shore +opposite the Brown farm. He landed and tied his one canoe to Jemmie +Brown’s boat, in which the two had spent many happy hours before the +war. + +The canoe was found there the next day; but Tommy Ten-Canoes? He was +never seen again; he probably sought a grave in the waters of the bay. + +But he had fulfilled his promise. He had been true in his heart as “the +north wind to the river, the west wind to the sea, and the south wind to +the flowers.” + + + + +IV + +JONATHAN’S ESCAPE + +A Young Hero of Hadley who Fought at Turner’s Falls in 1676 + + +Though the Indians of New England were for many years vastly superior in +numbers to the white men, they were never wholly united, and their +cowardice and lack of discipline were weaknesses for which their +treachery and deceit could not compensate. The long conflict between the +races culminated in 1675 in King Philip’s War, when the wily Wampanoag +sachem succeeded in forming a confederation, embracing nearly all the +New England tribes, for a final desperate struggle. + +It seemed for a time as though the combination might succeed. At the end +of the summer the scattered settlements, and especially those along the +Connecticut River, which formed the outposts of the colonies, were +panic-stricken. Everywhere the savage allies had been victorious. A +dozen towns had been attacked and burned, bands of soldiers had been cut +off, and isolated murders without number had been committed. Prowling +bands of Indians lurked about the stockaded towns, driving off cattle +and rendering impossible the cultivation of the fields, so that the +settlers were called upon to face starvation as well as the +scalping-knife and tomahawk. + +There was no meeting the Indians face to face, except by surprise. They +fought from ambush, or by sudden assault on unprotected points, and +would be gone before troops could be brought to the scene. The white men +were unable to follow them without Indian allies, and they were slow to +adapt themselves to the Indian mode of fighting. Flushed by their +success, the confederates became overconfident, and grew to despise +their clumsy opponents. In the spring of 1676 more than five thousand +of them were encamped on the Connecticut River, twenty miles north of +Hadley. Here they planted their corn and squashes, and amused themselves +with councils, ceremonies, and feasts, boasting of what they had done +and what they would do. They judged the white men by themselves, and did +not suspect the iron courage and stubborn determination that were urging +the people in the towns below them “to be out against the enemy.” On the +night of May 18th they indulged in a great feast, and after it was over, +slept soundly in their bark lodges, all but the wary Philip, who, +scenting danger, had withdrawn across the river. + +On that same evening about two hundred and fifty men and boys gathered +in Hadley street. Of this number fifty-six were soldiers from the +garrisons of Hadley, Northampton, Springfield, Hatfield, and Westfield. +The rest were volunteers, among whom was Jonathan Wells, of Hadley, +sixteen years old, whose adventures and miraculous escape have been +preserved. + +The party was under the command of Captain William Turner, and the +expedition which it was about to undertake was inspired by a daring +amounting to rashness. The plan was to attack the Indian camp, which +contained four times their number of well-armed braves. Defeat meant +death, or captivity and torture worse than death. The march began after +nightfall so as not to attract the attention of the Indian scouts, and +the little band made its way safely through swamps and forests, past the +Indian outposts, and at daybreak arrived in the neighborhood of the +camp. Here the horses were left under a small guard among the trees, +while the men crept forward to the lodges of the enemy. + +The surprise was complete. The panic-stricken savages, crying that the +dreaded Mohawks were upon them, were shot down by scores, or, plunging +into the river, were swept over the falls which now bear Captain +Turner’s name. The backbone of Philip’s conspiracy was broken, and he +himself was driven to begin soon afterwards the hunted wanderings which +were to end in the fatal morass. + +But the attacking party, though victorious, was not yet out of danger. +It was still heavily outnumbered by the surviving Indians. While the +soldiers were destroying arms, ammunition, and food, or scattered in +pursuit of the fleeing enemy, the warriors rallied, and opened fire upon +them from under cover of the trees. Captain Turner became alarmed and +ordered a retreat. The main body hastily mounted and plunged into the +forest, seeking to shake off the cloud of savages who hung upon their +flanks like a swarm of angry bees. + +Young Jonathan was with a detachment of about twenty who were some +distance up the river when the retreat began. They ran back to the +horses and found their comrades gone. The Indians pressed upon them in +numbers they could not hope to withstand. It was every man for himself. +In the confusion the boy kept his wits about him, and managed to find +his horse. As he plunged forward under the branches three Indians +levelled their pieces and fired. One shot passed through his hair, +another struck his horse, and the third entered his thigh, splintering +the bone where it had been broken by a cart-wheel and never properly +healed. He reeled, and would have fallen had he not clutched the mane of +his horse. The Indians, seeing that he was wounded, pursued him, but he +pointed his gun at them, and held them at bay until he was out of their +reach. As he galloped on he heard a cry for help, and reining in his +horse, regardless of the danger which encompassed him, found Stephen +Belding, a boy of his own age, lying sorely wounded on the ground. He +managed to pull him up behind, and they rode double until they overtook +the party in advance. This brave act saved Belding’s life. + +The retreat had become a rout. All was panic and dismay; but Jonathan +was unwilling to desert the comrades left behind. He sought out Captain +Turner, and begged him to halt and turn back to their relief. “It is +better to save some than to lose all,” was the Captain’s answer. The +confusion increased, and to add to it the guides became bewildered and +lost their way. “If you love your lives, follow me!” cried one. “If you +would see your homes again! follow me,” shouted another, and the party +was soon split up into small bands. The one with which Jonathan found +himself became entangled in a swamp, where it was once more attacked by +the Indians. He escaped again, with ten others, who, finding that his +horse was going lame from his wound, and that he himself was weak from +loss of blood, left him with another wounded man and rode away. His +companion, thinking the boy’s hurt worse than his own, concluded that he +would stand a better chance of getting clear alone, and riding off on +pretence of seeking the path, failed to return. Jonathan was now wholly +deserted. Wounded, ignorant even of the direction of his home, +surrounded by bloodthirsty Indians, and weak with hunger, he pushed +desperately on. He was near fainting once, when he heard some Indians +running about and whooping near by; but they did not discover him, and a +nutmeg which he had in his pocket revived him for a time. + +After straying some distance farther he swooned in good earnest, and +fell from his horse. When he came to he found that he had retained his +hold on the reins, and that the animal stood quietly beside him. He tied +him to a tree, and lay down again; but he soon grew so weak that he +abandoned all hope of escape, and out of pity loosed the horse and let +him go. He succeeded in kindling a fire by flashing powder in the pan of +his gun. It spread in the dry leaves and burned his hands and face +severely. Feeling sure that the Indians would be attracted by the smoke +and come and kill him, he threw away his powder-horn and bullets, +keeping only ammunition for a single shot. Then he stopped his wound +with tow, bound it up with his neckcloth, and went to sleep. + +In the morning he found that the bleeding had stopped and that he was +much stronger. He managed to find a path which led him to a river which +he remembered to have crossed on the way to the camp. With great pain +and difficulty, leaning on his gun, the lock of which he was careful to +keep dry, he waded through it, and fell exhausted on the farther bank. +While he lay there an Indian in a canoe appeared, and the boy, who could +neither fight nor run, gave himself up for lost. But he remembered the +three Indians in the woods, and putting a bold face on the matter, aimed +his gun, though its barrel was choked with sand. The savage, thinking he +was about to shoot, leaped overboard, leaving his own gun in the canoe, +and ran to tell his friends that the white men were coming again. + +Jonathan knew that pursuit was certain, and as it was broad daylight, +and he could only hobble at best, he assured himself that there was no +hope for him. Nevertheless he looked about for a hiding-place, and +presently, a little distance away, noticed two trees which, undermined +by the current, had fallen forward into the stream close together. A +mass of driftwood had lodged on their trunks. Jonathan got back into the +water so as to leave no tracks, and creeping between the trunks under +the driftwood, found a space large enough to permit him to breathe. In a +few minutes the Indians arrived in search of him, as he had expected. +They ransacked the whole neighborhood, even running out upon the mat of +driftwood over his head, and causing the trees to sink with their weight +so as to thrust his head under water; but they could find no trace of +him, and at last retired, completely outwitted. + +The boy limped on, tortured by hunger and thirst, and so giddy with +weakness that he could proceed but a short distance without stopping to +rest. Happily he saw no more of the Indians, and at last, on the third +day of his painful journey, he arrived at Hadley, where he was welcomed +as one risen from the dead. + +The story of his escape was told for years around the wide fireplaces +throughout the country-side, and was thought so remarkable that one who +heard it, unwilling that the record of so much coolness and courage +should be lost, wrote it down for future generations of boys to read. + + + + +V + +THE CROWN OF AN AMERICAN QUEEN + +In the Days of Bacon’s Rebellion in Virginia + + +In the age when America was but a name and Virginia only a hamlet, there +was a dusky queen who wore a silver crown by order of his most sacred +Majesty King Charles II., King of England, Scotland, France, Ireland, +and Virginia. + +There are few distinct Indian personalities. Powhatan, Pocahontas, +Opechancanough, Totopotomoi and his wife, the Queen of the Pamunkeys, +are savage heroes who sentinel the seventeenth century; they all +belonged to the Pamunkey tribe of the great Powhatan Confederacy, the +most powerful Indian combination that ever existed. + +When the boisterous and heroic Nathaniel Bacon[A] was in the flush of +his wonderful success, and had brought his followers to Jamestown, he +demanded of the Governor redress for Indian depredations and outrages. +When the Assembly in council was sitting, the Queen of the Pamunkeys +came in, leading her son by the hand. She came to tell of grievances +also. She wore a dress of black and white wampum peake and a mantle of +deer-skin, “cut in a frenge” six inches from the outer edge. It fell +loosely from her shoulders to her feet. On her head was a crown of +“purple bead of shell, drilled.” She was a beautiful woman, old +chronicles tell us, and she walked in with a proud but aggrieved +countenance. + + [A] Nathaniel Bacon, patriot, born in England, 1642; settled in + Gloucester County, Virginia, 1670; led an independent force + against hostile Indians in 1675-76 in spite of Governor + Berkeley’s opposition; as the head of the republican movement + he came into open conflict with Berkeley and the royalists; he + captured and burned Jamestown in September, 1676; died the + following October; known as a rebel, but the principles for + which he fought were in the main those of independence and + patriotism. + +She sat down in the midst of the Assembly, listening eagerly to the +arguments for the suppression and, if need be, the extinction of her +race. And she remembered Totopotomoi bleeding for these people who would +not recognize her rights. She arose and made a speech in her own tongue, +eloquent with gesticulation; the refrain of it was a mad wail: +“Totopotomoi chepiak!” (_i.e._, Totopotomoi dead). + +Colonel Hill, the younger, touched a fellow-member on the shoulder, and +whispered: “What she says is true. Totopotomoi fought with my father, +and fell with his warriors.” + +But the Assembly would not listen to the poor suffering Queen. They +wanted to fight more battles, and the Queen of the Pamunkeys must +furnish her quota. + +“How many men will you furnish?” asked Nathaniel Bacon. “How many will +you give to fight and subdue the treacherous tribes which threaten our +peace?” + +The Queen was silent. She remembered her husband and his slain braves. +She had fears for her son, and she would not speak. + +“How many?” asked Bacon. + +The poor Queen had her head turned away and bowed. + +“How many?” demanded the famous rebel again. + +Then she slowly turned her lovely face, and softly whispered, “Six.” + +Her answer infuriated Bacon, who considered the number contemptible. +“How many more?” he asked. + +The Queen gave him a glance of indignant hate, and haughtily answered, +“Twelve.” Then she gathered her robes about her, and majestically left +the room. + +Once more we see the Queen of the Pamunkeys, and now in fear and +adversity. Bacon in his campaign destroyed the Pamunkey settlement--the +same tribe which had so nobly assisted the English. + +The poor Queen, terrified, fled far into the forest, accompanied by +“onely a little Indian boy.” Her old nurse followed her, but was +captured. Bacon ordered the old woman to guide him to a certain point, +but she, full of revenge, led him in an opposite direction, whereupon +the rebel ordered her to be knocked in the head. + +The Queen wandered about almost crazy, and at last determined to return +and throw herself upon Bacon’s mercy; but as she was rushing towards her +desolated wigwam she came upon the body of her murdered nurse, which so +affrighted her that she ran back into the wilderness, where she remained +“fourteen daies without food, and would have perished but that she +gnawed on the legg of a terrapin which the little Indian boy brought +her.” + +So only a few vivid sketches of this Queen are preserved to us in +history but they have gained for her a place as a martyr. In recognition +of her own and her husband’s deeds, Charles II. bestowed upon her a +silver crown, with the lion of England, the lilies of France, and the +harp of Ireland engraved thereon. + +Savages are not averse to the baubles of civilization, and the crown +which their Queen wore was a blessed treasure to her tribe for a hundred +years after the Queen was dead. + +The Pamunkey tribe, or a pitiful remnant of them, still dwell in +Virginia, on the river which bears their name. They have a chief, and +their own government. Annually they send tribute of fish and game and +Indian handiwork to the Governor of Virginia. They are weakening +physically, and pray for new blood from the Western reservation. + +Once the tribe started for the West, carrying their best treasure, the +silver crown. They came to the plantation of Mr. Morson, at Falmouth, +and there bad weather and sickness made them halt. Mr. Morson attended +to their physical wants, and allowed them to pitch their tents upon his +land until their distress abated. + +“What do we owe you?” asked the chief, when they had decided to return +to their former Virginia reservation. + +“Nothing,” said Mr. Morson. Perhaps he remembered Totopotomoi and his +sorrowing Queen. + +“Then we will give you what we value most,” and the chief presented to +Mr. Morson the crown of the Queen of the Pamunkeys. For three +generations it remained in the Morson family, and then it was purchased +by the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. + +The crown is really a frontlet, and the Queen of the Pamunkeys wore it +upon her brow, surmounted by a red velvet cap, long since destroyed by +moths, and bound to her head by two silver chains. + + + + +VI + +HOW A BLACKSMITH’S BOY BECAME A KNIGHT + +The Treasure-hunt of William Phipps in the late Seventeenth Century + + +Sir William Phipps, Baronet; Captain in the Royal Navy; Captain-General +and Commander-in-Chief of Massachusetts Bay; Governor of Massachusetts. + +What do you think of all these titles for one man to wear? Surely, you +say, he must naturally have been a great man to deserve so much +distinction; and again you say that the conditions of his life must +account for such honors; that he must have been of gentle birth, reared +in luxury, his education carefully attended by excellent masters, and +great influence brought to bear upon his King to advance him so far on +the high-road of fame. Well, let us see if facts will sustain this +thought. + +William Phipps was born February 2, 1650, in a wretched log house on the +banks of the Kennebec River. His father, an honest but ignorant +blacksmith, was more dependent upon his rifle and fishing-line to supply +his family with food than upon the occasional shilling that found its +way into the smoke-begrimed interior of his rude workshop. + +Without education himself, the father was unable to instruct his +children beyond the simplest rules of arithmetic and the plainest +spelling and reading, but these he drilled them in as perseveringly as +he did in the terrifying religious catechism of that day. In the course +of years, when William developed into a robust, courageous lad, he +shared with his parents the duties of providing for his sisters and +brothers by either shouldering the heavy fire-arm and plunging into the +dark Maine forests in quest of game, or in taking his father’s place and +beating out the iron sparks, while the sturdy smith dropped a +temptingly baited hook into the swiftly flowing stream. + +In the year 1676, in his twenty-seventh year, the hero of our story +received his parents’ blessing, and left home for the purpose of seeking +his fortune. With a hopeful heart and an exceedingly light pocket, he +made his way to Boston, and found employment in the blacksmith-shop of +one Roger Spencer, whose pretty daughter Charity soon won the heart of +her father’s handsome, stalwart helper. + +So far we fail to find very much in the way of gentle birth, luxury, +education, and influence. But then, you may ask, how, under such +circumstances, could he ever have risen so high? Let us follow his +career. + +His lack of worldly goods was made the excuse for refusing the offer of +his heart and hand that he made to the fair Puritan, and in the hope of +improving his fortunes he forsook the forge and shipped on board of a +merchant vessel to follow the adventurous life of a sailor. When saying +farewell, he gave his promise to return in a few years with money enough +to build a fair brick house for his lady-love in one of the green lanes +of Boston. + +The ship in which Phipps sailed carried a cargo to the island of +Jamaica, then cruised between that port and England for several voyages. +Owing to his industry and ability as a seaman, Phipps was after a time +advanced to the position of mate. A voyage or two following his +promotion he fell in with an old seaman who claimed to be the only +survivor of a Spanish vessel containing immense treasure that had been +wrecked on one of the coral islands in the West Indies some years +before. It appears that this treasure-ship had sailed from the coast of +South America, freighted with a cargo of silver which had been dug out +of the mines and cast into bricks to be conveyed to Spain. The sailor +assured Mr. Phipps that the exact location of the wreck was known to +him, and agreed, for a certain share of the profits, to conduct an +expedition to the place where the vessel had gone down. Believing the +story to be true, the mate bound the seaman to secrecy, and gave him a +berth on board his vessel. + +Upon arriving in London, application was made by him to the King for +permission and aid to fit out a ship for the purpose of recovering a +great treasure that had been lost by the sinking of a Spanish galleon in +the West Indies, claiming that he had accidentally learned the location +of the vessel, and that he would guarantee to secure the precious cargo. +After considerable delay a ship called the _Algier Rose_ was placed +under his command, and with a crew of ninety men he set sail. Upon +reaching the West Indies a mutiny broke out among the forecastle hands, +and Captain Phipps found it necessary to put into Jamaica, discharge all +hands, and ship a new company. He now started for the scene of the +wreck, but a day or two following the carpenter informed him that he had +overheard the sailors plot to capture the vessel as soon as the treasure +was recovered, and use the craft thereafter as a pirate. The Captain +immediately decided to return to England, where he arrived after a +stormy passage. Under the patronage of the Duke of Albemarle the ship +was refitted, and a trustworthy crew put on board. + +The second voyage across the Atlantic was pleasant and speedy, but just +after entering the Caribbean Sea a new danger threatened the +adventurers, for early one morning they encountered a large Spanish +frigate, which at once started in chase of them. Captain Phipps +addressed his crew, telling them that if they permitted their ship to be +captured they would be sent into the interior of the country as slaves, +to drag out their lives in the silver-mines. He bade them fight bravely +if they wished to enjoy home and freedom ever again. The superior speed +of the Spaniard soon enabled that vessel to open fire on the _Algier +Rose_, which so heartily returned the compliment that some of the +foreigner’s spars were shot away, making her fall astern of her saucy +enemy, who now succeeded in escaping. Without further trouble the +treasure-hunters reached the island on whose treacherous coral reefs the +silver-ship had been wrecked. Here the _Algier Rose_ was safely moored, +and search commenced for the sunken wealth. + +The small boats were used to explore the reefs, and served as platforms +from which the best swimmers in the crew would dive into the channels +between the walls of coral on the lee side of the island, endeavoring to +locate the spot where the galleon had been carried before she struck. As +the water in these places seldom exceeded twenty feet in depth, the +bottom would have been plainly visible from the boat had it not been for +the continuous rippling and foaming of the surface water. Several weeks +were passed in a vain pursuit, and at last, worn out and discouraged, +the men positively refused to continue the work. By agreeing to abandon +the enterprise and set sail for England at the end of another week, +unless some success was met with, the Captain prevailed upon several of +his seamen to aid him for that length of time. + +Day after day went by, and the seventh and last day specified in the +agreement arrived. Two of the divers had broken down under the strain, +and now when the final trial was to be made the Captain called for two +men to go in their stead, but no one responded. He then appealed to +their manhood, asked them if he had not shared all their labors, and +asked them to give him but one day more. The dispirited sailors made no +response to the appeal, but the cook volunteered to go if some one would +take his place in the galley. This man was a negro about thirty years of +age, and had been shipped in England to act as a cabin servant on the +_Algier Rose_, but the ship’s cook having died on the passage out, he +had been sent into the caboose to take the former’s place. Possessing a +powerful physique and being an excellent swimmer, he stood by his +Captain that day, the sole remaining hope, and seemed tireless in his +efforts to find for the disheartened commander some evidence of the +treasure, which the seamen swore existed only in the capsized brain of +the man whom they could see out yonder under the broiling sun guiding +the boat in and out of the channels, while the laughing, leaping waters +tinkled against the bows and ran in gurgling, mocking glee along the +side. The negro would dive into the sea, and a few moments later +reappear; then, as he swam towards the boat, he would shake his head in +answer to the anxious, questioning look in the Captain’s eyes. The boat +would move on again a short distance, and while the rowers held it +stationary a dark form would part the water and sink down and down among +the startled fishes, that flashed away in affright from the strange +creature whose darting arms seemed to grasp at them as they shot for +safety among the branches of coral underbush. + +The morning has passed gloomily away, and the negro plunges over the +side for the last time before the men row back to the ship for dinner. +Suddenly a black face in which is set two wildly rolling eyes bobs up +alongside the boat, and a voice choking for breath and broken with +excitement manages to gasp, “Him down thar, Massa Cap’n; him down thar!” + +The great treasure is discovered! + +No more despondency now. No more aching limbs. Splash, splash, splash! +The rowers have torn off their scanty clothing, and jumped over the +side to prove with their own eyes the story brought up to them from the +bottom of the sea. One by one men reappear, and their recovered breath +is used to send such a glad shout across the reefs that their shipmates +hear it over a mile away, tumble into the boats alongside, and pull +madly out to them; then learning the joyful news, they break into +cheers, kick off their garments, and overboard they also go to see the +ingots of silver scattered over the white sand amid the torn and broken +remnants of the wreck. + +During the two weeks that followed the crew of the _Algier Rose_ worked +zealously at recovering the wealth that the Spaniards had taken such +pains to garner from the mountain range just back of the coast. A +shallow net-work bag was hitched together by the seamen for the purpose +of holding the bars of silver that the divers would throw into it. Those +manning the float that had been constructed would lower the rope cradle +until it rested on the bottom; then the diver would thrust his feet +into a pair of heavy lead slippers and drop through the hole in the +centre of the raft which was anchored above the wreck. An instant later, +when the bed of sand was reached, the diver would quickly select and +throw a brick of metal into the basket, drop his clumsy foot-gear into +the same receptacle, and then, relieved of the weight which had held him +down, he would shoot up to the surface of the water. Accepting his +reappearance as a signal, the men on the float would haul up the net, +lift out the treasure, and pass it into the small boats to be carried to +the ship. At the end of a fortnight, when the divers reported that the +last bar had been gathered, the Captain calculated that he had recovered +fully thirty tons of pure silver. + +The stone in the lower hold was thrown overboard to make room for the +noble ballast, which was carefully stowed and wedged in its mean and +gloomy quarters under the decks. The _Algier Rose_ now sailed for +England, where she arrived safely five weeks from the day that her +anchor had been hove up from its resting-place on the white coral bed +off the treasure island. + +Captain Phipps’s share of the profits was very large, but the exact +amount is unknown. In addition to a princely revenue, the King was so +much pleased with him for bringing such wealth into the country that he +conferred on him the honor of knighthood, and to reward him still +further for having beaten off the Spanish man-of-war, his Majesty was +pleased to grant him a commission as Captain in the Royal Navy. + +Sir William soon sailed for Boston in command of a fine frigate, and a +reunion with the now-envied Charity was speedily followed by the tying +of a true-lover’s knot before the altar of the old meeting-house near +the fort. A few months later the former blacksmith’s boy redeemed his +promise by presenting to my lady “a fair brick house in one of the green +lanes of Boston.” This residence, which was erected on Salem Street, +stood until a few years ago, being last used as an orphan asylum for +boys. In 1690 Sir William was named by the King, Captain-General and +Commander-in-Chief of Massachusetts Bay, and several years later +received a royal patent as Governor of Massachusetts. + + + + +VII + +THE GIRL CAPTAIN OF CASTLE DANGEROUS + +How Three Children Fought the Iroquois in 1692 + + +Among all the incidents of endurance and pluck set forth in the annals +of the history of North America, few can be found more remarkable than +that which is contained in some very dusty pages to be read in quaint +French in a Paris library, or in the transcription of them by one of our +own historical authors--the “Statement of Mademoiselle Magdeleine de +Verchères, aged Fourteen Years,” daughter of the commander of a lonely +French fort, called after her father, which stood on the St. Lawrence +River a score of miles below Montreal. + +It was October 22, 1692. The strong fort enclosure, stockade and +block-house, were open, and the residents were at work in their fields +at some distance. M. de Verchères was at Quebec on military business. +His wife (who was the heroine of another famous incident of those +perilous days) had gone to Quebec. In the stockade were actually only +two soldiers, a couple of lads who were the young girl’s brothers, one +very aged man, and a few women and children. Magdeleine--or, as we +should now spell it, Madeleine--was standing at a considerable distance +from the open gate of the fort with a servant, little suspecting any +danger. + +All at once a rattle of arms from the direction where some of the +agriculturists were busy startled her. It was repeated. She began to see +men running in terror in the far-away fields. At the same moment the +serving-man beside her, equally astonished, exclaimed, “Run, +Mademoiselle, run; the Iroquois are upon us!” The young girl looked +where he pointed, and lo! a troop of some forty or fifty of the wily +savages, thinking to surprise the stockade while their main band +attacked those who were outside, were running towards the gates, +scarcely a hundred yards from where she stood trembling. There was not +an instant to lose. It was life or death for her and all. She fled for +the fort. The rest of her story can largely be quoted from Mademoiselle +Madeleine’s own recitation, published at the time. + +“The Iroquois who chased me, seeing that they could not catch me alive +before I reached the gate, stopped and fired at me. The bullets whistled +about my ears, and [as she says, dryly] made the time seem very long. As +soon as I was near enough to be heard, I cried out, ‘To arms! to arms!’ +hoping that somebody would come out and help me, but it was no use. The +two soldiers in the fort were so terrified that they had hidden within +the block-house. + +“At the gate I found two women crying for their husbands, who had just +been killed. I forced them to go in and shut the gate. I next thought +what I could do to save myself and the few people with me. I went to +inspect the fort, and found that several palisades had fallen down and +left openings by which the enemy could easily get in. I ordered them to +be set up again, and helped to carry them myself.” + +It may be asked how there was sufficient time for this necessary work. +But it must be remembered that the Indians seldom came directly to the +stockade in daylight, dreading concealed defenders greatly, and in the +present instance they were ignorant of the singularly unprotected state +of this fort. So the brave little girl was able to prepare for the worst +with all her wonderful presence of mind and courage. She continues: + +“When all the breaches were stopped, I went to the block-house, where +the ammunition is kept, and here I found the two soldiers, one hiding in +a corner, and the other with a lighted match in his hand. ‘What are you +going to do with that match?’ I asked. He answered, ‘Set off the powder +and blow us all up!’ ‘You are a miserable coward,’ said I. ‘Go out of +this place!’ I spoke so resolutely that he obeyed. I then threw off my +bonnet, and after putting on a hat and taking a gun I said to my +brothers: ‘Let us fight to the death. We are fighting for our country +and our religion. Remember that our father has taught you that gentlemen +are born to shed their blood for the service of God and the King.’” + +Getting her little company together in the stockade, and discovering the +Iroquois moving about the fields, and either pursuing the unfortunate +men and women in them, or else discussing the best means of advancing, +Madeleine began firing at them from various loop-holes, and directed a +cannon to be discharged to deter them from coming nearer, and at the +same time to spread the alarm over the vicinity. The women and children +shrieked and clamored. She made them be silent, for fear of letting the +redskins suspect the situation. The foe drew back and remained quiet for +a time, and as they did this a canoe with several persons in it was seen +out upon the river coming swiftly to the dock near the fort. It was +evident that those in it did not suspect the danger that was so near, +whatever else they had heard. It was possible to save them from +slaughter, and at the same time add the settler she recognized in the +canoe, with his family, to the little garrison. Madeleine went out +alone--none other dared--from the stockade to the dock, and received +them. + +The Indians, seeing only a little girl meet the new arrivals, feared a +grand sortie if they dashed out of their ambush, and allowed Madeleine +to escort the new-comers--a settler named Fontaine and his party--into +the fort gates unhurt. She had hoped for this, and was overjoyed at her +success. Her garrison now numbered six. She goes on: + +“Strengthened by this reinforcement, I ordered that the enemy should be +fired on whenever they showed themselves. After sunset a violent +northeast wind began to blow, accompanied by snow and hail, which told +us we should have a terrible night. The Iroquois were all this time +lurking about us, and I judged by their movements that, instead of being +deterred by the storm, they would climb into the fort under cover of the +darkness. I assembled all my troop (that is to say, six persons), and +spoke to them thus: ‘God has saved us to-day from the hands of our +foes, but we must take care not to fall into their snares to-night. As +for me, I want you to see that I am not afraid. I will take charge of +the fort, with the old man [she adds that he was eighty, and had never +fired a gun, but he could probably carry an alarm]; and you, Pierre +Fontaine, with La Bonté and Gachet, go to the block-house with the women +and children, because that is the strongest place; and if I am taken, +don’t surrender, even if I am cut to pieces and burned before your eyes. +The enemy cannot hurt you in the block-house, if you make the least show +of fight.’ + +“I placed my young brothers on two of the bastions, the old man on the +third, and I took the fourth; and all night, in spite of wind, snow, and +hail, the cries of ‘All’s well!’ were kept up from the block-house to +the fort, and from the fort to the block-house. One would have thought +that the place was full of soldiers. The Iroquois believed so, and were +completely deceived, as they confessed afterwards to M. de Callières, to +whom they told that they had held a council to make a plan for +capturing the fort in the night, but had done nothing because such a +constant watch was kept. + +“About one o’clock in the morning the sentinel [the old man] on the +bastion by the gate called out, ‘Mademoiselle, I hear something!’ I went +to him to find out what it was, and by the help of the snow which +covered the ground I could see in the darkness a number of cattle, the +miserable remnant that the Iroquois had left us. The others wanted to +open the gate and let them in, but I answered: ‘No. You don’t know all +the tricks of the savages. They are, no doubt, following the cattle, +covered with skins of such animals, so as to get into the fort if we are +foolish enough to open the gate for them.’ Nevertheless, after taking +every precaution, I decided that we might open it without risk. + +“At last the daylight came again, and as the darkness disappeared our +anxieties seemed to disappear with it. Everybody took courage excepting +Madame Marguerite, wife of the Sieur Fontaine, who, being extremely +timid, as all Parisian women are, asked her husband to carry her to +another fort. [A silly request, certainly.] He said, ‘I will never +abandon this fort while Mademoiselle Madeleine is here.’ I answered him +that I would rather die than give it up to the enemy, and that it was of +the greatest importance that they should never get possession of any +French fort, because if they took _one_ they would think they could get +others, and would grow more bold and presumptuous than ever. + +“I may say, with truth, that I did not eat nor sleep for twice +twenty-four hours. I did not go once into my father’s house, but kept +always on the bastion, or went to the block-house to see how the people +there were behaving. I always kept a cheerful and smiling face, and +encouraged my little company with the hope of speedy succor. + +“We were one week in constant alarm, with the enemy always about us. At +last M. de la Monnerie, a lieutenant sent by M. de Callières, arrived in +the night with forty men. [He came down the river.] As he did not know +whether the fort was taken or not, he approached as silently as +possible. One of our sentinels, hearing a slight sound, cried, ‘Who goes +there?’ I was at the time dozing, with my head on a table and my gun +lying across my arms. The sentinel told me that he heard a voice from +the river. I went up at once to the bastion to see whether it was of +Indians or Frenchmen. I demanded, ‘Who goes there?’ One of them replied, +‘We are Frenchmen; it is De la Monnerie, come to bring you help.’ I +caused the gate to be opened, placed a sentinel there, and went down to +the river to meet them. As soon as I saw M. de la Monnerie I saluted him +and said, ‘Monsieur, I resign my arms to you.’ He answered, gallantly, +‘Mademoiselle, they are in good hands.’ ‘Better than you suppose,’ I +returned. He inspected the fort and found everything in order and a +sentinel on each bastion. ‘It is time to relieve them, monsieur,’ said +I; ‘we have not been off our bastions for a week.’” + +M. de la Monnerie in astonished admiration took charge of the relieved +fort. The heroine’s work was over. The savages fled, and not long after +they were captured near Lake Champlain, and some twenty persons they had +made prisoners at Verchères were brought safely back. The father and +mother of Madeleine came from Montreal and Quebec, and heard the story +of her valor and coolness with rapturous praise. She grew up to be a +woman, receiving for her life a pension from the King of France as a +mark of honor, and she died at an advanced age. + + + + +VIII + +HOW MARC WAS MADE CAPTAIN + +A Rescue from the “Lords of the Woods” in 1695 + + +One evening in the winter of 1694-95 a dozen young men were lounging +around the fire in the big room of the storehouse at St. Maxime, a small +settlement on the St. Lawrence River. The door opened and two others +entered, brushing the snow from their leggings and moccasins. + +“What luck with your traps?” cried one of the loungers. + +“An otter and eight beaver,” answered Noël Duroc, as he tossed a pack of +pelts into the corner. He was a tall, straight young Frenchman, whose +gay and careless nature looked out frankly through a pair of laughing +black eyes. “But come, Madame Bouvier,” he cried to the store-keeper’s +wife, “give us something to eat; hot, and plenty of it--eh, Philippe! If +you want news, there’s more than news of traps--it’s of the Iroquois. +’Tis said they’re ready for a raid to the north--to make glad the hearts +of their good friends the Algonquins and the French. So our old bear of +a seigneur may do some hugging. But to-night he has other things to +think of. Marc is home--came up along the river from Quebec to-day.” + +“Is he as much of a monk as ’twas said he would be?” asked Jean Bourdo. +“You know the old seigneur swears he will have no monk’s scholar around +him--though he were twice his nephew.” + +“We have just seen Marc, and, trust me, he is the same jolly lad he was +two years ago. You can make no grave-faced monk of him! But the old +seigneur thinks him surely spoiled. ’Twere better Marc had not seen the +monastery--not that I lack as a churchman; what would we do at St. +Maxime were it not for our good Father Auguste, who taught us when we +were boys, and keeps us straight now that we are men?--for if he had +stayed here he would doubtless be our captain--a post worth having, now +that the Iroquois are like to visit us.” + +“Who will be our captain?” asked Jean Bourdo. + +“The seigneur has sent to Quebec for an officer--one that’s lately from +France, and that’s been well trained in the King’s army. The old man +knows how much we sympathize with Marc, and so, being surly as a bear, +he will have none of us.” + +“It may be a costly mistake, this putting of an Old-World soldier over +us,” said Jean. “’Tis true we have small knowledge of the science of war +as taught in old France; but we can fight in the woods, and know how to +beat the Iroquois at their own game, and I’ll warrant that’s more than +this fine soldier can do! ’Tis a pity that Marc--a lad brought up in the +woods, whom we all like and would gladly follow--should be kept back +just because madame his mother sent him to school to the monks. But the +old seigneur will have his way, even when ’tis to his harm!” + +“So he will; and if Marc is to lead us, the seigneur must be made to +think that it is his own doing. Come, Philippe,” continued Noël, turning +to the man who had come in with him, “you are older than the rest, and +have a wiser head; think of some way of bending the seigneur to our +purpose.” + +They talked till far into the night, and when they separated the young +Frenchmen had the cheerful and impatient air of men (or boys, for so +they would now be counted) who had planned an undertaking and were in a +hurry to carry it out. + + * * * * * + +In the afternoon of the next day old Antoine de la Carre, seigneur of +the score of log-houses and the vast tract of woodland belonging to the +royal settlement of St. Maxime, marshalled his fighting force. In front +of the storehouse was an open space, from which the snow was kept clear, +and here the soldiers of St. Maxime were drawn up in line. There were +about forty of them all told, half of their number being young men, +voyageurs, and _coureurs des bois_; the others were older, heads of +families who devoted themselves to the more peaceful occupations of +fishing and farming. + +“I have news,” said Antoine de la Carre, “that the Iroquois are moving, +so it behooves us to make ready for them. You older men shall act as a +reserve; the younger ones I will organize into a company always to be +under arms and ready to repel attack. Noël Duroc, I appoint you +lieutenant, to have charge till the officer who is to be your captain +comes from Quebec. Be active in your duty, and see that you leave +nothing undone that is for the good of the settlement.” + +“We’ll do what we think is best for the settlement, and he’ll find us +active enough--that’s certain!” whispered Jean Bourdo, nudging his +neighbor. + +In the ranks of the younger men was a tall, dark-haired lad who had the +same bold features that belonged to the old seigneur. All observed him, +for it was Marc Larocque’s first appearance after his two years’ stay in +Quebec. He met his uncle’s sour looks with unflinching, smiling eyes, +and the settlers whispered among themselves that the old seigneur would +find it no easy matter to ignore his nephew--he had the De la Carre +spirit, in spite of the monks and their book-learning. + +That evening was a gloomy one in the house of Antoine de la Carre. The +old man sat in silence, drinking deep draughts of red French wine; +across the room was his sister, the widow Larocque, teaching their +catechism to two little maids. He knew she thought him unfair to her +son, who, by right of birth and his own qualities, had reason to expect +a place of authority at St. Maxime, and this knowledge made the old +seigneur more than usually irritable. When the children had finished +reading their tasks and left the room he broke out: + +“Ha, Madeleine, you look so solemn, doubtless, because of your dear +Marc! Well, why did you send him to the monks to have a scholar made out +of him? You know how I despise these long-faced readers of musty books, +yet you must thwart me in this way. I’ll not forgive you nor him. I had +no fault to find in the old days--then he was a good lad enough, and a +true De la Carre. But I tell you now, as I told you two years ago when +you talked of sending him to Quebec, that I’ll have no bookman for a +nephew. So you’ve only yourself to blame if he be set aside. But you +were always obstinate.” + +“Ah, almost as obstinate as you, Antoine. But I’ll not trouble about +Marc; if you’ll not help him, there are others that will. In these +stirring times a boy like him is not forgotten.” + +After a pause he burst out again: “What folly it was! Has a lad here, in +our rugged New France, any need of court manners and monk’s learning? If +you had sent him to learn war it would have been different. But to a +monastery! When a boy in old France, I was made to read Latin and dig +into musty manuscripts till they nearly made a philosopher of me. But I +had the good sense to turn soldier, and since then I’ve had no liking +for monks and their learning. Madeleine, you knew all this, and remember +now--” + +He was interrupted by a crash. The door was burst open and half a dozen +Indians sprang into the room. Before Antoine could draw his dagger they +had leaped upon him, seized his arms, and smothered his shouts. Madame +Larocque was quickly and securely bound hand and foot and gagged. + +The Iroquois--for by their paint and dress the old man thought his +captors to belong to the dreaded tribes of the Five Nations--worked +noiselessly and swiftly; in less than five minutes from the bursting in +of the door they led out Antoine de la Carre, his hands tied behind his +back, and a piece of leather so fastened over his mouth that he could +make no sound. The guards that should have been watching were nowhere to +be seen, and the Indians, with their prisoner, quickly scaled the +stockade, crept across a cleared space to the woods, hurried to the +river, and were soon on the smooth, wind-swept ice and moving rapidly +westward. “Where were those young rascals of my company when I needed +them?--drinking in the storehouse or dancing in one of the cabins, most +like!” growled old Antoine to himself. + +He was as strong as an old bear, but his joints were stiffened with age, +and he had difficulty in keeping up with the rapid pace of the Indians. +“What sinews these Iroquois have!” he thought, as he struggled on. “No +Algonquin could hold his own with them; they run as well as our own +young _coureurs des bois_!” + +When it became evident that he could go no farther, they stopped their +journey along the ice and, turning into the forest, went about a quarter +of a mile from the river’s bank. Here they found a dense evergreen +thicket and prepared to make their camp. A fire was built, and some +strips of dried meat they carried were heated and eaten; then they +stretched themselves on evergreen boughs which had been piled on the +snow near the fire. A tall young Indian, who seemed to be the leader of +the little band, now turned to Antoine de la Carre and, much to his +surprise, spoke to him in French. + +“Old man, eat and warm yourself. We have far to go, and you are not yet +to die.” + +Antoine obeyed, and after he had managed to swallow some of the tough +meat he felt better. “How do you, that are of the Iroquois, who trade +with the English and Dutch, come to speak French?” he asked of the young +Indian. + +“A French girl was brought a captive to our tribe; my father, who was a +great warrior, took her for his squaw, and she was my mother. She taught +me the language of the French, and taught me also to listen to the words +of the black-robed Jesuits who used to come south to teach the Iroquois. +My mother loved my father, and bade me fight the enemies of his people, +and so I am here. But I wish the Jesuit teachers would come among the +Iroquois as they used to do. I liked to hear them talk in that strange +tongue they called the Latin.” + +“Did you?” said Antoine, glad to make friends with the young Iroquois. +“When young I was taught by the monks, and know some Latin.” + +“That is well,” returned the Indian, with much satisfaction. “I too was +a pupil of the monks, and always listened to them gladly. Stand up and +repeat to us some of the Latin you learned. When the good Jesuit would +talk in that tongue to my mother and to me, the words came like music, +and then he would tell us the meaning--it told of adventures and battles +and great warriors. Repeat to us this musical tongue.” + +Antoine de la Carre would rather have fought a bull moose single-handed; +but here was no choice, and he stood up and did his best. That was not +very well; for his voice was as hoarse as a swamp-raven’s, and it was +many years since he had looked in a book. + +The Iroquois lying around on the evergreen boughs were greatly amused at +his efforts, laughing at his hoarse voice and at his stammering over the +Latin words. + +“You do not do it as well as did the Jesuit,” exclaimed the half-breed. +“Be careful, Frenchman! Remember, I am no dull log of a Montagnais--I am +an Iroquois, a lord of the woods, and will have no trifling!” + +Antoine stammered on, getting more angry each moment; for to a proud old +soldier like him nothing was worse than appearing ridiculous. But this +was a matter of life and death, and he suppressed his feelings. “’Tis +well my young scamps of _coureurs des bois_ cannot see me now,” he +thought. “They’d never stop laughing!” + +“Look more cheerful, Frenchman!” said the tall half-breed, getting to +his feet. “What if you are to die to-morrow; surely death has no terrors +for so great a scholar and philosopher! And come, when you are talking +to warriors of the Iroquois take off your cap!” Antoine wore his black +velvet house-cap, and as the Iroquois spoke he stepped forward and +plucked it from the old man’s head. + +Antoine had been able to keep down his anger at their laughing, but this +was too much for his small stock of patience, which already was sorely +tried. He was desperate and reckless, for death was fairly certain under +any circumstances, and it might as well come to-night as later. + +“Insolent--take that!” he exclaimed, and he struck out savagely. + +The tall half-breed, hit squarely between the eyes, went down as if +before the blow of a sledge-hammer. + +Several of the Indians sprang to their feet and seized the old man. The +half-breed got up slowly, half stunned. Antoine waited for his tomahawk +to strike the death-blow, but the half-breed did not raise his arm to +strike. “Old man,” he said, “if I were like these other braves you would +even now be dead; but, as I told you, I am a convert, and the Jesuit +teaches that one must not be too quick in anger--especially with the old +and foolish. You shall live, at least till to-morrow; give thanks that +I, like yourself, am a monk-taught man!” + +Soon afterwards the Iroquois arranged themselves to sleep, one of their +number being left as a sentinel and guard over their prisoner. Antoine’s +hands and ankles were bound, and by the half-breed’s orders he was laid +on the boughs near the fire. One by one the Indians, save the guard, +fell asleep; but the old Frenchman was too nervous and excited. Finally +his attention was arrested by an object that was slowly and noiselessly +stealing out from the evergreen thicket. It crept straight towards the +Indian sentinel, who lay gazing up at the stars that shone through the +tree-tops. Of a sudden there was a quick, stealthy movement and the +gleam of a knife: the sentinel’s head sank back, and he lay stretched +out, still and motionless. + +“A skilful thrust!” thought Antoine. “I never saw a man die so easily.” + +The man with the knife crept towards him, and in a moment Antoine felt +that the thongs about his ankles and wrists were cut. The man beckoned +and stole away; Antoine followed, and then they silently made their way +into the thicket--leaving the Indians sleeping in the white starlight, +the sentinel looking most peaceful of all. + +[Illustration: THE THONGS WERE CUT] + +“Do you know me, my uncle?” whispered Marc Larocque. “I tracked you +through the snow. Follow me swiftly and quietly.” + +Back they hurried to the river, and then began the journey over the ice +down to St. Maxime. + +“I thought the Iroquois strong and fleet, Marc, but I see that none of +them is a match for you! You are a brave fellow, in spite of the monks, +and never shall I forget what you have done this night. But I wish you +had thrust your knife into the heart of the leader of the Iroquois, an +insolent fellow who pulled my cap from my head and laughed at me. +However, I gave him a good buffet between the eyes!” + +Soon the old man began to lag behind, and Marc had to grasp his arm to +help him; so they ran on through the white winter’s night. With ghostly +wings the great snowy owl flapped across their path, and the wolf pack +halted for a moment to watch them pass, and then turned away to hunt +again for some stray deer or wounded moose. + +It was almost dawn when they reached the stockade at St. Maxime. Old +Antoine was exhausted, and had hardly strength enough to say to Marc: +“Send a messenger to Quebec to tell the French officer he need not come. +I have found a captain here.” + +Marc took him to the seigneury, and he fell into a heavy sleep, from +which he did not wake till afternoon. The soldiers were then at their +daily drill, and after he had eaten, the old man went out where they +were. Tall Lieutenant Noël Duroc was drilling them. Antoine de la Carre +gave them all a severe scolding for their carelessness the night before. + +“If it were not for my brave nephew,” he said, “I would surely have been +murdered by the Iroquois. Marc, step out from the ranks. I make you +captain!” + +A shout went up from all the men, but old Antoine silenced it with a +gesture. He was looking at Noël Duroc. “Lieutenant, your face is black +and blue; how were you hurt? You were not so yesterday!” + +“Last night, seigneur, an old bear gave me a buffet--and a good round +blow it was!” + +Antoine looked at him hard. “Lieutenant, you had best let old bears +alone!” Then he turned quickly to his nephew. “Marc, has that messenger +yet started for Quebec who was to stop the French officer?” + +“He left soon after daybreak this morning.” + +“Ah! you were not slow in sending him.” The old man paused, and Noël, +who was watching him closely, thought he saw his mouth twitch under the +gray beard. “But never mind; it may be for the best. You shall be +captain, my nephew, and you, Noël Duroc, shall be lieutenant, though I +think you both rascals. However, no bookman could run as Marc did this +morning; and so I know he is not wholly spoiled by the monks.” + +“Bravo!” cried Noël Duroc, throwing up his cap. “Bravo! Here is a right +good seigneur who knows what is best for his people; and a kind uncle; +and--I’ll pledge my word--a great scholar and philosopher too!” + + + + +IX + +CAPTAIN KIDD + +An Overrated Pirate + + +Of all the pirates whose dreaded top-sails appeared along the coast of +America in the old days of the colonies none has left a more grewsome +and romantic reputation behind him than Captain William Kidd, the New +York ship-master, who was born in 1650. Legends abound of his boldness, +his craftiness, and his savage and blood-thirsty disposition, and +stories of the immense treasure that he accumulated, the dreadful +murders that he committed in its acquisition, and when and with what +ghastly accompaniments he buried it are still told over the firesides of +’longshore hamlets from Maine to the Carolinas. + +Fiction has not neglected to turn this pirate’s career to its own +purpose, and one of Poe’s most imaginative and thrilling tales is based +upon the discovery on Sullivan’s Island, in Charleston Harbor (South +Carolina), of a parchment which, on being held to the fire, revealed a +cryptogram of Kidd’s that led to the discovery of buried wealth +amounting to millions of dollars. + +It seems almost a pity to tamper with the halo of romance and mystery +which posterity has drawn about this worthy’s brow, but the fact is that +Kidd was an unready, unwise, and vacillating character, and that there +was little truth in the romances told about him. Beside such dreadfully +famous buccaneers as Blackbeard, Roberts, and Avery he appears a pygmy +in his own “profession,” and his career, when contrasted with theirs, +seems colorless and contemptible. + +As to the vast riches that he was supposed to have acquired, it is +doubtful if in his whole course of piracy he was able to accumulate more +than a hundred thousand dollars. One thing is assured--the only money +that he buried on the coast of America amounted to not more than +seventy-five thousand dollars, which he hid on Gardiner’s Island, over +against New London, and the last penny of this was recovered by +Bellamont after Kidd’s execution. + +During King William’s War Kidd, who was a handsome man of somewhat +pleasing address, made the acquaintance of Lord Bellamont, the Governor +of Barbadoes. The two were in New York at the time of the meeting, and +as Kidd was a member of a good family and moved in the limited +aristocratic circle of that day, the new acquaintances saw much of each +other. Kidd’s plausible tongue, fund of anecdote, and agreeable manner +impressed the Governor so pleasantly that his liking for the shipman +developed into esteem, and esteem into friendship. Through Bellamont’s +influence Kidd obtained command of a privateer, and a series of lucky +events contributed to his reputation, so that when he returned to New +York, after his cruise in the Gulf, Bellamont and his other fine friends +hailed him with adulation as a conquering hero. He was wined and fêted, +was toasted by prominent men and noble dames, and over many a steaming +bowl and long-stemmed pipe loosed his glib speech in a way to impress +his hearers with a fine notion of his indomitable character. Through the +thick clouds of the Virginia tobacco smoke a great idea was born in +Bellamont’s hazy brain. Complaints were made daily of the pirates that +infested the shores of the colonies. These pirates were rich with +plunder. True, they were skilful and bold and crafty, but here was a man +who by his own confession was more skilful and bolder and craftier than +any of them. Then, should Kidd be fitted out with a fine ship and a good +crew to chase these pirates and capture them, great glory would come to +Bellamont’s name, and great good to Bellamont’s pocket. + +The idea was acted upon, and the Governor and some other wealthy +gentlemen purchased the _Adventure_ galley, equipped her, and armed her +with thirty carronades, while Kidd went down among the docks and the +sailors’ lodging-houses, picking out for his crew sturdy two-handed +mariners, men long of the sea, blowzed by the weather, browned by the +wind, used to the pike and cutlass--men like ducks on the shore and like +monkeys in the rigging. + +The ship was fitted out at Plymouth, and the great day of the sailing +arrived at last. The _Adventure_ pushed out into the stream, Kidd +smirking and bowing and striking attitudes on the quarter-deck, the busy +sailors swarming aloft to loose sail, the good ship heeling over farther +and farther as canvas after canvas was spread to a quartering breeze, +and an assemblage of fine ladies and gorgeous beaux waving scarfs and +fluttering handkerchiefs from the end of the pier. + +Armed with a commission from King William to apprehend the noted +Captains “Thomas Tew, John Ireland, Thomas Wake, and William Maze, or +Mace, and other subjects, natives or inhabitants of New York and +elsewhere in our plantations in America, who have associated with +others, wicked and ill-disposed persons, and do, against the laws of +nations, commit many and great piracies, robberies, and depredations on +the seas, upon the parts of America and in other parts, to the great +danger of our loving subjects, our allies, and all others navigating the +seas upon their lawful occasions,” he steered from New York on his way +to the Guinea coast, where his hunt was to begin. By the terms of his +commission he was to take the aforenamed pirates by force if necessary, +with all the pirates, freebooters, and rovers associated with them, +wherever they were found. He was to bring them into port, with all such +merchandise, money, goods, and wares as should be discovered on board. +But he was strictly charged and commanded, “As you will answer the +contrary at your peril, that you do not in any manner offend or molest +our friends or allies, their ships or subjects, by whom or pretence of +these presents or the authority thereby granted.” + +Kidd had another commission, called Letters of Marque and Reprisal, to +empower him to act against the French, with whom the English and their +colonies were then at war, and under cover of these he captured a +French merchantman off Fire Island on his way westward. + +Upon arriving at New York he began to request more assistance from his +owners, complained of the size of his ship and his few guns, and, as he +“proposed to deal with a desperate enemy,” asked permission to increase +his complement. This was granted, after some hesitation, and he finally +sailed from New York with a ship’s company of one hundred and fifty-five +men. + +He made first for Madeira, thence to one of the Cape Verde Islands, and +thence to St. Jago, in order to lay in salt provisions and other +necessaries. He then rounded the Cape and bent his course towards +Madagascar, whose waters were the known rendezvous of swarms of pirates. +On the way he fell in with three English men-of-war, to whose commodore +he imparted his errand with much pomp and circumstance. He dined aboard +the flag-ship, and left behind him the same reputation for dare-devil +recklessness and determination that his valiant speech had obtained for +him elsewhere. + +He parted with these ships after a few days, and arrived at Madagascar +in February, 1697, after a voyage of nine months. + +At this time most of the pirate ships were out in search of prey, so, +having spent some time in watering his ship and taking aboard +provisions, Kidd tried the coast of Malabar, where he was equally +unsuccessful in finding his quarry. He touched at Mohila and at Johanna, +both famous resorts for pirates, but he did not succeed even in getting +news of those whom he sought. The reason seemed obvious--the pirate of +those days was a dangerous man to tackle. He had guns, and he knew how +to use them; he fought with a halter round his neck, and was game to the +last gasp. He was in the habit of beating the King’s ships sent to take +him, and he had a bending plank through the lee gangway for their +captured officers. A fat, rich merchantman was an easier victim. Why not +sound the crew to see if they would agree to a change of policy? + +Some such thoughts must have been passing through Kidd’s mind at this +time, for with the gift of a brass farthing he could have purchased +from the most guileless and affectionate native of Mohila or Johanna his +entire confidence as to the whereabouts of his friends the sea-rovers, +and yet after a cruise of many months in this infested neighborhood Kidd +had no tidings of a single pirate craft. + +But however disposed towards acts of violence, he had not yet the +courage to put his wishes into execution. On his second voyage past the +island of Mohila he passed several Indian ships, richly laden and too +weak to offer him resistance, but he contented himself with casting +envious eyes upon them and suffered them to go. + +The first outrage that he committed was at Mabbee, in the Red Sea, +where, after careening his ship, he took some corn from the natives by +force. After this he sailed to Babs Key, near the Strait of +Bab-el-Mandeb, where he first began to open himself to the ship’s +company, and to disclose to them his change of policy. But instead of +coming out like a man and saying that he intended to turn to piracy, he +hinted and insinuated and beat about the bush. “Unlucky have we been +hitherto; but courage, my lads, we’ll make our fortunes out of the Mocha +fleet.” This was the closest his pygmy heart could come to broaching the +subject that occupied his mind. But his mariners met him more than +half-way, and he found himself committed to buccaneering before he knew +it. By the advice of his quartermaster (the first mate or executive +officer of those days) he sent a boat to go upon the coast and make +discoveries, while he himself kept men in the tops of the _Adventure_ to +look out for the Mocha fleet. + +The boat returned in a few days, bringing word that fifteen or a score +of ships were about ready to sail, and that they were well laden and +rich. + +Four days after this the fleet appeared; the eager lookouts reported +them, and the men rushed to the sheets and halyards, guns and +ammunition-lockers. + +Now was Kidd’s opportunity to dash in, seize a valuable prize, and get +off with her; but he hung off and on, perplexed between timidity and +cupidity, until by the time he had made up his mind to put his fortune +to the touch his prey became alarmed and began to scatter. He then bore +down on the nearest; but by this time he had been sighted by the two +men-of-war of the convoy, and the sight of their black hulls speeding +towards him, straight and steady and business-like through the flying +merchantmen, was enough for Kidd. He fired a feeble shot or two, squared +his yards, and made off before the wind for dear life, while the crew +silently handled their tackle, and indulged in I know not what +contemptuous thoughts of their commander. + +But by the act of firing upon a friendly flag Kidd had determined his +status; there was nothing for him now but to go on with his pirating. +Soon he had an opportunity to show that desperate courage of which, by +his own account, he was possessed. Off the coast of Malabar he met a +small Moorish coasting-vessel. Having discovered that she was +short-handed and unarmed, he became terrible indeed. He seized her and +forced her Captain and quartermaster to take on with him as pilot and +interpreter, the Captain being an Englishman, and the other, Don +Antonio, a Portuguese. The men he used cruelly, hoisting them up by the +arms, drubbing them with a bare cutlass, and putting them to other +tortures to force them to disclose the whereabouts of their treasure; +but all he got from them was a parcel of coffee and a bale of pepper. + +He then touched at Malabar, but finding himself an object of suspicion +he quickly went away. + +The coast was alarmed by this time, however, and a Portuguese man-of-war +was sent out after him. Kidd fought her for a while in a half-hearted +way, but, though she was his inferior in men and metal, he soon had +enough of honest combat, and got off by his superior speed. + +He next ran down to Porca, where he took on board a number of hogs and +other livestock for provisions, and paid for them in good British +silver. He also watered his ship and otherwise provided for his ship’s +company. + +He then stood to sea again, and came up with a Moorish craft, the master +of which, a Dutchman named Schipper Mitchell, hoisted French colors, as +Kidd chased under that flag. The pirates hailed in French, and were +answered in the same tongue by a Frenchman who was one of Mitchell’s +passengers. Kidd then ordered the Dutchman to send a boat on board, and +when it arrived at his gangway he asked the Frenchman if he had a pass +for himself. The passenger replied that he had, whereupon Kidd told him +to pass for the Captain, “For, by Heaven, you are the Captain, and if +you say you’re not I’ll hang you!” + +The Frenchman of course dared not refuse to do as he was ordered. + +The object of the manœuvre is apparent. Kidd had not the pluck to go +on openly with his high-sea robbery, but fancied that if he seized the +ship as a prize, pretending that she belonged to French subjects, he +would get into no trouble on account of her. He did not seem to take +into account the fact that his previous conduct had already stamped him +as a criminal, but appeared to think that as long as he did not openly +hoist the black flag he might do as he liked with impunity. Indeed, his +whole career as a sea-robber consisted of similar acts of fatuous and +ostrich-like stupidity. + +He landed on one of the Malabar islands for wood and water, and as his +cooper was murdered by the natives he plundered and burned their +village. He took one of the islanders and had him tied to a tree and +shot, after which he again put to sea in quest of prizes. After being at +sea less than a week he fell in with and captured the greatest prize +that ever fell into his hands, the Moorish bark _Quedah Merchant_, of +four hundred tons. From this vessel he got a cargo which he sold for +more than ten thousand pounds. + +[Illustration: HE PLUNDERED AND BURNED] + +The Indians came on board of him and trafficked, and he performed his +bargains punctually for a time, until he was ready to sail; and then he +took their goods and set them on shore with no payment, which was quite +in accord with his despicable character. The Indians had been accustomed +to deal with pirates, and had found them, as a rule, men of honor in the +way of trade, so it was easy for Kidd to impose upon them. + +The pirate put some men aboard of the _Quedah Merchant_, and in her +company sailed for Madagascar. He had no sooner arrived there than off +came a canoe in which were several old acquaintances of his who had long +been “upon the account,” as they called buccaneering. They belonged to a +ship called the _Resolution_, which was commanded by one Culliford, a +notorious sea-robber. When they met Kidd they told him that they were +informed he had come to hang them, which they would take very unkind in +such an old friend. Kidd dissipated their fears by telling them that he +was in every respect their brother, and as bad as they, and in token of +amity drank their health in a bowl of grog. + +Kidd then went aboard, Culliford promising his friendship and +assistance; and Culliford in turn boarded Kidd, and the two worthies +made a merry night of it in the cabin of the _Adventure_, spinning +their yarns of the deep seas and laughing at their enemies; and as +Culliford was in need of some necessaries, Kidd fitted him out from his +spare tackle. + +The _Adventure_ was now so leaky that Kidd transferred her guns and +stores to the _Quedah Merchant_ and got to sea again, but not before +more than half of his disgusted crew had left him. + +He touched at Amboyan, and there learned that the news of his conduct +had reached England and that he was outlawed. Indeed, the reports of his +misdeeds were so exaggerated that the English merchants became greatly +alarmed, and had Kidd, with one Captain Avery, excepted in a general +pardon of freebooters which had just been promulgated. Kidd knew nothing +of this, but relying on some French passes which he had found on one or +two of his prizes, and deeming his brazen assurance enough to carry him +through any peril from the law, he made for New York. Here, by the +orders of Lord Bellamont, he was promptly seized, with all of his +effects, and was sent to England to be tried. + +Here his conduct was such as to destroy the last shreds of respect that +one might have had for his character. Instead of meeting his fate like a +man, he begged and implored and whined and promised, but all to no +avail. + +He insisted much upon his own innocence and the villainy of his men. He +went out upon a laudable employment, he said, and had no occasion to go +pirating, but the men mutinied against him and did as they pleased. As +to the friendship shown to that notorious villain Culliford, Kidd denied +it, and said that he would have taken him, but his own men, being a +parcel of rogues, refused to stand by him, and several of them even ran +from his ship to join the wicked pirate. + +But the evidence was too strong against him, and he was condemned. + +When asked what he had to say why sentence should not be pronounced upon +him, he replied that he had nothing to say except that he had been sworn +against by wicked people; and when sentence was pronounced he said: “My +lord, it is a very hard sentence. For my part, I am the most innocent +person of them all, only I have been sworn against by perjured persons.” + +And so, in 1701, whining and protesting miserably, he was led away to +the scaffold, and there paid the penalty of his crimes. + + + + +X + +HOWARD THE BUCCANEER + +A Captain of Many Ships + + +In the days when high-sterned galleons sailed the Spanish Main, keelless +and lofty, and helpless in the wind’s eye; when all the sailors wore +their tarry queues and ear-rings; when “Down along the coast of the high +Barbaree” there was no law but that of the Moorish buccaneer, a young +man in the peaceful British hamlet of Barwich reached the age of +twenty-one. + +Thomas Howard was a youth of promise and capacity. He was handsome, +burly, popular, and generous, and always ready for any adventure. His +father, a gentleman of rank and estate, was dead, but his doting mother +lavished upon him an affection as blind as it was deep, supplied him +with an excess of pocket-money, and left no wish of his ungratified. The +result is readily imagined. His old amiability deserted him, and he sank +into a savage discontent that found expression in numerous acts of +roguery and violence. + +As he grew worse and worse, an old friend of his father’s persuaded him +to seek employment upon the seas, and purchased him a berth as +midshipman on a trading-craft bound from Liverpool to the West Indies. + +A few months of sea discipline shattered young Howard’s patience, and +upon his arrival at Jamaica he promptly deserted his ship. + +He had still a few pounds left of his fortune, and with these he +purchased admittance to the society of a gang of ruffians who frequented +the beaches. One night, with some of these, he stole a canoe and went to +the Grand Camanas to join a party of others of their ilk who lurked +thereabouts with the design of going “on the account.” + +They soon fell in with those whom they sought, and, as the party now +numbered twenty, they deemed themselves strong enough to set to their +work, and accordingly began their preparations. At a council held the +night when this decision was reached, the question of the election of +officers came up; the men seemed about evenly divided in their choice of +a captain between Howard and a tall islander named James. The latter was +finally elected by a vote of ten to eight, while Howard was chosen +quartermaster. + +Their first need was a boat; in the offing at anchor lay a turtle-sloop +with two small swivels mounted fore and aft. She was the very craft for +their purpose, but how were they to get her? + +Close inshore on the other side of an estuary a mile wide Howard +remembered seeing a large canoe moored in the light of a patrol’s +camp-fire. He and two others swam over to her, cut her line with their +sheath-knives, and brought her away without discovery. + +The robbers then boarded her, and, with two men forward and two aft +handling the paddles, the rest concealed behind the high bulwarks, +stole out silently towards the turtle-vessel. The nature of their craft +was not perceived until they were alongside their victim, when, with a +yell, they burst from their concealment and made their capture without +losing a man. They then started out for booty, but for a long time their +only prizes were turtlers, which supplied them with men without +increasing their wealth. After about two weeks they met an Irish +brigantine with provisions and servants for the Governor of Jamaica. +They laid her aboard, captured her without resistance, forced her men, +and made off with her, leaving her master the old turtle-sloop and five +men to bring him to port. Not long after this they surprised a sloop of +six guns, and finding her larger, faster, and sounder than the +brigantine, they shifted to her with their belongings. This was the +third time within two months that they had changed their vessel, but +still the game of “Progressive Piracy” went on. Off the coast of +Virginia they fell in with a large New England brigantine laden with +provisions and bound for Barbadoes. They made a prize of her, and +shifting their own guns aboard of her, found themselves in a fine vessel +of ten guns well equipped for a long voyage. + +While on the coast of Virginia in this ship they took several English +vessels, from which they got men, arms, provisions, clothes, and other +necessaries. As most of these ships had on board felons for the Virginia +colonies, they took from them a number of volunteers besides their +forced men, and they soon acquired so large a complement that they had +no hesitation in ranging up to and boarding a Virginia galley of +superior size and twenty-four guns. They got a number of convict +volunteers from her, transferred their stores to her, and set out to +sweep the seas in earnest. They steered for the Guinea coast, that Mecca +of pirates, and made many captures, which not only enriched them but +increased their complement. After they had been for some months on this +ground they spied a large Portuguese ship from Brazil, whose thirty-six +guns did not frighten them from the attack. + +As they hoisted the black flag the Brazilian Captain became overpowered +with fear, commanded the quartermaster to strike, and sought safety for +himself in the hold. His mate, however, a New-Englander, refused to +surrender, and kept off the pirates for the better part of the +afternoon. His resistance was strong and well sustained, but the +Portuguese finally fled from the deck, leaving him with only thirty +men--English, French, and Dutch--and he was obliged to ask for quarter. +The pirates then went down the coast in their newly acquired ship and +made several prizes, some of which they burned and some of which they +sank. As they now mustered nearly two hundred men, the only ones that +they forced from captured crews were carpenters, calkers, and surgeons, +whose services they needed greatly. + +Off the Cape of Good Hope they took two Spanish brigantines, in whose +company they proceeded, until they ran the _Alexander_ ashore on a small +island north of Madagascar, where she stuck fast. + +The Captain being sick in bed, the men went ashore on the island and +carried off provisions and water to lighten the ship, on board of which +none but the Captain, the quartermaster (Howard), and all others were +left. + +This was too good a chance for the exercise of Howard’s love of +treachery. He brought the faster of the two brigantines alongside, +tumbled all the treasure into her, scuttled the other, and made off with +twenty men and two hundred thousand pounds, leaving the rest of his +shipmates to shake their impotent fists and roar maledictions after his +diminishing sail. + +After rounding the Cape, Howard and his fellows went into a fine harbor +on the east side of Madagascar hardly known to European vessels. Here +they buried most of the treasure, and for a short time enjoyed the +luxury of shore life. Wood and water were abundant, game plentiful, and +the waters swarmed with edible fish. + +It was pleasant to the pirate, after his long trick afloat, to lie on +the yellow sands under the shade of palm and mango and tamarind trees +and see the slow surf breaking gently on the beach. In his nostrils was +the odor of orange and spice; golden sunbirds and crimson cockatoos +nested above him, gaudy butterflies floated about him, and in the +shallow waters of the still lagoons were long-legged curlew, busy +kingfishers, and wild duck with tenderly shaded plumes. Behind him the +tropical jungles blazed gloriously with trees of blooming scarlet and +flaring yellow, about which twined gorgeous creepers of dark purple, and +from whose leafy depths came the chattering of monkeys and the +twittering of innumerable birds. Far off he could hear the smothered +thunder of lofty falls, near at hand the plashing of rivulets, and +seaward the deep voice of the Indian Ocean. The Malagasy women brought +him cooling fruits from the mountains, the hunters came back laden with +the flesh of wild cattle and pigs and great, feathery bunches of +waterfowl, and the native king sent down to him rice and bananas, maize +and manioc, from the rich store of his harvest. + +After but a month of this happy shore life they set sail, and running +down the coast of Africa met the English ship _Prosperous_, which they +captured by a night attack. The _Prosperous_ was a large, well-found +ship of sixteen guns, and well suited to Howard’s purpose, so he +transferred his crew and stores to her and sailed to Maritan. They found +there a number of shipwrecked pirates, who, with some of the +_Prosperous’s_ crew, took on with them, and increased their complement +to seventy men. + +They next steered for St. Mary’s, where they wooded, watered, and +shipped more hands. Here they had an invitation from one Ort van Tyle, a +sturdy Dutch trader of social ambition, to attend the christening of two +of his children. He received them with hospitality and civility, but +they had no sooner entered his house than they began to plunder it, and +Van Tyle protesting, they took him prisoner, and designed to hang him, +but one of the pirates aided him to escape and he took to the woods. +Here he met some of his black; he armed them, and formed an ambush on a +scrubby island where the river channel was narrow. The pirates came +down in their canoe and Howard’s pinnace, laughing and shouting, +bringing with them the booty of the looted house and some captives, whom +they set at the paddles. The canoe was overturned in the rapids just as +they came abreast of the ambush, and the captives swam ashore and +escaped, while the pirates clung to the sides of Howard’s boat. As they +drifted by, Van Tyle let drive at them, and in a shower of musket-balls, +arrows, and assagais the helpless pirates were swept back to their +ships, dismally howling with rage and mortification. In this affair two +of Howard’s men were killed, while he was shot through the arm, and two +others were seriously wounded. + +[Illustration: THE HELPLESS PIRATES WERE SWEPT BACK] + +He then sailed to Mathelage, where he designed to victual for a +West-Indian cruise, but he found there a large Dutch merchantman of +forty guns, whose captain curtly told Howard to get out or he’d fall +foul of him. Howard’s recent experience with Dutchmen had been +unpleasant, so, as his vessel was not strong enough to cope with the +Amsterdamer, he made sail for Mayotta, and passed down the bay amid a +volley of gibes, jeers, and ingenious Dutch profanity. On his way to +Mayotta he fell in with Captain Bowen, of the pirate ship _Speedy +Return_, of thirty guns, and communicated to him the contumely to which +a “Gentleman of the Seas” had been subjected. Bowen promised to avenge +the insult to their honorable craft, and accordingly anchored in the +dusk of the next evening within hail of the irascible burgher. The +_Speedy Return_ was a small ship for her armament and crew, and this, +with her suspicious appearance, determined the Dutchman once more to +exhibit the bold front that he could assume when there seemed to be no +danger in it. Accordingly he went to the rail and bawled over the quiet +waters, “Vot sheep is dot, and vy for you don’d git oud to onced?” + +“This is his Majesty’s cruiser _Haystack_,” came the unruffled response, +in Bowen’s clear voice. “She has three decks and no bottom, and sails +four miles to leeward and one ahead. Want to race?” + +“Vot sheep is dot, and none of your tomfoolishness?” roared the Teuton, +purple with rage. + +“This is the _Flying Dutchman_, Captain Vanderdecken, and the crew’s all +ghosts,” replied the pirate, in high glee. “Come aboard and cheer up our +spirits.” + +This was too much. The Dutchman mounted the rail and shrieked, hoarsely, +“I now asks you der last time for, vot sheep you is, vere you vrom, and +vot you to do goin’ about to be?” + +“This is the ship _Speedy Return_,” sang out Bowen, “_from the seas_, +and I’m goin’ to fire a salute.” + +The pirate then gave the word, and his ship roared out a broadside that +shivered the Dutchman’s rail, smashed his boats, and carried away his +spanker-boom. The merchantman waited no longer, but slipped his cable +and made off to sea, leaving the greater part of his cargo ashore, where +it was promptly gathered in by the thrifty buccaneers. + +Bowen now made sail for Mayotta, where he joined the _Prosperous_, and +the two ships sailed together for the East Indies. After some successes +there they returned by separate routes to Madagascar, for the purpose of +revictualling and refitting, agreeing to meet again at St. John’s and +lie in wait for the Moorish fleet. They did this, and one of the Moors +fell a prize to Bowen, but Howard did not come up with them till they +were anchored at the bay of Surat, where they waited to lighten. + +Howard came up among them slowly, under shortened sail, and as he +concealed his men and kept his ports closed, they took him for an +English East-Indiaman and suffered him to approach. Howard suddenly +attacked the largest vessel, and after a desperate fight, in which he +lost thirty men, carried her by boarding. + +On this vessel was a nobleman belonging to the court of the Great Mogul. +The prize itself was immensely valuable, and the nobleman’s ransom +amounted to twenty thousand pounds, so by this time Howard’s fortune was +well assured. He then ran down to Malabar, where he met Bowen and his +prize, a fine, stout ship of sixty guns. The two captains with their +quartermasters held a consultation (on the night of their meeting) in +the cabin of the _Speedy Return_, and their future plans were decided +upon over a rich banquet provided from the stores of the prizes. + +The _Prosperous_ they sank and the _Speedy Return_ they burned, and in +Bowen’s prize they continued their depredations, the two crews being +joined together. This made Howard’s ninth change of vessels since he had +taken to piracy. + +As they cruised down the coast of Madagascar they came in sight of +Howard’s old haven, where he had buried his treasure. He became seized +with a desire for shore life, and with those of his men who had lived +there before with him, and with their share of the recent booty, he went +back to his old stamping-ground to settle down. He was received with +open arms by his old friends among the natives; he married a Malagasy +woman, and for a long time lived quietly and peaceably, shooting, +fishing, watching his herds, and cultivating his fields. + +A missionary who was shipwrecked on the coast about a year after +Howard’s return worked on the pirate’s soft heart so successfully that +before being taken home on a trading-vessel that put in for water he had +brought the gallant buccaneer into the close folds of the Roman Catholic +Church and to a full realization of his unusually sinful state. After +the missionary’s departure Howard missed the theological discourse and +dispute that had whiled away many a tropic twilight, and he knew not +where to turn for an outlet of his intellectual activities. Finally the +bright idea struck him that it would be both pleasing and beneficial to +evangelize the natives. In a fit of religious enthusiasm he proceeded to +this work with his usual prodigal hand. Unfortunately for himself, he +used a club in the process, and this, coupled with his brutal treatment +of his wife, made him unpopular among the Malagasy. + +One night the docile aborigines fell upon him while he was asleep in his +hammock, and left mementos of their presence in the shape of +thirty-seven assagais stuck decoratively in various parts of his body. +When found he was very dead, and thus terminated the earthly career of a +treacherous and unworthy ruffian, whose only claims to our consideration +were his good seamanship and Anglo-Saxon pluck. + + + + +XI + +TEW, OF RHODE ISLAND + +A Fighter from the Seas + + +On a lovely morning in the early part of the eighteenth century two +vessels might have been seen approaching each other at that point where +the northern waters of the Mozambique Channel mingle with those of the +Indian Ocean. The day was mild and the wind light and variable. The +ships rolled lazily on the languid swell, and a couple of leagues to the +south and east of them the low, green shores of Madagascar were dimly +visible. + +As the vessels drew near to each other the smaller of the two, a large +brig-sloop with raking masts and a narrow, speedy-looking hull, put down +her helm, rounded into the wind, and ran the black flag up to her main +peak. The other, a trim and sturdy ship-rigged craft, with something of +a man-of-war look about her lofty spars and graceful lines, seemed +little perturbed by this significant display of the pirate emblem. She +hove to, however, and the two vessels lay rolling idly on the blue water +a long musket-shot apart. + +Before the sloop had time for any further demonstration one of the +ship’s quarter-boats was lowered and brought to the starboard gangway, +and into her stepped a spare, dark, wiry-looking man of medium height, +evidently the Captain. The boat shoved off and made for the sloop, the +Captain steering, and the crew pulling with the long, regular stroke of +man-of-war’s men. + +So far the ship had displayed no colors, and the peculiar nonchalance +with which her crew had behaved towards the pirates excited the latter’s +marked apprehension. Could she be a public ship in disguise? If so, then +farewell to the buccaneer’s hopes of brave booty in the Indian seas, for +the wind had fallen and the vessels were drifting nearer together. + +The dark man seized the life-lines as they were extended to him from the +pirates’ gangway, and climbed up the ladder with catlike agility. + +“What ship is this?” he asked, curtly, ignoring the crew that pressed +ominously about him, and addressing himself to a tall man of a quiet but +commanding appearance who stepped forward to meet him. + +“This is the sloop _Hope_, sir, and I am her commander, Thomas Tew, at +your service.” + +“And I am Captain Misson of the ship _Victoire_, lately of his French +Majesty’s service, but now from the seas.” + +The expression “from the seas” at once allayed the fears of Tew’s +pirates, for the buccaneers of that day thus characterized themselves in +their answering hails. + +The crew went about their duty, and the two captains entered the cabin, +where they began a friendly conversation, and informed each other of +their respective histories. + +It seemed that Mr. Richier, the Governor of Bermuda, had fitted out two +sloops on the privateer account, one commanded by Captain George Drew, +and the other by Thomas Tew. They were instructed to make their way to +the river Gambia, in Africa, and to attempt the taking of the French +factory of Goree on that coast. The vessels sailed together and kept +company for some time, but, a violent storm coming up, Drew sprung his +mast and they lost each other. + +Tew, separated from his consort, thought of providing for his future +with one bold stroke. Accordingly he summoned his crew to the mast, and +addressed them upon the subject of his plans. + +He told them that they were afloat in a fine craft bent upon a dangerous +mission, with no prospect of advantage for themselves, but only for +their employers. That he was little inclined to risk his health and his +life except for some great personal gain, and finally he proposed +bluntly that they should throw off their allegiance to Governor Richier, +and go “on the account,” as piracy was called in those days. + +The crew listened eagerly, and at the conclusion of his speech sung out +as one man: + +“A gold chain or a wooden leg. We’ll stand by you, Captain.” + +Tew then made sail for and doubled the Cape of Good Hope, and as he +entered the Red Sea on his cruise northward came up with a ship bound +from the Indies to Arabia. She was richly laden, and carried three +hundred soldiers to aid the crew in defending her cargo; but, +notwithstanding her superior force, the pirates carried her with a dash, +and shared fifteen thousand dollars a man in plunder. They then stood +down the coast towards Madagascar, and the _Victoire_ was the first ship +they had sighted since leaving their prize. + +Misson listened with interest to Captain Tew’s story, and then gave him +a brief account of his own adventures. He said that, having gone to sea +as a sub-officer on the ship _Victoire_ of the French royal service, he +had participated in an engagement with an English man-of-war; that all +his superior officers had been killed in the action, and that he had +assumed command and sunk the Briton; and that after this his crew had +requested him to retain command and go “on the account” for himself. He +confessed that he had willingly acted upon their suggestion, had made +several prizes, and established a colony on a bay to the northward of +Diego Suariez, on the island of Madagascar. He informed Tew further that +he was much impressed with the courage with which the _Hope_ had borne +down to engage a vessel so much her superior in size and strength as the +_Victoire_, and that, as he could not have too many resolute fellows as +his allies, he would be glad to join forces with Tew’s men. + +Tew answered that before entering into an alliance with Misson he would +prefer to examine the workings of the latter’s colony. Misson agreed to +this, and the _Victoire_ and the _Hope_ sailed in company for +Libertaita, as Misson called his new republic. + +Just at sunrise the two ships passed between the fortified headlands +that guarded the entrance to the pirate stronghold, and Tew, standing on +his quarter-deck and following the motions of the _Victoire_, was +astonished at the strength of the harbor he entered, and the discipline +that seemed to prevail there. + +With the timbers and guns of captured ships Misson had constructed and +armed two powerful forts which stood on the headlands at the entrance to +the harbor. On a little island, where the channel branched, a brown +earthwork pointed ten heavy cannon so as to rake the seaward approaches, +and far back of it, on the edge of the bay, the walls and roofs of a +fortified town reared themselves orderly amid the green of the tropical +foliage. Everywhere was the appearance of industry and discipline. On a +beach near the town a group of sailors was engaged careening a small +brig to scrape the sea-growths from her sides, another party was filling +water-casks at a well-constructed reservoir, and the rattling of echoes +of carpenters’ hammers came from a couple of storehouses in process of +construction near the water’s edge. From a citadel in the centre of the +town and from flag-staffs erected on both forts and the water-battery +the flag of Libertaita fluttered in the breeze, vigilant sentries walked +the ramparts with military tread, and as the _Victoire_ and the _Hope_ +let go their anchors in the gentle ground-swell of the harbor, a battery +of eighteen-pounders roared out a welcome of nine guns. + +Tew was charmed with the appearance of the place, and upon going ashore +with Misson had his favorable impressions strengthened and confirmed. +The captains were received with great respect by Caraccioli, Misson’s +lieutenant, who admired not a little the courage that Tew had displayed +in capturing his prize and in giving chase to Misson. + +The colony at this time was peopled by over one thousand men, many of +them having been captured by Misson in his prizes. Of these three +hundred had taken on with him, one hundred were natives of the island of +Mohilla, with whose queen Misson had formed a matrimonial and political +alliance, and the remainder were prisoners whom Misson intended to send +to their homes, and whom he employed in the mean time as laborers +around his fortifications. + +The day after the arrival of the captains at Libertaita a formal council +was held. Tew promptly expressed his willingness to join forces with +Misson, and was made second in command. + +The question of the disposition of Misson’s numerous prisoners was +brought up at once. It was decided to tell them that Misson had formed +an alliance with a prince of the natives, and to propose to them that +they should either assist the new colony or be sent up the country as +prisoners. On this decision being imparted to them, seventy-three of the +prisoners took on, and the remainder desired that they be given any +other fate than that of being sent up into the wild and savage interior; +so one hundred and seventeen of them were set to work upon a dock near +the mouth of the harbor, and the other prisoners, lest they should +revolt, were forbidden, under pain of death, to pass certain prescribed +bounds. The _Hope_ lay in the harbor as a guard-ship, and the Johanna +men were armed and put on patrol duty; but while the pirates were +providing for their protection they did not forget their support, and +large quantities of Indian and European corn and other grain were sowed +in the fertile fields of Libertaita. + +Soon after this it was decided to send away the prisoners, as they were +too much of a burden for the infant colony. They were accordingly +summoned before the captains and told that they were to be set at +liberty. Misson informed them that he knew the consequence of giving +them freedom; that he expected to be attacked as soon as the place of +his retreat was known, and had it in his hands to avoid further trouble +by putting them all to death; but that Captain Tew had agreed with him +to practise humanity, and that they were to have their property restored +to them, and were to sail for a friendly coast the next morning in a +ship that was well provisioned but unarmed. All he asked was that they +should never serve against him. An oath to this effect was cheerfully +taken, and away the prisoners sailed to the nearest European +settlement. + +When they had gone Misson returned to the work of improving his town, +and gave the command of his ship, the _Victoire_, to Tew, who, with one +hundred and sixty picked fellows, set out to sweep the seas. He sailed +down the wind to the coast of Zanzibar, and off Quiloa made up to a +large ship which backed her main-topsail and laid by for him. Tew +engaged her for four hours, losing many men, but finding her a +Portuguese public ship of fifty guns and three hundred men, much more +than a match for the little _Victoire_, he attempted to make off. The +_Victoire_, however, was so foul from her long service that she could +not show her customary clean pair of heels, and the stranger, proving +fast and weatherly, drew up with her. The Portuguese Captain, a gallant +officer of great height and herculean strength, lay alongside the +_Victoire_ and boarded her at the head of his men; but the pirates, not +used to being attacked, and expecting no quarter, made so desperate a +resistance that they not only drove back the enemy with loss, but were +enabled to board in their turn. At first only a few followed the +Portuguese as they leaped back into their own ship; but Tew, perceiving +the desperate resolution of these, sang out, “Follow me, lads!” and +sprang over his enemy’s rail. The Portuguese opposed the pirates firmly +for a time, but to Tew’s cry, “She’s our own! Board her! Board her!” his +men replied in continually augmenting numbers, and drove the defenders +back to the main-hatch. Here a bloody conflict ensued, for the +Portuguese Captain fought in the front rank of his men, and with voice +and example encouraged them to combat. Seeing this, Tew rushed forward +to meet him, and the two captains crossed swords with equal bravery. The +crews paused to observe the duel, and watched with fiercely excited eyes +the flashing sabres and shifting poises of their champions. The +Portuguese had a longer reach, and was much taller and stronger than the +pirate, but the latter had the agility of a panther, and was noted as +one of the best swordsmen of his day. Time and again the Portuguese +made a dash against his adversary with point or blade, only to be met +with an accurate parry or a quick return stroke that forced him backward +nearer and nearer to the open hatch. Finally Tew parried a furious lunge +and delivered his terrible return stroke on the neck of the Portuguese, +who threw up his hands and fell backward down the hatch. This ended the +fight, and the crew of the public ship called for quarter. + +With his rich prize, which yielded him one hundred thousand pounds in +Spanish gold, Tew put back to port, where, notwithstanding his severe +loss, his courage and dash were loudly acclaimed by the colony. +Caraccioli persuaded two hundred and ten of the Portuguese to join the +Libertaitans, and among them, to Misson’s great pleasure, was found a +school-master, whose services he at once devoted to the instruction of +his negroes. + +Two sloops of eighty tons each had been built in a creek, and when they +were finished they were armed with eight guns apiece out of a Dutch +prize, and sent on a trial trip. They proved to be fast, weatherly +vessels, and on their return from their first trip to sea Misson +proposed to send them out on a voyage of survey to lay down a chart of +the shoals and deep water around the coast of Madagascar. As Tew was an +excellent navigator he was given command of the expedition and of one of +the sloops, while the school-master, who proved to be a good seaman and +skilful surveyor, commanded the other. The sloops were manned with a +crew of fifty blacks and fifty whites each, and their four months’ +voyage enabled the negroes not only to learn how to handle the +boarding-pike, but, as they were anxious to learn and be useful, to pick +up a fair knowledge of French and seamanship. They returned with an +excellent chart and three prizes. Misson now determined to make a foray +in force, and, dividing five hundred men, white and black, between the +_Victoire_ and the _Hope_, he and Tew set out for the high seas; of +course a strong force was left behind as a garrison. + +Off the coast of Arabia Felix they fell in with a ship of one hundred +and ten guns belonging to the Great Mogul. This ship carried a crew of +seven hundred men and nine hundred passengers, and towered monstrously +above the low sides of the pirate vessels; but Tew on the starboard +quarter and Misson on the port bore up gallantly, and engaged her. To +the opening broadsides of the pirates she thundered an awful response. +Soon the wind died out, and thick clouds of smoke lay motionless on the +water; under its cover Tew brought the little _Hope_ alongside, and, +with his cutlass between his teeth and his pistol in his hand, clambered +up the lofty side. He had barely reached the rail when he was severely +wounded and knocked overboard by a pike-thrust. However, he soon came to +the surface, and managed, at the head of a few of his men, to enter one +of his enemy’s lower-deck ports. In the mean time Misson had boarded the +Mussulman on the port quarter, and a hand-to-hand fight was going on +over the rail. Misson was hard pressed by numbers when Tew appeared from +the fore-hatch. One glance at this murderous-looking figure, with bloody +and smoke-grimed garments, rushing at them sword in hand from behind, +was enough for the Mussulmans, and with a wild shriek of “Allah!” they +broke and fled down the hatches, leaving the pirates in possession. + +[Illustration: HE WAS KNOCKED OVERBOARD BY A PIKE-THRUST] + +This proved a most valuable capture, as over one million pounds, besides +many rich silks, spices, valuable carpets, and diamonds were stored in +the prize’s hold and strong-boxes. + +The prisoners were landed at a point between Ain and Aden, and the +captured ship brought back to Libertaita, where, as she had proved a +slow and unwieldly craft, she was taken to pieces. Her cordage and +knee-timbers were preserved with all the bolts, eyes, chains, and other +iron-work, and her guns were used in two strong water-batteries as an +additional support to the forts on the headlands. + +The colony was now in prime condition; a number of acres had been +enclosed, and afforded pasturage for three hundred head of cattle--a +purchase from the natives, who had begun to manifest a most friendly +spirit--the grain was ripening finely, the storehouses and magazines +were well under way, and the dock was finished. + +As the _Victoire_ was foul from long service and very loose from recent +storms, she was docked and practically rebuilt. When she was floated +again she was provisioned for a long cruise, and was about to set out +for the Guinea coast when one of the sloops came in, schooner-rigged, +with the news that she had been driven to port by five lofty ships, +Portuguese, of fifty guns each and full of men. + +The alarm was given, the forts and batteries manned, and the men put +under arms. Tew was given command of the English and Portuguese, while +Misson directed the French and one hundred disciplined negroes. Slowly +and majestically the fleet swept on towards the pirate stronghold; as +they came within easy gun-shot Tew leaped to the side of his +water-battery, and with both arms outstretched stood waving in one hand +the black flag, and in the other the banner of Libertaita, with its +white albatross on a blue field. A storm of solid shot greeted the +daring figure, but he leaped down unharmed, as battery after battery +and fort after fort opened with a steady roar against the invader. The +Portuguese dashed by the forts triumphantly, but wavered as they came +under the fire at close range of the heavy guns of the water-batteries. +They had thought to carry all before them with one bold dash, and after +passing the headlands had deemed victory assured, but here they were in +a hornets’ nest. Under the dreadful fire from Tew’s and Misson’s skilful +gunners two of the Portuguese vessels were speedily sunk. The others +turned to flee; but they were not to get off so easily. No sooner were +they clear of the forts than the pirates manned both ships and sloops, +gave them chase, and engaged them in the open sea. The Portuguese +defended themselves gallantly, and one of them, which was attacked by +the two sloops, beat off the Libertaitans twice; two made a running +fight and got off, and the third was left to shift as she could. This +last, a fifty-gun ship of three hundred and twenty men, defended herself +till the greater number of her crew were killed. Finally, finding that +she was left to an unequal fight, she asked for quarter, and good +quarter was given. Thus ended Admiral X’s “holiday jaunt to wipe out a +nest of pirates,” as the Portuguese Commander-in-Chief had described his +expedition in advance. + +None of the prisoners were plundered, but, on the contrary, the pirate +captains invited to their table the officers of the captured ship, and +congratulated them upon their courage and ability. + +For some months after this nothing occurred to interrupt the quiet of +the colony. Finally, wearying of inactivity, Tew took the _Victoire_ and +three hundred men and sailed in search of prizes. Sixty miles from +Libertaita he found a strange colony of buccaneers. The ship hove to and +the Captain went ashore alone to make the acquaintance of the strangers. +While he was absent from the ship a great gale rose and blew the +_Victoire_ ashore on a dangerous reef; she went down before his eyes, +carrying with her every man of the crew. + +This was not the end of misfortune, for a few nights afterwards the two +Libertaitan sloops appeared, and from one of them Misson came ashore +with disastrous news. The same night that the _Victoire_ went down the +natives had risen and destroyed Libertaita; Misson had saved a quantity +of diamonds and bar gold, and fled in the sloops with the remnant of his +band; they were now without a ship and without a haven. + +The plunder and the men were equally divided between the sloops, and the +two captains sailed in company for the coast of America. Misson’s vessel +went down with all hands in a gale off Cape Infantes, but Tew made a +peaceful voyage to the British colonies. He settled in Rhode Island, +dispersed his crew, and lived for a time unquestioned with his wealth. +He might have reached an honored old age, with nothing to recall the +memories of his past, but at the end of a few years he was persuaded to +go once more “on the account.” In the Red Sea he engaged a ship of the +Great Mogul, vastly his superior in size and armament. During the +action Tew received a mortal wound, but fought on as long as he could +stand. When he fell his men became terrified, and suffered themselves to +be taken without resistance. They were all hanged; and so ended the last +of the Libertaitans. + + + + +XII + +THE VROUW VAN TWINKLE’S KRULLERS + +A Story of Old New York + + +Clean, snug, and picturesque as a Holland town was our city of New York +for some years after it had dropped its juvenile name of New Amsterdam +and adopted its present name; but not so suddenly could it change its +nature and Dutch ways. Dutch neatness and the Dutch tongue still reigned +supreme. Substantial wooden houses turned gable ends of black and yellow +Holland bricks to the front, until Pearl Street appeared like a +triumphal procession of chess-boards; while no mansion in that then +fashionable quarter could boast more big doors and small windows than +that of the worthy burgher Van Twinkle, and the little weathercock on +the roof was as giddy as any of its neighbors, and as undecided as to +which way the wind actually did blow. + +An air of festivity pervaded this residence on a certain winter’s day in +the early part of the eighteenth century; windows were thrown open, and +Gretel, the eldest daughter of the family, followed by black Sophy, +armed with brooms, mops, and pails, entered that _sanctum sanctorum_, +the best parlor, to scrub and scour with unwonted energy; for to-morrow +would be that greatest of Knickerbocker holidays, _Nieuw Jaar_, or New +Year, when every good Hollander would consider it his duty to call upon +his friends and neighbors, and the front door with its great brass +knocker would swing from morning till night to admit the well-wishers of +the season. + +In the big kitchen also active preparations were going forward. A royal +fire blazed in the wide chimney, and the Vrouw Van Twinkle, in short +gown and petticoat, was cutting out and boiling those lightest and +richest of krullers for which she was famous among the good housewives +of the town: real Dutch krullers, brown as nuts, and crisp as pie-crust. + +“Out of the way, youngsters!” cried the dame to a boy and girl lounging +near to watch the boiling, “or spattered will you be with the hog’s fat. +Take thy sister, Jan, and off with her to the Flatten Barrack. She would +enjoy a good sledding this fine day, and that I know.” + +“Rather would I go to the skating on the Salt River,” said Jan. + +“But that you must not. It I forbid, for very unsafe is it now, thy +father did observe only this morning.” + +“Foolishness, though, was that, mother,” argued Jan, “for last night +Tunis Vanderbeck from Breucklyn came over on the ice, and told me that +firm was it as any rock, and smooth as thy soft, pink cheek.” + +“Thou flatterer!” laughed his mother; “but not so canst thou pull the +wool over my eyes; so away with you both to the sledding, and here are +two stivers with which to buy New-Year cakes at Peter Clopper’s +bake-house.” And diving in the patchwork pocket hung at her side, Madam +Van Twinkle produced the coins, which sent the children off with smiling +faces to the hill at the end of Garden Street, stopping on the way to +invest in the sweet New-Year cakes, stamped with a crown and breeches. + +Jan made short work of his; but Katrina had scarce begun to nibble her +fluted oval when she spied an aged man, with a long gray beard, begging +for charity. + +“See, Jan,” she cried, “the poor, miserable old beggar! How cold and +hungry he looks!” + +“Then to work should he go.” + +“But it may be no work he has to do. Ach! the sight of him makes my +heart to ache, and help him will I all I can.” So saying, the +kind-hearted girl darted to the mendicant’s side and slipped her cake +into his hand. + +“A thousand thanks, little lady!” exclaimed the man, fervently; “for I +am near to starving, or I would not be here; and you are the first who +has heeded me to-day.” + +He was evidently English; but Katrina cared not for that, and, carried +away by her feelings, added a guilder, given her at Christmas, to her +gift of the New-Year cake, thereby calling forth a shower of +benedictions, although the old fellow seemed strangely nervous +meanwhile, glancing in a frightened manner at each passer-by. As soon as +the little maid’s back was turned he slunk into a dark alley and out of +sight. + +“A silly noodle art thou, Katrina, thus to throw away thy presents,” +said Jan, as they hurried on. But his sister only shook her head, and +smiled as though quite satisfied, while her heart beat a happy roundelay +all the short December afternoon as she slid on her wooden sled and +frolicked with the little Dutch Vans and Vanders on the Flatten-Barrack +Hill. + +Twilight was falling when the young Van Twinkles wended their way home, +to find their bread and buttermilk ready for them by the kitchen fire, +and their father and mother and Gretel gone to a supper of soft waffles +and chocolate and a New-Year’s-Eve dance at the Van Corlear Bouwerie. + +“The best parlor, does it look fine and gay, Sophy?” asked Katrina, as +she finished her evening meal. + +“Dat it do,” replied the old slave woman; “for waved am de sand on de +floor like white clouds, and de brass chair-nails shine jest like little +missy’s eyes. ’Spect de ole mynheer and his vrouw come down and dance +dis night for sure.” + +“What mynheer, Sophy?” asked Jan. + +“De great mynheer in de portrait--your gran’fader, ob course. Hab you +chillens neber heard how on New-Year Eve, when de clock strike twelve, +down come all de pictur’ folkses to shake hands and wish each oder +‘Happy New-Year,’ and den, if nuffin disturb ’em, mebbe dey dance in de +firelight.” + +“Really, Sophy, do they?” asked the little girl. + +“Yah, dey do. Master Jan may laugh if he please, but right am I. My ole +moeder hab so tole me, and wif her own eyes hab she seen de ghostes +dances.” + +“A rare sight it must be! I wish that I could see it,” said Katrina; and +later, when she went in to inspect the parlor, she gazed up with +increased respect at her stolid-faced Holland ancestors. + +“Much would I love to see them tread a minuet!” sighed Katrina again, +and even after her head was laid on her pillow the idea haunted her +dreams, until, as the tall clock in the hall struck eleven, she started +up wide-awake, with the feeling that something eventful was about to +happen. + +“Almost spent is the old year!” she thought, “and soon down the picture +folk will come to greet the new. Oh, I must, I must them see!” and +although the household was by this time asleep, she crept out of bed, +slipped on her clothes, and stole noiselessly down-stairs. + +“Still are they yet,” she whispered, glancing up at the pictured faces. +“But near the hour draws, and hide I must, or they may not come down, +for Sophy says that spectators they do not love. Ah, there is just the +place!” and running to the linen chest she lifted the lid, and +clambering lightly in, nestled down among the lavender-scented sheets +and table-cloths. + +“A very comfortable hiding-spot, truly!” exclaimed Katrina, as she +placed a book beneath the cover to hold it slightly open; and so cosey +did it prove that she grew a bit drowsy before the midnight bells chimed +the knell of another twelvemonth. Then indeed, however, she was on the +alert in an instant and peering eagerly out. Her corner was in shadow, +but the ruddy glow from the hickory logs revealed the portraits still +unmoved, and she was about to utter an exclamation of disappointment, +when she was startled to see a door leading to the rear of the house +suddenly swing open and the figure of a man carrying a lantern enter +with slow and stealthy tread. An old man, apparently, with gray hair and +beard, and a sack thrown across his shoulders. “’Tis the Old Year +himself!” thought the fanciful girl; but the next moment she almost +betrayed herself by a scream as she recognized the beggar to whom she +had given her New-Year cake that very afternoon. + +Slowly the midnight marauder approached, and then, all at once, a +wonderful transformation took place. The bent form became straight, the +gray beard and hair were torn off, and a younger and not unhandsome man +stood before the little watcher’s astonished gaze. + +She was too dumfounded to do anything but tremble and stare, as the +intruder seated himself at the table and ate and drank, almost snatching +the viands in his eagerness. His appetite appeased, however, he seemed +to hesitate; but then, with a muttered, “Well, what must be must, and +here’s for home and Emily!” he seized a silver bowl and dropped it into +his bag, following it up with the porringers and plates, that were the +very apple of the Dutch house-mother’s eye. + +Too frightened to speak, poor little Katrina watched these proceedings; +but when the thief laid hands on a certain old and beautifully engraved +flagon, she murmured: “The loving-cup! the dear loving-cup! Oh, my +father’s heart ’twill break to lose that!” + +“Plenty of the needful here!” chuckled the burglar; but a moment later +he had his surprise, for out of the shadows suddenly emerged a small, +slight figure, and a stern voice cried, “Stop!” + +With a startled exclamation the man fell back, and then, as Katrina +exclaimed, “The loving-cup that is so old--ah, take not that!” he +dropped into a chair, ejaculating, “By St. George, ’tis the little lady +of the cake herself!” + +“That is so,” said Katrina. + +The man reddened. “Believe me, miss,” he said, “I did not know this was +your home, or naught would have tempted me here; and this is the first +time I have ever soiled my fingers with such work as this.” + +“Then why begin now?” asked Katrina. + +“Because I was down on my luck, and there seemed no other way. Listen! +For two years I have served as a soldier in the British army, and no +more honest one ever entered the province. I did not mind hard work, but +my health gave out, and at last the rude fare and the homesickness I +could stand no longer, and three days ago I deserted from the English +fort down yonder. The officers are on my track, but, so far, disguised +as an old beggar, I have escaped detection beneath their very noses. If +caught I shall be flogged within an inch of my life, and, it may be, +shot. Just over the water my wife and a blue-eyed lass like you are +longing for my return, but, saving your guilder, I was penniless, and +so, for the first time, determined to take what was not my own.” + +“Poor man!” sighed Katrina, the tears starting. + +“To-morrow night the _Golden Lion_ sails for England. Her crew, after +the New-Year festivities, will be dazed at least, so I can readily +conceal myself until the ship is out at sea. Then ho! for home and my +little Jeanie!” + +“And as a bad, wicked robber will you go to her?” asked the girl. + +“No; indeed no!” cried the man, emptying his sack. “You have saved me +from that, little lady, as well as from starvation to-day, for I would +not steal from you or yours. Give me but these krullers to eat while I +am a stowaway, and all the plate I will leave.” + +“Yes, that will I do,” said Katrina, rejoiced, and she herself dropped +the crisp cakes into the man’s bag. “Now at once go, and godspeed.” + +“But first you must promise to mention this meeting to no one until +after the _Golden Lion_ weighs anchor at seven o’clock on New-Year’s +night.” + +“To my mother may I not?” asked Katrina. + +“No, no, to nobody! Oh, remember my life is in your hands! Promise, I +beg.” + +His tone was so imploring the girl was touched. + +“I like it not, but I promise,” she said. + +“Thank you. Farewell.” And again disguised, the deserter departed, as he +came, by a back window. + +Feeling as though in a dream, Katrina rearranged the disordered table, +and then, creeping up to bed, fell so sound asleep that she never heard +Jan when he awoke the household with his “Happy New-Years.” + +Gayly the sunbeams glittered on the black-and-yellow gables that 1st of +January, and fully as resplendent were the maids and matrons of New York +in their best muslins and brocades; while Katrina presented a very +quaint, attractive little vision when she came down in her taffeta gown +and embroidered stomacher, with her amber beads about her neck. Her face +was hardly in accord with her attire, however, when she found every one +demanding, “What has become of the krullers--the New-Year krullers?” + +Madam Van Twinkle looked flushed and angry. “The beautiful cakes with +which I so much trouble took!” she cried. “Ach! a bad, wicked theft it +is, and a mystery unaccountable.” + +“Mebbe de great ole mynheer and his vrouw gobbled ’em up,” put in Sophy. + +“But what is worse,” continued the dame, “in one big kruller, as a +surprise, I did hide a ring of gold sent to Gretel by her godmother in +Holland, and that too is whisked away.” + +At this Gretel also began to bewail the loss, and suggested that +perhaps little black Josie, Sophy’s son, was the miscreant. + +“If so it be, to the whipping-post shall he go!” cried the enraged +Dutchwoman, starting for the kitchen; but before she reached the door +Katrina exclaimed, “No, mother, no; Josie is not the one.” + +“Why, mine Katrina, what canst thou know of this?” asked Mynheer Van +Twinkle, in amazement. + +“I know--I know who has taken the cakes,” stammered the blushing girl; +“but tell I cannot now.” + +“Not tell!” gasped her mother. “Why and wherefore?” + +“Because my promise I have given. But when the night comes, then shall +you know all.” + +“Foolishness is this, Katrina,” cried the good housewife, who was fast +losing her temper as well as her cakes, “and at once I command you to +say who has my New-Year krullers.” + +“And my ring from Rotterdam,” added Gretel. + +“But that I cannot. A lie would it be. Oh, my vader, canst thou not me +trust until the nightfall?” + +“Surely, sweetheart. There, good vrouw, say no more, but leave the +little one in peace. A promise thou wouldst not have her break.” + +“Some there be better broken than kept; but whom promised she?” + +Katrina was silent, and now even her father looked grave. “Speak, _mijn +kind_; whom didst thou promise?” + +“I cannot tell.” + +“See you, Jacobus, ’tis stubborn she is, and wrong it looks. But list, +Katrina; you shall speak this minute, or else to your chamber go, and +there spend your New-Year’s Day.” + +At this mynheer puffed grimly at his pipe, and Gretel would have +remonstrated, but without a word Katrina turned and left the parlor. +Ascending to her little attic-room, she removed her holiday finery, and +sat sadly down to work on her Flemish lace, trying to console herself by +repeating: “Right am I, and I know I am right. A promise once given +must not broken be,” while the New-Year callers came and went, and the +sound of merry greetings floated up from below. + +So it was scarce a happy New-Year, and the little weathercock must have +pointed very much to the east if he considered the way the wind blew +within-doors, for even Jan turned fractious, and declared, “There was no +fun in calling on a parcel of old _vrouws_,” and he should go to the +turkey-shooting at Beekman’s Swamp instead. But this his mother forbade. +“Shoot you will not this day,” she said, “for at fourteen, like a +gentleman and a good Hollander should you behave. So start at once, and +my greetings bear to the Van Pelts and Vander Voorts and Mistress +Hogeboom,” while his father carried him off with him to call on the +dominie’s wife. + +This visit over, however, they parted company, and Jan lingered long in +the market-place to see the darkies dance to the rude music of horns and +tom-toms. Here he encountered two of his chums, Nicholas Van Ripper and +Rem Hochstrasser, carrying guns on their shoulders. + +“Thee, Jan? Good!” they cried. “Now come with us to the turkey-shooting. +A prize thou art sure to win.” + +“But I started the New-Year visits to make!” said Jan. + +“And paid them in the market-place!” laughed Nicholas. “Thou art a sly +one, Jan! But great sport is there at the Swamp to-day; much better than +the chatter of the girls and a headache to-morrow.” + +“So think I, Nick; but I have on my _kirch_ clothes;” and Jan glanced +down at his best galligaskins and his coat with its silver buttons. + +“Not a bit will it hurt them; so come along.” And thus urged, Jan joined +his friends, and was soon at Beekman’s Swamp, where a bevy of youths +were squandering their stivers in the exciting sport of firing at live +turkeys. + +Nick and Rem did well, and each bore off a plump fowl, but luck seemed +against Jan, who could not succeed in even ruffling a feather; while at +last he had the misfortune to slip and get a rough tumble, besides +soiling his breeches and tearing a rent in the skirt of his fine +broadcloth coat. + +“Ha! ha! What will Madam Van Twinkle say to that?” laughed his +unsympathetic companions, when they saw Jan stamping round, his little +queue of hair, tied with an eel-skin, fairly standing out with rage. + +“Whatever she says, ’twill be your fault, ye dough-nuts!” he shouted, +and would have indulged in some rather forcible Dutch epithets had not +his cousin Tunis Vanderbeck come up at the moment, saying, “Mind it not, +Jan, but with me come to Breucklyn to skate.” + +“Yah; better will that be than facing the mother in this plight,” said +Jan; and he was skating across the Salt River before he remembered that +he had been positively forbidden to venture there. + +“Sure art thou that the ice is strong, Tunis?” he asked. + +“Not so strong as it was. The thaw has weakened it some, but ’twill hold +to-night, if--” But at that instant an ominous cracking sounded beneath +their feet, and Tunis had just time to glide to a firmer spot before a +scream rang through the air, and he looked back to see the dark surging +water in an opening in the ice, and Jan’s head disappearing beneath. + +While, in the twilight, Katrina sat by her window, thinking of blue-eyed +English Jeanie, she was startled by a voice on the shed roof without +calling, “Let me in, Katrina--let me in;” and on opening the casement a +very wet and bedraggled boy tumbled at her feet, sputtering out, “Run +for dry clothes and a hot drink, my Trina, for nearly drowned am I, and +frozen as well.” + +The girl hastened to obey, and not until her brother was snug and warm +in her feather-bed did she ask, “Whatever has happened to thee, Jan?” + +“Why, on the river I was, and the ice it broke, and in I fell. But for +an old cove who risked his life to save me, in Davy Jones’s locker would +I be this minute; for never a hand did Tunis Vanderbeck stir to help +me, and unfriends will we be henceforth.” + +“And thy _kirch_ suit is ruined. Does the mother know it?” + +“No; for fear of her I came in by the roof, but I met the father +outside, and angry enough he is because I went to the shooting and on +the river. He says that on bread and water shall I live for a week, and +to the Philadelphia Fair shall I not go;” and a sob rose in the boy’s +throat. “But what is queerest, Katrina, the old chap who pulled me out +seemed to know me, and gave me this for you,” and Jan produced a moist, +soggy package, which, on being undone, revealed a single broken kruller, +in the centre of which, however, gleamed a heavy gold ring. + +“Good! good! Oh, glad am I!” cried Katrina; and hastening to put on her +festival dress, when the clock chimed seven she went dancing down to the +parlor, and creeping to her mother’s side, whispered, “Now, my moeder, +all will I tell thee.” + +In amazement the family listened to her story of the midnight visitor, +and when she ended by slipping the ring on Gretel’s finger, saying, “No +common thief was he, for this he sent me by Jan, whom he has saved from +a grave in the Salt River,” the Dutchwoman caught her to her heart, +sobbing, “Oh, my Katrina, forgive thy mother, for it was in my temper I +spoke this morning, and a true, brave girl hast thou been. To think that +but for thee our rare old silver would be on its way to England!” Gretel +too hugged her rapturously, and the tears were in Mynheer Van Twinkle’s +eyes as he asked: + +“How can I repay my daughter for saving the loving-cup of my ancestors, +and for her lonely day above?” + +“By forgiving Jan, father, and letting him come to the New-Year supper. +Disobedient has he been, I know, but well punished is he, and he is full +of sorrow.” + +“Well, then, for thee, it shall be so.” + +So Jan was summoned down, and a truly festal evening was held within the +home circle, beneath the gaze of the old mynheer and his vrouw, who +beamed benignantly from their heavy frames. + +The _Golden Lion_ sailed true to time, and never again was the deserter +heard of on this side of the Atlantic; but for long after Katrina was +pointed out as “the blue-eyed maid who saved the family plate and gave +away Vrouw Van Twinkle’s New-Year krullers.” + + + + +XIII + +THE SIGN OF THE SERPENT + +A Story of Louisiana in the Early Eighteenth Century + + +The two Vidals--the father Captain and second in command at Fort +Rosalie,[B] and the son Jean, who wore the stripes of a sub-lieutenant, +though his face had scarcely a sign of beard on it yet--paced the +parapet of the fort in absorbed talk. Below them rolled the brown flood +of the Mississippi, gilded into tawny gold by the setting sun. In the +splendor of that glow stood out in bold relief the galley which had +arrived from New Orleans that day. Young Jean, who had been absent in +the little Louisiana capital for two months, and had received during the +visit his commission from Governor Perier, had been a passenger, and was +now eagerly listening to the news of the fort. + + [B] Fort Rosalie, during the early years of the eighteenth + century one of the advance-posts of the Louisiana colony, was + built on the bluff where now stands the beautiful city of + Natchez. This whole region for many miles up and down the river + and inland was the seat of the Natchez nation, originally a + Toltec race which had emigrated from Mexico shortly after the + Spanish conquest. + +“It is almost word for word as I tell thee,” said the senior. “’Twas a +month since that Monsieur le Commandant sent for Big Serpent to tell him +the Governor’s wish, but not, as Monsieur Perier would have chosen to +make it, the beginning of negotiation. For all feel that it is not well +the Natchez should remain in power so near the fort. But Chopart’s words +were like the lash of the slave-whip. + +“‘Does not my white brother know,’ answered the Great Sun of the +Natchez, ‘that my people have lived in the village of White Apple for +more years than there are hairs in the plaited scalp-lock which hangs +from the top of my head to my waist?’ + +“‘Foolish savage!’ said Chopart. ‘What ties of friendship can there be +between our races? Enough for you to know that you must obey your +master’s orders, as I obey mine.’ + +“‘We have other lands; take them, but leave the village of White Apple +to the Natchez. There is our temple, there the bones of our forefathers +have slept since we came to the banks of the Father of Waters,’ pleaded +Big Serpent. + +“‘Within the next moon comes the galley from the big village of the +French. If White Apple is not then delivered to my soldiers, and your +people gone, the great chief of the Natchez will be sent down the river, +bound hand and foot, to rot in prison. Go. I have spoken,’ and Monsieur +le Commandant waved Big Serpent out of his presence.” + +“And do the Natchez submit? Will Big Serpent give up their beautiful +village? Mon Dieu! It’s a shame! It might have been managed differently +hadst thou been made commandant instead of Chopart, _mon père_.” + +“Tut! tut!” said the father. “Chopart may carry his load, and welcome. +’Twould have irked me much to have done the Governor’s will, for, after +all, ’tis the sword, not the scabbard, which kills. Warning of treachery +and conspiracy has come from White Apple, for thou knowest the old +Princess had a French husband and loves his race. Yet her son, the +chief, would bleed out every French drop in his veins if he could. I +like not the signs, though only five days ago Big Serpent came to Fort +Rosalie, and when Monsieur le Commandant flung the report of foul play +in his teeth, the chief smiled like a baby in the face of its mother, +and answered: ‘Let my brother believe what he sees. On the seventh day +hence my people will bring thee more than the tribute due for the time, +thou hast granted, and will then give up White Apple to the French.’ Yet +Sergeant Beaujean, who has been at the village since, says there are no +signs of preparation for departure, and that warriors are pouring in +from all the outlying country. We shall know in two days more. In the +mean time, Chopart reviles at all advice to keep the garrison under +arms, with closed gates and loaded cannon. The insolent calls doubters +cowards and old women. My sword should answer that taunt,” continued the +grizzled soldier, fiercely, “were it not for a bad example at this time. +Big Serpent, though young in years, is as old in guile as the most +ancient wiseacre of his tribe. So I fear to have thee go to visit Akbal +now, _mon fils_, for the chief’s brother is sure to be deep in any +mischief brewing.” + +“Better reason, then,” answered Jean, “to make the venture. Time flies +swiftly, and I, surer than another, could go safely and might find a +clew to hidden danger. Yet ’tis hard to break bread and play the spy.” + +Captain Vidal paced up and down, his features working in doubt, as the +new thought forced its way to acceptance. He looked wistfully at his +only son. “And thou wouldst go there and pit thy young wits against the +Indian’s devilish cunning? Well, it may do! Akbal was ever thy sworn +brother and hunting comrade.” So it was arranged without further words, +but the father’s convulsive hand-clasp, when Jean, in hunter’s +buckskins, bade him good-bye at sunrise next morning, proved how loath +he was. + +It was ten o’clock when Jean arrived in White Apple, which was about +fifteen miles from Fort Rosalie. Eight miles lay through the black muck +of a swamp where even the wariest foot and quickest eye found their way +with trouble. The foul morass into which the river highlands sloped down +on the landward side gave the shortest road. But its profusion of deadly +reptile life wriggling and hissing at every turn encompassed the narrow +path across the little knolls and tussocks which give the only +foot-grip, with no slight peril to a blundering step. An easier route +meant nearly double the distance. + +Almost the first greeting was that of Akbal, but his manner was distant. +He knew of Jean’s long absence, but he asked no questions with the +tongue, though his eye was keenly curious. + +“I come to chase the buck with my friend once more before the Natchez +seek a new hunting-ground,” said Jean. + +“Akbal not hunt to-day,” was the answer, in broken French; “must listen +to wisdom of great chiefs in council. They meet even now in the Temple +of the Sun. Go; the woods are full of deer and turkeys; but first must +eat, for Akbal’s friend much hungry from his walk.” + +This hospitable dismissal discomfited Jean, for it seemed to close the +gates to further knowledge. The breakfast of venison and sweet maize got +no seasoning of cheer in the gloomy looks of the boyish chief. Through +the door of the lodge the young Frenchman saw the lines of Natchez +warriors stalking through the streets towards the temple, while not a +sound arose in the village. All moved as silently as if they were a +marching troop of phantoms. Akbal sat patiently as a bronze statue, +waiting his guest’s motion to depart. + +In the centre of the village stood the temple--a huge, round structure +built of logs, now wrinkled with years, and surmounted with a +cylindrical roof thatched with swamp-canes, leaves, and Spanish-moss in +an impervious mat. It rose twenty feet higher than the tallest lodges, +and from one side extended an arched thick-set hedge, embowering a long +passage to the adjacent forest, a quarter of a mile away. Here the +priests and medicine-men of the Sun were wont to seclude themselves from +the rest of the tribe. + +The way to accomplish his quest suddenly flashed on Jean’s mind. Once he +parted from Akbal, seemingly to plunge into the forest, he could make +his way to the exit of the long, bowery avenue, and thence come to the +outside of the temple. There, it might be, he could learn all he wished, +though with great peril to his life. So when the young chief pressed his +hand in a sad and silent adieu, Jean, after a brief push into the +tangled brake, fetched a détour, and found himself at the mouth of the +passage. Through its dusky green light he moved cautiously forward to a +coign of vantage. This he found in the shrinkage of two ill-fitting +logs, which gave a space for seeing and hearing. + +In the centre of the temple, on a rude stone altar, smoked the +unquenched fire which had never died since the natal spark had flamed in +a Mexican temple two hundred years before. This half a dozen hideously +painted priests fed with fragrant barks and gums. Around them five +hundred warriors squatted on the ground, and passed the council-pipe, +while the priests mumbled and chanted, and a portion of the sacred band +drew forth soft and monotonous music from long reed instruments. A +rattlesnake, coiled around the right arm of the chief priest, swayed its +crest with an undulating motion to the cadences of the music, and its +bright eyes seemed to watch every motion with malign intentness, as if +it were the guiding spirit of the council. The braves wore no war-paint, +for their expedition was not meant to blazon its own purpose; but their +faces, so far as they could be seen through the smoke, were distorted +with such ferocity and lust of blood that they could dispense with the +help of pigments. And so the priests chanted, and the players played +their soft melody, and the high-priest stroked his serpent’s hideous +head as it curved and swayed to the rhythm of the tune, while the +watching Jean was maddened by the delay and the passage of time and +opportunity. At last, perhaps mindful of some signal from the +high-priest, the snake darted its full length and struck with open mouth +as if at some enemy,[C] Big Serpent arose from the seated ranks. + + [C] The rattlesnake was sacred to the Sun God of the Natchez, + and was made to play an important part in their religious + ceremonies, and the mummery which entered, too, into their war + councils. Something similar exists in the rites of the Moqui + Pueblos to-day--a race supposed also to have been of Toltec + origin. + +The Great Sun’s oration to his warriors, spoken in the Indian tongue, +was mostly jargon to the listener, but he construed enough of it to +unravel the Natchez plot. Under the guise of paying their tribute, they +would surprise the fort the next morning. + +Jean waited for nothing more, but withdrew swiftly, and dashed into the +forest. To reach Fort Rosalie as quickly as possible he took his way +again through the noisome swamp which formed so much of the short-cut +to the French post. He had found his way well towards the heart of that +place of gloom and reptilian life. Inspection of every tuft of grass and +weed now made progress slow, and Jean looked forward to a few moments of +rest on the hummock twenty feet off which projected from the edge of a +canebrake. How lucky, he thought, that he had escaped without detection! +On top of this thought came the shock of a challenge, which made his +heart leap. + +“_Halte, là!_” and the figure of Akbal pushed through the reeds. His gun +lay in the hollow of one arm, and from the other hand dangled a silver +clasp with which Jean’s hunting-shirt had been fastened, and which he +had not missed till this moment. It had been found in the bowery lane +near the temple. + +“Better Akbal than another Natchez bring this back to his French +brother,” he went on, with a note of mockery in his voice. “Jan Akbal’s +prisoner; no hurt him; to-morrow set free.” + +Quick as a flash Jean’s gun swung to his shoulder. + +“Stand aside, Akbal, or I shoot you dead. It must be that or pledge of +free passage.” + +The two stood like duellists with levelled weapons, waiting for the +word, with stern faces and flashing eyes. This was not the time nor +place to remember old comradeship and the rite of blood-brotherhood +which had once been solemnized between them. That rite swore them to an +undying amity, as if born of the same mother and they had tasted the red +drops hot from each other’s veins in testimony. But all this was +forgotten. To Jean, Akbal was the barrier to prevent his saving the +garrison. To Akbal, Jean was the agent bent on foiling his people’s +revolt from French oppression. But though their fingers touched +triggers, they did not press them. Perhaps this hesitation would have +lasted but a second. + +But now Jean heard a whirring noise that disturbed even his tense train +of thinking with a cold chill. He dashed his musket butt at something, +but it flecked him like a giant whip-lash. A monstrous rattlesnake had +fastened its fangs deep in his thigh. Another duellist had stepped to +the fore. Akbal saw the snake spring, and was himself almost as swift in +leaping the interval. He shook his head as he saw the enormous size of +the serpent, which was in the deadliest season of its venom, wriggling +with a broken back. + +“Much bad bite, but try save Jean,” said he, as he helped him across to +the larger hummock. Luckily Jean’s canteen was full of brandy, and this +he gulped down eagerly, while the Indian cut away the buckskin from his +leg. Two needle-point punctures, to be sure, seemed scarcely worth +bothering about, but with an apology, “Knife much hurt, but good,” he +plunged the keen-edged blade into the flesh, cutting out the envenomed +parts, and followed it by applying his lips and sucking at the wound for +a full five minutes. + +“Fine weed sometimes cure snake-bite. Big bush over there,” and he +danced across the bubbling marsh to a bog-oak with a thick mass of green +at its base. The swollen leg and the pain which gnawed through the +drowsiness of the working venom told Akbal that there was no time to be +lost. Flint and steel quickly struck fire, and steeping leaves and roots +he made hot tea and a poultice. So the Indian nurse fought the terrible +poison in the veins of the patient all that afternoon and all the night +long in the firefly-lit darkness of that evil swamp. + +The panther screams, which mingled harshly with the subtler horror of +things hissing and splashing in the fetid pools, passed into the dreams +of Jean. Copper-colored fiends with serpent heads storming the palisades +of Fort Rosalie and shrieking the Natchez war-whoop sank their long +curved fangs in the body after the knife had rifled the head. “_Mon +père! mon père! sauve mon père!_” he cried, in his agonized nightmare, +and then awoke, clutching Akbal’s arm in a sweat of despair. + +“Jan better now, stronger; no more bad dream,” said Akbal, who +recognized signs of coming strength; and indeed when daylight struggled +into the swamp the color of the French boy’s face had got back its lusty +red. + +“Come, come, we must hasten to the fort! I am myself once more,” and +Jean stumbled to his feet to fall back again with the sore stiffness of +his wounded thigh. Then he remembered the meaning of Akbal’s presence +with a frown. The comrade-foe dragged the heart out of that look with a +word: + +“Go soon. Akbal no stop Jan now.” He spoke with a proud sadness and +submission in his tone. The serpent omen had come from the Sun God--not +even that deadly bite could stop the young Frenchman’s return, and he +himself had been but the instrument of duty. So he carefully bound the +sore leg, and they started across the boggy waste, Jean leaning on his +arm and limping with a determined step. It took long to traverse that +quaking and slippery road, and the sun climbed up the sky, and Jean +became half crazed with anxiety, for his leg would only do so much work, +with all the help of a human crutch. + +At last they emerged from the morass and began to climb the upland, +toiling on with the fiercest energy of Jean’s tortured spirit. Hark! +that was the sound of cannon from the fort, and then they heard the +faint crackling of guns. “Too late!” half shrieked Jean Vidal, and he +sank on the ground with the reaction, hopeless, helpless, and his face +streaming with tears of rage and grief. Akbal dragged him to a sheltered +place under a bank, and leaped like a deer up the hill. He believed in +the sign of the Sun God, for the rattlesnake was the totem of the +Natchez nation. He did not reason, in his simple, superstitious loyalty, +that he could have left Jean to die of the serpent’s bite. He only knew +that he had been inspired to cure him. Now he believed that the further +mission of salvation had been passed from Jean to him, and the French +blood in his veins warmed to the dedication. The lives of the garrison +might yet be kept from the tomahawk and the torture stake. + +The fort was already in the hands of the Natchez when Akbal arrived on +the bloody scene. The murdering crew gathered to his assembly whoop, +with Big Serpent at their head. He told the story of the supposed +miracle with fervent eloquence, and the lives of those who had not +already fallen in battle were spared, including Captain Vidal, for these +bloodthirsty warriors of the Natchez were pious in their way, and +believed the sign of the serpent. Jean Vidal, too, remembered the stroke +of that terrible fang with something like superstitious gratitude. Had +it not been for that he and Akbal would probably have slain each other +where they stood, and every Frenchman in the fort would have been +butchered or reserved for a more fiendish death. As it was, Chopart was +the only one to suffer execution, and he justly expiated the deeds of a +cold-blooded tyrant. + + + + +XIV + +A DRUMMER OF WARBURTON’S + +How a Boy Held Fort George at Cape Canso, in 1757 + + +A few hours ago I found an odd-shaped bit of blackened brass. The thing +lies before me now as I write. It is a drum-hook. I know this for the +simple reason that I was once a drummer-boy myself, and could not be +mistaken regarding such a familiar object. I found this drum-hook among +a lot of other odds and ends at the bottom of a well in an old, +long-abandoned fortification. The poor scrap of silent metal brings to +mind the tale of Rupert Haydon, drummer-boy in one of the old line +regiments. His deed of heroism was performed at this same old fort which +I have to-day been ransacking. Perhaps this drum-hook was once used by +him! It is not at all unlikely. + +By turning to your map of North America you can easily distinguish Cape +Canso, at the eastern extremity of the mainland of Nova Scotia. Upon an +island, about a mile from the shore and forming with it the harbor of +Canso, is the grass-grown fortress which I have mentioned. The name of +the island is George’s; the fort has had several high-sounding titles. +Why should it not? It is old--older perhaps than others with claims of +easier proof. In 1518, over a century before the Pilgrims landed at +Plymouth, legend says that Baron de Lery threw up the first embankments +and claimed the country for the crown of France. Several times this fort +has been besieged and captured, at heavy loss of life. New England sent +expeditions against it. The bloodthirsty Indians repeatedly raided the +place. In 1745 Pepperell and his valiant little army of Massachusetts, +New Hampshire, and Connecticut militia remained here for some weeks, in +order to acquire drill and discipline before moving upon the boasted +Louisburg. And many another martial display has this neglected old fort +witnessed, and personages celebrated in our history have walked within +its ramparts upon occasion. + +In the year 1757 Fort George, as it was then called, had as its garrison +a small detachment from Colonel Warburton’s regiment of foot. This +trifling force was compelled to watch over a wide extent of territory in +addition to the special place they occupied. France and England were +again at war, and both regular expeditions and lawless guerillas +abounded. + +On a certain day in midsummer the garrison embarked upon a small vessel +and sailed away to the relief of a threatened settlement. Rupert Haydon, +the drummer-boy, was left in charge of the fort. With him were several +women, wives of soldiers, and their small children. + +“We shall be gone but a week at most, drummer,” Captain Peabody had +announced. “It suits me not to leave women and stores so ill protected, +but the commands of my superiors must be obeyed. However, it is scarce +likely that the enemy will have knowledge of the fort’s weakness in time +to profit thereby.” + +The drummer-boy stood at attention and saluted as the soldiers marched +out through the covered way. With the aid of the women he hoisted the +drawbridge and closed the massive timber gates. Then, scrambling up on +top of the parapet, he watched the little sailing craft, her decks all +bright with the scarlet-coated warriors, pass out through the narrow +harbor entrance and disappear from view around the first headland. +Scarcely had the transport so vanished, when Rupert’s keen eyes +discovered another vessel making for the harbor from the opposite side. + +Mere supposition was useless. The newcomer might prove to be a friend. +If an enemy, the chance of being let alone was problematical. It was now +too late to recall the recently departed garrison. Upon the drummer’s +young shoulders lay the whole burden of maintaining the dignity of the +English flag. + +Rupert Haydon was only a poorly educated boy, but he must have had a +great deal of latent talent. Even while gazing in consternation at the +fast-approaching vessel, he mentally mapped out a plan of campaign. +Hastily gathering the women about him, he explained the matter to them, +and secured their aid. They were all well used to the happening of the +unexpected, and inured to danger and fatigue. The wife of a British +soldier has never had an easy lot. These rugged-looking though +golden-hearted women donned some uniforms left behind by their husbands, +and became, in outward appearance at least, full-fledged soldiers. The +six small cannon mounted in the fort’s bastions were loaded, small-arms +served out, and ammunition placed conveniently to hand. One of the +soldier-women mounted guard upon the ramparts, and marched up and down, +in plain view, with musket upon shoulder. The English ensign was, of +course, flying from the tall staff in the centre of the redoubt. + +As the vessel drew nearer, the little garrison began to bustle with +activity, and continued in the same fashion for some while. Two of the +soldier-women would come out of the fort, stroll down to the shore, +examine the stranger with an apparently mild curiosity, and then walk +off together over the hills. Meanwhile the others, including Rupert, +would come and go, disappearing and reappearing in all directions with +the aid of the rocky ravines and clumps of trees upon the island. The +idea of all this was to convince the new-comers, whoever they might be, +that the fort’s garrison remained unimpaired, and took no special notice +of a single vessel. That the scheme had a certain effect was shown in +the fact that the stranger came to anchor far down the harbor, well out +of range of Fort George’s cannon. It looked very much as if the +appearance of these redcoats coming and going about the island had +impressed her commander unfavorably. + +After some delay the ship hoisted a French ensign, and a small boat put +off from her side and headed for the fort landing. This boat contained +three men--two rowing, and one in the stern holding aloft a piece of +white cloth. It was evidently a flag of truce, coming to parley. + +Although his worst fears were now realized, and they plainly had a +formidable enemy to deal with, Rupert never wavered, but proceeded to +dispose of his forces in the best manner possible. Leaving only the +sentry upon the parapet, he marched out of the fort at the head of the +others, as if they merely constituted a suitable escorting party. One of +the squad he had equipped beforehand with a flag of truce similar to +that carried by the man in the boat. The drummer drew up his little +company in a single rank upon the glacis, about half-way between the +intrenchments and the water’s edge. At such a distance their disguises +could not be discovered. Alone he advanced to the border of the +pebble-strewn strand, and there awaited the coming of the emissary. + +The latter was wary of approaching too hastily. He bade his oarsmen back +the skiff stern first to within ten or fifteen yards of the shore. Then +he stopped them, and, while they kept the boat in position with gentle +strokes, he held converse with the intrepid drummer by means of lusty +shoutings. + +“I wish to speak with your Commandant,” began the stranger, using good +English, yet with a decided Gallic accent. “You are only a child.... A +drummer-boy?... Am I not right?... I judged so by your small stature and +pretty coat.... Inform the Commandant of your fort that I desire a few +words with him.” + +“It is impossible,” replied Rupert, coolly. + +“What? Impossible?” + +“Yes; I regret to say that the Commandant will not be able to see you at +present. But I am his representative, and can also act as your messenger +if you have something of importance to transmit.” + +“O-ho! We are very high and mighty, it seems!” retorted the stranger, +angrily. “Like should have like for meals. I will not be so civil as I +first intended. Tell your Commandant that my name is Rabentine--Captain +Rabentine. I have the honor of commanding _La Belle Cerise_, privateer, +of St. Malo.” + +“A French privateer!” ejaculated Rupert. + +“Just so,” went on Captain Rabentine, looking from the drummer to his +escort, up at the fort, and back again to the drummer, with some +appearance of suspicion. + +“I had thought you were a navy frigate,” rejoined Rupert, promptly. “We +are getting rusty for the want of a little fighting.” + +The other seemed slightly taken aback at this statement. + +“Perhaps you may have such a chance even yet,” he growled. + +“Well, Captain Rabentine,” cried the boy, courteously, “what else am I +to say to the Commandant? For surely you took not all this trouble +merely to let us know whom our visitor might be?” + +“Inform him,” shouted the privateer Captain, waxing wroth, “that I had +intended simply to lay in harbor here and weather out the coming gale. +That a good prize-ship is more to my liking than an empty fort! Perhaps +there might even have been a case of rare wine sent ashore by way of +compliment. But as he chooses to be so distant, and sends a drummer-boy +as fitting ambassador to a French Captain, I shall give myself the +pleasure of--But, pshaw! there is no money in this for my owners. Inform +your Commandant that I have a mind to anchor farther up the harbor, +where the shelter is good, for a few days. That I will not molest him if +he leaves me alone. There you have it in a nutshell. Go, and haste +quickly with the answer.” + +Gravely turning on his heel the drummer strode back up the hill, joined +his waiting escort, and marched with them to the fort. He was gone upon +this pretended mission some little time; quite long enough further to +exasperate the privateer Captain. + +“Truly ’tis a matter of wonderful ceremony,” he sneered, when Rupert, +after repeating the former precautionary measures with his escort, was +once more at speaking distance. “All this folderol is wearisome. Your +Commandant may regret not having sent an officer before we are through +with the thing. Did you sufficiently impress him with the fact that I +am not one to be trifled with? Does he realize that his garrison can +scarcely outnumber my crew? _La Belle Cerise_ carries one hundred and +fifty-four as natty sailors as ever swung boarding-pikes, and at a pinch +we can spare a round hundred for landing-party and still have enough on +board to work our biggest guns. He should be thankful that I show an +inclination to leave his puny fort untouched. What has he to say?” + +“Our two nations being at war at the present time,” announced the +drummer, guardedly, “I am to tell you that we can offer no harbor unless +you care to surrender yourself and crew as prisoners, and your ship as +lawful prize. Failing this, you must--” + +“What? Zounds!” howled the easily excited Frenchman. “Your Commandant +may think this good jesting, but I do not share his opinions. Tell him +to look to his defences. The flag of France shall once more wave above +them. We will attack at once, and for every poor fellow I lose in this +worthless assault, two of your survivors shall be strung up to die. +Give way, my boys!” he cried, addressing his oarsmen. + +The boat sped off to the vessel. The drummer and his little party +returned within the fort, and prepared as best they could for what was +to follow. + +Almost immediately after the arrival of the privateer Captain on board +his ship, three great pinnaces were lowered to the water and filled with +men. The glitter from naked cutlasses, inlaid pistols, and carefully +held muskets could easily be distinguished among them. This flotilla was +soon ready, and at once started for the fort landing. Luckily for the +trivial band of defenders the wind was increasing to such an extent that +Captain Rabentine did not consider it wise to attempt manœuvring his +ship in an unbuoyed and dangerous harbor. Therefore the flotilla was +without any aid from the guns of _La Belle Cerise_. Moreover, the waves +were commencing to run high, and the overloaded boats labored heavily. +It was necessary to keep them headed to the seas as much as possible, +and, in consequence, their progress towards the shore was rendered +extremely slow. + +Rupert Haydon and his improvised garrison were all ready. The loaded +cannon were trained as nearly as could be upon the approaching boats. +The women soldiers had kissed their children a fond good-bye, and shut +them up in the bomb-proof magazine, away from danger of flying +projectiles. + +When the flotilla had arrived within easy range, the young drummer +commenced discharging the battery as fast as he could pull the lanyards. +After him hurried the women, reloading the heated cannon. The roar of +the discharge came re-echoing back from the rocky cliffs repeated over +and over again, and the smoke-clouds temporarily hid the fort from view. + +This unskilful volley went wide of the mark, as was to be expected under +the circumstances, and yet inflicted great damage upon the +privateersmen. The thing came about after the following fashion: Upon +the very beginning of the cannonade, the officer in command of the +leading boat had bade his rowers swing their craft directly head on to +the fort, thus presenting as small a target as possible. Those in the +second boat, however, more intent upon watching the course of the +projectiles than anything else, had not noticed this manœuvre, and +so, before anything could be done to prevent it, came smashing against +the other’s gunwale. In the heavy sea then running this was specially +disastrous. The stricken boat had her side stove in, and the on-comer +was overturned. Both crews quickly found themselves struggling in the +water. Well convinced of the hopelessness of continuing their present +assault, the men in the remaining pinnace confined their efforts to +rescuing drowning comrades and getting out of range again as quickly as +possible. + +The gale had now increased considerably, and its gathering force gave +promise of still fiercer might. By the time the survivors of the boat +expedition had returned to their ship the day was drawing close to +twilight. Captain Rabentine well realized his double danger. Failing +shelter, which could only be found farther up the harbor, and in range +of the fort’s cannon, he must put to sea. He was wild with anger at his +repulse. What would have been his condition of mind if he had known that +the defenders consisted merely of a boy and a few women dressed in +soldier clothes? + +Hastily ordering the cable slipped, Captain Rabentine saw to the +spreading of some small storm-sails, and tried to beat out of the +inhospitable harbor. But even here fortune seemed to be against him. The +full flood-tide was running, and although _La Belle Cerise_ strutted +bravely, she could make no perceptible offing. The only road to safety +lay directly past the fort and out the other entrance. The privateer +Captain well knew that one lucky shot might disable his ship, and cause +him to lose control over her. In such a wind and upon such a coast this +meant almost certain death and destruction. But it appeared to be his +only chance, and he had to take it. + +Down on the wind swept the privateer. Her decks were awash with foam. +She rolled and pitched like a mad thing. Her guns were lashed fast to +the deck ring-bolts. It would have been suicidal to try to use them in +such a sea. The crew clung to shrouds and railings, gazing ruefully upon +the nearing battlements which they had so unsuccessfully attempted to +assail. In a few minutes they were almost abreast of the green hill. +Scarcely a hundred yards distant were the grinning embrasures, from +which protruded the muzzles of cannon in plain view. + +[Illustration: SHE ROLLED AND PITCHED LIKE A MAD THING] + +Within the fort Rupert Haydon stood ready, lanyard in hand. The guns had +been more carefully sighted this time, and he felt sure that they could +not all miss such a monstrous mark. One pull upon the blackened cord and +the chances for a prosperous voyage of _La Belle Cerise_ of St. Malo +would be small. For a second he hesitated. Then dropping the lanyard, +cried: + +“No, no. It would be murder, not battle.” + +Seizing the white flag of truce that had already been used in the +preliminary negotiations, and leaping upon the parapet, he waved it to +and fro. + +The meaning was instantly comprehended on board of the privateer. Not to +be outdone in courtesy, some sailors, at risk of life and limb, +scrambled aft to their own halyards. As the ship swept by, the proud +ensign of France descended to the deck in salute to the drummer-boy of +Warburton’s. Ere it was hoisted again, _La Belle Cerise_ was a receding +speck upon the darkening, storm-swept ocean. + + + + +XV + +ROGERS’ RANGERS + +The Famous New Hampshire Scouts of the Old French War + + +Rogers’ Rangers were a famous partisan corps during the old French War. +Besides the regular forces employed, there were irregular or partisan +bodies, composed of Canadian French and their Indian allies on one side, +and English frontiersmen on the other. They acted as scouts and rangers +for either army, guarding trains, procuring intelligence, and +intercepting supplies destined for the enemy. Both were composed of +picked men, skilled in woodcraft, and excellent marksmen. One of Rogers’ +companies was composed entirely of Indians in their native costume. + +The Rangers were a body of hardy and resolute young men, principally +from New Hampshire. They were accustomed to hunting and inured to +hardships, and from frequent contact with the Indians they had become +familiar with their language and customs. Every one of these rugged +foresters was a dead shot, and could hit an object the size of a dollar +at a hundred yards. + +There was no idleness in the Rangers’ camp. They were obliged to be +constantly on the alert, and to keep a vigilant watch upon the enemy. +They made long and fatiguing journeys into his country on snow-shoes in +midwinter in pursuit of his marauding parties, often camping in the +forest without a fire, to avoid discovery, and without other food than +the game they had killed on the march. On more than one occasion they +made prisoners of the French sentinels at the very gates of Crown Point +and Ticonderoga, their strongholds. They were the most formidable body +of men ever employed in Indian warfare, and were especially dreaded by +their French and Indian foes. + +It was in this school that Israel Putnam, John Stark, and others were +trained for future usefulness in the struggle for American Independence. +Several British officers, attracted by this exciting and hazardous as +well as novel method of campaigning, joined as volunteers in some of +their expeditions. Among them was the young Lord Howe, who during this +tour of duty formed a strong friendship for Stark and Putnam, both of +whom were with him when he fell at Ticonderoga shortly afterwards. + +Major Robert Rogers, who raised and commanded this celebrated corps, was +a native of Dunbarton, New Hampshire. Tall and well proportioned, but +rough in feature, he was noted for strength and activity, and was the +leader in athletic sports, not only in his own neighborhood, but for +miles around. + +Rogers’ lieutenant was John Stark, afterwards the hero of Bennington. +When in his twenty-fourth year Stark, while out with a hunting-party, +was captured by some St. Francis Indians and taken to their village. +While here he had to run the gauntlet. For this cruel sport the young +warriors of the tribe arranged themselves in two lines, each armed with +a rod or club to strike the captive as he passed them, singing some +provoking words taught him for the occasion, intended to stimulate their +wrath against the unfortunate victim. + +Eastman, one of Stark’s companions when he was taken, was the first to +run the gauntlet and was terribly mauled. Stark’s turn came next. Making +a sudden rush, he knocked down the nearest Indian, and wresting his club +from him, struck out right and left, dealing such vigorous blows as he +ran that he made it extremely lively for the Indians, without receiving +much injury himself. This feat greatly pleased the old Indians who were +looking on, and they laughed heartily at the discomfiture of the young +men. + +When the Indians directed him to hoe corn, Stark cut up the young corn +and flung his hoe into the river, declaring that it was the business of +squaws and not of warriors. Stark was at length ransomed by his friends +on payment of £100 to his captors. + +During the Revolutionary war Stark’s services were rendered at the most +critical moments, and were of the highest value to his country. At +Bunker Hill he commanded at the rail fence on the left of the redoubt, +holding the post long enough to insure the safety of his overpowered and +retreating countrymen. At the capture of the Hessians at Trenton he led +the van of Sullivan’s division, and at Bennington he struck the decisive +blow that paralyzed Burgoyne and made his surrender inevitable. + +Skilful and brave as were the Rangers, they were not always successful. +The French partisans, under good leaders, with their wily and formidable +Indian allies, well versed in forest strategy, on one occasion inflicted +dire disaster upon them. + +Near Fort Ticonderoga, in the winter of 1757, Rogers with 180 men +attacked and dispersed a party of Indians, inflicting upon them a severe +loss. This, however, was but a small part of the force which, under De +la Durantaye and De Langry, French officers of reputation, were fully +prepared to meet the Rangers, of whose movements they had been +thoroughly informed beforehand. The party Rogers had dispersed was +simply a decoy. + +The Rangers had thrown down their packs, and were scattered in pursuit +of the flying savages, when they suddenly found themselves confronted +with the main body of the enemy, by whom they were largely outnumbered +and of whose presence they were wholly unsuspicious. Nearly fifty of the +Rangers fell at the first onslaught; the remainder retreated to a +position in which they could make a stand. Here, under such cover as the +trees and rocks afforded, they fought with their accustomed valor, and +more than once drove back their numerous foes. Repeated attacks were +made upon them both in front and on either flank, the enemy rallying +after each repulse, and manifesting a courage and determination equal to +those of the Rangers. So close was the conflict that the opposing +parties were often intermingled, and in general were not more than +twenty yards asunder. The fight was a series of duels, each combatant +singling out a particular foe--a common practice in Indian fighting. + +This unequal contest had continued an hour and a half, and the Rangers +had lost more than half their number. After doing all that brave men +could do, the remainder retreated in the best manner possible, each for +himself. Several who were wounded or fatigued were taken by the pursuing +savages. A singular circumstance about this battle was that it was +fought by both sides upon snow-shoes. + +Rogers, closely pursued, made his escape by outwitting the Indians who +pressed upon him--such at least is the tradition. The precipitous cliffs +near the northern end of Lake George, since called Rogers’ Rock, has on +one side a sharp and steep descent hundreds of feet to the lake. Gaining +this point, Rogers threw his rifle and other equipments down the rocks. +Then, unbuckling the straps of his snow-shoes, and turning round, he +replaced them, the toes still pointing towards the lake. This was the +work of a moment. He then walked back in his tracks from the edge of +the cliff into the woods and disappeared just as the Indians, sure of +their prey, reached the spot. To their amazement, they saw two tracks +towards the cliff, none from it, and concluded that two Englishmen had +thrown themselves down the precipice, preferring to be dashed to pieces +rather than be captured. Soon a rapidly receding figure on the ice below +attracted their notice, and the baffled savages, seeing that the +redoubtable Ranger had safely effected the perilous descent, gave up the +chase, fully believing him to be under the protection of the Great +Spirit. + +By a wonderful exercise of his athletic powers, Rogers, availing himself +of the projecting branches of the trees which lined the rocky ravines in +his course, had succeeded in swinging himself from the top to the bottom +of this precipitous cliff. It was a fortunate escape for him, for if +captured he would surely have been burned alive. + +In this unfortunate affair the Rangers had eight officers and one +hundred men killed. Their losses, however, were soon repaired, and they +continued to render efficient service until the close of the war. + + + + +XVI + +THE PLOT OF PONTIAC + +How Detroit was Saved in 1763 + + +The long contest between England and France for the right to rule over +North America, which lasted seventy years, and inflicted untold misery +upon the hapless settlers on the English frontier, was at last brought +to an end. England was victorious, and in 1763 a treaty was made by +which France gave up Canada and all her Western posts. + +With the exception of the Six Nations, the Indian tribes had fought on +the side of the French, whose kind and generous course had won their +affection. But the claims to the country which they and their +forefathers had always possessed were utterly disregarded by both +parties. Said an old chief on one occasion: + +“The French claim all the land on one side of the Ohio, and the English +claim all the land on the other side. Where, then, are the lands of the +Indian?” + +The final overthrow of the French left the Indians to contend alone with +the English, who were steadily pushing them towards the setting sun. +Seeing this, and wishing to rid his country of the hated pale-faces, who +had driven the red men from their homes, Pontiac, the great leader of +the Ottawas, determined--to use his own words--“to drive the dogs in red +clothing” (the English soldiers) “into the sea.” + +This renowned warrior, who had led the Ottawas at the defeat of General +Braddock, was courageous, intelligent, and eloquent, and was unmatched +for craftiness. Besides the kindred tribes of Ojibways, or Chippewas, +and Pottawattomies, whose villages were with his own in the immediate +vicinity of Detroit, a number of other warlike tribes agreed to join in +the plot to overthrow the English. Pontiac refused to believe that the +French had given up the contest, and relied upon their assistance also +for the success of his plan. + +All the English forts and garrisons beyond the Alleghanies were to be +destroyed on a given day, and the defenceless frontier settlements were +also to be swept away. + +The capture of Detroit was to be the task of Pontiac himself. This +terrible plot came very near succeeding. Nine of the twelve military +posts on the exposed frontier were taken, and most of their defenders +slaughtered, and the outlying settlements of Pennsylvania and Virginia +were mercilessly destroyed. + +On the evening of May 6, 1763, Major Gladwin, the commander at Detroit, +received secret information that an attempt would be made next day to +capture the fort by treachery. The garrison was weak, the defences +feeble. Fearing an immediate attack, the sentinels were doubled, and an +anxious watch was kept by Gladwin all that night. + +The next morning Pontiac entered the fort with sixty chosen warriors, +each of whom had concealed beneath his blanket a gun, the barrel of +which had been cut short. His plan was to demand that a council be held, +and after delivering his speech to offer a peace belt of wampum. This +belt was worked on one side with white and on the other side with green +beads. The reversal of the belt from the white to the green side was to +be the signal of attack. The plot was well laid, and would probably have +succeeded had it not been revealed to Gladwin. + +The savage throng, plumed and feathered and besmeared with paint to make +themselves appear as hideous as possible, as their custom is in time of +war, had no sooner passed the gateway than they saw that their plan had +failed. Soldiers and employés were all armed and ready for action. +Pontiac and his warriors, however, moved on, betraying no surprise, and +entered the council-room, where Gladwin and his officers, all well +armed, awaited them. + +“Why,” asked Pontiac, “do I see so many of my father’s young men +standing in the street with their guns?” + +“To keep the young men to their duty, and prevent idleness,” was the +reply. + +The business of the council then began. Pontiac’s speech was bold and +threatening. As the critical moment approached, and just as he was on +the point of presenting the belt, and all was breathless expectation, +Gladwin gave a signal. The drums at the door of the council suddenly +rolled the charge, the clash of arms was heard, and the officers present +drew their swords from their scabbards. Pontiac was brave, but this +decisive proof that his plot was discovered completely disconcerted him. +He delivered the belt in the usual manner, and without giving the +expected signal. + +Stepping forward, Gladwin then drew the chief’s blanket aside, and +disclosed the proof of his treachery. The council then broke up. The +gates of the fort were again thrown open, and the baffled savages were +permitted to depart. + +Stratagem having failed, an open attack soon followed, but with no +better success. For months Pontiac tried every method in his power to +capture the fort, but as the hunting-season approached, the disheartened +Indians gradually went away, and he was compelled to give up the +attempt. + +In the campaign that followed, two armies were marched from different +points into the heart of the Indian country. Colonel Bradstreet, on the +north, passed up the lakes, and penetrated the region beyond Detroit, +while on the south Colonel Bouquet advanced from Fort Pitt into the +Delaware and Shawnee settlements of the Ohio Valley. The Indians were +completely overawed. Bouquet compelled them to sue for peace, and to +restore all the captives that had been taken from time to time during +their wars with the whites. + +The return of these captives, many of whom were supposed to be dead, and +the reunion of husbands and wives, parents and children, and brothers +and sisters, presented a scene of thrilling interest. Some were +overjoyed at regaining their lost ones; others were heartbroken on +learning the sad fate of those dear to them. What a pang pierced that +mother’s breast who recognized her child only to find it clinging the +more closely to its Indian mother, her own claims wholly forgotten! + +Some of the children had lost all recollection of their former home, and +screamed and resisted when handed over to their relatives. Some of the +young women had married Indian husbands, and, with their children, were +unwilling to return to the settlements. Indeed, several of them had +become so strongly attached to their Indian homes and mode of life that +after returning to their homes they made their escape and returned to +their husbands’ wigwams. + +Even the Indians, who are educated to repress all outward signs of +emotion, could not wholly conceal their sorrow at parting with their +adopted relatives and friends. Cruel as the Indian is in his warfare, to +his captives who have been adopted into his tribe he is uniformly kind, +making no distinction between them and those of his own race. To those +now restored they offered furs and choice articles of food, and even +begged leave to follow the army home, that they might hunt for the +captives, and supply them with better food than that furnished to the +soldiers. Indian women filled the camp with their wailing and +lamentation both night and day. + +One old woman sought her daughter, who had been carried off nine years +before. She discovered her, but the girl, who had almost forgotten her +native tongue, did not recognize her, and the mother bitterly complained +that the child she had so often sung to sleep had forgotten her in her +old age. Bouquet, whose humane instincts had been deeply touched by this +scene, suggested an experiment. “Sing the song you used to sing to her +when a child,” said he. The mother sang. The girl’s attention was +instantly fixed. A flood of tears proclaimed the awakened memories, and +the long-lost child was restored to the mother’s arms. + + + + +THE END + + + + +STRANGE STORIES FROM HISTORY + + +Each Post 8vo, Illustrated, with Introduction, 60 cents. + +AMERICAN HISTORICAL FICTION FOR BOYS AND GIRLS + +These books tell thrilling stories of the personal life and heroic deeds +of Americans in the great struggles of Colonial times, the Revolution, +1812, and 1861, which have welded together and built up the American +nation. They are full of a close human interest and a dramatic quality +which cannot be imparted in compact histories, although these tales are +usually founded upon actual historical events. They enlist and hold the +attention of readers, and they also clear the historical perspective and +convey lessons in courage and patriotism. Mr. George Cary Eggleston’s +successful “Strange Stories from History” deals in part with heroes of +other nations, but these books, while similar to that in many respects, +tell of those whose gallant deeds gave us the America of to-day. + +The following are the titles: + + STRANGE STORIES OF COLONIAL DAYS. By Francis Sterne Palmer, + Hezekiah Butterworth, Francis S. Drake, G. T. Ferris, Rowan + Stevens, and others. + + STRANGE STORIES OF THE REVOLUTION. By Molly Elliot Seawell, + Howard Pyle, Winthrop Packard, Percival Ridsdale, and others. + + STRANGE STORIES OF 1812. By W. J. Henderson, James Barnes, S. + G. W. Benjamin, Francis Sterne Palmer, and others. + + STRANGE STORIES OF THE CIVIL WAR. By Robert Shackleton, W. J. + Henderson, Capt. Howard Patterson, U.S.N., L. E. Chittenden, + Gen. G. A. Forsyth, U.S.A., and others. + + + + +---------------------------------------------------------------------- + +Transcriber’s Note: + + +Minor punctuation errors (e.g. periods instead of commas) have been +corrected without note. Inconsistent hyphenation and capitalization have +not been corrected. + +Illustrations have been moved to directly after the corresponding +paragraph. An advertisement has been removed from the beginning of the +book, as there is an identical one at the end, and a duplicate title +page has been removed from between the introduction and the beginning of +Chapter I. + +Decorative italics (e.g. on chapter subtitles) have not been represented +in the plain-text versions of this book. + +The following corrections were made to the text: + +p. 32: extra hyphen removed (Tommy-Five-Canoes to Tommy Five-Canoes) + +p. 152: Jar to Jaar (_Nieuw Jaar_) + +p. 159: He to he (he seized a silver bowl) + +p. 165: thout to thou (canst thou not me trust) + +p. 166: missing close quote added (“There was no fun in calling on a +parcel of old _vrouws_,”) + +p. 174: extra close quote removed (lash of the slave-whip.) + +---------------------------------------------------------------------- + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Strange Stories of Colonial Days, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STRANGE STORIES OF COLONIAL DAYS *** + +***** This file should be named 34536-0.txt or 34536-0.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/4/5/3/34536/ + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, S.D., and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/34536-0.zip b/34536-0.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..f194d38 --- /dev/null +++ b/34536-0.zip diff --git a/34536-8.txt b/34536-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c7b2d88 --- /dev/null +++ b/34536-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,4645 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Strange Stories of Colonial Days, by Various + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Strange Stories of Colonial Days + +Author: Various + +Release Date: December 1, 2010 [EBook #34536] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STRANGE STORIES OF COLONIAL DAYS *** + + + + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, S.D., and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + +[Illustration: [See page 43 + +HE MANAGED TO PULL HIM UP BEHIND] + + + + + STRANGE STORIES + + OF + + COLONIAL DAYS + + BY + + FRANCIS STERNE PALMER, G. T. FERRIS + HEZEKIAH BUTTERWORTH + FRANCIS S. DRAKE + ROWAN STEVENS + AND OTHERS + + ILLUSTRATED + + [Illustration] + + NEW YORK AND LONDON + HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS + + + Copyright, 1907, by Harper & Brothers. + + *** + + All rights reserved. + + Published May, 1907. + + + + +CONTENTS + + + I + THE CROWNING OF POWHATAN + Adventures in Early Indian History + By Francis S. Drake + + II + CORNELIS LABDEN'S LEAP + A Legend of 1645 Retold + By G. T. Ferris + + III + TOMMY TEN-CANOES + A Tale of King Philip's Scouts + By Hezekiah Butterworth + + IV + JONATHAN'S ESCAPE + A Young Hero of Hadley who Fought at Turner's + Falls in 1676 + By Robert H. Fuller + + V + THE CROWN OF AN AMERICAN QUEEN + In the Days of Bacon's Rebellion in Virginia + By Sally Nelson Robins + + VI + HOW A BLACKSMITH'S BOY BECAME A KNIGHT + The Treasure-hunt of William Phipps in the late + Seventeenth Century + By Paul Hull + + VII + THE GIRL CAPTAIN OF CASTLE DANGEROUS + How Three Children Fought the Iroquois in 1692 + By G. T. Lanigan + + VIII + HOW MARC WAS MADE CAPTAIN + A Rescue from the "Lords of the Woods" in 1695 + By Francis Sterne Palmer + + IX + CAPTAIN KIDD + An Overrated Pirate + By Rowan Stevens + + X + HOWARD THE BUCCANEER + A Captain of Many Ships + By Rowan Stevens + + XI + TEW, OF RHODE ISLAND + A Fighter from the Seas + By Rowan Stevens + + XII + THE VROUW VAN TWINKLE'S KRULLERS + A Story of Old New York + By Agnes Carr Sage + + XIII + THE SIGN OF THE SERPENT + A Story of Louisiana in the Early Eighteenth + Century + By G. T. Ferris + + XIV + A DRUMMER OF WARBURTON'S + How a Boy Held Fort George at Cape Canso, in + 1757 + By Percie W. Hart + + XV + ROGER'S RANGERS + The Famous New Hampshire Scouts of the Old + French War + By Francis S. Drake + + XVI + THE PLOT OF PONTIAC + How Detroit was Saved in 1763 + By Francis S. Drake + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + + HE MANAGED TO PULL HIM UP BEHIND Frontispiece + + "MEIN VROUW! MEIN GILDREN!" THE DUTCHMAN GROANED Facing p. 16 + + "GOOD-BYE, TOMMY FIVE-CANOES" " 32 + + THE THONGS WERE CUT " 92 + + HE PLUNDERED AND BURNED " 108 + + THE HELPLESS PIRATES WERE SWEPT BACK " 122 + + HE WAS KNOCKED OVERBOARD BY A PIKE-THRUST " 144 + + SHE ROLLED AND PITCHED LIKE A MAD THING " 204 + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +These pictures of Colonial life and adventure make up a panorama which +extends from Powhatan and John Smith, in the days of the Jamestown +colony, to Pontiac's attempt upon Detroit in the period which preceded +the Revolution. Here one may read stories which are strange indeed, of +King Philip's War in New England, of a Dutch hero's exploit on the +shores of Long Island Sound, of conflicts with the fierce Iroquois in +the North, of a young New Englander's successful treasure-hunt, and of +famous or infamous pirates of Colonial times. They carry the reader from +a boy's defence of Fort George in Nova Scotia to battle against the +Natchez at an advance post of the Louisiana colony. For the most part +these thrilling tales are in the form of fiction, but it is fiction +based upon historical incidents. The imaginative stories, and others +which are historical narratives, will, it is believed, illustrate many +unfamiliar dramas in Colonial life, and will help to give a clearer view +of the men and boys who fought and endured to clear the way for us upon +this continent. + + + + +STRANGE STORIES OF COLONIAL DAYS + + + + +I + +THE CROWNING OF POWHATAN + +Adventures in Early Indian History + + +The first European visitors to the shores of North America met with a +most friendly reception from the natives. Powhatan, the Indian Emperor +of Virginia, who ruled in savage state over twenty-six Indian nations, +on more than one occasion kept the Virginia colonists from starvation by +sending them corn when they were almost famished. To retain his +good-will a crown was sent over from England, and the Indian monarch was +crowned with as much ceremony as possible. A present from King James of +a basin and ewer, a bed, and some clothes was also brought to Jamestown, +but Powhatan refused to go there to receive it. + +"I also am a King, and gifts should be brought to me," said the proud +monarch of the Virginia woods. They were accordingly taken to him by the +colonists. + +The coronation was "a sad trouble," wrote Captain John Smith, but it had +its laughable side also, as we shall see. Custom required that the +Indian ruler should kneel. Only by bearing their whole weight upon his +shoulders could the English upon whom this duty devolved bring the chief +from an up-right position into one suitable to the occasion. By main +force he was made to kneel. + +The firing of a pistol as a signal for a volley from the boats in honor +of the event startled his copper-colored Majesty. Supposing himself +betrayed, Powhatan at once struck a defensive attitude, but was soon +reassured. The absurdity of the whole affair reached its climax when +Powhatan gave to the representatives of his royal brother in England +his old moccasins, the deer-skin he used as a blanket, and a few bushels +of corn in the ear. + + * * * * * + +On the New England coast the anger of the natives had been aroused by +the conduct of visiting sailors, who would persuade them to come on +board their ships, and then carry them off and sell them into slavery. + +One of these natives, named Epanow, "an Indian of goodly stature, +strong, and well proportioned," after being exhibited in London as a +curiosity, came into the service of Sir Ferdinand Gorges, Governor of +Plymouth. This gentleman was much interested in New England, and was +about fitting out a ship for a voyage to this country. + +The Indian soon found out that gold was the great object of the +Englishman's worship, and he was cunning enough to take advantage of the +fact. He assured Sir Ferdinand that in a certain place in his own +country gold was to be had in abundance. The Englishman believed him, +and Epanow sailed in Gorges's vessel to point out the whereabouts of +the supposed gold-mine. + +When the ship entered the harbor many of the natives came on board. +Epanow arranged with them a plan of escape, which was successfully +carried out the next morning. + +At the appointed time twenty canoes full of armed Indians came to within +a short distance of the ship. The captain invited them to come on board. +Epanow had been clothed in long garments, that he might the more easily +be laid hold of in case he attempted to escape, and he was also closely +guarded by three of Gorges's kinsmen. + +The critical moment arrived. Epanow suddenly freed himself from his +guards, and springing over the vessel's side, succeeded in reaching his +countrymen in safety, though many shots were fired after him by the +English. + +In this affair the European was completely outwitted by the ignorant +savage. Gorges was bitterly disappointed. Writing of it he says, "And +thus were my hopes of that particular voyage made void and frustrate." +And thus, we may add, the first gold-hunting expedition to the coast of +Maine "ended in smoke"--from the Englishmen's guns. + + * * * * * + +For many years after the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth the +relations of the English with the Massachusetts Indians were peaceful. +Only once was there any attempt to disturb them. To try the mettle of +the colonists, Canonicus, the powerful Narragansett chief, sent them by +a messenger a bundle of arrows wrapped in the skin of a snake--a +challenge to fight. Governor Bradford returned the skin filled with +powder and shot, with the message that if they had rather have war than +peace they might begin when they pleased, he was ready for them. This +prompt defiance impressed the chief. He would not receive the skin, and +wisely concluded to keep the peace. + + * * * * * + +What is known as King Philip's War broke out in 1675. Though it lasted +but little over a year, it was terribly destructive, and it carried +misery to many a hearth-stone. + +Philip of Pokanoket, the chief of the Wampanoags, had for years been +suspected of plotting against the English. He had resisted all their +efforts to convert his people to Christianity, and had told the +venerable apostle Eliot himself that he cared no more for the white +man's religion than for the buttons on his (Eliot's) coat. On another +occasion he refused to make a treaty with the Governor of Massachusetts, +sending him this answer: + +"Your Governor is but a subject of King Charles of England. I shall not +treat with a subject. I shall treat of peace only with the King, my +brother. When he comes, I am ready." + +On the morning of April 10, 1671, the meeting-house on Taunton Green +presented a scene of extraordinary interest. Seated on the benches upon +one side of the house were Philip and his warriors, and on the other +side were the white men. Both parties were equipped for battle. The +Indians looked as formidable as possible in their war-paint, their hair +"trimmed up in comb fashion," with their long bows and quivers of +arrows, and here and there a gun in the hands of those best skilled in +its use. The English wore the costume of Cromwell, with broad-brimmed +hats, cuirasses, long swords, and unwieldly guns. Each party looked at +the other with unconcealed hatred. + +The result of this conference was that the Indians agreed to give up all +their guns, and Philip, upon his part, also promised to send a yearly +tribute of five wolves' heads--"If he could get them." + +As the Indians had almost forgotten how to use their old weapons, the +taking of their fire-arms away was a serious grievance. Other causes of +enmity arose, and at last the war begun, which in its course caused the +destruction of thirteen towns and hundreds of valuable lives. + +Philip was joined by the Nipmucks, as the Indians of the interior were +called, and by the Narragansetts, whose stronghold was captured in the +winter of 1675-76. Here seven hundred of this hapless tribe perished by +fire or the sword. The death of Philip, in August, 1676, ended the war. +Many of the Indians fled to the west, and a large number died in slavery +in the West Indies. The power of the Indians of southern New England was +broken forever. + + * * * * * + +Captain Benjamin Church, a prominent actor in this war, was the most +celebrated Indian fighter of his day. One of his most remarkable feats +was the capture of Annawan, Philip's chief captain. Annawan often said +that he would never be taken by the English. + +Informed by a captured Indian where Annawan lay, Church, with only one +other Englishman and a few friendly Indians, succeeded in gaining the +rear of the Indian camp. + +The approach to this secluded spot was extremely difficult. It was +nearly dark when they reached it, and the Indians were preparing their +evening meal. A little apart from the others, and within easy reach of +the guns of the party, the chief and his son were reclining on the +ground. An old squaw was pounding corn in a mortar, the noise of which +prevented the discovery of Church's approach, as he and his companions +cautiously lowered themselves from rock to rock. They were preceded by +an old Indian and his daughter, whom they had captured, and who, with +their baskets at their backs, aided in concealing their approach. + +By these skilful tactics Church succeeded in placing himself between the +chief and the guns, seeing which, Annawan suddenly started up with the +cry, "Howoh!" ("I am taken.") Perceiving that he was surrounded, he made +no attempt to escape. + +After securing the arms, Church sent his Indian scouts among Annawan's +men to tell them that their chief was captured, and that Church with his +great army had entrapped them, and would cut them to pieces unless they +surrendered. This they accordingly did, and, on the promise of kind +treatment, gave up all their arms. This well-executed surprise was the +closing event of King Philip's War. + + + + +II + +CORNELIS LABDEN'S LEAP + +A Legend of 1645 Retold + + +The scene was only thirty miles from New York, on the shores of Long +Island Sound. At the time of which we write it was a sweep of dense +forest. + +Outside of the block-house, built where the Myanos River enters a bay of +the Sound, one September day in 1645 walked two elderly men, grizzled of +beard and soldierly in bearing. Broadswords swung from their cross-belts +and huge pistolets were stuck in their girdles. These were famous +fighting men in New England history, Daniel Patrick and John Underhill. +Bred to camps, they had chafed under Puritan laws, and had finally +deserted the older settlements. Indeed, Captain Patrick had been the +leader of the little colony which had made this beautiful place its +home. + +"I tell thee, John, I trust not the savage any longer. Ponus hath been +as surly as a bear with a sore head of late. I fear the Sagamore plots +evil." + +"Belike you are right, good Captain," said Underhill, "and we must match +craft with craft." + +"Rumor hath it, too," said Captain Patrick, with growing trouble on his +face, "that strange runners have been back and forth during the month at +the Sinoway village. We cannot look to our English friends for help, +since we signed the pact with his Excellency Governor Kieft, accepting +the rule of New Netherland. If an outbreak occurs, it must be from the +Manhattans that relief will come. But look! there rides Dutch Cornelis +with a bale of peltries to his crupper." + +Among a few Dutch who mingled with the English of the settlement was +Cornelis Labden, a bold hunter and trapper, who, unlike the rest of the +colonists, got his livelihood by the fur-trade. He sold his pelts at the +Dutch trading-post about seven miles west, just over the line which now +separates New York from Connecticut. Thither he was riding when accosted +by the two captains. Cornelis was noted for his daring and skill in +woodcraft, and had always lived on specially friendly terms with the +Indians, as was, indeed, his interest. His log house was built on the +brow of a great precipice of beetling rock one hundred feet or more in +height, in the heart of a gloomy forest two miles from the outskirts of +the settlement. The spot is still known as Labden's Rock, and the writer +has shot many a squirrel there in woods still solemn with deepest +shadow. Here Cornelis lived with his English wife and two children, Hans +and Anneke. + +"Well met, Cornelis," said Patrick. "We were holding counsel concerning +our Indian neighbors. What think you of their peaceful purpose?" + +The Dutchman shook his head. He was a man of few words. "Der outlook ist +pad, Cabdain. Dot yoong Gief Owenoke say to me toder day, 'Cornelis, +Indian's friend, bedder go 'way. Indian very angry at bale-faces.' +Owenoke's vader, Ponus, means misgief. But no tanger dill der snow +vlies. Der Indians, if dey addack, waid dill grops all in." + +"You are bound, I suppose, to Byram Fort with your peltries. Tarry +awhile, and carry me a letter for the Governor. I will write it +forthwith." Captain Patrick disappeared in the block-house, and wrote to +the Dutch Governor as follows: + + "_To his Excellency, Wilhelm Kieft, Governor-General of New + Netherland at New Amsterdam, greeting_: + + "This in haste:--Whereas it cometh to me with some surety that + the savages on our border plot an early outbreak, I would urge + that a company of musketeers be sent to the trading-post at + Byram to protect the outlying country. Thence sure help may + reach this settlement. Once the savages break loose they will + ravage the region for many miles with torch and tomahawk. I + would entreat your Excellency to act right speedily in this + affair. Cornelis Labden, who is well skilled in Indian + matters, bears this letter. + + "DANIEL PATRICK." + +It will be seen by this that Captain Patrick did not share the +confidence of Cornelis. But all the people were very busy afield at that +time gathering their crops, and they were loath to think that danger was +pressing. The women and children, however, were gathered every night in +the block-house. It may be that this measure of care on the part of the +settlers quickened the action of the Indians in the fear that their +purpose had been discovered. Within three days the outbreak came. The +forest was glowing with all the rich hues of autumn, when through its +arches burst at different points bands of naked warriors, painted with +as many colors as the leaves themselves, and yelling their shrill +war-whoops. Every colonist amid the yellowing corn-stalks of the fields +had his firelock close at hand. They all skirmished back through this +cover and across the rye and buckwheat stubble towards the block-house, +firing and loading as they ran. Yet several fell under the cloud of +arrows before the fugitives reached the little fort. The two captains, +each with a party of men, charged the savages fiercely on either flank +as they leaped into the open, and drove them back with heavy loss. The +settlers then withdrew behind the palisades, awaiting attack. + +The red besiegers, having exhausted their arts of attack and met with +heavy loss, for musket-balls told with terrible effect against flint +arrows, determined to starve out the little garrison. It was on the +morning of the third day that a rider galloped furiously from the west +to the bank of the Myanos, where the log bridge had been destroyed by +the Indians. Dutch Cornelis had ridden daringly through the midst of +them. A band of howling braves swarmed almost at his horse's tail. He +leaped his beast into the river amid the whizzing arrows, several of +which stung both steed and rider sharply. Captain Underhill, with a +score of colonists, sallied out from the palisades, driving the redskins +from their front and opening a heavy fire on those lining the opposite +bank. Under cover of this Cornelis landed safely. He had been sent on +from Byram to New Amsterdam with Patrick's letter, and it was only by +hard spurring that he had made such speed in return. He brought the good +news that even then a company of Dutch musketeers was on the march. + +The women and children trooped out of the block-house to hear the +tidings. Cornelis cast his eyes over them with agony stamped on his +usually stolid face. + +"Mein vrouw! mein gildren!" the Dutchman groaned. "What for you leave +dem to de mercy of de savage?" with a look of fierce reproach at the two +English captains. + +[Illustration: "MEIN VROUW! MEIN GILDREN!" THE DUTCHMAN GROANED] + +"Nay! nay! Cornelis, blame us not," they answered, almost in a breath. +"We were sharp beset. 'Twas not easy to gather in all the outlying +people in season. There be others as well not saved in the block. The +savage, too, is far more friendly to you than to us English. There's +right good hope that at the worst the lost are but captives." + +This cold comfort seemed to madden the bereaved man. Muttering to +himself in his own tongue, and darting wild looks around, as if his +brain were turned and he were about to run amuck, he suddenly sprang on +his horse, which panted there, fagged and dripping. + +"Oben der gate!" he shouted, in a tone so commanding that, though +several tried to seize his horse's head by the bit, fearing some act of +desperate folly, others unbarred the entrance. Cornelis dashed through +as swiftly as an Indian arrow. Two miles of clearing and forest lay +between him and his cabin. The way was thick with savages thirsting for +blood. Cornelis spurred on, numb to all sense of danger. The smoke even +yet curled from the embers of smouldering homesteads at every turn. But +he saw only one house in his mind's eye--that was a cabin perched in the +midst of a clearing on top of a great rock, with flames bursting from +its roof; he heard but one sound--the shrieking of wife and children in +their last peril. + +Perhaps it was the wild gestures of the rider, signalling as if to +unseen beings, the motions of a maniac, which barred any pursuit at the +outset, for the American Indian as well as the Mohammedan of the East +fancies the madman under the protection of God; perhaps it was that many +of the savages felt more kindly to Cornelis than to other whites. It was +not till he neared the base of the precipice, on the crest of which he +had built his home, that he saw six Indians on his track, leaping at a +pace which outran the strides of his weary horse. + +The Dutchman turned in his saddle, and his unerring aim dropped one of +the pursuers; then he urged his way amid the gloom of the great trees up +the hill. When he gained the clearing at the top he saw what had once +been his happy home, now only a pile of cold ashes and half-charred +logs. He had no time to search if by chance there might yet remain some +ghastly relic of those he had loved and lost. The red men were upon him, +running as fleetly as stag-hounds, for now they were on the level. + +They were sure of their prey. A triumphant whoop rang out. Tomahawks +whizzed through the air, one of them striking Cornelis in the shoulder, +as the savages pressed on at top speed. The white man laughed loud and +long with a laughter that filled the forest with shrill echoes, and +motioning to them as if he were their leader, leaped his horse from the +top of the terrible rock, crashing through the branches of trees down, +down a hundred feet. The human hounds so hot in the chase were going +with a rush which could not be stayed, and they too plunged to death in +the pathway of their victim. Cornelis escaped with broken limbs, though +his horse was killed, and all the Indians perished but one, who saved +himself by clutching at the limb of a tree. He fled and carried the +story to his tribe. + +With the coming of the Dutch soldiers the settlers were strong enough to +scatter their assailants. But most of the colonists, discouraged, +drifted away to the New Netherlands or to the more easterly settlements. +It was not till two years later that a force of Dutch and English +stormed the Sinoway village and crushed the power of the tribe, after +which the town was successfully settled. + + * * * * * + +Ten years have passed. The skill and toil of the whites have swept away +the scars of Indian warfare. Pleasant homes rise amid smiling fields of +maize and rye. One summer day, Cornelis Labden, a helpless cripple and +almost half-witted, sat on the porch of Captain Underhill's house, +smoking his long Dutch pipe and looking at the shining waters of the +Sound. Here or in the good Captain's hearth-corner he would doze and +mumble all day long summer and winter. An Indian youth, nearly grown, +walked up the lane and stood before this poor wreck of a man. Cornelis +shut his eyes, and waved him off as if to drive away some thought that +troubled his weak brain. + +"Lapten, me find Lapten," said the Indian, whose blue eyes and brown +hair were queerly amiss with the copper skin, the breech-clout, and the +moccasins of the savage. + +The sound of the voice stirred Cornelis strangely, and as if by some +instinct he spoke in Dutch. The lad listened eagerly, for the words +seemed to be half known to him, and he repeated them. Cornelis watched +him with an intent look, like the gaze of one just awakened from a long +sleep. He trembled, and for the first time in years intelligence burned +in his eyes. Without another word he led the Indian lad within and began +to rub the skin of his face with soap and water, and in a few moments +the clear white was shown. While he was thus engaged over the +unresisting youth, Captain Underhill entered. + +"Cabdain, Cabdain," said Cornelis, with a shaking voice, "mein Hans ist +goom back. Done ye know yer old vader, leedle Hans? Vare ist Anneke?" +And he threw his arms with a passion of sobs about the lad's neck. This +opened the gates of memory for father and son, and the identity was soon +made clear. In recovering his son, Dutch Cornelis had also regained his +reason. + +By gradual questioning, the facts were fully obtained as the +half-forgotten language of childhood came back. Hans and Anneke had been +carried off by strange Indians of the more northern tribes, who had +sent warriors to join in the Sinoway attack. The children had been +separated, and Anneke was lost forever. As Hans grew up, forgetting +much, he still remembered his father's name and his white blood. He had +finally escaped from his adopted tribe, and worked his way by a strange +series of accidents and guesses back to the place of his birth. Such, in +the main, is the legend of Labden's Rock. + + + + +III + +TOMMY TEN-CANOES + +A Tale of King Philip's Scout + + +There once lived in New York an Indian warrior by the name of Peter +Twenty-Canoes. Tommy Ten-Canoes lived in New England, at Pokanoket, near +Mount Hope, on an arm of the Mount Hope Bay. + +He was not a warrior, but a runner; not a great naval hero, as his +picturesque name might suggest, but a news agent, as it were; he used +his nimble feet and his ten canoes to bear messages to the Indians of +the villages of Pokanoket and to the Narragansetts, and, it may be, to +other friendly tribes. + +Pokanoket? You may have read Irving's sketch of Philip of Pokanoket, but +we doubt if you have in mind any clear idea of this beautiful region, +from whose clustering wigwams the curling smoke once rose among the +giant oaks along the many waterways. The former site of Pokanoket is now +covered by Bristol and Warren (Rhode Island) and Swansea +(Massachusetts). It is a place of bays and rivers, which were once rich +fishing-grounds; of shores full of shells and shellfish; of cool springs +and wild-grape vines; of bowery hills; and of meadows that were once +yellow with maize. + +Tommy Ten-Canoes was a great man in his day. As a news agent in peace he +was held in high honor, but as a scout in war and a runner for the great +chiefs he became a heroic figure. There were great osprey's nests all +about the shores of old Pokanoket on the ancient decayed trees, and +Tommy made a crown of osprey feathers, and crowned himself, with the +approval of the great Indian chiefs. + +Once when swimming with this crown of feathers on his head, he had been +shot at by an Englishman, who thought him some new and remarkable bird. +But while his crown was shattered, it was not the crown of his head. He +was very careful of both his crowns after that alarming event. + +Tommy Ten-Canoes was a brave man. He was ready to face any ordinary +danger for his old chief Massasoit, and for that chief's two sons, +Wamsutta (Alexander) and Pomebacen (Philip). He would cross the Mount +Hope or the Narragansett bay in tempestuous weather. He used to convey +the beautiful Queen Weetamoc from Pocassett to Mount Hope to attend +Philip's war-dances under the summer moons, and when the old Indian war +began he offered his two swift legs and all of his ten canoes to the +service of his chief. + +"Nipanset"--for this was his Indian name--"Nipanset's bosom is his +chief's, and it knows not fear. Nipanset fears not the storm or the foe, +or the gun of the pale-face. Call, call, O ye chiefs; in the hour of +danger call for Nipanset. Nipanset fears not death." + +So Tommy Ten-Canoes boasted at the great council under the moss-covered +cliff at Mount Hope. + +He was honest; but there was one thing that Nipanset, or Tommy +Ten-Canoes, did fear. It was enchantment. He would have faced torture or +death without a word, but everything mysterious filled him with terror. +If he had thought that a bush contained a hidden enemy and flintlock, he +would have been very brave; but had he thought that the same bush was +stirred by a spirit, or was enchanted, he would have run. + +Tommy Ten-Canoes had been friendly to the white people who had settled +in Pokanoket. There was a family by the name of Brown, who lived on +Cole's River, that he especially liked, and he became a companion of one +of the sons named James. The two were so often together that the people +used to speak of those who were very intimate as being "as _thick_ as +little James Brown and old Tommy Ten-Canoes," or rather as "Jemmie +Brown" and our young hero of the many birch boats. + +The two hunted and fished together; they made long journeys together; in +fact, they did everything in common, except work. Tommy did not work, +at least in the field, while James did at times, when he was not with +Tommy. + +When the Indian war began, King Philip sent word to the Brown family, +and also to the Cole family, who lived near them, both of whom had +treated him justly and generously, that he would do all in his power to +protect them, but that he might not be able to restrain his braves. + +Tommy Ten-Canoes brought a like friendly message to Jemmie Brown. + +"I will always be true to you," he said; "true as the north wind to the +river, the west wind to the sea, and the south wind to the flowers. +Nipanset's heart is true to his friends. Our hearts will see each other +again." + +The Indian torch swept the settlements. One of the bravest scouts in +these dark scenes was Tommy Ten-Canoes. He flew from place to place like +the wind, carrying news and spying out the enemy. + +Tommy grew proud over his title of "Ten-Canoes." He felt like ten +Tommies. He wore his crown of osprey feathers like a royal king. His +ten canoes ferried the painted Indians at night, and carried the chiefs +hither and thither. + +There was a grizzly old Boston Captain, who had done hard service on the +sea, named Moseley. He wore a wig, a thing that the Indians had never +seen, and of whose use they knew nothing at all. + +Tommy Ten-Canoes had never feared the white man nor the latter's +death-dealing weapons. He had never retreated; he had always been found +in front of the stealthy bands as they pursued the forest trails. But +his courage was at last put to a test of which he had never dreamed. + +Old Captain Moseley had led a company of trained soldiers against the +Indians from Boston. Tommy Ten-Canoes had discovered the movement, and +had prepared the Indians to meet it. Captain Moseley's company, which +consisted of one hundred men, had first marched to a place called Myles +Bridge in Swansea. Here was a garrison house in which lived Rev. John +Myles. The church was called Baptist, but people of all faiths were +welcome to it; among the latter, Marinus Willett, who afterwards became +the first Mayor of New York. It was the first church of the kind in +Massachusetts, and it still exists in Swansea. + +Over the glimmering waterways walled with dark oak woods came Tommy +Ten-Canoes, with five of his famous boats, and landed at a place near +the thrifty Baptist colony, so that his little navy might be at the +ready service of Philip. It was the last days of June. There had been an +eclipse of the moon on the night that Tommy Ten-Canoes had glided up the +Sowans River towards Myles Bridge. He thought the eclipse was meant for +him and his little boats, and he was a very proud and happy man. + +"The moon went out in the clear sky when we left the bay," said he; "so +shall our enemies be extinguished. The moon shone again on the calm +river. For whom did the moon shine again? For Nipanset." + +Poor Tommy Ten-Canoes! He was not the first hero of modern times who +has thought that the moon and stars were made for him and shone for him +on special occasions. + +In old Captain Moseley's company was a Jamaica pilot who had visited +Pokanoket and been presented to Tommy, and told that the latter was a +very renowned Indian. + +"_What_ are you?" asked the Pilot. + +"I am Tommy One-Canoe." + +"Ah!" + +"I am Tommy Two-Canoes." + +"Indeed! Ah!" + +"I am Tommy Three-Canoes." + +"Oh! Ah! Indeed!" + +"I am Tommy Four-Canoes, _and_ I am Tommy Five-Canoes, _and_ I am Tommy +Six-Canoes, _and_ I am Tommy TEN-Canoes." + +"Well, Tommy Ten-Canoes," said the Pilot, "don't you ever get into any +trouble with the white people, because you might find yourself merely +Tommy No-Canoes." + +Tommy was offended at this. He had no fears of such a fall from power, +however. + +The old Jamaica pilot had taken a boat and drifted down the Sowans +River one long June day, when he chanced to discover Tommy and his five +canoes. The canoes were hauled up on the shore under the cool trees +which overshadowed the water. The Pilot, who had with him three men, +rowed boldly to the shore and surprised Tommy Ten-Canoes, who had gone +into the wood, leaving his weapons in one of his canoes. + +The Pilot seized the canoe with the weapons and drew it from the shore. + +Tommy Ten-Canoes beheld the movement with astonishment. He called to the +old Pilot, "I am Tommy Ten-Canoes!" + +"No, no," answered the Pilot. "You are Tommy Nine-Canoes." + +Presently the Pilot drew from the shore another canoe. Tommy called +again: + +"Don't you know me? I am--" + +"Tommy Eight-Canoes," said the Pilot. + +Another boat was removed in like manner, and the Pilot shouted, "And now +you are Tommy Seven-Canoes." Another, and the Pilot called again, "Now +you are Tommy Six-Canoes." Another. "Good-bye, Tommy Five-Canoes," said +the Pilot, and he and his men drew all of the light canoes after them up +the river. + +[Illustration: "GOOD-BYE, TOMMY FIVE-CANOES"] + +Xerxes at Salamis could hardly have felt more crushed in heart than +Tommy Ten-Canoes. But hope revived; he was Tommy Five-Canoes still. He +was not quite so sure now, however, that the moon on that still June +night had been eclipsed expressly for him. + +The scene of the war now changed to the western border, as the towns of +Hadley and Deerfield were called, for these towns in that day were the +"great west," as afterwards was the Ohio Reserve. Tommy having lost five +of his canoes, now used his swift feet as a messenger. He still had +hopes of doing great deeds, else why had the moon been eclipsed on that +beautiful June night? + +But an event followed the loss of his five canoes that quite changed his +opinion. As a messenger or runner he had hurried to the scene of the +brutal conflicts on the border, and had there discovered that Captain +Moseley, the old Jamaica pirate, was subject to some spell of +enchantment; that he had two heads. + +"Ugh! ugh! him no good!" said one of the Indians to Tommy; "he take off +his head and put him in his pocket. It is no use to fight him. Spell set +on him--enchanted." + +Tommy Ten-Canoes' fear of the man with two heads, one of which he +sometimes took off and put in his pocket, spread among the Indians. One +day in a skirmish Tommy saw Moseley take off one of his enchanted heads +and hang it on a blueberry bush. Other Indians saw it. "No scalp him," +said they. "Run!" And run they did, not from the open foe, but from the +supposed head on the bush. Moseley did not dream at the time that it was +his wig that had given him the victory. + +Across the Mount Hope Bay, among the sunny headlands of Pocassett, there +was an immense cedar swamp, cool and dark, and in summer full of +fire-flies. Tommy Ten-Canoes called it the swamp of the fire-flies. It +was directly opposite Pokanoket, across the placid water. A band of +Indians gathered there, and covered their bodies with bushes, so that +they might not be discovered on the shore. + +One moonlight night in September Tommy went to visit these masked +Indians in four of his canoes. He rowed one of his canoes, and three +squaws the others. On reaching the fire-fly cedar swamp the party met +the masked Indians, and late at night retired to rest, the three Indian +squaws sleeping on the shore under their three canoes. + +Captain Moseley had sent the old Jamaica pilot to try to discover the +hiding-place of this mysterious band of Indians. The Pilot had seen the +four canoes crossing the bay from Pokanoket under the low September +moon, and had hurried with a dozen men to the place of landing. He +surprised the party early the next morning, when they were disarmed and +asleep. + +The crack of his musket rang out in the clear air over the bay. A naked +Indian was seen to leap up. + +"Stop! I am Tommy Ten-Canoes." + +"No, Tommy Five-Canoes," answered the Pilot; "and now you are only +Tommy Four-Canoes." Saying which, the Pilot seized the _sixth_ canoe. + +A shriek followed; another, and another. Three canoes hidden in the +river-weeds were overturned, and three Indian squaws were seen running +into the dark swamp. + +"And now you are Tommy Three-Canoes," said the Pilot, seizing the +seventh canoe. "And now Tommy Two-Canoes," seizing the eighth. + +"And only Tommy One-Canoe," taking possession of the ninth canoe. "And +now you are Tommy No-Canoes, as I told you you would be if you went to +war," said the Pilot, taking according to this odd reckoning the +Indian's last canoe. + +But Tommy had one canoe left, notwithstanding the dark Pilot had taken +his _tenth_. He was glad that it was not here. It would have been his +_eleventh_ canoe, although he had but ten. He knew that the Pilot was +one of Moseley's men, the Captain who put his head at times in his +pocket or hung it upon a bush. Poor Tommy Ten-Canoes! He uttered a +shriek, like the fugitive squaws, and fled. + +"Don't shoot at him," said the old Pilot to his men. "I have taken from +him all of his ten canoes; let him go." + +Tommy had not a mathematical mind or education, but he knew that somehow +he had no eleventh canoe, and that one of his ten canoes yet remained. +And even the old Pilot must have at last seen that his count of ten was +only nine. Tommy fled to a point on the Titicut River at which he could +swim across, and then made his solitary way back to the shores of +Pokanoket and to his remaining canoe, which did not belong to +mathematics. + +One morning late in September Tommy Ten-Canoes turned his solitary canoe +towards Cole's River, near which lived his boy friend, James Brown. He +paddled slowly, and late in the dreamy afternoon reached the shore +opposite the Brown farm. He landed and tied his one canoe to Jemmie +Brown's boat, in which the two had spent many happy hours before the +war. + +The canoe was found there the next day; but Tommy Ten-Canoes? He was +never seen again; he probably sought a grave in the waters of the bay. + +But he had fulfilled his promise. He had been true in his heart as "the +north wind to the river, the west wind to the sea, and the south wind to +the flowers." + + + + +IV + +JONATHAN'S ESCAPE + +A Young Hero of Hadley who Fought at Turner's Falls in 1676 + + +Though the Indians of New England were for many years vastly superior in +numbers to the white men, they were never wholly united, and their +cowardice and lack of discipline were weaknesses for which their +treachery and deceit could not compensate. The long conflict between the +races culminated in 1675 in King Philip's War, when the wily Wampanoag +sachem succeeded in forming a confederation, embracing nearly all the +New England tribes, for a final desperate struggle. + +It seemed for a time as though the combination might succeed. At the end +of the summer the scattered settlements, and especially those along the +Connecticut River, which formed the outposts of the colonies, were +panic-stricken. Everywhere the savage allies had been victorious. A +dozen towns had been attacked and burned, bands of soldiers had been cut +off, and isolated murders without number had been committed. Prowling +bands of Indians lurked about the stockaded towns, driving off cattle +and rendering impossible the cultivation of the fields, so that the +settlers were called upon to face starvation as well as the +scalping-knife and tomahawk. + +There was no meeting the Indians face to face, except by surprise. They +fought from ambush, or by sudden assault on unprotected points, and +would be gone before troops could be brought to the scene. The white men +were unable to follow them without Indian allies, and they were slow to +adapt themselves to the Indian mode of fighting. Flushed by their +success, the confederates became overconfident, and grew to despise +their clumsy opponents. In the spring of 1676 more than five thousand +of them were encamped on the Connecticut River, twenty miles north of +Hadley. Here they planted their corn and squashes, and amused themselves +with councils, ceremonies, and feasts, boasting of what they had done +and what they would do. They judged the white men by themselves, and did +not suspect the iron courage and stubborn determination that were urging +the people in the towns below them "to be out against the enemy." On the +night of May 18th they indulged in a great feast, and after it was over, +slept soundly in their bark lodges, all but the wary Philip, who, +scenting danger, had withdrawn across the river. + +On that same evening about two hundred and fifty men and boys gathered +in Hadley street. Of this number fifty-six were soldiers from the +garrisons of Hadley, Northampton, Springfield, Hatfield, and Westfield. +The rest were volunteers, among whom was Jonathan Wells, of Hadley, +sixteen years old, whose adventures and miraculous escape have been +preserved. + +The party was under the command of Captain William Turner, and the +expedition which it was about to undertake was inspired by a daring +amounting to rashness. The plan was to attack the Indian camp, which +contained four times their number of well-armed braves. Defeat meant +death, or captivity and torture worse than death. The march began after +nightfall so as not to attract the attention of the Indian scouts, and +the little band made its way safely through swamps and forests, past the +Indian outposts, and at daybreak arrived in the neighborhood of the +camp. Here the horses were left under a small guard among the trees, +while the men crept forward to the lodges of the enemy. + +The surprise was complete. The panic-stricken savages, crying that the +dreaded Mohawks were upon them, were shot down by scores, or, plunging +into the river, were swept over the falls which now bear Captain +Turner's name. The backbone of Philip's conspiracy was broken, and he +himself was driven to begin soon afterwards the hunted wanderings which +were to end in the fatal morass. + +But the attacking party, though victorious, was not yet out of danger. +It was still heavily outnumbered by the surviving Indians. While the +soldiers were destroying arms, ammunition, and food, or scattered in +pursuit of the fleeing enemy, the warriors rallied, and opened fire upon +them from under cover of the trees. Captain Turner became alarmed and +ordered a retreat. The main body hastily mounted and plunged into the +forest, seeking to shake off the cloud of savages who hung upon their +flanks like a swarm of angry bees. + +Young Jonathan was with a detachment of about twenty who were some +distance up the river when the retreat began. They ran back to the +horses and found their comrades gone. The Indians pressed upon them in +numbers they could not hope to withstand. It was every man for himself. +In the confusion the boy kept his wits about him, and managed to find +his horse. As he plunged forward under the branches three Indians +levelled their pieces and fired. One shot passed through his hair, +another struck his horse, and the third entered his thigh, splintering +the bone where it had been broken by a cart-wheel and never properly +healed. He reeled, and would have fallen had he not clutched the mane of +his horse. The Indians, seeing that he was wounded, pursued him, but he +pointed his gun at them, and held them at bay until he was out of their +reach. As he galloped on he heard a cry for help, and reining in his +horse, regardless of the danger which encompassed him, found Stephen +Belding, a boy of his own age, lying sorely wounded on the ground. He +managed to pull him up behind, and they rode double until they overtook +the party in advance. This brave act saved Belding's life. + +The retreat had become a rout. All was panic and dismay; but Jonathan +was unwilling to desert the comrades left behind. He sought out Captain +Turner, and begged him to halt and turn back to their relief. "It is +better to save some than to lose all," was the Captain's answer. The +confusion increased, and to add to it the guides became bewildered and +lost their way. "If you love your lives, follow me!" cried one. "If you +would see your homes again! follow me," shouted another, and the party +was soon split up into small bands. The one with which Jonathan found +himself became entangled in a swamp, where it was once more attacked by +the Indians. He escaped again, with ten others, who, finding that his +horse was going lame from his wound, and that he himself was weak from +loss of blood, left him with another wounded man and rode away. His +companion, thinking the boy's hurt worse than his own, concluded that he +would stand a better chance of getting clear alone, and riding off on +pretence of seeking the path, failed to return. Jonathan was now wholly +deserted. Wounded, ignorant even of the direction of his home, +surrounded by bloodthirsty Indians, and weak with hunger, he pushed +desperately on. He was near fainting once, when he heard some Indians +running about and whooping near by; but they did not discover him, and a +nutmeg which he had in his pocket revived him for a time. + +After straying some distance farther he swooned in good earnest, and +fell from his horse. When he came to he found that he had retained his +hold on the reins, and that the animal stood quietly beside him. He tied +him to a tree, and lay down again; but he soon grew so weak that he +abandoned all hope of escape, and out of pity loosed the horse and let +him go. He succeeded in kindling a fire by flashing powder in the pan of +his gun. It spread in the dry leaves and burned his hands and face +severely. Feeling sure that the Indians would be attracted by the smoke +and come and kill him, he threw away his powder-horn and bullets, +keeping only ammunition for a single shot. Then he stopped his wound +with tow, bound it up with his neckcloth, and went to sleep. + +In the morning he found that the bleeding had stopped and that he was +much stronger. He managed to find a path which led him to a river which +he remembered to have crossed on the way to the camp. With great pain +and difficulty, leaning on his gun, the lock of which he was careful to +keep dry, he waded through it, and fell exhausted on the farther bank. +While he lay there an Indian in a canoe appeared, and the boy, who could +neither fight nor run, gave himself up for lost. But he remembered the +three Indians in the woods, and putting a bold face on the matter, aimed +his gun, though its barrel was choked with sand. The savage, thinking he +was about to shoot, leaped overboard, leaving his own gun in the canoe, +and ran to tell his friends that the white men were coming again. + +Jonathan knew that pursuit was certain, and as it was broad daylight, +and he could only hobble at best, he assured himself that there was no +hope for him. Nevertheless he looked about for a hiding-place, and +presently, a little distance away, noticed two trees which, undermined +by the current, had fallen forward into the stream close together. A +mass of driftwood had lodged on their trunks. Jonathan got back into the +water so as to leave no tracks, and creeping between the trunks under +the driftwood, found a space large enough to permit him to breathe. In a +few minutes the Indians arrived in search of him, as he had expected. +They ransacked the whole neighborhood, even running out upon the mat of +driftwood over his head, and causing the trees to sink with their weight +so as to thrust his head under water; but they could find no trace of +him, and at last retired, completely outwitted. + +The boy limped on, tortured by hunger and thirst, and so giddy with +weakness that he could proceed but a short distance without stopping to +rest. Happily he saw no more of the Indians, and at last, on the third +day of his painful journey, he arrived at Hadley, where he was welcomed +as one risen from the dead. + +The story of his escape was told for years around the wide fireplaces +throughout the country-side, and was thought so remarkable that one who +heard it, unwilling that the record of so much coolness and courage +should be lost, wrote it down for future generations of boys to read. + + + + +V + +THE CROWN OF AN AMERICAN QUEEN + +In the Days of Bacon's Rebellion in Virginia + + +In the age when America was but a name and Virginia only a hamlet, there +was a dusky queen who wore a silver crown by order of his most sacred +Majesty King Charles II., King of England, Scotland, France, Ireland, +and Virginia. + +There are few distinct Indian personalities. Powhatan, Pocahontas, +Opechancanough, Totopotomoi and his wife, the Queen of the Pamunkeys, +are savage heroes who sentinel the seventeenth century; they all +belonged to the Pamunkey tribe of the great Powhatan Confederacy, the +most powerful Indian combination that ever existed. + +When the boisterous and heroic Nathaniel Bacon[A] was in the flush of +his wonderful success, and had brought his followers to Jamestown, he +demanded of the Governor redress for Indian depredations and outrages. +When the Assembly in council was sitting, the Queen of the Pamunkeys +came in, leading her son by the hand. She came to tell of grievances +also. She wore a dress of black and white wampum peake and a mantle of +deer-skin, "cut in a frenge" six inches from the outer edge. It fell +loosely from her shoulders to her feet. On her head was a crown of +"purple bead of shell, drilled." She was a beautiful woman, old +chronicles tell us, and she walked in with a proud but aggrieved +countenance. + +[A] Nathaniel Bacon, patriot, born in England, 1642; settled in + Gloucester County, Virginia, 1670; led an independent force + against hostile Indians in 1675-76 in spite of Governor + Berkeley's opposition; as the head of the republican movement + he came into open conflict with Berkeley and the royalists; he + captured and burned Jamestown in September, 1676; died the + following October; known as a rebel, but the principles for + which he fought were in the main those of independence and + patriotism. + +She sat down in the midst of the Assembly, listening eagerly to the +arguments for the suppression and, if need be, the extinction of her +race. And she remembered Totopotomoi bleeding for these people who would +not recognize her rights. She arose and made a speech in her own tongue, +eloquent with gesticulation; the refrain of it was a mad wail: +"Totopotomoi chepiak!" (_i.e._, Totopotomoi dead). + +Colonel Hill, the younger, touched a fellow-member on the shoulder, and +whispered: "What she says is true. Totopotomoi fought with my father, +and fell with his warriors." + +But the Assembly would not listen to the poor suffering Queen. They +wanted to fight more battles, and the Queen of the Pamunkeys must +furnish her quota. + +"How many men will you furnish?" asked Nathaniel Bacon. "How many will +you give to fight and subdue the treacherous tribes which threaten our +peace?" + +The Queen was silent. She remembered her husband and his slain braves. +She had fears for her son, and she would not speak. + +"How many?" asked Bacon. + +The poor Queen had her head turned away and bowed. + +"How many?" demanded the famous rebel again. + +Then she slowly turned her lovely face, and softly whispered, "Six." + +Her answer infuriated Bacon, who considered the number contemptible. +"How many more?" he asked. + +The Queen gave him a glance of indignant hate, and haughtily answered, +"Twelve." Then she gathered her robes about her, and majestically left +the room. + +Once more we see the Queen of the Pamunkeys, and now in fear and +adversity. Bacon in his campaign destroyed the Pamunkey settlement--the +same tribe which had so nobly assisted the English. + +The poor Queen, terrified, fled far into the forest, accompanied by +"onely a little Indian boy." Her old nurse followed her, but was +captured. Bacon ordered the old woman to guide him to a certain point, +but she, full of revenge, led him in an opposite direction, whereupon +the rebel ordered her to be knocked in the head. + +The Queen wandered about almost crazy, and at last determined to return +and throw herself upon Bacon's mercy; but as she was rushing towards her +desolated wigwam she came upon the body of her murdered nurse, which so +affrighted her that she ran back into the wilderness, where she remained +"fourteen daies without food, and would have perished but that she +gnawed on the legg of a terrapin which the little Indian boy brought +her." + +So only a few vivid sketches of this Queen are preserved to us in +history but they have gained for her a place as a martyr. In recognition +of her own and her husband's deeds, Charles II. bestowed upon her a +silver crown, with the lion of England, the lilies of France, and the +harp of Ireland engraved thereon. + +Savages are not averse to the baubles of civilization, and the crown +which their Queen wore was a blessed treasure to her tribe for a hundred +years after the Queen was dead. + +The Pamunkey tribe, or a pitiful remnant of them, still dwell in +Virginia, on the river which bears their name. They have a chief, and +their own government. Annually they send tribute of fish and game and +Indian handiwork to the Governor of Virginia. They are weakening +physically, and pray for new blood from the Western reservation. + +Once the tribe started for the West, carrying their best treasure, the +silver crown. They came to the plantation of Mr. Morson, at Falmouth, +and there bad weather and sickness made them halt. Mr. Morson attended +to their physical wants, and allowed them to pitch their tents upon his +land until their distress abated. + +"What do we owe you?" asked the chief, when they had decided to return +to their former Virginia reservation. + +"Nothing," said Mr. Morson. Perhaps he remembered Totopotomoi and his +sorrowing Queen. + +"Then we will give you what we value most," and the chief presented to +Mr. Morson the crown of the Queen of the Pamunkeys. For three +generations it remained in the Morson family, and then it was purchased +by the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. + +The crown is really a frontlet, and the Queen of the Pamunkeys wore it +upon her brow, surmounted by a red velvet cap, long since destroyed by +moths, and bound to her head by two silver chains. + + + + +VI + +HOW A BLACKSMITH'S BOY BECAME A KNIGHT + +The Treasure-hunt of William Phipps in the late Seventeenth Century + + +Sir William Phipps, Baronet; Captain in the Royal Navy; Captain-General +and Commander-in-Chief of Massachusetts Bay; Governor of Massachusetts. + +What do you think of all these titles for one man to wear? Surely, you +say, he must naturally have been a great man to deserve so much +distinction; and again you say that the conditions of his life must +account for such honors; that he must have been of gentle birth, reared +in luxury, his education carefully attended by excellent masters, and +great influence brought to bear upon his King to advance him so far on +the high-road of fame. Well, let us see if facts will sustain this +thought. + +William Phipps was born February 2, 1650, in a wretched log house on the +banks of the Kennebec River. His father, an honest but ignorant +blacksmith, was more dependent upon his rifle and fishing-line to supply +his family with food than upon the occasional shilling that found its +way into the smoke-begrimed interior of his rude workshop. + +Without education himself, the father was unable to instruct his +children beyond the simplest rules of arithmetic and the plainest +spelling and reading, but these he drilled them in as perseveringly as +he did in the terrifying religious catechism of that day. In the course +of years, when William developed into a robust, courageous lad, he +shared with his parents the duties of providing for his sisters and +brothers by either shouldering the heavy fire-arm and plunging into the +dark Maine forests in quest of game, or in taking his father's place and +beating out the iron sparks, while the sturdy smith dropped a +temptingly baited hook into the swiftly flowing stream. + +In the year 1676, in his twenty-seventh year, the hero of our story +received his parents' blessing, and left home for the purpose of seeking +his fortune. With a hopeful heart and an exceedingly light pocket, he +made his way to Boston, and found employment in the blacksmith-shop of +one Roger Spencer, whose pretty daughter Charity soon won the heart of +her father's handsome, stalwart helper. + +So far we fail to find very much in the way of gentle birth, luxury, +education, and influence. But then, you may ask, how, under such +circumstances, could he ever have risen so high? Let us follow his +career. + +His lack of worldly goods was made the excuse for refusing the offer of +his heart and hand that he made to the fair Puritan, and in the hope of +improving his fortunes he forsook the forge and shipped on board of a +merchant vessel to follow the adventurous life of a sailor. When saying +farewell, he gave his promise to return in a few years with money enough +to build a fair brick house for his lady-love in one of the green lanes +of Boston. + +The ship in which Phipps sailed carried a cargo to the island of +Jamaica, then cruised between that port and England for several voyages. +Owing to his industry and ability as a seaman, Phipps was after a time +advanced to the position of mate. A voyage or two following his +promotion he fell in with an old seaman who claimed to be the only +survivor of a Spanish vessel containing immense treasure that had been +wrecked on one of the coral islands in the West Indies some years +before. It appears that this treasure-ship had sailed from the coast of +South America, freighted with a cargo of silver which had been dug out +of the mines and cast into bricks to be conveyed to Spain. The sailor +assured Mr. Phipps that the exact location of the wreck was known to +him, and agreed, for a certain share of the profits, to conduct an +expedition to the place where the vessel had gone down. Believing the +story to be true, the mate bound the seaman to secrecy, and gave him a +berth on board his vessel. + +Upon arriving in London, application was made by him to the King for +permission and aid to fit out a ship for the purpose of recovering a +great treasure that had been lost by the sinking of a Spanish galleon in +the West Indies, claiming that he had accidentally learned the location +of the vessel, and that he would guarantee to secure the precious cargo. +After considerable delay a ship called the _Algier Rose_ was placed +under his command, and with a crew of ninety men he set sail. Upon +reaching the West Indies a mutiny broke out among the forecastle hands, +and Captain Phipps found it necessary to put into Jamaica, discharge all +hands, and ship a new company. He now started for the scene of the +wreck, but a day or two following the carpenter informed him that he had +overheard the sailors plot to capture the vessel as soon as the treasure +was recovered, and use the craft thereafter as a pirate. The Captain +immediately decided to return to England, where he arrived after a +stormy passage. Under the patronage of the Duke of Albemarle the ship +was refitted, and a trustworthy crew put on board. + +The second voyage across the Atlantic was pleasant and speedy, but just +after entering the Caribbean Sea a new danger threatened the +adventurers, for early one morning they encountered a large Spanish +frigate, which at once started in chase of them. Captain Phipps +addressed his crew, telling them that if they permitted their ship to be +captured they would be sent into the interior of the country as slaves, +to drag out their lives in the silver-mines. He bade them fight bravely +if they wished to enjoy home and freedom ever again. The superior speed +of the Spaniard soon enabled that vessel to open fire on the _Algier +Rose_, which so heartily returned the compliment that some of the +foreigner's spars were shot away, making her fall astern of her saucy +enemy, who now succeeded in escaping. Without further trouble the +treasure-hunters reached the island on whose treacherous coral reefs the +silver-ship had been wrecked. Here the _Algier Rose_ was safely moored, +and search commenced for the sunken wealth. + +The small boats were used to explore the reefs, and served as platforms +from which the best swimmers in the crew would dive into the channels +between the walls of coral on the lee side of the island, endeavoring to +locate the spot where the galleon had been carried before she struck. As +the water in these places seldom exceeded twenty feet in depth, the +bottom would have been plainly visible from the boat had it not been for +the continuous rippling and foaming of the surface water. Several weeks +were passed in a vain pursuit, and at last, worn out and discouraged, +the men positively refused to continue the work. By agreeing to abandon +the enterprise and set sail for England at the end of another week, +unless some success was met with, the Captain prevailed upon several of +his seamen to aid him for that length of time. + +Day after day went by, and the seventh and last day specified in the +agreement arrived. Two of the divers had broken down under the strain, +and now when the final trial was to be made the Captain called for two +men to go in their stead, but no one responded. He then appealed to +their manhood, asked them if he had not shared all their labors, and +asked them to give him but one day more. The dispirited sailors made no +response to the appeal, but the cook volunteered to go if some one would +take his place in the galley. This man was a negro about thirty years of +age, and had been shipped in England to act as a cabin servant on the +_Algier Rose_, but the ship's cook having died on the passage out, he +had been sent into the caboose to take the former's place. Possessing a +powerful physique and being an excellent swimmer, he stood by his +Captain that day, the sole remaining hope, and seemed tireless in his +efforts to find for the disheartened commander some evidence of the +treasure, which the seamen swore existed only in the capsized brain of +the man whom they could see out yonder under the broiling sun guiding +the boat in and out of the channels, while the laughing, leaping waters +tinkled against the bows and ran in gurgling, mocking glee along the +side. The negro would dive into the sea, and a few moments later +reappear; then, as he swam towards the boat, he would shake his head in +answer to the anxious, questioning look in the Captain's eyes. The boat +would move on again a short distance, and while the rowers held it +stationary a dark form would part the water and sink down and down among +the startled fishes, that flashed away in affright from the strange +creature whose darting arms seemed to grasp at them as they shot for +safety among the branches of coral underbush. + +The morning has passed gloomily away, and the negro plunges over the +side for the last time before the men row back to the ship for dinner. +Suddenly a black face in which is set two wildly rolling eyes bobs up +alongside the boat, and a voice choking for breath and broken with +excitement manages to gasp, "Him down thar, Massa Cap'n; him down thar!" + +The great treasure is discovered! + +No more despondency now. No more aching limbs. Splash, splash, splash! +The rowers have torn off their scanty clothing, and jumped over the +side to prove with their own eyes the story brought up to them from the +bottom of the sea. One by one men reappear, and their recovered breath +is used to send such a glad shout across the reefs that their shipmates +hear it over a mile away, tumble into the boats alongside, and pull +madly out to them; then learning the joyful news, they break into +cheers, kick off their garments, and overboard they also go to see the +ingots of silver scattered over the white sand amid the torn and broken +remnants of the wreck. + +During the two weeks that followed the crew of the _Algier Rose_ worked +zealously at recovering the wealth that the Spaniards had taken such +pains to garner from the mountain range just back of the coast. A +shallow net-work bag was hitched together by the seamen for the purpose +of holding the bars of silver that the divers would throw into it. Those +manning the float that had been constructed would lower the rope cradle +until it rested on the bottom; then the diver would thrust his feet +into a pair of heavy lead slippers and drop through the hole in the +centre of the raft which was anchored above the wreck. An instant later, +when the bed of sand was reached, the diver would quickly select and +throw a brick of metal into the basket, drop his clumsy foot-gear into +the same receptacle, and then, relieved of the weight which had held him +down, he would shoot up to the surface of the water. Accepting his +reappearance as a signal, the men on the float would haul up the net, +lift out the treasure, and pass it into the small boats to be carried to +the ship. At the end of a fortnight, when the divers reported that the +last bar had been gathered, the Captain calculated that he had recovered +fully thirty tons of pure silver. + +The stone in the lower hold was thrown overboard to make room for the +noble ballast, which was carefully stowed and wedged in its mean and +gloomy quarters under the decks. The _Algier Rose_ now sailed for +England, where she arrived safely five weeks from the day that her +anchor had been hove up from its resting-place on the white coral bed +off the treasure island. + +Captain Phipps's share of the profits was very large, but the exact +amount is unknown. In addition to a princely revenue, the King was so +much pleased with him for bringing such wealth into the country that he +conferred on him the honor of knighthood, and to reward him still +further for having beaten off the Spanish man-of-war, his Majesty was +pleased to grant him a commission as Captain in the Royal Navy. + +Sir William soon sailed for Boston in command of a fine frigate, and a +reunion with the now-envied Charity was speedily followed by the tying +of a true-lover's knot before the altar of the old meeting-house near +the fort. A few months later the former blacksmith's boy redeemed his +promise by presenting to my lady "a fair brick house in one of the green +lanes of Boston." This residence, which was erected on Salem Street, +stood until a few years ago, being last used as an orphan asylum for +boys. In 1690 Sir William was named by the King, Captain-General and +Commander-in-Chief of Massachusetts Bay, and several years later +received a royal patent as Governor of Massachusetts. + + + + +VII + +THE GIRL CAPTAIN OF CASTLE DANGEROUS + +How Three Children Fought the Iroquois in 1692 + + +Among all the incidents of endurance and pluck set forth in the annals +of the history of North America, few can be found more remarkable than +that which is contained in some very dusty pages to be read in quaint +French in a Paris library, or in the transcription of them by one of our +own historical authors--the "Statement of Mademoiselle Magdeleine de +Verchres, aged Fourteen Years," daughter of the commander of a lonely +French fort, called after her father, which stood on the St. Lawrence +River a score of miles below Montreal. + +It was October 22, 1692. The strong fort enclosure, stockade and +block-house, were open, and the residents were at work in their fields +at some distance. M. de Verchres was at Quebec on military business. +His wife (who was the heroine of another famous incident of those +perilous days) had gone to Quebec. In the stockade were actually only +two soldiers, a couple of lads who were the young girl's brothers, one +very aged man, and a few women and children. Magdeleine--or, as we +should now spell it, Madeleine--was standing at a considerable distance +from the open gate of the fort with a servant, little suspecting any +danger. + +All at once a rattle of arms from the direction where some of the +agriculturists were busy startled her. It was repeated. She began to see +men running in terror in the far-away fields. At the same moment the +serving-man beside her, equally astonished, exclaimed, "Run, +Mademoiselle, run; the Iroquois are upon us!" The young girl looked +where he pointed, and lo! a troop of some forty or fifty of the wily +savages, thinking to surprise the stockade while their main band +attacked those who were outside, were running towards the gates, +scarcely a hundred yards from where she stood trembling. There was not +an instant to lose. It was life or death for her and all. She fled for +the fort. The rest of her story can largely be quoted from Mademoiselle +Madeleine's own recitation, published at the time. + +"The Iroquois who chased me, seeing that they could not catch me alive +before I reached the gate, stopped and fired at me. The bullets whistled +about my ears, and [as she says, dryly] made the time seem very long. As +soon as I was near enough to be heard, I cried out, 'To arms! to arms!' +hoping that somebody would come out and help me, but it was no use. The +two soldiers in the fort were so terrified that they had hidden within +the block-house. + +"At the gate I found two women crying for their husbands, who had just +been killed. I forced them to go in and shut the gate. I next thought +what I could do to save myself and the few people with me. I went to +inspect the fort, and found that several palisades had fallen down and +left openings by which the enemy could easily get in. I ordered them to +be set up again, and helped to carry them myself." + +It may be asked how there was sufficient time for this necessary work. +But it must be remembered that the Indians seldom came directly to the +stockade in daylight, dreading concealed defenders greatly, and in the +present instance they were ignorant of the singularly unprotected state +of this fort. So the brave little girl was able to prepare for the worst +with all her wonderful presence of mind and courage. She continues: + +"When all the breaches were stopped, I went to the block-house, where +the ammunition is kept, and here I found the two soldiers, one hiding in +a corner, and the other with a lighted match in his hand. 'What are you +going to do with that match?' I asked. He answered, 'Set off the powder +and blow us all up!' 'You are a miserable coward,' said I. 'Go out of +this place!' I spoke so resolutely that he obeyed. I then threw off my +bonnet, and after putting on a hat and taking a gun I said to my +brothers: 'Let us fight to the death. We are fighting for our country +and our religion. Remember that our father has taught you that gentlemen +are born to shed their blood for the service of God and the King.'" + +Getting her little company together in the stockade, and discovering the +Iroquois moving about the fields, and either pursuing the unfortunate +men and women in them, or else discussing the best means of advancing, +Madeleine began firing at them from various loop-holes, and directed a +cannon to be discharged to deter them from coming nearer, and at the +same time to spread the alarm over the vicinity. The women and children +shrieked and clamored. She made them be silent, for fear of letting the +redskins suspect the situation. The foe drew back and remained quiet for +a time, and as they did this a canoe with several persons in it was seen +out upon the river coming swiftly to the dock near the fort. It was +evident that those in it did not suspect the danger that was so near, +whatever else they had heard. It was possible to save them from +slaughter, and at the same time add the settler she recognized in the +canoe, with his family, to the little garrison. Madeleine went out +alone--none other dared--from the stockade to the dock, and received +them. + +The Indians, seeing only a little girl meet the new arrivals, feared a +grand sortie if they dashed out of their ambush, and allowed Madeleine +to escort the new-comers--a settler named Fontaine and his party--into +the fort gates unhurt. She had hoped for this, and was overjoyed at her +success. Her garrison now numbered six. She goes on: + +"Strengthened by this reinforcement, I ordered that the enemy should be +fired on whenever they showed themselves. After sunset a violent +northeast wind began to blow, accompanied by snow and hail, which told +us we should have a terrible night. The Iroquois were all this time +lurking about us, and I judged by their movements that, instead of being +deterred by the storm, they would climb into the fort under cover of the +darkness. I assembled all my troop (that is to say, six persons), and +spoke to them thus: 'God has saved us to-day from the hands of our +foes, but we must take care not to fall into their snares to-night. As +for me, I want you to see that I am not afraid. I will take charge of +the fort, with the old man [she adds that he was eighty, and had never +fired a gun, but he could probably carry an alarm]; and you, Pierre +Fontaine, with La Bont and Gachet, go to the block-house with the women +and children, because that is the strongest place; and if I am taken, +don't surrender, even if I am cut to pieces and burned before your eyes. +The enemy cannot hurt you in the block-house, if you make the least show +of fight.' + +"I placed my young brothers on two of the bastions, the old man on the +third, and I took the fourth; and all night, in spite of wind, snow, and +hail, the cries of 'All's well!' were kept up from the block-house to +the fort, and from the fort to the block-house. One would have thought +that the place was full of soldiers. The Iroquois believed so, and were +completely deceived, as they confessed afterwards to M. de Callires, to +whom they told that they had held a council to make a plan for +capturing the fort in the night, but had done nothing because such a +constant watch was kept. + +"About one o'clock in the morning the sentinel [the old man] on the +bastion by the gate called out, 'Mademoiselle, I hear something!' I went +to him to find out what it was, and by the help of the snow which +covered the ground I could see in the darkness a number of cattle, the +miserable remnant that the Iroquois had left us. The others wanted to +open the gate and let them in, but I answered: 'No. You don't know all +the tricks of the savages. They are, no doubt, following the cattle, +covered with skins of such animals, so as to get into the fort if we are +foolish enough to open the gate for them.' Nevertheless, after taking +every precaution, I decided that we might open it without risk. + +"At last the daylight came again, and as the darkness disappeared our +anxieties seemed to disappear with it. Everybody took courage excepting +Madame Marguerite, wife of the Sieur Fontaine, who, being extremely +timid, as all Parisian women are, asked her husband to carry her to +another fort. [A silly request, certainly.] He said, 'I will never +abandon this fort while Mademoiselle Madeleine is here.' I answered him +that I would rather die than give it up to the enemy, and that it was of +the greatest importance that they should never get possession of any +French fort, because if they took _one_ they would think they could get +others, and would grow more bold and presumptuous than ever. + +"I may say, with truth, that I did not eat nor sleep for twice +twenty-four hours. I did not go once into my father's house, but kept +always on the bastion, or went to the block-house to see how the people +there were behaving. I always kept a cheerful and smiling face, and +encouraged my little company with the hope of speedy succor. + +"We were one week in constant alarm, with the enemy always about us. At +last M. de la Monnerie, a lieutenant sent by M. de Callires, arrived in +the night with forty men. [He came down the river.] As he did not know +whether the fort was taken or not, he approached as silently as +possible. One of our sentinels, hearing a slight sound, cried, 'Who goes +there?' I was at the time dozing, with my head on a table and my gun +lying across my arms. The sentinel told me that he heard a voice from +the river. I went up at once to the bastion to see whether it was of +Indians or Frenchmen. I demanded, 'Who goes there?' One of them replied, +'We are Frenchmen; it is De la Monnerie, come to bring you help.' I +caused the gate to be opened, placed a sentinel there, and went down to +the river to meet them. As soon as I saw M. de la Monnerie I saluted him +and said, 'Monsieur, I resign my arms to you.' He answered, gallantly, +'Mademoiselle, they are in good hands.' 'Better than you suppose,' I +returned. He inspected the fort and found everything in order and a +sentinel on each bastion. 'It is time to relieve them, monsieur,' said +I; 'we have not been off our bastions for a week.'" + +M. de la Monnerie in astonished admiration took charge of the relieved +fort. The heroine's work was over. The savages fled, and not long after +they were captured near Lake Champlain, and some twenty persons they had +made prisoners at Verchres were brought safely back. The father and +mother of Madeleine came from Montreal and Quebec, and heard the story +of her valor and coolness with rapturous praise. She grew up to be a +woman, receiving for her life a pension from the King of France as a +mark of honor, and she died at an advanced age. + + + + +VIII + +HOW MARC WAS MADE CAPTAIN + +A Rescue from the "Lords of the Woods" in 1695 + + +One evening in the winter of 1694-95 a dozen young men were lounging +around the fire in the big room of the storehouse at St. Maxime, a small +settlement on the St. Lawrence River. The door opened and two others +entered, brushing the snow from their leggings and moccasins. + +"What luck with your traps?" cried one of the loungers. + +"An otter and eight beaver," answered Nol Duroc, as he tossed a pack of +pelts into the corner. He was a tall, straight young Frenchman, whose +gay and careless nature looked out frankly through a pair of laughing +black eyes. "But come, Madame Bouvier," he cried to the store-keeper's +wife, "give us something to eat; hot, and plenty of it--eh, Philippe! If +you want news, there's more than news of traps--it's of the Iroquois. +'Tis said they're ready for a raid to the north--to make glad the hearts +of their good friends the Algonquins and the French. So our old bear of +a seigneur may do some hugging. But to-night he has other things to +think of. Marc is home--came up along the river from Quebec to-day." + +"Is he as much of a monk as 'twas said he would be?" asked Jean Bourdo. +"You know the old seigneur swears he will have no monk's scholar around +him--though he were twice his nephew." + +"We have just seen Marc, and, trust me, he is the same jolly lad he was +two years ago. You can make no grave-faced monk of him! But the old +seigneur thinks him surely spoiled. 'Twere better Marc had not seen the +monastery--not that I lack as a churchman; what would we do at St. +Maxime were it not for our good Father Auguste, who taught us when we +were boys, and keeps us straight now that we are men?--for if he had +stayed here he would doubtless be our captain--a post worth having, now +that the Iroquois are like to visit us." + +"Who will be our captain?" asked Jean Bourdo. + +"The seigneur has sent to Quebec for an officer--one that's lately from +France, and that's been well trained in the King's army. The old man +knows how much we sympathize with Marc, and so, being surly as a bear, +he will have none of us." + +"It may be a costly mistake, this putting of an Old-World soldier over +us," said Jean. "'Tis true we have small knowledge of the science of war +as taught in old France; but we can fight in the woods, and know how to +beat the Iroquois at their own game, and I'll warrant that's more than +this fine soldier can do! 'Tis a pity that Marc--a lad brought up in the +woods, whom we all like and would gladly follow--should be kept back +just because madame his mother sent him to school to the monks. But the +old seigneur will have his way, even when 'tis to his harm!" + +"So he will; and if Marc is to lead us, the seigneur must be made to +think that it is his own doing. Come, Philippe," continued Nol, turning +to the man who had come in with him, "you are older than the rest, and +have a wiser head; think of some way of bending the seigneur to our +purpose." + +They talked till far into the night, and when they separated the young +Frenchmen had the cheerful and impatient air of men (or boys, for so +they would now be counted) who had planned an undertaking and were in a +hurry to carry it out. + + * * * * * + +In the afternoon of the next day old Antoine de la Carre, seigneur of +the score of log-houses and the vast tract of woodland belonging to the +royal settlement of St. Maxime, marshalled his fighting force. In front +of the storehouse was an open space, from which the snow was kept clear, +and here the soldiers of St. Maxime were drawn up in line. There were +about forty of them all told, half of their number being young men, +voyageurs, and _coureurs des bois_; the others were older, heads of +families who devoted themselves to the more peaceful occupations of +fishing and farming. + +"I have news," said Antoine de la Carre, "that the Iroquois are moving, +so it behooves us to make ready for them. You older men shall act as a +reserve; the younger ones I will organize into a company always to be +under arms and ready to repel attack. Nol Duroc, I appoint you +lieutenant, to have charge till the officer who is to be your captain +comes from Quebec. Be active in your duty, and see that you leave +nothing undone that is for the good of the settlement." + +"We'll do what we think is best for the settlement, and he'll find us +active enough--that's certain!" whispered Jean Bourdo, nudging his +neighbor. + +In the ranks of the younger men was a tall, dark-haired lad who had the +same bold features that belonged to the old seigneur. All observed him, +for it was Marc Larocque's first appearance after his two years' stay in +Quebec. He met his uncle's sour looks with unflinching, smiling eyes, +and the settlers whispered among themselves that the old seigneur would +find it no easy matter to ignore his nephew--he had the De la Carre +spirit, in spite of the monks and their book-learning. + +That evening was a gloomy one in the house of Antoine de la Carre. The +old man sat in silence, drinking deep draughts of red French wine; +across the room was his sister, the widow Larocque, teaching their +catechism to two little maids. He knew she thought him unfair to her +son, who, by right of birth and his own qualities, had reason to expect +a place of authority at St. Maxime, and this knowledge made the old +seigneur more than usually irritable. When the children had finished +reading their tasks and left the room he broke out: + +"Ha, Madeleine, you look so solemn, doubtless, because of your dear +Marc! Well, why did you send him to the monks to have a scholar made out +of him? You know how I despise these long-faced readers of musty books, +yet you must thwart me in this way. I'll not forgive you nor him. I had +no fault to find in the old days--then he was a good lad enough, and a +true De la Carre. But I tell you now, as I told you two years ago when +you talked of sending him to Quebec, that I'll have no bookman for a +nephew. So you've only yourself to blame if he be set aside. But you +were always obstinate." + +"Ah, almost as obstinate as you, Antoine. But I'll not trouble about +Marc; if you'll not help him, there are others that will. In these +stirring times a boy like him is not forgotten." + +After a pause he burst out again: "What folly it was! Has a lad here, in +our rugged New France, any need of court manners and monk's learning? If +you had sent him to learn war it would have been different. But to a +monastery! When a boy in old France, I was made to read Latin and dig +into musty manuscripts till they nearly made a philosopher of me. But I +had the good sense to turn soldier, and since then I've had no liking +for monks and their learning. Madeleine, you knew all this, and remember +now--" + +He was interrupted by a crash. The door was burst open and half a dozen +Indians sprang into the room. Before Antoine could draw his dagger they +had leaped upon him, seized his arms, and smothered his shouts. Madame +Larocque was quickly and securely bound hand and foot and gagged. + +The Iroquois--for by their paint and dress the old man thought his +captors to belong to the dreaded tribes of the Five Nations--worked +noiselessly and swiftly; in less than five minutes from the bursting in +of the door they led out Antoine de la Carre, his hands tied behind his +back, and a piece of leather so fastened over his mouth that he could +make no sound. The guards that should have been watching were nowhere to +be seen, and the Indians, with their prisoner, quickly scaled the +stockade, crept across a cleared space to the woods, hurried to the +river, and were soon on the smooth, wind-swept ice and moving rapidly +westward. "Where were those young rascals of my company when I needed +them?--drinking in the storehouse or dancing in one of the cabins, most +like!" growled old Antoine to himself. + +He was as strong as an old bear, but his joints were stiffened with age, +and he had difficulty in keeping up with the rapid pace of the Indians. +"What sinews these Iroquois have!" he thought, as he struggled on. "No +Algonquin could hold his own with them; they run as well as our own +young _coureurs des bois_!" + +When it became evident that he could go no farther, they stopped their +journey along the ice and, turning into the forest, went about a quarter +of a mile from the river's bank. Here they found a dense evergreen +thicket and prepared to make their camp. A fire was built, and some +strips of dried meat they carried were heated and eaten; then they +stretched themselves on evergreen boughs which had been piled on the +snow near the fire. A tall young Indian, who seemed to be the leader of +the little band, now turned to Antoine de la Carre and, much to his +surprise, spoke to him in French. + +"Old man, eat and warm yourself. We have far to go, and you are not yet +to die." + +Antoine obeyed, and after he had managed to swallow some of the tough +meat he felt better. "How do you, that are of the Iroquois, who trade +with the English and Dutch, come to speak French?" he asked of the young +Indian. + +"A French girl was brought a captive to our tribe; my father, who was a +great warrior, took her for his squaw, and she was my mother. She taught +me the language of the French, and taught me also to listen to the words +of the black-robed Jesuits who used to come south to teach the Iroquois. +My mother loved my father, and bade me fight the enemies of his people, +and so I am here. But I wish the Jesuit teachers would come among the +Iroquois as they used to do. I liked to hear them talk in that strange +tongue they called the Latin." + +"Did you?" said Antoine, glad to make friends with the young Iroquois. +"When young I was taught by the monks, and know some Latin." + +"That is well," returned the Indian, with much satisfaction. "I too was +a pupil of the monks, and always listened to them gladly. Stand up and +repeat to us some of the Latin you learned. When the good Jesuit would +talk in that tongue to my mother and to me, the words came like music, +and then he would tell us the meaning--it told of adventures and battles +and great warriors. Repeat to us this musical tongue." + +Antoine de la Carre would rather have fought a bull moose single-handed; +but here was no choice, and he stood up and did his best. That was not +very well; for his voice was as hoarse as a swamp-raven's, and it was +many years since he had looked in a book. + +The Iroquois lying around on the evergreen boughs were greatly amused at +his efforts, laughing at his hoarse voice and at his stammering over the +Latin words. + +"You do not do it as well as did the Jesuit," exclaimed the half-breed. +"Be careful, Frenchman! Remember, I am no dull log of a Montagnais--I am +an Iroquois, a lord of the woods, and will have no trifling!" + +Antoine stammered on, getting more angry each moment; for to a proud old +soldier like him nothing was worse than appearing ridiculous. But this +was a matter of life and death, and he suppressed his feelings. "'Tis +well my young scamps of _coureurs des bois_ cannot see me now," he +thought. "They'd never stop laughing!" + +"Look more cheerful, Frenchman!" said the tall half-breed, getting to +his feet. "What if you are to die to-morrow; surely death has no terrors +for so great a scholar and philosopher! And come, when you are talking +to warriors of the Iroquois take off your cap!" Antoine wore his black +velvet house-cap, and as the Iroquois spoke he stepped forward and +plucked it from the old man's head. + +Antoine had been able to keep down his anger at their laughing, but this +was too much for his small stock of patience, which already was sorely +tried. He was desperate and reckless, for death was fairly certain under +any circumstances, and it might as well come to-night as later. + +"Insolent--take that!" he exclaimed, and he struck out savagely. + +The tall half-breed, hit squarely between the eyes, went down as if +before the blow of a sledge-hammer. + +Several of the Indians sprang to their feet and seized the old man. The +half-breed got up slowly, half stunned. Antoine waited for his tomahawk +to strike the death-blow, but the half-breed did not raise his arm to +strike. "Old man," he said, "if I were like these other braves you would +even now be dead; but, as I told you, I am a convert, and the Jesuit +teaches that one must not be too quick in anger--especially with the old +and foolish. You shall live, at least till to-morrow; give thanks that +I, like yourself, am a monk-taught man!" + +Soon afterwards the Iroquois arranged themselves to sleep, one of their +number being left as a sentinel and guard over their prisoner. Antoine's +hands and ankles were bound, and by the half-breed's orders he was laid +on the boughs near the fire. One by one the Indians, save the guard, +fell asleep; but the old Frenchman was too nervous and excited. Finally +his attention was arrested by an object that was slowly and noiselessly +stealing out from the evergreen thicket. It crept straight towards the +Indian sentinel, who lay gazing up at the stars that shone through the +tree-tops. Of a sudden there was a quick, stealthy movement and the +gleam of a knife: the sentinel's head sank back, and he lay stretched +out, still and motionless. + +"A skilful thrust!" thought Antoine. "I never saw a man die so easily." + +The man with the knife crept towards him, and in a moment Antoine felt +that the thongs about his ankles and wrists were cut. The man beckoned +and stole away; Antoine followed, and then they silently made their way +into the thicket--leaving the Indians sleeping in the white starlight, +the sentinel looking most peaceful of all. + +[Illustration: THE THONGS WERE CUT] + +"Do you know me, my uncle?" whispered Marc Larocque. "I tracked you +through the snow. Follow me swiftly and quietly." + +Back they hurried to the river, and then began the journey over the ice +down to St. Maxime. + +"I thought the Iroquois strong and fleet, Marc, but I see that none of +them is a match for you! You are a brave fellow, in spite of the monks, +and never shall I forget what you have done this night. But I wish you +had thrust your knife into the heart of the leader of the Iroquois, an +insolent fellow who pulled my cap from my head and laughed at me. +However, I gave him a good buffet between the eyes!" + +Soon the old man began to lag behind, and Marc had to grasp his arm to +help him; so they ran on through the white winter's night. With ghostly +wings the great snowy owl flapped across their path, and the wolf pack +halted for a moment to watch them pass, and then turned away to hunt +again for some stray deer or wounded moose. + +It was almost dawn when they reached the stockade at St. Maxime. Old +Antoine was exhausted, and had hardly strength enough to say to Marc: +"Send a messenger to Quebec to tell the French officer he need not come. +I have found a captain here." + +Marc took him to the seigneury, and he fell into a heavy sleep, from +which he did not wake till afternoon. The soldiers were then at their +daily drill, and after he had eaten, the old man went out where they +were. Tall Lieutenant Nol Duroc was drilling them. Antoine de la Carre +gave them all a severe scolding for their carelessness the night before. + +"If it were not for my brave nephew," he said, "I would surely have been +murdered by the Iroquois. Marc, step out from the ranks. I make you +captain!" + +A shout went up from all the men, but old Antoine silenced it with a +gesture. He was looking at Nol Duroc. "Lieutenant, your face is black +and blue; how were you hurt? You were not so yesterday!" + +"Last night, seigneur, an old bear gave me a buffet--and a good round +blow it was!" + +Antoine looked at him hard. "Lieutenant, you had best let old bears +alone!" Then he turned quickly to his nephew. "Marc, has that messenger +yet started for Quebec who was to stop the French officer?" + +"He left soon after daybreak this morning." + +"Ah! you were not slow in sending him." The old man paused, and Nol, +who was watching him closely, thought he saw his mouth twitch under the +gray beard. "But never mind; it may be for the best. You shall be +captain, my nephew, and you, Nol Duroc, shall be lieutenant, though I +think you both rascals. However, no bookman could run as Marc did this +morning; and so I know he is not wholly spoiled by the monks." + +"Bravo!" cried Nol Duroc, throwing up his cap. "Bravo! Here is a right +good seigneur who knows what is best for his people; and a kind uncle; +and--I'll pledge my word--a great scholar and philosopher too!" + + + + +IX + +CAPTAIN KIDD + +An Overrated Pirate + + +Of all the pirates whose dreaded top-sails appeared along the coast of +America in the old days of the colonies none has left a more grewsome +and romantic reputation behind him than Captain William Kidd, the New +York ship-master, who was born in 1650. Legends abound of his boldness, +his craftiness, and his savage and blood-thirsty disposition, and +stories of the immense treasure that he accumulated, the dreadful +murders that he committed in its acquisition, and when and with what +ghastly accompaniments he buried it are still told over the firesides of +'longshore hamlets from Maine to the Carolinas. + +Fiction has not neglected to turn this pirate's career to its own +purpose, and one of Poe's most imaginative and thrilling tales is based +upon the discovery on Sullivan's Island, in Charleston Harbor (South +Carolina), of a parchment which, on being held to the fire, revealed a +cryptogram of Kidd's that led to the discovery of buried wealth +amounting to millions of dollars. + +It seems almost a pity to tamper with the halo of romance and mystery +which posterity has drawn about this worthy's brow, but the fact is that +Kidd was an unready, unwise, and vacillating character, and that there +was little truth in the romances told about him. Beside such dreadfully +famous buccaneers as Blackbeard, Roberts, and Avery he appears a pygmy +in his own "profession," and his career, when contrasted with theirs, +seems colorless and contemptible. + +As to the vast riches that he was supposed to have acquired, it is +doubtful if in his whole course of piracy he was able to accumulate more +than a hundred thousand dollars. One thing is assured--the only money +that he buried on the coast of America amounted to not more than +seventy-five thousand dollars, which he hid on Gardiner's Island, over +against New London, and the last penny of this was recovered by +Bellamont after Kidd's execution. + +During King William's War Kidd, who was a handsome man of somewhat +pleasing address, made the acquaintance of Lord Bellamont, the Governor +of Barbadoes. The two were in New York at the time of the meeting, and +as Kidd was a member of a good family and moved in the limited +aristocratic circle of that day, the new acquaintances saw much of each +other. Kidd's plausible tongue, fund of anecdote, and agreeable manner +impressed the Governor so pleasantly that his liking for the shipman +developed into esteem, and esteem into friendship. Through Bellamont's +influence Kidd obtained command of a privateer, and a series of lucky +events contributed to his reputation, so that when he returned to New +York, after his cruise in the Gulf, Bellamont and his other fine friends +hailed him with adulation as a conquering hero. He was wined and fted, +was toasted by prominent men and noble dames, and over many a steaming +bowl and long-stemmed pipe loosed his glib speech in a way to impress +his hearers with a fine notion of his indomitable character. Through the +thick clouds of the Virginia tobacco smoke a great idea was born in +Bellamont's hazy brain. Complaints were made daily of the pirates that +infested the shores of the colonies. These pirates were rich with +plunder. True, they were skilful and bold and crafty, but here was a man +who by his own confession was more skilful and bolder and craftier than +any of them. Then, should Kidd be fitted out with a fine ship and a good +crew to chase these pirates and capture them, great glory would come to +Bellamont's name, and great good to Bellamont's pocket. + +The idea was acted upon, and the Governor and some other wealthy +gentlemen purchased the _Adventure_ galley, equipped her, and armed her +with thirty carronades, while Kidd went down among the docks and the +sailors' lodging-houses, picking out for his crew sturdy two-handed +mariners, men long of the sea, blowzed by the weather, browned by the +wind, used to the pike and cutlass--men like ducks on the shore and like +monkeys in the rigging. + +The ship was fitted out at Plymouth, and the great day of the sailing +arrived at last. The _Adventure_ pushed out into the stream, Kidd +smirking and bowing and striking attitudes on the quarter-deck, the busy +sailors swarming aloft to loose sail, the good ship heeling over farther +and farther as canvas after canvas was spread to a quartering breeze, +and an assemblage of fine ladies and gorgeous beaux waving scarfs and +fluttering handkerchiefs from the end of the pier. + +Armed with a commission from King William to apprehend the noted +Captains "Thomas Tew, John Ireland, Thomas Wake, and William Maze, or +Mace, and other subjects, natives or inhabitants of New York and +elsewhere in our plantations in America, who have associated with +others, wicked and ill-disposed persons, and do, against the laws of +nations, commit many and great piracies, robberies, and depredations on +the seas, upon the parts of America and in other parts, to the great +danger of our loving subjects, our allies, and all others navigating the +seas upon their lawful occasions," he steered from New York on his way +to the Guinea coast, where his hunt was to begin. By the terms of his +commission he was to take the aforenamed pirates by force if necessary, +with all the pirates, freebooters, and rovers associated with them, +wherever they were found. He was to bring them into port, with all such +merchandise, money, goods, and wares as should be discovered on board. +But he was strictly charged and commanded, "As you will answer the +contrary at your peril, that you do not in any manner offend or molest +our friends or allies, their ships or subjects, by whom or pretence of +these presents or the authority thereby granted." + +Kidd had another commission, called Letters of Marque and Reprisal, to +empower him to act against the French, with whom the English and their +colonies were then at war, and under cover of these he captured a +French merchantman off Fire Island on his way westward. + +Upon arriving at New York he began to request more assistance from his +owners, complained of the size of his ship and his few guns, and, as he +"proposed to deal with a desperate enemy," asked permission to increase +his complement. This was granted, after some hesitation, and he finally +sailed from New York with a ship's company of one hundred and fifty-five +men. + +He made first for Madeira, thence to one of the Cape Verde Islands, and +thence to St. Jago, in order to lay in salt provisions and other +necessaries. He then rounded the Cape and bent his course towards +Madagascar, whose waters were the known rendezvous of swarms of pirates. +On the way he fell in with three English men-of-war, to whose commodore +he imparted his errand with much pomp and circumstance. He dined aboard +the flag-ship, and left behind him the same reputation for dare-devil +recklessness and determination that his valiant speech had obtained for +him elsewhere. + +He parted with these ships after a few days, and arrived at Madagascar +in February, 1697, after a voyage of nine months. + +At this time most of the pirate ships were out in search of prey, so, +having spent some time in watering his ship and taking aboard +provisions, Kidd tried the coast of Malabar, where he was equally +unsuccessful in finding his quarry. He touched at Mohila and at Johanna, +both famous resorts for pirates, but he did not succeed even in getting +news of those whom he sought. The reason seemed obvious--the pirate of +those days was a dangerous man to tackle. He had guns, and he knew how +to use them; he fought with a halter round his neck, and was game to the +last gasp. He was in the habit of beating the King's ships sent to take +him, and he had a bending plank through the lee gangway for their +captured officers. A fat, rich merchantman was an easier victim. Why not +sound the crew to see if they would agree to a change of policy? + +Some such thoughts must have been passing through Kidd's mind at this +time, for with the gift of a brass farthing he could have purchased +from the most guileless and affectionate native of Mohila or Johanna his +entire confidence as to the whereabouts of his friends the sea-rovers, +and yet after a cruise of many months in this infested neighborhood Kidd +had no tidings of a single pirate craft. + +But however disposed towards acts of violence, he had not yet the +courage to put his wishes into execution. On his second voyage past the +island of Mohila he passed several Indian ships, richly laden and too +weak to offer him resistance, but he contented himself with casting +envious eyes upon them and suffered them to go. + +The first outrage that he committed was at Mabbee, in the Red Sea, +where, after careening his ship, he took some corn from the natives by +force. After this he sailed to Babs Key, near the Strait of +Bab-el-Mandeb, where he first began to open himself to the ship's +company, and to disclose to them his change of policy. But instead of +coming out like a man and saying that he intended to turn to piracy, he +hinted and insinuated and beat about the bush. "Unlucky have we been +hitherto; but courage, my lads, we'll make our fortunes out of the Mocha +fleet." This was the closest his pygmy heart could come to broaching the +subject that occupied his mind. But his mariners met him more than +half-way, and he found himself committed to buccaneering before he knew +it. By the advice of his quartermaster (the first mate or executive +officer of those days) he sent a boat to go upon the coast and make +discoveries, while he himself kept men in the tops of the _Adventure_ to +look out for the Mocha fleet. + +The boat returned in a few days, bringing word that fifteen or a score +of ships were about ready to sail, and that they were well laden and +rich. + +Four days after this the fleet appeared; the eager lookouts reported +them, and the men rushed to the sheets and halyards, guns and +ammunition-lockers. + +Now was Kidd's opportunity to dash in, seize a valuable prize, and get +off with her; but he hung off and on, perplexed between timidity and +cupidity, until by the time he had made up his mind to put his fortune +to the touch his prey became alarmed and began to scatter. He then bore +down on the nearest; but by this time he had been sighted by the two +men-of-war of the convoy, and the sight of their black hulls speeding +towards him, straight and steady and business-like through the flying +merchantmen, was enough for Kidd. He fired a feeble shot or two, squared +his yards, and made off before the wind for dear life, while the crew +silently handled their tackle, and indulged in I know not what +contemptuous thoughts of their commander. + +But by the act of firing upon a friendly flag Kidd had determined his +status; there was nothing for him now but to go on with his pirating. +Soon he had an opportunity to show that desperate courage of which, by +his own account, he was possessed. Off the coast of Malabar he met a +small Moorish coasting-vessel. Having discovered that she was +short-handed and unarmed, he became terrible indeed. He seized her and +forced her Captain and quartermaster to take on with him as pilot and +interpreter, the Captain being an Englishman, and the other, Don +Antonio, a Portuguese. The men he used cruelly, hoisting them up by the +arms, drubbing them with a bare cutlass, and putting them to other +tortures to force them to disclose the whereabouts of their treasure; +but all he got from them was a parcel of coffee and a bale of pepper. + +He then touched at Malabar, but finding himself an object of suspicion +he quickly went away. + +The coast was alarmed by this time, however, and a Portuguese man-of-war +was sent out after him. Kidd fought her for a while in a half-hearted +way, but, though she was his inferior in men and metal, he soon had +enough of honest combat, and got off by his superior speed. + +He next ran down to Porca, where he took on board a number of hogs and +other livestock for provisions, and paid for them in good British +silver. He also watered his ship and otherwise provided for his ship's +company. + +He then stood to sea again, and came up with a Moorish craft, the master +of which, a Dutchman named Schipper Mitchell, hoisted French colors, as +Kidd chased under that flag. The pirates hailed in French, and were +answered in the same tongue by a Frenchman who was one of Mitchell's +passengers. Kidd then ordered the Dutchman to send a boat on board, and +when it arrived at his gangway he asked the Frenchman if he had a pass +for himself. The passenger replied that he had, whereupon Kidd told him +to pass for the Captain, "For, by Heaven, you are the Captain, and if +you say you're not I'll hang you!" + +The Frenchman of course dared not refuse to do as he was ordered. + +The object of the manoeuvre is apparent. Kidd had not the pluck to go +on openly with his high-sea robbery, but fancied that if he seized the +ship as a prize, pretending that she belonged to French subjects, he +would get into no trouble on account of her. He did not seem to take +into account the fact that his previous conduct had already stamped him +as a criminal, but appeared to think that as long as he did not openly +hoist the black flag he might do as he liked with impunity. Indeed, his +whole career as a sea-robber consisted of similar acts of fatuous and +ostrich-like stupidity. + +He landed on one of the Malabar islands for wood and water, and as his +cooper was murdered by the natives he plundered and burned their +village. He took one of the islanders and had him tied to a tree and +shot, after which he again put to sea in quest of prizes. After being at +sea less than a week he fell in with and captured the greatest prize +that ever fell into his hands, the Moorish bark _Quedah Merchant_, of +four hundred tons. From this vessel he got a cargo which he sold for +more than ten thousand pounds. + +[Illustration: HE PLUNDERED AND BURNED] + +The Indians came on board of him and trafficked, and he performed his +bargains punctually for a time, until he was ready to sail; and then he +took their goods and set them on shore with no payment, which was quite +in accord with his despicable character. The Indians had been accustomed +to deal with pirates, and had found them, as a rule, men of honor in the +way of trade, so it was easy for Kidd to impose upon them. + +The pirate put some men aboard of the _Quedah Merchant_, and in her +company sailed for Madagascar. He had no sooner arrived there than off +came a canoe in which were several old acquaintances of his who had long +been "upon the account," as they called buccaneering. They belonged to a +ship called the _Resolution_, which was commanded by one Culliford, a +notorious sea-robber. When they met Kidd they told him that they were +informed he had come to hang them, which they would take very unkind in +such an old friend. Kidd dissipated their fears by telling them that he +was in every respect their brother, and as bad as they, and in token of +amity drank their health in a bowl of grog. + +Kidd then went aboard, Culliford promising his friendship and +assistance; and Culliford in turn boarded Kidd, and the two worthies +made a merry night of it in the cabin of the _Adventure_, spinning +their yarns of the deep seas and laughing at their enemies; and as +Culliford was in need of some necessaries, Kidd fitted him out from his +spare tackle. + +The _Adventure_ was now so leaky that Kidd transferred her guns and +stores to the _Quedah Merchant_ and got to sea again, but not before +more than half of his disgusted crew had left him. + +He touched at Amboyan, and there learned that the news of his conduct +had reached England and that he was outlawed. Indeed, the reports of his +misdeeds were so exaggerated that the English merchants became greatly +alarmed, and had Kidd, with one Captain Avery, excepted in a general +pardon of freebooters which had just been promulgated. Kidd knew nothing +of this, but relying on some French passes which he had found on one or +two of his prizes, and deeming his brazen assurance enough to carry him +through any peril from the law, he made for New York. Here, by the +orders of Lord Bellamont, he was promptly seized, with all of his +effects, and was sent to England to be tried. + +Here his conduct was such as to destroy the last shreds of respect that +one might have had for his character. Instead of meeting his fate like a +man, he begged and implored and whined and promised, but all to no +avail. + +He insisted much upon his own innocence and the villainy of his men. He +went out upon a laudable employment, he said, and had no occasion to go +pirating, but the men mutinied against him and did as they pleased. As +to the friendship shown to that notorious villain Culliford, Kidd denied +it, and said that he would have taken him, but his own men, being a +parcel of rogues, refused to stand by him, and several of them even ran +from his ship to join the wicked pirate. + +But the evidence was too strong against him, and he was condemned. + +When asked what he had to say why sentence should not be pronounced upon +him, he replied that he had nothing to say except that he had been sworn +against by wicked people; and when sentence was pronounced he said: "My +lord, it is a very hard sentence. For my part, I am the most innocent +person of them all, only I have been sworn against by perjured persons." + +And so, in 1701, whining and protesting miserably, he was led away to +the scaffold, and there paid the penalty of his crimes. + + + + +X + +HOWARD THE BUCCANEER + +A Captain of Many Ships + + +In the days when high-sterned galleons sailed the Spanish Main, keelless +and lofty, and helpless in the wind's eye; when all the sailors wore +their tarry queues and ear-rings; when "Down along the coast of the high +Barbaree" there was no law but that of the Moorish buccaneer, a young +man in the peaceful British hamlet of Barwich reached the age of +twenty-one. + +Thomas Howard was a youth of promise and capacity. He was handsome, +burly, popular, and generous, and always ready for any adventure. His +father, a gentleman of rank and estate, was dead, but his doting mother +lavished upon him an affection as blind as it was deep, supplied him +with an excess of pocket-money, and left no wish of his ungratified. The +result is readily imagined. His old amiability deserted him, and he sank +into a savage discontent that found expression in numerous acts of +roguery and violence. + +As he grew worse and worse, an old friend of his father's persuaded him +to seek employment upon the seas, and purchased him a berth as +midshipman on a trading-craft bound from Liverpool to the West Indies. + +A few months of sea discipline shattered young Howard's patience, and +upon his arrival at Jamaica he promptly deserted his ship. + +He had still a few pounds left of his fortune, and with these he +purchased admittance to the society of a gang of ruffians who frequented +the beaches. One night, with some of these, he stole a canoe and went to +the Grand Camanas to join a party of others of their ilk who lurked +thereabouts with the design of going "on the account." + +They soon fell in with those whom they sought, and, as the party now +numbered twenty, they deemed themselves strong enough to set to their +work, and accordingly began their preparations. At a council held the +night when this decision was reached, the question of the election of +officers came up; the men seemed about evenly divided in their choice of +a captain between Howard and a tall islander named James. The latter was +finally elected by a vote of ten to eight, while Howard was chosen +quartermaster. + +Their first need was a boat; in the offing at anchor lay a turtle-sloop +with two small swivels mounted fore and aft. She was the very craft for +their purpose, but how were they to get her? + +Close inshore on the other side of an estuary a mile wide Howard +remembered seeing a large canoe moored in the light of a patrol's +camp-fire. He and two others swam over to her, cut her line with their +sheath-knives, and brought her away without discovery. + +The robbers then boarded her, and, with two men forward and two aft +handling the paddles, the rest concealed behind the high bulwarks, +stole out silently towards the turtle-vessel. The nature of their craft +was not perceived until they were alongside their victim, when, with a +yell, they burst from their concealment and made their capture without +losing a man. They then started out for booty, but for a long time their +only prizes were turtlers, which supplied them with men without +increasing their wealth. After about two weeks they met an Irish +brigantine with provisions and servants for the Governor of Jamaica. +They laid her aboard, captured her without resistance, forced her men, +and made off with her, leaving her master the old turtle-sloop and five +men to bring him to port. Not long after this they surprised a sloop of +six guns, and finding her larger, faster, and sounder than the +brigantine, they shifted to her with their belongings. This was the +third time within two months that they had changed their vessel, but +still the game of "Progressive Piracy" went on. Off the coast of +Virginia they fell in with a large New England brigantine laden with +provisions and bound for Barbadoes. They made a prize of her, and +shifting their own guns aboard of her, found themselves in a fine vessel +of ten guns well equipped for a long voyage. + +While on the coast of Virginia in this ship they took several English +vessels, from which they got men, arms, provisions, clothes, and other +necessaries. As most of these ships had on board felons for the Virginia +colonies, they took from them a number of volunteers besides their +forced men, and they soon acquired so large a complement that they had +no hesitation in ranging up to and boarding a Virginia galley of +superior size and twenty-four guns. They got a number of convict +volunteers from her, transferred their stores to her, and set out to +sweep the seas in earnest. They steered for the Guinea coast, that Mecca +of pirates, and made many captures, which not only enriched them but +increased their complement. After they had been for some months on this +ground they spied a large Portuguese ship from Brazil, whose thirty-six +guns did not frighten them from the attack. + +As they hoisted the black flag the Brazilian Captain became overpowered +with fear, commanded the quartermaster to strike, and sought safety for +himself in the hold. His mate, however, a New-Englander, refused to +surrender, and kept off the pirates for the better part of the +afternoon. His resistance was strong and well sustained, but the +Portuguese finally fled from the deck, leaving him with only thirty +men--English, French, and Dutch--and he was obliged to ask for quarter. +The pirates then went down the coast in their newly acquired ship and +made several prizes, some of which they burned and some of which they +sank. As they now mustered nearly two hundred men, the only ones that +they forced from captured crews were carpenters, calkers, and surgeons, +whose services they needed greatly. + +Off the Cape of Good Hope they took two Spanish brigantines, in whose +company they proceeded, until they ran the _Alexander_ ashore on a small +island north of Madagascar, where she stuck fast. + +The Captain being sick in bed, the men went ashore on the island and +carried off provisions and water to lighten the ship, on board of which +none but the Captain, the quartermaster (Howard), and all others were +left. + +This was too good a chance for the exercise of Howard's love of +treachery. He brought the faster of the two brigantines alongside, +tumbled all the treasure into her, scuttled the other, and made off with +twenty men and two hundred thousand pounds, leaving the rest of his +shipmates to shake their impotent fists and roar maledictions after his +diminishing sail. + +After rounding the Cape, Howard and his fellows went into a fine harbor +on the east side of Madagascar hardly known to European vessels. Here +they buried most of the treasure, and for a short time enjoyed the +luxury of shore life. Wood and water were abundant, game plentiful, and +the waters swarmed with edible fish. + +It was pleasant to the pirate, after his long trick afloat, to lie on +the yellow sands under the shade of palm and mango and tamarind trees +and see the slow surf breaking gently on the beach. In his nostrils was +the odor of orange and spice; golden sunbirds and crimson cockatoos +nested above him, gaudy butterflies floated about him, and in the +shallow waters of the still lagoons were long-legged curlew, busy +kingfishers, and wild duck with tenderly shaded plumes. Behind him the +tropical jungles blazed gloriously with trees of blooming scarlet and +flaring yellow, about which twined gorgeous creepers of dark purple, and +from whose leafy depths came the chattering of monkeys and the +twittering of innumerable birds. Far off he could hear the smothered +thunder of lofty falls, near at hand the plashing of rivulets, and +seaward the deep voice of the Indian Ocean. The Malagasy women brought +him cooling fruits from the mountains, the hunters came back laden with +the flesh of wild cattle and pigs and great, feathery bunches of +waterfowl, and the native king sent down to him rice and bananas, maize +and manioc, from the rich store of his harvest. + +After but a month of this happy shore life they set sail, and running +down the coast of Africa met the English ship _Prosperous_, which they +captured by a night attack. The _Prosperous_ was a large, well-found +ship of sixteen guns, and well suited to Howard's purpose, so he +transferred his crew and stores to her and sailed to Maritan. They found +there a number of shipwrecked pirates, who, with some of the +_Prosperous's_ crew, took on with them, and increased their complement +to seventy men. + +They next steered for St. Mary's, where they wooded, watered, and +shipped more hands. Here they had an invitation from one Ort van Tyle, a +sturdy Dutch trader of social ambition, to attend the christening of two +of his children. He received them with hospitality and civility, but +they had no sooner entered his house than they began to plunder it, and +Van Tyle protesting, they took him prisoner, and designed to hang him, +but one of the pirates aided him to escape and he took to the woods. +Here he met some of his black; he armed them, and formed an ambush on a +scrubby island where the river channel was narrow. The pirates came +down in their canoe and Howard's pinnace, laughing and shouting, +bringing with them the booty of the looted house and some captives, whom +they set at the paddles. The canoe was overturned in the rapids just as +they came abreast of the ambush, and the captives swam ashore and +escaped, while the pirates clung to the sides of Howard's boat. As they +drifted by, Van Tyle let drive at them, and in a shower of musket-balls, +arrows, and assagais the helpless pirates were swept back to their +ships, dismally howling with rage and mortification. In this affair two +of Howard's men were killed, while he was shot through the arm, and two +others were seriously wounded. + +[Illustration: THE HELPLESS PIRATES WERE SWEPT BACK] + +He then sailed to Mathelage, where he designed to victual for a +West-Indian cruise, but he found there a large Dutch merchantman of +forty guns, whose captain curtly told Howard to get out or he'd fall +foul of him. Howard's recent experience with Dutchmen had been +unpleasant, so, as his vessel was not strong enough to cope with the +Amsterdamer, he made sail for Mayotta, and passed down the bay amid a +volley of gibes, jeers, and ingenious Dutch profanity. On his way to +Mayotta he fell in with Captain Bowen, of the pirate ship _Speedy +Return_, of thirty guns, and communicated to him the contumely to which +a "Gentleman of the Seas" had been subjected. Bowen promised to avenge +the insult to their honorable craft, and accordingly anchored in the +dusk of the next evening within hail of the irascible burgher. The +_Speedy Return_ was a small ship for her armament and crew, and this, +with her suspicious appearance, determined the Dutchman once more to +exhibit the bold front that he could assume when there seemed to be no +danger in it. Accordingly he went to the rail and bawled over the quiet +waters, "Vot sheep is dot, and vy for you don'd git oud to onced?" + +"This is his Majesty's cruiser _Haystack_," came the unruffled response, +in Bowen's clear voice. "She has three decks and no bottom, and sails +four miles to leeward and one ahead. Want to race?" + +"Vot sheep is dot, and none of your tomfoolishness?" roared the Teuton, +purple with rage. + +"This is the _Flying Dutchman_, Captain Vanderdecken, and the crew's all +ghosts," replied the pirate, in high glee. "Come aboard and cheer up our +spirits." + +This was too much. The Dutchman mounted the rail and shrieked, hoarsely, +"I now asks you der last time for, vot sheep you is, vere you vrom, and +vot you to do goin' about to be?" + +"This is the ship _Speedy Return_," sang out Bowen, "_from the seas_, +and I'm goin' to fire a salute." + +The pirate then gave the word, and his ship roared out a broadside that +shivered the Dutchman's rail, smashed his boats, and carried away his +spanker-boom. The merchantman waited no longer, but slipped his cable +and made off to sea, leaving the greater part of his cargo ashore, where +it was promptly gathered in by the thrifty buccaneers. + +Bowen now made sail for Mayotta, where he joined the _Prosperous_, and +the two ships sailed together for the East Indies. After some successes +there they returned by separate routes to Madagascar, for the purpose of +revictualling and refitting, agreeing to meet again at St. John's and +lie in wait for the Moorish fleet. They did this, and one of the Moors +fell a prize to Bowen, but Howard did not come up with them till they +were anchored at the bay of Surat, where they waited to lighten. + +Howard came up among them slowly, under shortened sail, and as he +concealed his men and kept his ports closed, they took him for an +English East-Indiaman and suffered him to approach. Howard suddenly +attacked the largest vessel, and after a desperate fight, in which he +lost thirty men, carried her by boarding. + +On this vessel was a nobleman belonging to the court of the Great Mogul. +The prize itself was immensely valuable, and the nobleman's ransom +amounted to twenty thousand pounds, so by this time Howard's fortune was +well assured. He then ran down to Malabar, where he met Bowen and his +prize, a fine, stout ship of sixty guns. The two captains with their +quartermasters held a consultation (on the night of their meeting) in +the cabin of the _Speedy Return_, and their future plans were decided +upon over a rich banquet provided from the stores of the prizes. + +The _Prosperous_ they sank and the _Speedy Return_ they burned, and in +Bowen's prize they continued their depredations, the two crews being +joined together. This made Howard's ninth change of vessels since he had +taken to piracy. + +As they cruised down the coast of Madagascar they came in sight of +Howard's old haven, where he had buried his treasure. He became seized +with a desire for shore life, and with those of his men who had lived +there before with him, and with their share of the recent booty, he went +back to his old stamping-ground to settle down. He was received with +open arms by his old friends among the natives; he married a Malagasy +woman, and for a long time lived quietly and peaceably, shooting, +fishing, watching his herds, and cultivating his fields. + +A missionary who was shipwrecked on the coast about a year after +Howard's return worked on the pirate's soft heart so successfully that +before being taken home on a trading-vessel that put in for water he had +brought the gallant buccaneer into the close folds of the Roman Catholic +Church and to a full realization of his unusually sinful state. After +the missionary's departure Howard missed the theological discourse and +dispute that had whiled away many a tropic twilight, and he knew not +where to turn for an outlet of his intellectual activities. Finally the +bright idea struck him that it would be both pleasing and beneficial to +evangelize the natives. In a fit of religious enthusiasm he proceeded to +this work with his usual prodigal hand. Unfortunately for himself, he +used a club in the process, and this, coupled with his brutal treatment +of his wife, made him unpopular among the Malagasy. + +One night the docile aborigines fell upon him while he was asleep in his +hammock, and left mementos of their presence in the shape of +thirty-seven assagais stuck decoratively in various parts of his body. +When found he was very dead, and thus terminated the earthly career of a +treacherous and unworthy ruffian, whose only claims to our consideration +were his good seamanship and Anglo-Saxon pluck. + + + + +XI + +TEW, OF RHODE ISLAND + +A Fighter from the Seas + + +On a lovely morning in the early part of the eighteenth century two +vessels might have been seen approaching each other at that point where +the northern waters of the Mozambique Channel mingle with those of the +Indian Ocean. The day was mild and the wind light and variable. The +ships rolled lazily on the languid swell, and a couple of leagues to the +south and east of them the low, green shores of Madagascar were dimly +visible. + +As the vessels drew near to each other the smaller of the two, a large +brig-sloop with raking masts and a narrow, speedy-looking hull, put down +her helm, rounded into the wind, and ran the black flag up to her main +peak. The other, a trim and sturdy ship-rigged craft, with something of +a man-of-war look about her lofty spars and graceful lines, seemed +little perturbed by this significant display of the pirate emblem. She +hove to, however, and the two vessels lay rolling idly on the blue water +a long musket-shot apart. + +Before the sloop had time for any further demonstration one of the +ship's quarter-boats was lowered and brought to the starboard gangway, +and into her stepped a spare, dark, wiry-looking man of medium height, +evidently the Captain. The boat shoved off and made for the sloop, the +Captain steering, and the crew pulling with the long, regular stroke of +man-of-war's men. + +So far the ship had displayed no colors, and the peculiar nonchalance +with which her crew had behaved towards the pirates excited the latter's +marked apprehension. Could she be a public ship in disguise? If so, then +farewell to the buccaneer's hopes of brave booty in the Indian seas, for +the wind had fallen and the vessels were drifting nearer together. + +The dark man seized the life-lines as they were extended to him from the +pirates' gangway, and climbed up the ladder with catlike agility. + +"What ship is this?" he asked, curtly, ignoring the crew that pressed +ominously about him, and addressing himself to a tall man of a quiet but +commanding appearance who stepped forward to meet him. + +"This is the sloop _Hope_, sir, and I am her commander, Thomas Tew, at +your service." + +"And I am Captain Misson of the ship _Victoire_, lately of his French +Majesty's service, but now from the seas." + +The expression "from the seas" at once allayed the fears of Tew's +pirates, for the buccaneers of that day thus characterized themselves in +their answering hails. + +The crew went about their duty, and the two captains entered the cabin, +where they began a friendly conversation, and informed each other of +their respective histories. + +It seemed that Mr. Richier, the Governor of Bermuda, had fitted out two +sloops on the privateer account, one commanded by Captain George Drew, +and the other by Thomas Tew. They were instructed to make their way to +the river Gambia, in Africa, and to attempt the taking of the French +factory of Goree on that coast. The vessels sailed together and kept +company for some time, but, a violent storm coming up, Drew sprung his +mast and they lost each other. + +Tew, separated from his consort, thought of providing for his future +with one bold stroke. Accordingly he summoned his crew to the mast, and +addressed them upon the subject of his plans. + +He told them that they were afloat in a fine craft bent upon a dangerous +mission, with no prospect of advantage for themselves, but only for +their employers. That he was little inclined to risk his health and his +life except for some great personal gain, and finally he proposed +bluntly that they should throw off their allegiance to Governor Richier, +and go "on the account," as piracy was called in those days. + +The crew listened eagerly, and at the conclusion of his speech sung out +as one man: + +"A gold chain or a wooden leg. We'll stand by you, Captain." + +Tew then made sail for and doubled the Cape of Good Hope, and as he +entered the Red Sea on his cruise northward came up with a ship bound +from the Indies to Arabia. She was richly laden, and carried three +hundred soldiers to aid the crew in defending her cargo; but, +notwithstanding her superior force, the pirates carried her with a dash, +and shared fifteen thousand dollars a man in plunder. They then stood +down the coast towards Madagascar, and the _Victoire_ was the first ship +they had sighted since leaving their prize. + +Misson listened with interest to Captain Tew's story, and then gave him +a brief account of his own adventures. He said that, having gone to sea +as a sub-officer on the ship _Victoire_ of the French royal service, he +had participated in an engagement with an English man-of-war; that all +his superior officers had been killed in the action, and that he had +assumed command and sunk the Briton; and that after this his crew had +requested him to retain command and go "on the account" for himself. He +confessed that he had willingly acted upon their suggestion, had made +several prizes, and established a colony on a bay to the northward of +Diego Suariez, on the island of Madagascar. He informed Tew further that +he was much impressed with the courage with which the _Hope_ had borne +down to engage a vessel so much her superior in size and strength as the +_Victoire_, and that, as he could not have too many resolute fellows as +his allies, he would be glad to join forces with Tew's men. + +Tew answered that before entering into an alliance with Misson he would +prefer to examine the workings of the latter's colony. Misson agreed to +this, and the _Victoire_ and the _Hope_ sailed in company for +Libertaita, as Misson called his new republic. + +Just at sunrise the two ships passed between the fortified headlands +that guarded the entrance to the pirate stronghold, and Tew, standing on +his quarter-deck and following the motions of the _Victoire_, was +astonished at the strength of the harbor he entered, and the discipline +that seemed to prevail there. + +With the timbers and guns of captured ships Misson had constructed and +armed two powerful forts which stood on the headlands at the entrance to +the harbor. On a little island, where the channel branched, a brown +earthwork pointed ten heavy cannon so as to rake the seaward approaches, +and far back of it, on the edge of the bay, the walls and roofs of a +fortified town reared themselves orderly amid the green of the tropical +foliage. Everywhere was the appearance of industry and discipline. On a +beach near the town a group of sailors was engaged careening a small +brig to scrape the sea-growths from her sides, another party was filling +water-casks at a well-constructed reservoir, and the rattling of echoes +of carpenters' hammers came from a couple of storehouses in process of +construction near the water's edge. From a citadel in the centre of the +town and from flag-staffs erected on both forts and the water-battery +the flag of Libertaita fluttered in the breeze, vigilant sentries walked +the ramparts with military tread, and as the _Victoire_ and the _Hope_ +let go their anchors in the gentle ground-swell of the harbor, a battery +of eighteen-pounders roared out a welcome of nine guns. + +Tew was charmed with the appearance of the place, and upon going ashore +with Misson had his favorable impressions strengthened and confirmed. +The captains were received with great respect by Caraccioli, Misson's +lieutenant, who admired not a little the courage that Tew had displayed +in capturing his prize and in giving chase to Misson. + +The colony at this time was peopled by over one thousand men, many of +them having been captured by Misson in his prizes. Of these three +hundred had taken on with him, one hundred were natives of the island of +Mohilla, with whose queen Misson had formed a matrimonial and political +alliance, and the remainder were prisoners whom Misson intended to send +to their homes, and whom he employed in the mean time as laborers +around his fortifications. + +The day after the arrival of the captains at Libertaita a formal council +was held. Tew promptly expressed his willingness to join forces with +Misson, and was made second in command. + +The question of the disposition of Misson's numerous prisoners was +brought up at once. It was decided to tell them that Misson had formed +an alliance with a prince of the natives, and to propose to them that +they should either assist the new colony or be sent up the country as +prisoners. On this decision being imparted to them, seventy-three of the +prisoners took on, and the remainder desired that they be given any +other fate than that of being sent up into the wild and savage interior; +so one hundred and seventeen of them were set to work upon a dock near +the mouth of the harbor, and the other prisoners, lest they should +revolt, were forbidden, under pain of death, to pass certain prescribed +bounds. The _Hope_ lay in the harbor as a guard-ship, and the Johanna +men were armed and put on patrol duty; but while the pirates were +providing for their protection they did not forget their support, and +large quantities of Indian and European corn and other grain were sowed +in the fertile fields of Libertaita. + +Soon after this it was decided to send away the prisoners, as they were +too much of a burden for the infant colony. They were accordingly +summoned before the captains and told that they were to be set at +liberty. Misson informed them that he knew the consequence of giving +them freedom; that he expected to be attacked as soon as the place of +his retreat was known, and had it in his hands to avoid further trouble +by putting them all to death; but that Captain Tew had agreed with him +to practise humanity, and that they were to have their property restored +to them, and were to sail for a friendly coast the next morning in a +ship that was well provisioned but unarmed. All he asked was that they +should never serve against him. An oath to this effect was cheerfully +taken, and away the prisoners sailed to the nearest European +settlement. + +When they had gone Misson returned to the work of improving his town, +and gave the command of his ship, the _Victoire_, to Tew, who, with one +hundred and sixty picked fellows, set out to sweep the seas. He sailed +down the wind to the coast of Zanzibar, and off Quiloa made up to a +large ship which backed her main-topsail and laid by for him. Tew +engaged her for four hours, losing many men, but finding her a +Portuguese public ship of fifty guns and three hundred men, much more +than a match for the little _Victoire_, he attempted to make off. The +_Victoire_, however, was so foul from her long service that she could +not show her customary clean pair of heels, and the stranger, proving +fast and weatherly, drew up with her. The Portuguese Captain, a gallant +officer of great height and herculean strength, lay alongside the +_Victoire_ and boarded her at the head of his men; but the pirates, not +used to being attacked, and expecting no quarter, made so desperate a +resistance that they not only drove back the enemy with loss, but were +enabled to board in their turn. At first only a few followed the +Portuguese as they leaped back into their own ship; but Tew, perceiving +the desperate resolution of these, sang out, "Follow me, lads!" and +sprang over his enemy's rail. The Portuguese opposed the pirates firmly +for a time, but to Tew's cry, "She's our own! Board her! Board her!" his +men replied in continually augmenting numbers, and drove the defenders +back to the main-hatch. Here a bloody conflict ensued, for the +Portuguese Captain fought in the front rank of his men, and with voice +and example encouraged them to combat. Seeing this, Tew rushed forward +to meet him, and the two captains crossed swords with equal bravery. The +crews paused to observe the duel, and watched with fiercely excited eyes +the flashing sabres and shifting poises of their champions. The +Portuguese had a longer reach, and was much taller and stronger than the +pirate, but the latter had the agility of a panther, and was noted as +one of the best swordsmen of his day. Time and again the Portuguese +made a dash against his adversary with point or blade, only to be met +with an accurate parry or a quick return stroke that forced him backward +nearer and nearer to the open hatch. Finally Tew parried a furious lunge +and delivered his terrible return stroke on the neck of the Portuguese, +who threw up his hands and fell backward down the hatch. This ended the +fight, and the crew of the public ship called for quarter. + +With his rich prize, which yielded him one hundred thousand pounds in +Spanish gold, Tew put back to port, where, notwithstanding his severe +loss, his courage and dash were loudly acclaimed by the colony. +Caraccioli persuaded two hundred and ten of the Portuguese to join the +Libertaitans, and among them, to Misson's great pleasure, was found a +school-master, whose services he at once devoted to the instruction of +his negroes. + +Two sloops of eighty tons each had been built in a creek, and when they +were finished they were armed with eight guns apiece out of a Dutch +prize, and sent on a trial trip. They proved to be fast, weatherly +vessels, and on their return from their first trip to sea Misson +proposed to send them out on a voyage of survey to lay down a chart of +the shoals and deep water around the coast of Madagascar. As Tew was an +excellent navigator he was given command of the expedition and of one of +the sloops, while the school-master, who proved to be a good seaman and +skilful surveyor, commanded the other. The sloops were manned with a +crew of fifty blacks and fifty whites each, and their four months' +voyage enabled the negroes not only to learn how to handle the +boarding-pike, but, as they were anxious to learn and be useful, to pick +up a fair knowledge of French and seamanship. They returned with an +excellent chart and three prizes. Misson now determined to make a foray +in force, and, dividing five hundred men, white and black, between the +_Victoire_ and the _Hope_, he and Tew set out for the high seas; of +course a strong force was left behind as a garrison. + +Off the coast of Arabia Felix they fell in with a ship of one hundred +and ten guns belonging to the Great Mogul. This ship carried a crew of +seven hundred men and nine hundred passengers, and towered monstrously +above the low sides of the pirate vessels; but Tew on the starboard +quarter and Misson on the port bore up gallantly, and engaged her. To +the opening broadsides of the pirates she thundered an awful response. +Soon the wind died out, and thick clouds of smoke lay motionless on the +water; under its cover Tew brought the little _Hope_ alongside, and, +with his cutlass between his teeth and his pistol in his hand, clambered +up the lofty side. He had barely reached the rail when he was severely +wounded and knocked overboard by a pike-thrust. However, he soon came to +the surface, and managed, at the head of a few of his men, to enter one +of his enemy's lower-deck ports. In the mean time Misson had boarded the +Mussulman on the port quarter, and a hand-to-hand fight was going on +over the rail. Misson was hard pressed by numbers when Tew appeared from +the fore-hatch. One glance at this murderous-looking figure, with bloody +and smoke-grimed garments, rushing at them sword in hand from behind, +was enough for the Mussulmans, and with a wild shriek of "Allah!" they +broke and fled down the hatches, leaving the pirates in possession. + +[Illustration: HE WAS KNOCKED OVERBOARD BY A PIKE-THRUST] + +This proved a most valuable capture, as over one million pounds, besides +many rich silks, spices, valuable carpets, and diamonds were stored in +the prize's hold and strong-boxes. + +The prisoners were landed at a point between Ain and Aden, and the +captured ship brought back to Libertaita, where, as she had proved a +slow and unwieldly craft, she was taken to pieces. Her cordage and +knee-timbers were preserved with all the bolts, eyes, chains, and other +iron-work, and her guns were used in two strong water-batteries as an +additional support to the forts on the headlands. + +The colony was now in prime condition; a number of acres had been +enclosed, and afforded pasturage for three hundred head of cattle--a +purchase from the natives, who had begun to manifest a most friendly +spirit--the grain was ripening finely, the storehouses and magazines +were well under way, and the dock was finished. + +As the _Victoire_ was foul from long service and very loose from recent +storms, she was docked and practically rebuilt. When she was floated +again she was provisioned for a long cruise, and was about to set out +for the Guinea coast when one of the sloops came in, schooner-rigged, +with the news that she had been driven to port by five lofty ships, +Portuguese, of fifty guns each and full of men. + +The alarm was given, the forts and batteries manned, and the men put +under arms. Tew was given command of the English and Portuguese, while +Misson directed the French and one hundred disciplined negroes. Slowly +and majestically the fleet swept on towards the pirate stronghold; as +they came within easy gun-shot Tew leaped to the side of his +water-battery, and with both arms outstretched stood waving in one hand +the black flag, and in the other the banner of Libertaita, with its +white albatross on a blue field. A storm of solid shot greeted the +daring figure, but he leaped down unharmed, as battery after battery +and fort after fort opened with a steady roar against the invader. The +Portuguese dashed by the forts triumphantly, but wavered as they came +under the fire at close range of the heavy guns of the water-batteries. +They had thought to carry all before them with one bold dash, and after +passing the headlands had deemed victory assured, but here they were in +a hornets' nest. Under the dreadful fire from Tew's and Misson's skilful +gunners two of the Portuguese vessels were speedily sunk. The others +turned to flee; but they were not to get off so easily. No sooner were +they clear of the forts than the pirates manned both ships and sloops, +gave them chase, and engaged them in the open sea. The Portuguese +defended themselves gallantly, and one of them, which was attacked by +the two sloops, beat off the Libertaitans twice; two made a running +fight and got off, and the third was left to shift as she could. This +last, a fifty-gun ship of three hundred and twenty men, defended herself +till the greater number of her crew were killed. Finally, finding that +she was left to an unequal fight, she asked for quarter, and good +quarter was given. Thus ended Admiral X's "holiday jaunt to wipe out a +nest of pirates," as the Portuguese Commander-in-Chief had described his +expedition in advance. + +None of the prisoners were plundered, but, on the contrary, the pirate +captains invited to their table the officers of the captured ship, and +congratulated them upon their courage and ability. + +For some months after this nothing occurred to interrupt the quiet of +the colony. Finally, wearying of inactivity, Tew took the _Victoire_ and +three hundred men and sailed in search of prizes. Sixty miles from +Libertaita he found a strange colony of buccaneers. The ship hove to and +the Captain went ashore alone to make the acquaintance of the strangers. +While he was absent from the ship a great gale rose and blew the +_Victoire_ ashore on a dangerous reef; she went down before his eyes, +carrying with her every man of the crew. + +This was not the end of misfortune, for a few nights afterwards the two +Libertaitan sloops appeared, and from one of them Misson came ashore +with disastrous news. The same night that the _Victoire_ went down the +natives had risen and destroyed Libertaita; Misson had saved a quantity +of diamonds and bar gold, and fled in the sloops with the remnant of his +band; they were now without a ship and without a haven. + +The plunder and the men were equally divided between the sloops, and the +two captains sailed in company for the coast of America. Misson's vessel +went down with all hands in a gale off Cape Infantes, but Tew made a +peaceful voyage to the British colonies. He settled in Rhode Island, +dispersed his crew, and lived for a time unquestioned with his wealth. +He might have reached an honored old age, with nothing to recall the +memories of his past, but at the end of a few years he was persuaded to +go once more "on the account." In the Red Sea he engaged a ship of the +Great Mogul, vastly his superior in size and armament. During the +action Tew received a mortal wound, but fought on as long as he could +stand. When he fell his men became terrified, and suffered themselves to +be taken without resistance. They were all hanged; and so ended the last +of the Libertaitans. + + + + +XII + +THE VROUW VAN TWINKLE'S KRULLERS + +A Story of Old New York + + +Clean, snug, and picturesque as a Holland town was our city of New York +for some years after it had dropped its juvenile name of New Amsterdam +and adopted its present name; but not so suddenly could it change its +nature and Dutch ways. Dutch neatness and the Dutch tongue still reigned +supreme. Substantial wooden houses turned gable ends of black and yellow +Holland bricks to the front, until Pearl Street appeared like a +triumphal procession of chess-boards; while no mansion in that then +fashionable quarter could boast more big doors and small windows than +that of the worthy burgher Van Twinkle, and the little weathercock on +the roof was as giddy as any of its neighbors, and as undecided as to +which way the wind actually did blow. + +An air of festivity pervaded this residence on a certain winter's day in +the early part of the eighteenth century; windows were thrown open, and +Gretel, the eldest daughter of the family, followed by black Sophy, +armed with brooms, mops, and pails, entered that _sanctum sanctorum_, +the best parlor, to scrub and scour with unwonted energy; for to-morrow +would be that greatest of Knickerbocker holidays, _Nieuw Jaar_, or New +Year, when every good Hollander would consider it his duty to call upon +his friends and neighbors, and the front door with its great brass +knocker would swing from morning till night to admit the well-wishers of +the season. + +In the big kitchen also active preparations were going forward. A royal +fire blazed in the wide chimney, and the Vrouw Van Twinkle, in short +gown and petticoat, was cutting out and boiling those lightest and +richest of krullers for which she was famous among the good housewives +of the town: real Dutch krullers, brown as nuts, and crisp as pie-crust. + +"Out of the way, youngsters!" cried the dame to a boy and girl lounging +near to watch the boiling, "or spattered will you be with the hog's fat. +Take thy sister, Jan, and off with her to the Flatten Barrack. She would +enjoy a good sledding this fine day, and that I know." + +"Rather would I go to the skating on the Salt River," said Jan. + +"But that you must not. It I forbid, for very unsafe is it now, thy +father did observe only this morning." + +"Foolishness, though, was that, mother," argued Jan, "for last night +Tunis Vanderbeck from Breucklyn came over on the ice, and told me that +firm was it as any rock, and smooth as thy soft, pink cheek." + +"Thou flatterer!" laughed his mother; "but not so canst thou pull the +wool over my eyes; so away with you both to the sledding, and here are +two stivers with which to buy New-Year cakes at Peter Clopper's +bake-house." And diving in the patchwork pocket hung at her side, Madam +Van Twinkle produced the coins, which sent the children off with smiling +faces to the hill at the end of Garden Street, stopping on the way to +invest in the sweet New-Year cakes, stamped with a crown and breeches. + +Jan made short work of his; but Katrina had scarce begun to nibble her +fluted oval when she spied an aged man, with a long gray beard, begging +for charity. + +"See, Jan," she cried, "the poor, miserable old beggar! How cold and +hungry he looks!" + +"Then to work should he go." + +"But it may be no work he has to do. Ach! the sight of him makes my +heart to ache, and help him will I all I can." So saying, the +kind-hearted girl darted to the mendicant's side and slipped her cake +into his hand. + +"A thousand thanks, little lady!" exclaimed the man, fervently; "for I +am near to starving, or I would not be here; and you are the first who +has heeded me to-day." + +He was evidently English; but Katrina cared not for that, and, carried +away by her feelings, added a guilder, given her at Christmas, to her +gift of the New-Year cake, thereby calling forth a shower of +benedictions, although the old fellow seemed strangely nervous +meanwhile, glancing in a frightened manner at each passer-by. As soon as +the little maid's back was turned he slunk into a dark alley and out of +sight. + +"A silly noodle art thou, Katrina, thus to throw away thy presents," +said Jan, as they hurried on. But his sister only shook her head, and +smiled as though quite satisfied, while her heart beat a happy roundelay +all the short December afternoon as she slid on her wooden sled and +frolicked with the little Dutch Vans and Vanders on the Flatten-Barrack +Hill. + +Twilight was falling when the young Van Twinkles wended their way home, +to find their bread and buttermilk ready for them by the kitchen fire, +and their father and mother and Gretel gone to a supper of soft waffles +and chocolate and a New-Year's-Eve dance at the Van Corlear Bouwerie. + +"The best parlor, does it look fine and gay, Sophy?" asked Katrina, as +she finished her evening meal. + +"Dat it do," replied the old slave woman; "for waved am de sand on de +floor like white clouds, and de brass chair-nails shine jest like little +missy's eyes. 'Spect de ole mynheer and his vrouw come down and dance +dis night for sure." + +"What mynheer, Sophy?" asked Jan. + +"De great mynheer in de portrait--your gran'fader, ob course. Hab you +chillens neber heard how on New-Year Eve, when de clock strike twelve, +down come all de pictur' folkses to shake hands and wish each oder +'Happy New-Year,' and den, if nuffin disturb 'em, mebbe dey dance in de +firelight." + +"Really, Sophy, do they?" asked the little girl. + +"Yah, dey do. Master Jan may laugh if he please, but right am I. My ole +moeder hab so tole me, and wif her own eyes hab she seen de ghostes +dances." + +"A rare sight it must be! I wish that I could see it," said Katrina; and +later, when she went in to inspect the parlor, she gazed up with +increased respect at her stolid-faced Holland ancestors. + +"Much would I love to see them tread a minuet!" sighed Katrina again, +and even after her head was laid on her pillow the idea haunted her +dreams, until, as the tall clock in the hall struck eleven, she started +up wide-awake, with the feeling that something eventful was about to +happen. + +"Almost spent is the old year!" she thought, "and soon down the picture +folk will come to greet the new. Oh, I must, I must them see!" and +although the household was by this time asleep, she crept out of bed, +slipped on her clothes, and stole noiselessly down-stairs. + +"Still are they yet," she whispered, glancing up at the pictured faces. +"But near the hour draws, and hide I must, or they may not come down, +for Sophy says that spectators they do not love. Ah, there is just the +place!" and running to the linen chest she lifted the lid, and +clambering lightly in, nestled down among the lavender-scented sheets +and table-cloths. + +"A very comfortable hiding-spot, truly!" exclaimed Katrina, as she +placed a book beneath the cover to hold it slightly open; and so cosey +did it prove that she grew a bit drowsy before the midnight bells chimed +the knell of another twelvemonth. Then indeed, however, she was on the +alert in an instant and peering eagerly out. Her corner was in shadow, +but the ruddy glow from the hickory logs revealed the portraits still +unmoved, and she was about to utter an exclamation of disappointment, +when she was startled to see a door leading to the rear of the house +suddenly swing open and the figure of a man carrying a lantern enter +with slow and stealthy tread. An old man, apparently, with gray hair and +beard, and a sack thrown across his shoulders. "'Tis the Old Year +himself!" thought the fanciful girl; but the next moment she almost +betrayed herself by a scream as she recognized the beggar to whom she +had given her New-Year cake that very afternoon. + +Slowly the midnight marauder approached, and then, all at once, a +wonderful transformation took place. The bent form became straight, the +gray beard and hair were torn off, and a younger and not unhandsome man +stood before the little watcher's astonished gaze. + +She was too dumfounded to do anything but tremble and stare, as the +intruder seated himself at the table and ate and drank, almost snatching +the viands in his eagerness. His appetite appeased, however, he seemed +to hesitate; but then, with a muttered, "Well, what must be must, and +here's for home and Emily!" he seized a silver bowl and dropped it into +his bag, following it up with the porringers and plates, that were the +very apple of the Dutch house-mother's eye. + +Too frightened to speak, poor little Katrina watched these proceedings; +but when the thief laid hands on a certain old and beautifully engraved +flagon, she murmured: "The loving-cup! the dear loving-cup! Oh, my +father's heart 'twill break to lose that!" + +"Plenty of the needful here!" chuckled the burglar; but a moment later +he had his surprise, for out of the shadows suddenly emerged a small, +slight figure, and a stern voice cried, "Stop!" + +With a startled exclamation the man fell back, and then, as Katrina +exclaimed, "The loving-cup that is so old--ah, take not that!" he +dropped into a chair, ejaculating, "By St. George, 'tis the little lady +of the cake herself!" + +"That is so," said Katrina. + +The man reddened. "Believe me, miss," he said, "I did not know this was +your home, or naught would have tempted me here; and this is the first +time I have ever soiled my fingers with such work as this." + +"Then why begin now?" asked Katrina. + +"Because I was down on my luck, and there seemed no other way. Listen! +For two years I have served as a soldier in the British army, and no +more honest one ever entered the province. I did not mind hard work, but +my health gave out, and at last the rude fare and the homesickness I +could stand no longer, and three days ago I deserted from the English +fort down yonder. The officers are on my track, but, so far, disguised +as an old beggar, I have escaped detection beneath their very noses. If +caught I shall be flogged within an inch of my life, and, it may be, +shot. Just over the water my wife and a blue-eyed lass like you are +longing for my return, but, saving your guilder, I was penniless, and +so, for the first time, determined to take what was not my own." + +"Poor man!" sighed Katrina, the tears starting. + +"To-morrow night the _Golden Lion_ sails for England. Her crew, after +the New-Year festivities, will be dazed at least, so I can readily +conceal myself until the ship is out at sea. Then ho! for home and my +little Jeanie!" + +"And as a bad, wicked robber will you go to her?" asked the girl. + +"No; indeed no!" cried the man, emptying his sack. "You have saved me +from that, little lady, as well as from starvation to-day, for I would +not steal from you or yours. Give me but these krullers to eat while I +am a stowaway, and all the plate I will leave." + +"Yes, that will I do," said Katrina, rejoiced, and she herself dropped +the crisp cakes into the man's bag. "Now at once go, and godspeed." + +"But first you must promise to mention this meeting to no one until +after the _Golden Lion_ weighs anchor at seven o'clock on New-Year's +night." + +"To my mother may I not?" asked Katrina. + +"No, no, to nobody! Oh, remember my life is in your hands! Promise, I +beg." + +His tone was so imploring the girl was touched. + +"I like it not, but I promise," she said. + +"Thank you. Farewell." And again disguised, the deserter departed, as he +came, by a back window. + +Feeling as though in a dream, Katrina rearranged the disordered table, +and then, creeping up to bed, fell so sound asleep that she never heard +Jan when he awoke the household with his "Happy New-Years." + +Gayly the sunbeams glittered on the black-and-yellow gables that 1st of +January, and fully as resplendent were the maids and matrons of New York +in their best muslins and brocades; while Katrina presented a very +quaint, attractive little vision when she came down in her taffeta gown +and embroidered stomacher, with her amber beads about her neck. Her face +was hardly in accord with her attire, however, when she found every one +demanding, "What has become of the krullers--the New-Year krullers?" + +Madam Van Twinkle looked flushed and angry. "The beautiful cakes with +which I so much trouble took!" she cried. "Ach! a bad, wicked theft it +is, and a mystery unaccountable." + +"Mebbe de great ole mynheer and his vrouw gobbled 'em up," put in Sophy. + +"But what is worse," continued the dame, "in one big kruller, as a +surprise, I did hide a ring of gold sent to Gretel by her godmother in +Holland, and that too is whisked away." + +At this Gretel also began to bewail the loss, and suggested that +perhaps little black Josie, Sophy's son, was the miscreant. + +"If so it be, to the whipping-post shall he go!" cried the enraged +Dutchwoman, starting for the kitchen; but before she reached the door +Katrina exclaimed, "No, mother, no; Josie is not the one." + +"Why, mine Katrina, what canst thou know of this?" asked Mynheer Van +Twinkle, in amazement. + +"I know--I know who has taken the cakes," stammered the blushing girl; +"but tell I cannot now." + +"Not tell!" gasped her mother. "Why and wherefore?" + +"Because my promise I have given. But when the night comes, then shall +you know all." + +"Foolishness is this, Katrina," cried the good housewife, who was fast +losing her temper as well as her cakes, "and at once I command you to +say who has my New-Year krullers." + +"And my ring from Rotterdam," added Gretel. + +"But that I cannot. A lie would it be. Oh, my vader, canst thou not me +trust until the nightfall?" + +"Surely, sweetheart. There, good vrouw, say no more, but leave the +little one in peace. A promise thou wouldst not have her break." + +"Some there be better broken than kept; but whom promised she?" + +Katrina was silent, and now even her father looked grave. "Speak, _mijn +kind_; whom didst thou promise?" + +"I cannot tell." + +"See you, Jacobus, 'tis stubborn she is, and wrong it looks. But list, +Katrina; you shall speak this minute, or else to your chamber go, and +there spend your New-Year's Day." + +At this mynheer puffed grimly at his pipe, and Gretel would have +remonstrated, but without a word Katrina turned and left the parlor. +Ascending to her little attic-room, she removed her holiday finery, and +sat sadly down to work on her Flemish lace, trying to console herself by +repeating: "Right am I, and I know I am right. A promise once given +must not broken be," while the New-Year callers came and went, and the +sound of merry greetings floated up from below. + +So it was scarce a happy New-Year, and the little weathercock must have +pointed very much to the east if he considered the way the wind blew +within-doors, for even Jan turned fractious, and declared, "There was no +fun in calling on a parcel of old _vrouws_," and he should go to the +turkey-shooting at Beekman's Swamp instead. But this his mother forbade. +"Shoot you will not this day," she said, "for at fourteen, like a +gentleman and a good Hollander should you behave. So start at once, and +my greetings bear to the Van Pelts and Vander Voorts and Mistress +Hogeboom," while his father carried him off with him to call on the +dominie's wife. + +This visit over, however, they parted company, and Jan lingered long in +the market-place to see the darkies dance to the rude music of horns and +tom-toms. Here he encountered two of his chums, Nicholas Van Ripper and +Rem Hochstrasser, carrying guns on their shoulders. + +"Thee, Jan? Good!" they cried. "Now come with us to the turkey-shooting. +A prize thou art sure to win." + +"But I started the New-Year visits to make!" said Jan. + +"And paid them in the market-place!" laughed Nicholas. "Thou art a sly +one, Jan! But great sport is there at the Swamp to-day; much better than +the chatter of the girls and a headache to-morrow." + +"So think I, Nick; but I have on my _kirch_ clothes;" and Jan glanced +down at his best galligaskins and his coat with its silver buttons. + +"Not a bit will it hurt them; so come along." And thus urged, Jan joined +his friends, and was soon at Beekman's Swamp, where a bevy of youths +were squandering their stivers in the exciting sport of firing at live +turkeys. + +Nick and Rem did well, and each bore off a plump fowl, but luck seemed +against Jan, who could not succeed in even ruffling a feather; while at +last he had the misfortune to slip and get a rough tumble, besides +soiling his breeches and tearing a rent in the skirt of his fine +broadcloth coat. + +"Ha! ha! What will Madam Van Twinkle say to that?" laughed his +unsympathetic companions, when they saw Jan stamping round, his little +queue of hair, tied with an eel-skin, fairly standing out with rage. + +"Whatever she says, 'twill be your fault, ye dough-nuts!" he shouted, +and would have indulged in some rather forcible Dutch epithets had not +his cousin Tunis Vanderbeck come up at the moment, saying, "Mind it not, +Jan, but with me come to Breucklyn to skate." + +"Yah; better will that be than facing the mother in this plight," said +Jan; and he was skating across the Salt River before he remembered that +he had been positively forbidden to venture there. + +"Sure art thou that the ice is strong, Tunis?" he asked. + +"Not so strong as it was. The thaw has weakened it some, but 'twill hold +to-night, if--" But at that instant an ominous cracking sounded beneath +their feet, and Tunis had just time to glide to a firmer spot before a +scream rang through the air, and he looked back to see the dark surging +water in an opening in the ice, and Jan's head disappearing beneath. + +While, in the twilight, Katrina sat by her window, thinking of blue-eyed +English Jeanie, she was startled by a voice on the shed roof without +calling, "Let me in, Katrina--let me in;" and on opening the casement a +very wet and bedraggled boy tumbled at her feet, sputtering out, "Run +for dry clothes and a hot drink, my Trina, for nearly drowned am I, and +frozen as well." + +The girl hastened to obey, and not until her brother was snug and warm +in her feather-bed did she ask, "Whatever has happened to thee, Jan?" + +"Why, on the river I was, and the ice it broke, and in I fell. But for +an old cove who risked his life to save me, in Davy Jones's locker would +I be this minute; for never a hand did Tunis Vanderbeck stir to help +me, and unfriends will we be henceforth." + +"And thy _kirch_ suit is ruined. Does the mother know it?" + +"No; for fear of her I came in by the roof, but I met the father +outside, and angry enough he is because I went to the shooting and on +the river. He says that on bread and water shall I live for a week, and +to the Philadelphia Fair shall I not go;" and a sob rose in the boy's +throat. "But what is queerest, Katrina, the old chap who pulled me out +seemed to know me, and gave me this for you," and Jan produced a moist, +soggy package, which, on being undone, revealed a single broken kruller, +in the centre of which, however, gleamed a heavy gold ring. + +"Good! good! Oh, glad am I!" cried Katrina; and hastening to put on her +festival dress, when the clock chimed seven she went dancing down to the +parlor, and creeping to her mother's side, whispered, "Now, my moeder, +all will I tell thee." + +In amazement the family listened to her story of the midnight visitor, +and when she ended by slipping the ring on Gretel's finger, saying, "No +common thief was he, for this he sent me by Jan, whom he has saved from +a grave in the Salt River," the Dutchwoman caught her to her heart, +sobbing, "Oh, my Katrina, forgive thy mother, for it was in my temper I +spoke this morning, and a true, brave girl hast thou been. To think that +but for thee our rare old silver would be on its way to England!" Gretel +too hugged her rapturously, and the tears were in Mynheer Van Twinkle's +eyes as he asked: + +"How can I repay my daughter for saving the loving-cup of my ancestors, +and for her lonely day above?" + +"By forgiving Jan, father, and letting him come to the New-Year supper. +Disobedient has he been, I know, but well punished is he, and he is full +of sorrow." + +"Well, then, for thee, it shall be so." + +So Jan was summoned down, and a truly festal evening was held within the +home circle, beneath the gaze of the old mynheer and his vrouw, who +beamed benignantly from their heavy frames. + +The _Golden Lion_ sailed true to time, and never again was the deserter +heard of on this side of the Atlantic; but for long after Katrina was +pointed out as "the blue-eyed maid who saved the family plate and gave +away Vrouw Van Twinkle's New-Year krullers." + + + + +XIII + +THE SIGN OF THE SERPENT + +A Story of Louisiana in the Early Eighteenth Century + + +The two Vidals--the father Captain and second in command at Fort +Rosalie,[B] and the son Jean, who wore the stripes of a sub-lieutenant, +though his face had scarcely a sign of beard on it yet--paced the +parapet of the fort in absorbed talk. Below them rolled the brown flood +of the Mississippi, gilded into tawny gold by the setting sun. In the +splendor of that glow stood out in bold relief the galley which had +arrived from New Orleans that day. Young Jean, who had been absent in +the little Louisiana capital for two months, and had received during the +visit his commission from Governor Perier, had been a passenger, and was +now eagerly listening to the news of the fort. + + [B] Fort Rosalie, during the early years of the eighteenth + century one of the advance-posts of the Louisiana colony, was + built on the bluff where now stands the beautiful city of + Natchez. This whole region for many miles up and down the river + and inland was the seat of the Natchez nation, originally a + Toltec race which had emigrated from Mexico shortly after the + Spanish conquest. + +"It is almost word for word as I tell thee," said the senior. "'Twas a +month since that Monsieur le Commandant sent for Big Serpent to tell him +the Governor's wish, but not, as Monsieur Perier would have chosen to +make it, the beginning of negotiation. For all feel that it is not well +the Natchez should remain in power so near the fort. But Chopart's words +were like the lash of the slave-whip. + +"'Does not my white brother know,' answered the Great Sun of the +Natchez, 'that my people have lived in the village of White Apple for +more years than there are hairs in the plaited scalp-lock which hangs +from the top of my head to my waist?' + +"'Foolish savage!' said Chopart. 'What ties of friendship can there be +between our races? Enough for you to know that you must obey your +master's orders, as I obey mine.' + +"'We have other lands; take them, but leave the village of White Apple +to the Natchez. There is our temple, there the bones of our forefathers +have slept since we came to the banks of the Father of Waters,' pleaded +Big Serpent. + +"'Within the next moon comes the galley from the big village of the +French. If White Apple is not then delivered to my soldiers, and your +people gone, the great chief of the Natchez will be sent down the river, +bound hand and foot, to rot in prison. Go. I have spoken,' and Monsieur +le Commandant waved Big Serpent out of his presence." + +"And do the Natchez submit? Will Big Serpent give up their beautiful +village? Mon Dieu! It's a shame! It might have been managed differently +hadst thou been made commandant instead of Chopart, _mon pre_." + +"Tut! tut!" said the father. "Chopart may carry his load, and welcome. +'Twould have irked me much to have done the Governor's will, for, after +all, 'tis the sword, not the scabbard, which kills. Warning of treachery +and conspiracy has come from White Apple, for thou knowest the old +Princess had a French husband and loves his race. Yet her son, the +chief, would bleed out every French drop in his veins if he could. I +like not the signs, though only five days ago Big Serpent came to Fort +Rosalie, and when Monsieur le Commandant flung the report of foul play +in his teeth, the chief smiled like a baby in the face of its mother, +and answered: 'Let my brother believe what he sees. On the seventh day +hence my people will bring thee more than the tribute due for the time, +thou hast granted, and will then give up White Apple to the French.' Yet +Sergeant Beaujean, who has been at the village since, says there are no +signs of preparation for departure, and that warriors are pouring in +from all the outlying country. We shall know in two days more. In the +mean time, Chopart reviles at all advice to keep the garrison under +arms, with closed gates and loaded cannon. The insolent calls doubters +cowards and old women. My sword should answer that taunt," continued the +grizzled soldier, fiercely, "were it not for a bad example at this time. +Big Serpent, though young in years, is as old in guile as the most +ancient wiseacre of his tribe. So I fear to have thee go to visit Akbal +now, _mon fils_, for the chief's brother is sure to be deep in any +mischief brewing." + +"Better reason, then," answered Jean, "to make the venture. Time flies +swiftly, and I, surer than another, could go safely and might find a +clew to hidden danger. Yet 'tis hard to break bread and play the spy." + +Captain Vidal paced up and down, his features working in doubt, as the +new thought forced its way to acceptance. He looked wistfully at his +only son. "And thou wouldst go there and pit thy young wits against the +Indian's devilish cunning? Well, it may do! Akbal was ever thy sworn +brother and hunting comrade." So it was arranged without further words, +but the father's convulsive hand-clasp, when Jean, in hunter's +buckskins, bade him good-bye at sunrise next morning, proved how loath +he was. + +It was ten o'clock when Jean arrived in White Apple, which was about +fifteen miles from Fort Rosalie. Eight miles lay through the black muck +of a swamp where even the wariest foot and quickest eye found their way +with trouble. The foul morass into which the river highlands sloped down +on the landward side gave the shortest road. But its profusion of deadly +reptile life wriggling and hissing at every turn encompassed the narrow +path across the little knolls and tussocks which give the only +foot-grip, with no slight peril to a blundering step. An easier route +meant nearly double the distance. + +Almost the first greeting was that of Akbal, but his manner was distant. +He knew of Jean's long absence, but he asked no questions with the +tongue, though his eye was keenly curious. + +"I come to chase the buck with my friend once more before the Natchez +seek a new hunting-ground," said Jean. + +"Akbal not hunt to-day," was the answer, in broken French; "must listen +to wisdom of great chiefs in council. They meet even now in the Temple +of the Sun. Go; the woods are full of deer and turkeys; but first must +eat, for Akbal's friend much hungry from his walk." + +This hospitable dismissal discomfited Jean, for it seemed to close the +gates to further knowledge. The breakfast of venison and sweet maize got +no seasoning of cheer in the gloomy looks of the boyish chief. Through +the door of the lodge the young Frenchman saw the lines of Natchez +warriors stalking through the streets towards the temple, while not a +sound arose in the village. All moved as silently as if they were a +marching troop of phantoms. Akbal sat patiently as a bronze statue, +waiting his guest's motion to depart. + +In the centre of the village stood the temple--a huge, round structure +built of logs, now wrinkled with years, and surmounted with a +cylindrical roof thatched with swamp-canes, leaves, and Spanish-moss in +an impervious mat. It rose twenty feet higher than the tallest lodges, +and from one side extended an arched thick-set hedge, embowering a long +passage to the adjacent forest, a quarter of a mile away. Here the +priests and medicine-men of the Sun were wont to seclude themselves from +the rest of the tribe. + +The way to accomplish his quest suddenly flashed on Jean's mind. Once he +parted from Akbal, seemingly to plunge into the forest, he could make +his way to the exit of the long, bowery avenue, and thence come to the +outside of the temple. There, it might be, he could learn all he wished, +though with great peril to his life. So when the young chief pressed his +hand in a sad and silent adieu, Jean, after a brief push into the +tangled brake, fetched a dtour, and found himself at the mouth of the +passage. Through its dusky green light he moved cautiously forward to a +coign of vantage. This he found in the shrinkage of two ill-fitting +logs, which gave a space for seeing and hearing. + +In the centre of the temple, on a rude stone altar, smoked the +unquenched fire which had never died since the natal spark had flamed in +a Mexican temple two hundred years before. This half a dozen hideously +painted priests fed with fragrant barks and gums. Around them five +hundred warriors squatted on the ground, and passed the council-pipe, +while the priests mumbled and chanted, and a portion of the sacred band +drew forth soft and monotonous music from long reed instruments. A +rattlesnake, coiled around the right arm of the chief priest, swayed its +crest with an undulating motion to the cadences of the music, and its +bright eyes seemed to watch every motion with malign intentness, as if +it were the guiding spirit of the council. The braves wore no war-paint, +for their expedition was not meant to blazon its own purpose; but their +faces, so far as they could be seen through the smoke, were distorted +with such ferocity and lust of blood that they could dispense with the +help of pigments. And so the priests chanted, and the players played +their soft melody, and the high-priest stroked his serpent's hideous +head as it curved and swayed to the rhythm of the tune, while the +watching Jean was maddened by the delay and the passage of time and +opportunity. At last, perhaps mindful of some signal from the +high-priest, the snake darted its full length and struck with open mouth +as if at some enemy,[C] Big Serpent arose from the seated ranks. + + [C] The rattlesnake was sacred to the Sun God of the Natchez, + and was made to play an important part in their religious + ceremonies, and the mummery which entered, too, into their war + councils. Something similar exists in the rites of the Moqui + Pueblos to-day--a race supposed also to have been of Toltec + origin. + +The Great Sun's oration to his warriors, spoken in the Indian tongue, +was mostly jargon to the listener, but he construed enough of it to +unravel the Natchez plot. Under the guise of paying their tribute, they +would surprise the fort the next morning. + +Jean waited for nothing more, but withdrew swiftly, and dashed into the +forest. To reach Fort Rosalie as quickly as possible he took his way +again through the noisome swamp which formed so much of the short-cut +to the French post. He had found his way well towards the heart of that +place of gloom and reptilian life. Inspection of every tuft of grass and +weed now made progress slow, and Jean looked forward to a few moments of +rest on the hummock twenty feet off which projected from the edge of a +canebrake. How lucky, he thought, that he had escaped without detection! +On top of this thought came the shock of a challenge, which made his +heart leap. + +"_Halte, l!_" and the figure of Akbal pushed through the reeds. His gun +lay in the hollow of one arm, and from the other hand dangled a silver +clasp with which Jean's hunting-shirt had been fastened, and which he +had not missed till this moment. It had been found in the bowery lane +near the temple. + +"Better Akbal than another Natchez bring this back to his French +brother," he went on, with a note of mockery in his voice. "Jan Akbal's +prisoner; no hurt him; to-morrow set free." + +Quick as a flash Jean's gun swung to his shoulder. + +"Stand aside, Akbal, or I shoot you dead. It must be that or pledge of +free passage." + +The two stood like duellists with levelled weapons, waiting for the +word, with stern faces and flashing eyes. This was not the time nor +place to remember old comradeship and the rite of blood-brotherhood +which had once been solemnized between them. That rite swore them to an +undying amity, as if born of the same mother and they had tasted the red +drops hot from each other's veins in testimony. But all this was +forgotten. To Jean, Akbal was the barrier to prevent his saving the +garrison. To Akbal, Jean was the agent bent on foiling his people's +revolt from French oppression. But though their fingers touched +triggers, they did not press them. Perhaps this hesitation would have +lasted but a second. + +But now Jean heard a whirring noise that disturbed even his tense train +of thinking with a cold chill. He dashed his musket butt at something, +but it flecked him like a giant whip-lash. A monstrous rattlesnake had +fastened its fangs deep in his thigh. Another duellist had stepped to +the fore. Akbal saw the snake spring, and was himself almost as swift in +leaping the interval. He shook his head as he saw the enormous size of +the serpent, which was in the deadliest season of its venom, wriggling +with a broken back. + +"Much bad bite, but try save Jean," said he, as he helped him across to +the larger hummock. Luckily Jean's canteen was full of brandy, and this +he gulped down eagerly, while the Indian cut away the buckskin from his +leg. Two needle-point punctures, to be sure, seemed scarcely worth +bothering about, but with an apology, "Knife much hurt, but good," he +plunged the keen-edged blade into the flesh, cutting out the envenomed +parts, and followed it by applying his lips and sucking at the wound for +a full five minutes. + +"Fine weed sometimes cure snake-bite. Big bush over there," and he +danced across the bubbling marsh to a bog-oak with a thick mass of green +at its base. The swollen leg and the pain which gnawed through the +drowsiness of the working venom told Akbal that there was no time to be +lost. Flint and steel quickly struck fire, and steeping leaves and roots +he made hot tea and a poultice. So the Indian nurse fought the terrible +poison in the veins of the patient all that afternoon and all the night +long in the firefly-lit darkness of that evil swamp. + +The panther screams, which mingled harshly with the subtler horror of +things hissing and splashing in the fetid pools, passed into the dreams +of Jean. Copper-colored fiends with serpent heads storming the palisades +of Fort Rosalie and shrieking the Natchez war-whoop sank their long +curved fangs in the body after the knife had rifled the head. "_Mon +pre! mon pre! sauve mon pre!_" he cried, in his agonized nightmare, +and then awoke, clutching Akbal's arm in a sweat of despair. + +"Jan better now, stronger; no more bad dream," said Akbal, who +recognized signs of coming strength; and indeed when daylight struggled +into the swamp the color of the French boy's face had got back its lusty +red. + +"Come, come, we must hasten to the fort! I am myself once more," and +Jean stumbled to his feet to fall back again with the sore stiffness of +his wounded thigh. Then he remembered the meaning of Akbal's presence +with a frown. The comrade-foe dragged the heart out of that look with a +word: + +"Go soon. Akbal no stop Jan now." He spoke with a proud sadness and +submission in his tone. The serpent omen had come from the Sun God--not +even that deadly bite could stop the young Frenchman's return, and he +himself had been but the instrument of duty. So he carefully bound the +sore leg, and they started across the boggy waste, Jean leaning on his +arm and limping with a determined step. It took long to traverse that +quaking and slippery road, and the sun climbed up the sky, and Jean +became half crazed with anxiety, for his leg would only do so much work, +with all the help of a human crutch. + +At last they emerged from the morass and began to climb the upland, +toiling on with the fiercest energy of Jean's tortured spirit. Hark! +that was the sound of cannon from the fort, and then they heard the +faint crackling of guns. "Too late!" half shrieked Jean Vidal, and he +sank on the ground with the reaction, hopeless, helpless, and his face +streaming with tears of rage and grief. Akbal dragged him to a sheltered +place under a bank, and leaped like a deer up the hill. He believed in +the sign of the Sun God, for the rattlesnake was the totem of the +Natchez nation. He did not reason, in his simple, superstitious loyalty, +that he could have left Jean to die of the serpent's bite. He only knew +that he had been inspired to cure him. Now he believed that the further +mission of salvation had been passed from Jean to him, and the French +blood in his veins warmed to the dedication. The lives of the garrison +might yet be kept from the tomahawk and the torture stake. + +The fort was already in the hands of the Natchez when Akbal arrived on +the bloody scene. The murdering crew gathered to his assembly whoop, +with Big Serpent at their head. He told the story of the supposed +miracle with fervent eloquence, and the lives of those who had not +already fallen in battle were spared, including Captain Vidal, for these +bloodthirsty warriors of the Natchez were pious in their way, and +believed the sign of the serpent. Jean Vidal, too, remembered the stroke +of that terrible fang with something like superstitious gratitude. Had +it not been for that he and Akbal would probably have slain each other +where they stood, and every Frenchman in the fort would have been +butchered or reserved for a more fiendish death. As it was, Chopart was +the only one to suffer execution, and he justly expiated the deeds of a +cold-blooded tyrant. + + + + +XIV + +A DRUMMER OF WARBURTON'S + +How a Boy Held Fort George at Cape Canso, in 1757 + + +A few hours ago I found an odd-shaped bit of blackened brass. The thing +lies before me now as I write. It is a drum-hook. I know this for the +simple reason that I was once a drummer-boy myself, and could not be +mistaken regarding such a familiar object. I found this drum-hook among +a lot of other odds and ends at the bottom of a well in an old, +long-abandoned fortification. The poor scrap of silent metal brings to +mind the tale of Rupert Haydon, drummer-boy in one of the old line +regiments. His deed of heroism was performed at this same old fort which +I have to-day been ransacking. Perhaps this drum-hook was once used by +him! It is not at all unlikely. + +By turning to your map of North America you can easily distinguish Cape +Canso, at the eastern extremity of the mainland of Nova Scotia. Upon an +island, about a mile from the shore and forming with it the harbor of +Canso, is the grass-grown fortress which I have mentioned. The name of +the island is George's; the fort has had several high-sounding titles. +Why should it not? It is old--older perhaps than others with claims of +easier proof. In 1518, over a century before the Pilgrims landed at +Plymouth, legend says that Baron de Lery threw up the first embankments +and claimed the country for the crown of France. Several times this fort +has been besieged and captured, at heavy loss of life. New England sent +expeditions against it. The bloodthirsty Indians repeatedly raided the +place. In 1745 Pepperell and his valiant little army of Massachusetts, +New Hampshire, and Connecticut militia remained here for some weeks, in +order to acquire drill and discipline before moving upon the boasted +Louisburg. And many another martial display has this neglected old fort +witnessed, and personages celebrated in our history have walked within +its ramparts upon occasion. + +In the year 1757 Fort George, as it was then called, had as its garrison +a small detachment from Colonel Warburton's regiment of foot. This +trifling force was compelled to watch over a wide extent of territory in +addition to the special place they occupied. France and England were +again at war, and both regular expeditions and lawless guerillas +abounded. + +On a certain day in midsummer the garrison embarked upon a small vessel +and sailed away to the relief of a threatened settlement. Rupert Haydon, +the drummer-boy, was left in charge of the fort. With him were several +women, wives of soldiers, and their small children. + +"We shall be gone but a week at most, drummer," Captain Peabody had +announced. "It suits me not to leave women and stores so ill protected, +but the commands of my superiors must be obeyed. However, it is scarce +likely that the enemy will have knowledge of the fort's weakness in time +to profit thereby." + +The drummer-boy stood at attention and saluted as the soldiers marched +out through the covered way. With the aid of the women he hoisted the +drawbridge and closed the massive timber gates. Then, scrambling up on +top of the parapet, he watched the little sailing craft, her decks all +bright with the scarlet-coated warriors, pass out through the narrow +harbor entrance and disappear from view around the first headland. +Scarcely had the transport so vanished, when Rupert's keen eyes +discovered another vessel making for the harbor from the opposite side. + +Mere supposition was useless. The newcomer might prove to be a friend. +If an enemy, the chance of being let alone was problematical. It was now +too late to recall the recently departed garrison. Upon the drummer's +young shoulders lay the whole burden of maintaining the dignity of the +English flag. + +Rupert Haydon was only a poorly educated boy, but he must have had a +great deal of latent talent. Even while gazing in consternation at the +fast-approaching vessel, he mentally mapped out a plan of campaign. +Hastily gathering the women about him, he explained the matter to them, +and secured their aid. They were all well used to the happening of the +unexpected, and inured to danger and fatigue. The wife of a British +soldier has never had an easy lot. These rugged-looking though +golden-hearted women donned some uniforms left behind by their husbands, +and became, in outward appearance at least, full-fledged soldiers. The +six small cannon mounted in the fort's bastions were loaded, small-arms +served out, and ammunition placed conveniently to hand. One of the +soldier-women mounted guard upon the ramparts, and marched up and down, +in plain view, with musket upon shoulder. The English ensign was, of +course, flying from the tall staff in the centre of the redoubt. + +As the vessel drew nearer, the little garrison began to bustle with +activity, and continued in the same fashion for some while. Two of the +soldier-women would come out of the fort, stroll down to the shore, +examine the stranger with an apparently mild curiosity, and then walk +off together over the hills. Meanwhile the others, including Rupert, +would come and go, disappearing and reappearing in all directions with +the aid of the rocky ravines and clumps of trees upon the island. The +idea of all this was to convince the new-comers, whoever they might be, +that the fort's garrison remained unimpaired, and took no special notice +of a single vessel. That the scheme had a certain effect was shown in +the fact that the stranger came to anchor far down the harbor, well out +of range of Fort George's cannon. It looked very much as if the +appearance of these redcoats coming and going about the island had +impressed her commander unfavorably. + +After some delay the ship hoisted a French ensign, and a small boat put +off from her side and headed for the fort landing. This boat contained +three men--two rowing, and one in the stern holding aloft a piece of +white cloth. It was evidently a flag of truce, coming to parley. + +Although his worst fears were now realized, and they plainly had a +formidable enemy to deal with, Rupert never wavered, but proceeded to +dispose of his forces in the best manner possible. Leaving only the +sentry upon the parapet, he marched out of the fort at the head of the +others, as if they merely constituted a suitable escorting party. One of +the squad he had equipped beforehand with a flag of truce similar to +that carried by the man in the boat. The drummer drew up his little +company in a single rank upon the glacis, about half-way between the +intrenchments and the water's edge. At such a distance their disguises +could not be discovered. Alone he advanced to the border of the +pebble-strewn strand, and there awaited the coming of the emissary. + +The latter was wary of approaching too hastily. He bade his oarsmen back +the skiff stern first to within ten or fifteen yards of the shore. Then +he stopped them, and, while they kept the boat in position with gentle +strokes, he held converse with the intrepid drummer by means of lusty +shoutings. + +"I wish to speak with your Commandant," began the stranger, using good +English, yet with a decided Gallic accent. "You are only a child.... A +drummer-boy?... Am I not right?... I judged so by your small stature and +pretty coat.... Inform the Commandant of your fort that I desire a few +words with him." + +"It is impossible," replied Rupert, coolly. + +"What? Impossible?" + +"Yes; I regret to say that the Commandant will not be able to see you at +present. But I am his representative, and can also act as your messenger +if you have something of importance to transmit." + +"O-ho! We are very high and mighty, it seems!" retorted the stranger, +angrily. "Like should have like for meals. I will not be so civil as I +first intended. Tell your Commandant that my name is Rabentine--Captain +Rabentine. I have the honor of commanding _La Belle Cerise_, privateer, +of St. Malo." + +"A French privateer!" ejaculated Rupert. + +"Just so," went on Captain Rabentine, looking from the drummer to his +escort, up at the fort, and back again to the drummer, with some +appearance of suspicion. + +"I had thought you were a navy frigate," rejoined Rupert, promptly. "We +are getting rusty for the want of a little fighting." + +The other seemed slightly taken aback at this statement. + +"Perhaps you may have such a chance even yet," he growled. + +"Well, Captain Rabentine," cried the boy, courteously, "what else am I +to say to the Commandant? For surely you took not all this trouble +merely to let us know whom our visitor might be?" + +"Inform him," shouted the privateer Captain, waxing wroth, "that I had +intended simply to lay in harbor here and weather out the coming gale. +That a good prize-ship is more to my liking than an empty fort! Perhaps +there might even have been a case of rare wine sent ashore by way of +compliment. But as he chooses to be so distant, and sends a drummer-boy +as fitting ambassador to a French Captain, I shall give myself the +pleasure of--But, pshaw! there is no money in this for my owners. Inform +your Commandant that I have a mind to anchor farther up the harbor, +where the shelter is good, for a few days. That I will not molest him if +he leaves me alone. There you have it in a nutshell. Go, and haste +quickly with the answer." + +Gravely turning on his heel the drummer strode back up the hill, joined +his waiting escort, and marched with them to the fort. He was gone upon +this pretended mission some little time; quite long enough further to +exasperate the privateer Captain. + +"Truly 'tis a matter of wonderful ceremony," he sneered, when Rupert, +after repeating the former precautionary measures with his escort, was +once more at speaking distance. "All this folderol is wearisome. Your +Commandant may regret not having sent an officer before we are through +with the thing. Did you sufficiently impress him with the fact that I +am not one to be trifled with? Does he realize that his garrison can +scarcely outnumber my crew? _La Belle Cerise_ carries one hundred and +fifty-four as natty sailors as ever swung boarding-pikes, and at a pinch +we can spare a round hundred for landing-party and still have enough on +board to work our biggest guns. He should be thankful that I show an +inclination to leave his puny fort untouched. What has he to say?" + +"Our two nations being at war at the present time," announced the +drummer, guardedly, "I am to tell you that we can offer no harbor unless +you care to surrender yourself and crew as prisoners, and your ship as +lawful prize. Failing this, you must--" + +"What? Zounds!" howled the easily excited Frenchman. "Your Commandant +may think this good jesting, but I do not share his opinions. Tell him +to look to his defences. The flag of France shall once more wave above +them. We will attack at once, and for every poor fellow I lose in this +worthless assault, two of your survivors shall be strung up to die. +Give way, my boys!" he cried, addressing his oarsmen. + +The boat sped off to the vessel. The drummer and his little party +returned within the fort, and prepared as best they could for what was +to follow. + +Almost immediately after the arrival of the privateer Captain on board +his ship, three great pinnaces were lowered to the water and filled with +men. The glitter from naked cutlasses, inlaid pistols, and carefully +held muskets could easily be distinguished among them. This flotilla was +soon ready, and at once started for the fort landing. Luckily for the +trivial band of defenders the wind was increasing to such an extent that +Captain Rabentine did not consider it wise to attempt manoeuvring his +ship in an unbuoyed and dangerous harbor. Therefore the flotilla was +without any aid from the guns of _La Belle Cerise_. Moreover, the waves +were commencing to run high, and the overloaded boats labored heavily. +It was necessary to keep them headed to the seas as much as possible, +and, in consequence, their progress towards the shore was rendered +extremely slow. + +Rupert Haydon and his improvised garrison were all ready. The loaded +cannon were trained as nearly as could be upon the approaching boats. +The women soldiers had kissed their children a fond good-bye, and shut +them up in the bomb-proof magazine, away from danger of flying +projectiles. + +When the flotilla had arrived within easy range, the young drummer +commenced discharging the battery as fast as he could pull the lanyards. +After him hurried the women, reloading the heated cannon. The roar of +the discharge came re-echoing back from the rocky cliffs repeated over +and over again, and the smoke-clouds temporarily hid the fort from view. + +This unskilful volley went wide of the mark, as was to be expected under +the circumstances, and yet inflicted great damage upon the +privateersmen. The thing came about after the following fashion: Upon +the very beginning of the cannonade, the officer in command of the +leading boat had bade his rowers swing their craft directly head on to +the fort, thus presenting as small a target as possible. Those in the +second boat, however, more intent upon watching the course of the +projectiles than anything else, had not noticed this manoeuvre, and +so, before anything could be done to prevent it, came smashing against +the other's gunwale. In the heavy sea then running this was specially +disastrous. The stricken boat had her side stove in, and the on-comer +was overturned. Both crews quickly found themselves struggling in the +water. Well convinced of the hopelessness of continuing their present +assault, the men in the remaining pinnace confined their efforts to +rescuing drowning comrades and getting out of range again as quickly as +possible. + +The gale had now increased considerably, and its gathering force gave +promise of still fiercer might. By the time the survivors of the boat +expedition had returned to their ship the day was drawing close to +twilight. Captain Rabentine well realized his double danger. Failing +shelter, which could only be found farther up the harbor, and in range +of the fort's cannon, he must put to sea. He was wild with anger at his +repulse. What would have been his condition of mind if he had known that +the defenders consisted merely of a boy and a few women dressed in +soldier clothes? + +Hastily ordering the cable slipped, Captain Rabentine saw to the +spreading of some small storm-sails, and tried to beat out of the +inhospitable harbor. But even here fortune seemed to be against him. The +full flood-tide was running, and although _La Belle Cerise_ strutted +bravely, she could make no perceptible offing. The only road to safety +lay directly past the fort and out the other entrance. The privateer +Captain well knew that one lucky shot might disable his ship, and cause +him to lose control over her. In such a wind and upon such a coast this +meant almost certain death and destruction. But it appeared to be his +only chance, and he had to take it. + +Down on the wind swept the privateer. Her decks were awash with foam. +She rolled and pitched like a mad thing. Her guns were lashed fast to +the deck ring-bolts. It would have been suicidal to try to use them in +such a sea. The crew clung to shrouds and railings, gazing ruefully upon +the nearing battlements which they had so unsuccessfully attempted to +assail. In a few minutes they were almost abreast of the green hill. +Scarcely a hundred yards distant were the grinning embrasures, from +which protruded the muzzles of cannon in plain view. + +[Illustration: SHE ROLLED AND PITCHED LIKE A MAD THING] + +Within the fort Rupert Haydon stood ready, lanyard in hand. The guns had +been more carefully sighted this time, and he felt sure that they could +not all miss such a monstrous mark. One pull upon the blackened cord and +the chances for a prosperous voyage of _La Belle Cerise_ of St. Malo +would be small. For a second he hesitated. Then dropping the lanyard, +cried: + +"No, no. It would be murder, not battle." + +Seizing the white flag of truce that had already been used in the +preliminary negotiations, and leaping upon the parapet, he waved it to +and fro. + +The meaning was instantly comprehended on board of the privateer. Not to +be outdone in courtesy, some sailors, at risk of life and limb, +scrambled aft to their own halyards. As the ship swept by, the proud +ensign of France descended to the deck in salute to the drummer-boy of +Warburton's. Ere it was hoisted again, _La Belle Cerise_ was a receding +speck upon the darkening, storm-swept ocean. + + + + +XV + +ROGERS' RANGERS + +The Famous New Hampshire Scouts of the Old French War + + +Rogers' Rangers were a famous partisan corps during the old French War. +Besides the regular forces employed, there were irregular or partisan +bodies, composed of Canadian French and their Indian allies on one side, +and English frontiersmen on the other. They acted as scouts and rangers +for either army, guarding trains, procuring intelligence, and +intercepting supplies destined for the enemy. Both were composed of +picked men, skilled in woodcraft, and excellent marksmen. One of Rogers' +companies was composed entirely of Indians in their native costume. + +The Rangers were a body of hardy and resolute young men, principally +from New Hampshire. They were accustomed to hunting and inured to +hardships, and from frequent contact with the Indians they had become +familiar with their language and customs. Every one of these rugged +foresters was a dead shot, and could hit an object the size of a dollar +at a hundred yards. + +There was no idleness in the Rangers' camp. They were obliged to be +constantly on the alert, and to keep a vigilant watch upon the enemy. +They made long and fatiguing journeys into his country on snow-shoes in +midwinter in pursuit of his marauding parties, often camping in the +forest without a fire, to avoid discovery, and without other food than +the game they had killed on the march. On more than one occasion they +made prisoners of the French sentinels at the very gates of Crown Point +and Ticonderoga, their strongholds. They were the most formidable body +of men ever employed in Indian warfare, and were especially dreaded by +their French and Indian foes. + +It was in this school that Israel Putnam, John Stark, and others were +trained for future usefulness in the struggle for American Independence. +Several British officers, attracted by this exciting and hazardous as +well as novel method of campaigning, joined as volunteers in some of +their expeditions. Among them was the young Lord Howe, who during this +tour of duty formed a strong friendship for Stark and Putnam, both of +whom were with him when he fell at Ticonderoga shortly afterwards. + +Major Robert Rogers, who raised and commanded this celebrated corps, was +a native of Dunbarton, New Hampshire. Tall and well proportioned, but +rough in feature, he was noted for strength and activity, and was the +leader in athletic sports, not only in his own neighborhood, but for +miles around. + +Rogers' lieutenant was John Stark, afterwards the hero of Bennington. +When in his twenty-fourth year Stark, while out with a hunting-party, +was captured by some St. Francis Indians and taken to their village. +While here he had to run the gauntlet. For this cruel sport the young +warriors of the tribe arranged themselves in two lines, each armed with +a rod or club to strike the captive as he passed them, singing some +provoking words taught him for the occasion, intended to stimulate their +wrath against the unfortunate victim. + +Eastman, one of Stark's companions when he was taken, was the first to +run the gauntlet and was terribly mauled. Stark's turn came next. Making +a sudden rush, he knocked down the nearest Indian, and wresting his club +from him, struck out right and left, dealing such vigorous blows as he +ran that he made it extremely lively for the Indians, without receiving +much injury himself. This feat greatly pleased the old Indians who were +looking on, and they laughed heartily at the discomfiture of the young +men. + +When the Indians directed him to hoe corn, Stark cut up the young corn +and flung his hoe into the river, declaring that it was the business of +squaws and not of warriors. Stark was at length ransomed by his friends +on payment of 100 to his captors. + +During the Revolutionary war Stark's services were rendered at the most +critical moments, and were of the highest value to his country. At +Bunker Hill he commanded at the rail fence on the left of the redoubt, +holding the post long enough to insure the safety of his overpowered and +retreating countrymen. At the capture of the Hessians at Trenton he led +the van of Sullivan's division, and at Bennington he struck the decisive +blow that paralyzed Burgoyne and made his surrender inevitable. + +Skilful and brave as were the Rangers, they were not always successful. +The French partisans, under good leaders, with their wily and formidable +Indian allies, well versed in forest strategy, on one occasion inflicted +dire disaster upon them. + +Near Fort Ticonderoga, in the winter of 1757, Rogers with 180 men +attacked and dispersed a party of Indians, inflicting upon them a severe +loss. This, however, was but a small part of the force which, under De +la Durantaye and De Langry, French officers of reputation, were fully +prepared to meet the Rangers, of whose movements they had been +thoroughly informed beforehand. The party Rogers had dispersed was +simply a decoy. + +The Rangers had thrown down their packs, and were scattered in pursuit +of the flying savages, when they suddenly found themselves confronted +with the main body of the enemy, by whom they were largely outnumbered +and of whose presence they were wholly unsuspicious. Nearly fifty of the +Rangers fell at the first onslaught; the remainder retreated to a +position in which they could make a stand. Here, under such cover as the +trees and rocks afforded, they fought with their accustomed valor, and +more than once drove back their numerous foes. Repeated attacks were +made upon them both in front and on either flank, the enemy rallying +after each repulse, and manifesting a courage and determination equal to +those of the Rangers. So close was the conflict that the opposing +parties were often intermingled, and in general were not more than +twenty yards asunder. The fight was a series of duels, each combatant +singling out a particular foe--a common practice in Indian fighting. + +This unequal contest had continued an hour and a half, and the Rangers +had lost more than half their number. After doing all that brave men +could do, the remainder retreated in the best manner possible, each for +himself. Several who were wounded or fatigued were taken by the pursuing +savages. A singular circumstance about this battle was that it was +fought by both sides upon snow-shoes. + +Rogers, closely pursued, made his escape by outwitting the Indians who +pressed upon him--such at least is the tradition. The precipitous cliffs +near the northern end of Lake George, since called Rogers' Rock, has on +one side a sharp and steep descent hundreds of feet to the lake. Gaining +this point, Rogers threw his rifle and other equipments down the rocks. +Then, unbuckling the straps of his snow-shoes, and turning round, he +replaced them, the toes still pointing towards the lake. This was the +work of a moment. He then walked back in his tracks from the edge of +the cliff into the woods and disappeared just as the Indians, sure of +their prey, reached the spot. To their amazement, they saw two tracks +towards the cliff, none from it, and concluded that two Englishmen had +thrown themselves down the precipice, preferring to be dashed to pieces +rather than be captured. Soon a rapidly receding figure on the ice below +attracted their notice, and the baffled savages, seeing that the +redoubtable Ranger had safely effected the perilous descent, gave up the +chase, fully believing him to be under the protection of the Great +Spirit. + +By a wonderful exercise of his athletic powers, Rogers, availing himself +of the projecting branches of the trees which lined the rocky ravines in +his course, had succeeded in swinging himself from the top to the bottom +of this precipitous cliff. It was a fortunate escape for him, for if +captured he would surely have been burned alive. + +In this unfortunate affair the Rangers had eight officers and one +hundred men killed. Their losses, however, were soon repaired, and they +continued to render efficient service until the close of the war. + + + + +XVI + +THE PLOT OF PONTIAC + +How Detroit was Saved in 1763 + + +The long contest between England and France for the right to rule over +North America, which lasted seventy years, and inflicted untold misery +upon the hapless settlers on the English frontier, was at last brought +to an end. England was victorious, and in 1763 a treaty was made by +which France gave up Canada and all her Western posts. + +With the exception of the Six Nations, the Indian tribes had fought on +the side of the French, whose kind and generous course had won their +affection. But the claims to the country which they and their +forefathers had always possessed were utterly disregarded by both +parties. Said an old chief on one occasion: + +"The French claim all the land on one side of the Ohio, and the English +claim all the land on the other side. Where, then, are the lands of the +Indian?" + +The final overthrow of the French left the Indians to contend alone with +the English, who were steadily pushing them towards the setting sun. +Seeing this, and wishing to rid his country of the hated pale-faces, who +had driven the red men from their homes, Pontiac, the great leader of +the Ottawas, determined--to use his own words--"to drive the dogs in red +clothing" (the English soldiers) "into the sea." + +This renowned warrior, who had led the Ottawas at the defeat of General +Braddock, was courageous, intelligent, and eloquent, and was unmatched +for craftiness. Besides the kindred tribes of Ojibways, or Chippewas, +and Pottawattomies, whose villages were with his own in the immediate +vicinity of Detroit, a number of other warlike tribes agreed to join in +the plot to overthrow the English. Pontiac refused to believe that the +French had given up the contest, and relied upon their assistance also +for the success of his plan. + +All the English forts and garrisons beyond the Alleghanies were to be +destroyed on a given day, and the defenceless frontier settlements were +also to be swept away. + +The capture of Detroit was to be the task of Pontiac himself. This +terrible plot came very near succeeding. Nine of the twelve military +posts on the exposed frontier were taken, and most of their defenders +slaughtered, and the outlying settlements of Pennsylvania and Virginia +were mercilessly destroyed. + +On the evening of May 6, 1763, Major Gladwin, the commander at Detroit, +received secret information that an attempt would be made next day to +capture the fort by treachery. The garrison was weak, the defences +feeble. Fearing an immediate attack, the sentinels were doubled, and an +anxious watch was kept by Gladwin all that night. + +The next morning Pontiac entered the fort with sixty chosen warriors, +each of whom had concealed beneath his blanket a gun, the barrel of +which had been cut short. His plan was to demand that a council be held, +and after delivering his speech to offer a peace belt of wampum. This +belt was worked on one side with white and on the other side with green +beads. The reversal of the belt from the white to the green side was to +be the signal of attack. The plot was well laid, and would probably have +succeeded had it not been revealed to Gladwin. + +The savage throng, plumed and feathered and besmeared with paint to make +themselves appear as hideous as possible, as their custom is in time of +war, had no sooner passed the gateway than they saw that their plan had +failed. Soldiers and employs were all armed and ready for action. +Pontiac and his warriors, however, moved on, betraying no surprise, and +entered the council-room, where Gladwin and his officers, all well +armed, awaited them. + +"Why," asked Pontiac, "do I see so many of my father's young men +standing in the street with their guns?" + +"To keep the young men to their duty, and prevent idleness," was the +reply. + +The business of the council then began. Pontiac's speech was bold and +threatening. As the critical moment approached, and just as he was on +the point of presenting the belt, and all was breathless expectation, +Gladwin gave a signal. The drums at the door of the council suddenly +rolled the charge, the clash of arms was heard, and the officers present +drew their swords from their scabbards. Pontiac was brave, but this +decisive proof that his plot was discovered completely disconcerted him. +He delivered the belt in the usual manner, and without giving the +expected signal. + +Stepping forward, Gladwin then drew the chief's blanket aside, and +disclosed the proof of his treachery. The council then broke up. The +gates of the fort were again thrown open, and the baffled savages were +permitted to depart. + +Stratagem having failed, an open attack soon followed, but with no +better success. For months Pontiac tried every method in his power to +capture the fort, but as the hunting-season approached, the disheartened +Indians gradually went away, and he was compelled to give up the +attempt. + +In the campaign that followed, two armies were marched from different +points into the heart of the Indian country. Colonel Bradstreet, on the +north, passed up the lakes, and penetrated the region beyond Detroit, +while on the south Colonel Bouquet advanced from Fort Pitt into the +Delaware and Shawnee settlements of the Ohio Valley. The Indians were +completely overawed. Bouquet compelled them to sue for peace, and to +restore all the captives that had been taken from time to time during +their wars with the whites. + +The return of these captives, many of whom were supposed to be dead, and +the reunion of husbands and wives, parents and children, and brothers +and sisters, presented a scene of thrilling interest. Some were +overjoyed at regaining their lost ones; others were heartbroken on +learning the sad fate of those dear to them. What a pang pierced that +mother's breast who recognized her child only to find it clinging the +more closely to its Indian mother, her own claims wholly forgotten! + +Some of the children had lost all recollection of their former home, and +screamed and resisted when handed over to their relatives. Some of the +young women had married Indian husbands, and, with their children, were +unwilling to return to the settlements. Indeed, several of them had +become so strongly attached to their Indian homes and mode of life that +after returning to their homes they made their escape and returned to +their husbands' wigwams. + +Even the Indians, who are educated to repress all outward signs of +emotion, could not wholly conceal their sorrow at parting with their +adopted relatives and friends. Cruel as the Indian is in his warfare, to +his captives who have been adopted into his tribe he is uniformly kind, +making no distinction between them and those of his own race. To those +now restored they offered furs and choice articles of food, and even +begged leave to follow the army home, that they might hunt for the +captives, and supply them with better food than that furnished to the +soldiers. Indian women filled the camp with their wailing and +lamentation both night and day. + +One old woman sought her daughter, who had been carried off nine years +before. She discovered her, but the girl, who had almost forgotten her +native tongue, did not recognize her, and the mother bitterly complained +that the child she had so often sung to sleep had forgotten her in her +old age. Bouquet, whose humane instincts had been deeply touched by this +scene, suggested an experiment. "Sing the song you used to sing to her +when a child," said he. The mother sang. The girl's attention was +instantly fixed. A flood of tears proclaimed the awakened memories, and +the long-lost child was restored to the mother's arms. + + + + +THE END + + + + +STRANGE STORIES FROM HISTORY + + +Each Post 8vo, Illustrated, with Introduction, 60 cents. + +AMERICAN HISTORICAL FICTION FOR BOYS AND GIRLS + +These books tell thrilling stories of the personal life and heroic deeds +of Americans in the great struggles of Colonial times, the Revolution, +1812, and 1861, which have welded together and built up the American +nation. They are full of a close human interest and a dramatic quality +which cannot be imparted in compact histories, although these tales are +usually founded upon actual historical events. They enlist and hold the +attention of readers, and they also clear the historical perspective and +convey lessons in courage and patriotism. Mr. George Cary Eggleston's +successful "Strange Stories from History" deals in part with heroes of +other nations, but these books, while similar to that in many respects, +tell of those whose gallant deeds gave us the America of to-day. + +The following are the titles: + + STRANGE STORIES OF COLONIAL DAYS. By Francis Sterne Palmer, + Hezekiah Butterworth, Francis S. Drake, G. T. Ferris, Rowan + Stevens, and others. + + STRANGE STORIES OF THE REVOLUTION. By Molly Elliot Seawell, + Howard Pyle, Winthrop Packard, Percival Ridsdale, and others. + + STRANGE STORIES OF 1812. By W. J. Henderson, James Barnes, S. + G. W. Benjamin, Francis Sterne Palmer, and others. + + STRANGE STORIES OF THE CIVIL WAR. By Robert Shackleton, W. J. + Henderson, Capt. Howard Patterson, U.S.N., L. E. Chittenden, + Gen. G. A. Forsyth, U.S.A., and others. + + + + +---------------------------------------------------------------------- + +Transcriber's Note: + + +Minor punctuation errors (e.g. periods instead of commas) have been +corrected without note. Inconsistent hyphenation and capitalization have +not been corrected. + +Illustrations have been moved to directly after the corresponding +paragraph. An advertisement has been removed from the beginning of the +book, as there is an identical one at the end, and a duplicate title +page has been removed from between the introduction and the beginning of +Chapter I. + +Decorative italics (e.g. on chapter subtitles) have not been represented +in the plain-text versions of this book. + +The following corrections were made to the text: + +p. 32: extra hyphen removed (Tommy-Five-Canoes to Tommy Five-Canoes) + +p. 152: Jar to Jaar (_Nieuw Jaar_) + +p. 159: He to he (he seized a silver bowl) + +p. 165: thout to thou (canst thou not me trust) + +p. 166: missing close quote added ("There was no fun in calling on a +parcel of old _vrouws_,") + +p. 174: extra close quote removed (lash of the slave-whip.) + +---------------------------------------------------------------------- + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Strange Stories of Colonial Days, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STRANGE STORIES OF COLONIAL DAYS *** + +***** This file should be named 34536-8.txt or 34536-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/4/5/3/34536/ + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, S.D., and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Strange Stories of Colonial Days + +Author: Various + +Release Date: December 1, 2010 [EBook #34536] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STRANGE STORIES OF COLONIAL DAYS *** + + + + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, S.D., and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<div id="cover" class="figcenter" style="width: 411px;"> +<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="411" height="500" alt="Cover" title="" /> +</div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 337px;"> +<a name="PULL_HIM_UP_BEHIND" id="PULL_HIM_UP_BEHIND"></a> +<img src="images/frontis.jpg" width="337" height="500" alt="Frontispiece" title="" /> +<p class="caption"><span style="float:right;"> [<a href="#Page_43">See page 43</a></span><br /> +HE MANAGED TO PULL HIM UP BEHIND</p> +</div> + +<div id="titlepg"> +<h1> +STRANGE STORIES<br /> +<span class="xsm">OF</span><br /> +COLONIAL DAYS</h1> + +<p class="center med">BY<br /><br /> +FRANCIS STERNE PALMER, G. T. FERRIS<br /> +HEZEKIAH BUTTERWORTH<br /> +FRANCIS S. DRAKE<br /> +ROWAN STEVENS<br /> +<span class="pad-t1">AND OTHERS</span></p> + +<p class="center med pad-tb">ILLUSTRATED</p> + +<div class="figcenter decos" style="width: 112px;"> +<img class="no-b" src="images/harper-logo.png" width="112" height="130" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p class="center med pad-t2">NEW YORK AND LONDON<br /> +HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS</p> +</div> + +<div id="copyright"> +<p class="center"> +Copyright, 1907, by <span class="smcap">Harper & Brothers</span>.</p> + +<div class="figcenter decos" style="width: 45px;"> +<img class="no-b" src="images/short-line-thin.png" width="45" height="1" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p class="center"><i>All rights reserved.</i><br /> +Published May, 1907.</p> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[v]</a></span></p> + +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> + +<table cellpadding="8" summary="Table of Contents"> +<tr align="center"><td><a href="#I">I<br /> +THE CROWNING OF POWHATAN</a><br /> +<i>Adventures in Early Indian History</i><br /> +<span class="smcap">By Francis S. Drake</span></td></tr> + +<tr align="center"><td><a href="#II">II<br /> +CORNELIS LABDEN’S LEAP</a><br /> +<i>A Legend of 1645 Retold</i><br /> +<span class="smcap">By G. T. Ferris</span></td></tr> + +<tr align="center"><td><a href="#III">III<br /> +TOMMY TEN-CANOES</a><br /> +<i>A Tale of King Philip’s Scouts</i><br /> +<span class="smcap">By Hezekiah Butterworth</span></td></tr> + +<tr align="center"><td><a href="#IV">IV<br /> +JONATHAN’S ESCAPE</a><br /> +<i>A Young Hero of Hadley who Fought at Turner’s +Falls in 1676</i><br /> +<span class="smcap">By Robert H. Fuller</span></td></tr> + +<tr align="center"><td><a href="#V">V<br /> +THE CROWN OF AN AMERICAN QUEEN</a><br /> +<i>In the Days of Bacon’s Rebellion in Virginia</i><br /> +<span class="smcap">By Sally Nelson Robins</span></td></tr> + +<tr align="center"><td><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[vi]</a></span> +<a href="#VI">VI<br /> +HOW A BLACKSMITH’S BOY BECAME A KNIGHT</a><br /> +<i>The Treasure-hunt of William Phipps in the late +Seventeenth Century</i><br /> +<span class="smcap">By Paul Hull</span></td></tr> + +<tr align="center"><td><a href="#VII">VII<br /> +THE GIRL CAPTAIN OF CASTLE DANGEROUS</a><br /> +<i>How Three Children Fought the Iroquois in 1692</i><br /> +<span class="smcap">By G. T. Lanigan</span></td></tr> + +<tr align="center"><td><a href="#VIII">VIII<br /> +HOW MARC WAS MADE CAPTAIN</a><br /> +<i>A Rescue from the “Lords of the Woods” in 1695</i><br /> +<span class="smcap">By Francis Sterne Palmer</span></td></tr> + +<tr align="center"><td><a href="#IX">IX<br /> +CAPTAIN KIDD</a><br /> +<i>An Overrated Pirate</i><br /> +<span class="smcap">By Rowan Stevens</span></td></tr> + +<tr align="center"><td><a href="#X">X<br /> +HOWARD THE BUCCANEER</a><br /> +<i>A Captain of Many Ships</i><br /> +<span class="smcap">By Rowan Stevens</span></td></tr> + +<tr align="center"><td><a href="#XI">XI<br /> +TEW, OF RHODE ISLAND</a><br /> +<i>A Fighter from the Seas</i><br /> +<span class="smcap">By Rowan Stevens</span></td></tr> + +<tr align="center"><td><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[vii]</a></span> +<a href="#XII">XII<br /> +THE VROUW VAN TWINKLE’S KRULLERS</a><br /> +<i>A Story of Old New York</i><br /> +<span class="smcap">By Agnes Carr Sage</span></td></tr> + +<tr align="center"><td><a href="#XIII">XIII<br /> +THE SIGN OF THE SERPENT</a><br /> +<i>A Story of Louisiana in the Early Eighteenth +Century</i><br /> +<span class="smcap">By G. T. Ferris</span></td></tr> + +<tr align="center"><td><a href="#XIV">XIV<br /> +A DRUMMER OF WARBURTON’S</a><br /> +<i>How a Boy Held Fort George at Cape Canso, in +1757</i><br /> +<span class="smcap">By Percie W. Hart</span></td></tr> + +<tr align="center"><td><a href="#XV">XV<br /> +ROGER’S RANGERS</a><br /> +<i>The Famous New Hampshire Scouts of the Old +French War</i><br /> +<span class="smcap">By Francis S. Drake</span></td></tr> + +<tr align="center"><td><a href="#XVI">XVI<br /> +THE PLOT OF PONTIAC</a><br /> +<i>How Detroit was Saved in 1763</i><br /> +<span class="smcap">By Francis S. Drake</span></td></tr> +</table> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[viii]</a></span></p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix"><br />[ix]</a></span></p> + +<h2>ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> + +<table cellpadding="2" summary="List of Illustrations"> +<tr><td class="sm"><a href="#PULL_HIM_UP_BEHIND"> +HE MANAGED TO PULL HIM UP BEHIND</a></td> +<td colspan="2" align="right"><i>Frontispiece</i></td></tr> + +<tr><td class="sm"><a href="#MEIN_VROUW_MEIN_GILDREN">“MEIN VROUW! MEIN GILDREN!” THE +DUTCHMAN GROANED</a></td> +<td align="center"><i>Facing p.</i></td> +<td align="right">16</td></tr> + +<tr><td class="sm"><a href="#TOMMY_FIVE-CANOES">“GOOD-BYE, TOMMY FIVE-CANOES”</a></td> +<td align="center">“</td><td align="right">32</td></tr> + +<tr><td class="sm"><a href="#THONGS_WERE_CUT">THE THONGS WERE CUT</a></td> +<td align="center">“</td><td align="right">92</td></tr> + +<tr><td class="sm"><a href="#PLUNDERED_AND_BURNED">HE PLUNDERED AND BURNED</a></td> +<td align="center">“</td><td align="right">108</td></tr> + +<tr><td class="sm"><a href="#THE_HELPLESS_PIRATES">THE HELPLESS PIRATES WERE SWEPT BACK</a></td> +<td align="center">“</td><td align="right">122</td></tr> + +<tr><td class="sm"><a href="#KNOCKED_OVERBOARD">HE WAS KNOCKED OVERBOARD BY A PIKE-THRUST</a></td> +<td align="center">“</td><td align="right">144</td></tr> + +<tr><td class="sm"><a href="#ROLLED_AND_PITCHED">SHE ROLLED AND PITCHED LIKE A MAD THING</a></td> +<td align="center">“</td><td align="right">204</td></tr> +</table> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[x]</a></span></p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi"><br />[xi]</a></span></p> + +<h2>INTRODUCTION</h2> + +<p>These pictures of Colonial life and +adventure make up a panorama +which extends from Powhatan and +John Smith, in the days of the +Jamestown colony, to Pontiac’s attempt +upon Detroit in the period which preceded +the Revolution. Here one may read stories +which are strange indeed, of King Philip’s +War in New England, of a Dutch hero’s exploit +on the shores of Long Island Sound, of +conflicts with the fierce Iroquois in the +North, of a young New Englander’s successful +treasure-hunt, and of famous or infamous +pirates of Colonial times. They carry the +reader from a boy’s defence of Fort George in +Nova Scotia to battle against the Natchez at +an advance post of the Louisiana colony. For +the most part these thrilling tales are in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">[xii]</a></span> +form of fiction, but it is fiction based upon +historical incidents. The imaginative stories, +and others which are historical narratives, +will, it is believed, illustrate many unfamiliar +dramas in Colonial life, and will help to give +a clearer view of the men and boys who +fought and endured to clear the way for us +upon this continent.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p> + +<h1 id="begin">STRANGE STORIES OF<br /> +COLONIAL DAYS</h1> + +<h2><a name="I" id="I"></a>I<br /> +THE CROWNING OF POWHATAN<br /> +<i>Adventures in Early Indian History</i></h2> + +<p>The first European visitors to the +shores of North America met +with a most friendly reception +from the natives. Powhatan, the +Indian Emperor of Virginia, who ruled in +savage state over twenty-six Indian nations, +on more than one occasion kept the Virginia +colonists from starvation by sending them +corn when they were almost famished. To +retain his good-will a crown was sent over +from England, and the Indian monarch was +crowned with as much ceremony as possible.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span> +A present from King James of a basin and +ewer, a bed, and some clothes was also brought +to Jamestown, but Powhatan refused to go +there to receive it.</p> + +<p>“I also am a King, and gifts should be +brought to me,” said the proud monarch of +the Virginia woods. They were accordingly +taken to him by the colonists.</p> + +<p>The coronation was “a sad trouble,” wrote +Captain John Smith, but it had its laughable +side also, as we shall see. Custom required +that the Indian ruler should kneel. Only +by bearing their whole weight upon his +shoulders could the English upon whom this +duty devolved bring the chief from an up-right +position into one suitable to the occasion. +By main force he was made to +kneel.</p> + +<p>The firing of a pistol as a signal for a volley +from the boats in honor of the event startled +his copper-colored Majesty. Supposing himself +betrayed, Powhatan at once struck a +defensive attitude, but was soon reassured. +The absurdity of the whole affair reached its +climax when Powhatan gave to the representatives<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span> +of his royal brother in England +his old moccasins, the deer-skin he used as a +blanket, and a few bushels of corn in the +ear.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>On the New England coast the anger of the +natives had been aroused by the conduct +of visiting sailors, who would persuade them +to come on board their ships, and then carry +them off and sell them into slavery.</p> + +<p>One of these natives, named Epanow, “an +Indian of goodly stature, strong, and well +proportioned,” after being exhibited in London +as a curiosity, came into the service of +Sir Ferdinand Gorges, Governor of Plymouth. +This gentleman was much interested +in New England, and was about fitting +out a ship for a voyage to this country.</p> + +<p>The Indian soon found out that gold was +the great object of the Englishman’s worship, +and he was cunning enough to take +advantage of the fact. He assured Sir +Ferdinand that in a certain place in his own +country gold was to be had in abundance. +The Englishman believed him, and Epanow<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span> +sailed in Gorges’s vessel to point out the +whereabouts of the supposed gold-mine.</p> + +<p>When the ship entered the harbor many +of the natives came on board. Epanow arranged +with them a plan of escape, which +was successfully carried out the next morning.</p> + +<p>At the appointed time twenty canoes full +of armed Indians came to within a short +distance of the ship. The captain invited +them to come on board. Epanow had been +clothed in long garments, that he might the +more easily be laid hold of in case he attempted +to escape, and he was also closely guarded +by three of Gorges’s kinsmen.</p> + +<p>The critical moment arrived. Epanow +suddenly freed himself from his guards, and +springing over the vessel’s side, succeeded +in reaching his countrymen in safety, though +many shots were fired after him by the +English.</p> + +<p>In this affair the European was completely +outwitted by the ignorant savage. Gorges +was bitterly disappointed. Writing of it he +says, “And thus were my hopes of that particular<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span> +voyage made void and frustrate.” +And thus, we may add, the first gold-hunting +expedition to the coast of Maine “ended +in smoke”—from the Englishmen’s +guns.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>For many years after the landing of the +Pilgrims at Plymouth the relations of the +English with the Massachusetts Indians were +peaceful. Only once was there any attempt +to disturb them. To try the mettle of the +colonists, Canonicus, the powerful Narragansett +chief, sent them by a messenger a bundle +of arrows wrapped in the skin of a snake—a +challenge to fight. Governor Bradford returned +the skin filled with powder and shot, +with the message that if they had rather +have war than peace they might begin when +they pleased, he was ready for them. This +prompt defiance impressed the chief. He +would not receive the skin, and wisely concluded +to keep the peace.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>What is known as King Philip’s War broke +out in 1675. Though it lasted but little over a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span> +year, it was terribly destructive, and it carried +misery to many a hearth-stone.</p> + +<p>Philip of Pokanoket, the chief of the +Wampanoags, had for years been suspected +of plotting against the English. He had resisted +all their efforts to convert his people +to Christianity, and had told the venerable +apostle Eliot himself that he cared no more +for the white man’s religion than for the buttons +on his (Eliot’s) coat. On another occasion +he refused to make a treaty with the +Governor of Massachusetts, sending him this +answer:</p> + +<p>“Your Governor is but a subject of King +Charles of England. I shall not treat with a +subject. I shall treat of peace only with the +King, my brother. When he comes, I am +ready.”</p> + +<p>On the morning of April 10, 1671, the +meeting-house on Taunton Green presented +a scene of extraordinary interest. Seated on +the benches upon one side of the house were +Philip and his warriors, and on the other side +were the white men. Both parties were +equipped for battle. The Indians looked as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span> +formidable as possible in their war-paint, +their hair “trimmed up in comb fashion,” +with their long bows and quivers of arrows, +and here and there a gun in the hands of +those best skilled in its use. The English +wore the costume of Cromwell, with broad-brimmed +hats, cuirasses, long swords, and +unwieldly guns. Each party looked at the +other with unconcealed hatred.</p> + +<p>The result of this conference was that the +Indians agreed to give up all their guns, and +Philip, upon his part, also promised to send +a yearly tribute of five wolves’ heads—“If he +could get them.”</p> + +<p>As the Indians had almost forgotten how +to use their old weapons, the taking of their +fire-arms away was a serious grievance. +Other causes of enmity arose, and at last the +war begun, which in its course caused the +destruction of thirteen towns and hundreds +of valuable lives.</p> + +<p>Philip was joined by the Nipmucks, as the +Indians of the interior were called, and by +the Narragansetts, whose stronghold was +captured in the winter of 1675-76. Here<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span> +seven hundred of this hapless tribe perished +by fire or the sword. The death of Philip, +in August, 1676, ended the war. Many of +the Indians fled to the west, and a large +number died in slavery in the West Indies. +The power of the Indians of southern New +England was broken forever.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Captain Benjamin Church, a prominent +actor in this war, was the most celebrated +Indian fighter of his day. One of his most +remarkable feats was the capture of Annawan, +Philip’s chief captain. Annawan often +said that he would never be taken by the +English.</p> + +<p>Informed by a captured Indian where +Annawan lay, Church, with only one other +Englishman and a few friendly Indians, succeeded +in gaining the rear of the Indian +camp.</p> + +<p>The approach to this secluded spot was +extremely difficult. It was nearly dark when +they reached it, and the Indians were preparing +their evening meal. A little apart +from the others, and within easy reach of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span> +guns of the party, the chief and his son were +reclining on the ground. An old squaw was +pounding corn in a mortar, the noise of which +prevented the discovery of Church’s approach, +as he and his companions cautiously +lowered themselves from rock to rock. They +were preceded by an old Indian and his +daughter, whom they had captured, and +who, with their baskets at their backs, aided +in concealing their approach.</p> + +<p>By these skilful tactics Church succeeded +in placing himself between the chief and the +guns, seeing which, Annawan suddenly started +up with the cry, “Howoh!” (“I am +taken.”) Perceiving that he was surrounded, +he made no attempt to escape.</p> + +<p>After securing the arms, Church sent his +Indian scouts among Annawan’s men to tell +them that their chief was captured, and that +Church with his great army had entrapped +them, and would cut them to pieces unless +they surrendered. This they accordingly did, +and, on the promise of kind treatment, gave up +all their arms. This well-executed surprise +was the closing event of King Philip’s War.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span></p> + +<h2><a name="II" id="II"></a>II<br /> +CORNELIS LABDEN’S LEAP<br /> +<i>A Legend of 1645 Retold</i></h2> + +<p>The scene was only thirty miles +from New York, on the shores of +Long Island Sound. At the time +of which we write it was a sweep +of dense forest.</p> + +<p>Outside of the block-house, built where +the Myanos River enters a bay of the Sound, +one September day in 1645 walked two elderly +men, grizzled of beard and soldierly in +bearing. Broadswords swung from their +cross-belts and huge pistolets were stuck in +their girdles. These were famous fighting +men in New England history, Daniel Patrick +and John Underhill. Bred to camps, they +had chafed under Puritan laws, and had +finally deserted the older settlements. Indeed,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span> +Captain Patrick had been the leader of +the little colony which had made this beautiful +place its home.</p> + +<p>“I tell thee, John, I trust not the savage +any longer. Ponus hath been as surly as a +bear with a sore head of late. I fear the +Sagamore plots evil.”</p> + +<p>“Belike you are right, good Captain,” said +Underhill, “and we must match craft with +craft.”</p> + +<p>“Rumor hath it, too,” said Captain Patrick, +with growing trouble on his face, “that +strange runners have been back and forth +during the month at the Sinoway village. +We cannot look to our English friends for +help, since we signed the pact with his Excellency +Governor Kieft, accepting the rule +of New Netherland. If an outbreak occurs, +it must be from the Manhattans that relief +will come. But look! there rides Dutch +Cornelis with a bale of peltries to his crupper.”</p> + +<p>Among a few Dutch who mingled with the +English of the settlement was Cornelis Labden, +a bold hunter and trapper, who, unlike<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span> +the rest of the colonists, got his livelihood by +the fur-trade. He sold his pelts at the +Dutch trading-post about seven miles west, +just over the line which now separates New +York from Connecticut. Thither he was +riding when accosted by the two captains. +Cornelis was noted for his daring and skill +in woodcraft, and had always lived on specially +friendly terms with the Indians, as +was, indeed, his interest. His log house was +built on the brow of a great precipice of +beetling rock one hundred feet or more in +height, in the heart of a gloomy forest two +miles from the outskirts of the settlement. +The spot is still known as Labden’s Rock, +and the writer has shot many a squirrel +there in woods still solemn with deepest +shadow. Here Cornelis lived with his English +wife and two children, Hans and Anneke.</p> + +<p>“Well met, Cornelis,” said Patrick. “We +were holding counsel concerning our Indian +neighbors. What think you of their peaceful +purpose?”</p> + +<p>The Dutchman shook his head. He was a +man of few words. “Der outlook ist pad,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span> +Cabdain. Dot yoong Gief Owenoke say to +me toder day, ‘Cornelis, Indian’s friend, bedder +go ’way. Indian very angry at bale-faces.’ +Owenoke’s vader, Ponus, means misgief. +But no tanger dill der snow vlies. +Der Indians, if dey addack, waid dill grops +all in.”</p> + +<p>“You are bound, I suppose, to Byram +Fort with your peltries. Tarry awhile, and +carry me a letter for the Governor. I will +write it forthwith.” Captain Patrick disappeared +in the block-house, and wrote to the +Dutch Governor as follows:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>“<i>To his Excellency, Wilhelm Kieft, Governor-General of New Netherland +at New Amsterdam, greeting</i>:</p> + +<p>“This in haste:—Whereas it cometh to me with +some surety that the savages on our border plot an +early outbreak, I would urge that a company of +musketeers be sent to the trading-post at Byram to +protect the outlying country. Thence sure help +may reach this settlement. Once the savages +break loose they will ravage the region for many +miles with torch and tomahawk. I would entreat +your Excellency to act right speedily in this affair. +Cornelis Labden, who is well skilled in Indian matters, +bears this letter.</p> + +<p class="ralign smcap">“Daniel Patrick.”</p> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span> +It will be seen by this that Captain Patrick +did not share the confidence of Cornelis. +But all the people were very busy afield at +that time gathering their crops, and they +were loath to think that danger was pressing. +The women and children, however, were +gathered every night in the block-house. It +may be that this measure of care on the part +of the settlers quickened the action of the +Indians in the fear that their purpose had +been discovered. Within three days the +outbreak came. The forest was glowing +with all the rich hues of autumn, when +through its arches burst at different points +bands of naked warriors, painted with as +many colors as the leaves themselves, and +yelling their shrill war-whoops. Every colonist +amid the yellowing corn-stalks of the +fields had his firelock close at hand. They +all skirmished back through this cover and +across the rye and buckwheat stubble towards +the block-house, firing and loading as +they ran. Yet several fell under the cloud +of arrows before the fugitives reached the +little fort. The two captains, each with a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span> +party of men, charged the savages fiercely +on either flank as they leaped into the open, +and drove them back with heavy loss. The +settlers then withdrew behind the palisades, +awaiting attack.</p> + +<p>The red besiegers, having exhausted their +arts of attack and met with heavy loss, for +musket-balls told with terrible effect against +flint arrows, determined to starve out the +little garrison. It was on the morning of the +third day that a rider galloped furiously +from the west to the bank of the Myanos, +where the log bridge had been destroyed by +the Indians. Dutch Cornelis had ridden +daringly through the midst of them. A band +of howling braves swarmed almost at his +horse’s tail. He leaped his beast into the +river amid the whizzing arrows, several of +which stung both steed and rider sharply. +Captain Underhill, with a score of colonists, +sallied out from the palisades, driving the +redskins from their front and opening a +heavy fire on those lining the opposite bank. +Under cover of this Cornelis landed safely. +He had been sent on from Byram to New<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span> +Amsterdam with Patrick’s letter, and it was +only by hard spurring that he had made such +speed in return. He brought the good news +that even then a company of Dutch musketeers +was on the march.</p> + +<p>The women and children trooped out of +the block-house to hear the tidings. Cornelis +cast his eyes over them with agony stamped +on his usually stolid face.</p> + +<p>“Mein vrouw! mein gildren!” the Dutchman +groaned. “What for you leave dem +to de mercy of de savage?” with a look +of fierce reproach at the two English captains.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> +<a name="MEIN_VROUW_MEIN_GILDREN" id="MEIN_VROUW_MEIN_GILDREN"></a> +<img src="images/illus-016.jpg" width="500" height="335" alt="" title="" /> +<p class="caption">“MEIN VROUW! MEIN GILDREN!” THE DUTCHMAN GROANED</p> +</div> + +<p>“Nay! nay! Cornelis, blame us not,” they +answered, almost in a breath. “We were +sharp beset. ’Twas not easy to gather in all +the outlying people in season. There be +others as well not saved in the block. The +savage, too, is far more friendly to you +than to us English. There’s right good +hope that at the worst the lost are but captives.”</p> + +<p>This cold comfort seemed to madden the +bereaved man. Muttering to himself in his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span> +own tongue, and darting wild looks around, +as if his brain were turned and he were about +to run amuck, he suddenly sprang on his +horse, which panted there, fagged and dripping.</p> + +<p>“Oben der gate!” he shouted, in a tone so +commanding that, though several tried to +seize his horse’s head by the bit, fearing +some act of desperate folly, others unbarred +the entrance. Cornelis dashed through as +swiftly as an Indian arrow. Two miles of +clearing and forest lay between him and his +cabin. The way was thick with savages +thirsting for blood. Cornelis spurred on, +numb to all sense of danger. The smoke +even yet curled from the embers of smouldering +homesteads at every turn. But he saw +only one house in his mind’s eye—that was +a cabin perched in the midst of a clearing +on top of a great rock, with flames bursting +from its roof; he heard but one sound—the +shrieking of wife and children in their last +peril.</p> + +<p>Perhaps it was the wild gestures of the +rider, signalling as if to unseen beings, the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span> +motions of a maniac, which barred any pursuit +at the outset, for the American Indian +as well as the Mohammedan of the East fancies +the madman under the protection of +God; perhaps it was that many of the savages +felt more kindly to Cornelis than to +other whites. It was not till he neared the +base of the precipice, on the crest of which +he had built his home, that he saw six Indians +on his track, leaping at a pace which +outran the strides of his weary horse.</p> + +<p>The Dutchman turned in his saddle, and +his unerring aim dropped one of the pursuers; +then he urged his way amid the gloom of +the great trees up the hill. When he gained +the clearing at the top he saw what had once +been his happy home, now only a pile of cold +ashes and half-charred logs. He had no time +to search if by chance there might yet remain +some ghastly relic of those he had loved and +lost. The red men were upon him, running +as fleetly as stag-hounds, for now they were +on the level.</p> + +<p>They were sure of their prey. A triumphant +whoop rang out. Tomahawks whizzed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span> +through the air, one of them striking Cornelis +in the shoulder, as the savages pressed +on at top speed. The white man laughed +loud and long with a laughter that filled +the forest with shrill echoes, and motioning +to them as if he were their leader, leaped +his horse from the top of the terrible rock, +crashing through the branches of trees +down, down a hundred feet. The human +hounds so hot in the chase were going with +a rush which could not be stayed, and they +too plunged to death in the pathway of their +victim. Cornelis escaped with broken limbs, +though his horse was killed, and all the +Indians perished but one, who saved himself +by clutching at the limb of a tree. He fled +and carried the story to his tribe.</p> + +<p>With the coming of the Dutch soldiers the +settlers were strong enough to scatter their +assailants. But most of the colonists, discouraged, +drifted away to the New Netherlands +or to the more easterly settlements. It +was not till two years later that a force of +Dutch and English stormed the Sinoway +village and crushed the power of the tribe,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span> +after which the town was successfully settled.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>Ten years have passed. The skill and toil +of the whites have swept away the scars of +Indian warfare. Pleasant homes rise amid +smiling fields of maize and rye. One summer +day, Cornelis Labden, a helpless cripple and +almost half-witted, sat on the porch of Captain +Underhill’s house, smoking his long +Dutch pipe and looking at the shining waters +of the Sound. Here or in the good Captain’s +hearth-corner he would doze and mumble all +day long summer and winter. An Indian +youth, nearly grown, walked up the lane +and stood before this poor wreck of a man. +Cornelis shut his eyes, and waved him off as +if to drive away some thought that troubled +his weak brain.</p> + +<p>“Lapten, me find Lapten,” said the Indian, +whose blue eyes and brown hair were queerly +amiss with the copper skin, the breech-clout, +and the moccasins of the savage.</p> + +<p>The sound of the voice stirred Cornelis +strangely, and as if by some instinct he spoke<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span> +in Dutch. The lad listened eagerly, for the +words seemed to be half known to him, and +he repeated them. Cornelis watched him +with an intent look, like the gaze of one just +awakened from a long sleep. He trembled, +and for the first time in years intelligence +burned in his eyes. Without another word +he led the Indian lad within and began to +rub the skin of his face with soap and water, +and in a few moments the clear white was +shown. While he was thus engaged over the +unresisting youth, Captain Underhill entered.</p> + +<p>“Cabdain, Cabdain,” said Cornelis, with a +shaking voice, “mein Hans ist goom back. +Done ye know yer old vader, leedle Hans? +Vare ist Anneke?” And he threw his arms +with a passion of sobs about the lad’s neck. +This opened the gates of memory for father +and son, and the identity was soon made +clear. In recovering his son, Dutch Cornelis +had also regained his reason.</p> + +<p>By gradual questioning, the facts were fully +obtained as the half-forgotten language of +childhood came back. Hans and Anneke had +been carried off by strange Indians of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span> +more northern tribes, who had sent warriors +to join in the Sinoway attack. The children +had been separated, and Anneke was lost +forever. As Hans grew up, forgetting much, +he still remembered his father’s name and his +white blood. He had finally escaped from his +adopted tribe, and worked his way by a +strange series of accidents and guesses back +to the place of his birth. Such, in the main, +is the legend of Labden’s Rock.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span></p> + +<h2><a name="III" id="III"></a>III<br /> +TOMMY TEN-CANOES<br /> +<i>A Tale of King Philip’s Scout</i></h2> + +<p>There once lived in New York an +Indian warrior by the name of +Peter Twenty-Canoes. Tommy +Ten-Canoes lived in New England, +at Pokanoket, near Mount Hope, on an arm +of the Mount Hope Bay.</p> + +<p>He was not a warrior, but a runner; not +a great naval hero, as his picturesque name +might suggest, but a news agent, as it were; +he used his nimble feet and his ten canoes to +bear messages to the Indians of the villages +of Pokanoket and to the Narragansetts, and, +it may be, to other friendly tribes.</p> + +<p>Pokanoket? You may have read Irving’s +sketch of Philip of Pokanoket, but we doubt +if you have in mind any clear idea of this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span> +beautiful region, from whose clustering wigwams +the curling smoke once rose among +the giant oaks along the many waterways. +The former site of Pokanoket is now covered +by Bristol and Warren (Rhode Island) and +Swansea (Massachusetts). It is a place of +bays and rivers, which were once rich fishing-grounds; +of shores full of shells and shellfish; +of cool springs and wild-grape vines; +of bowery hills; and of meadows that were +once yellow with maize.</p> + +<p>Tommy Ten-Canoes was a great man in his +day. As a news agent in peace he was held +in high honor, but as a scout in war and a +runner for the great chiefs he became a heroic +figure. There were great osprey’s nests all +about the shores of old Pokanoket on the +ancient decayed trees, and Tommy made a +crown of osprey feathers, and crowned himself, +with the approval of the great Indian +chiefs.</p> + +<p>Once when swimming with this crown of +feathers on his head, he had been shot at by +an Englishman, who thought him some new +and remarkable bird. But while his crown<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span> +was shattered, it was not the crown of his +head. He was very careful of both his +crowns after that alarming event.</p> + +<p>Tommy Ten-Canoes was a brave man. +He was ready to face any ordinary danger +for his old chief Massasoit, and for that +chief’s two sons, Wamsutta (Alexander) and +Pomebacen (Philip). He would cross the +Mount Hope or the Narragansett bay in +tempestuous weather. He used to convey +the beautiful Queen Weetamoc from Pocassett +to Mount Hope to attend Philip’s war-dances +under the summer moons, and when +the old Indian war began he offered his two +swift legs and all of his ten canoes to the +service of his chief.</p> + +<p>“Nipanset”—for this was his Indian name—“Nipanset’s +bosom is his chief’s, and it +knows not fear. Nipanset fears not the +storm or the foe, or the gun of the pale-face. +Call, call, O ye chiefs; in the hour of danger +call for Nipanset. Nipanset fears not death.”</p> + +<p>So Tommy Ten-Canoes boasted at the great +council under the moss-covered cliff at Mount +Hope.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span> +He was honest; but there was one thing +that Nipanset, or Tommy Ten-Canoes, did +fear. It was enchantment. He would have +faced torture or death without a word, but +everything mysterious filled him with terror. +If he had thought that a bush contained a +hidden enemy and flintlock, he would have +been very brave; but had he thought that +the same bush was stirred by a spirit, or was +enchanted, he would have run.</p> + +<p>Tommy Ten-Canoes had been friendly to +the white people who had settled in Pokanoket. +There was a family by the name of +Brown, who lived on Cole’s River, that he +especially liked, and he became a companion +of one of the sons named James. The two +were so often together that the people used +to speak of those who were very intimate as +being “as <em>thick</em> as little James Brown and old +Tommy Ten-Canoes,” or rather as “Jemmie +Brown” and our young hero of the many +birch boats.</p> + +<p>The two hunted and fished together; they +made long journeys together; in fact, they +did everything in common, except work.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span> +Tommy did not work, at least in the field, +while James did at times, when he was not +with Tommy.</p> + +<p>When the Indian war began, King Philip +sent word to the Brown family, and also to +the Cole family, who lived near them, both +of whom had treated him justly and generously, +that he would do all in his power +to protect them, but that he might not be +able to restrain his braves.</p> + +<p>Tommy Ten-Canoes brought a like friendly +message to Jemmie Brown.</p> + +<p>“I will always be true to you,” he said; +“true as the north wind to the river, the +west wind to the sea, and the south wind to +the flowers. Nipanset’s heart is true to his +friends. Our hearts will see each other +again.”</p> + +<p>The Indian torch swept the settlements. +One of the bravest scouts in these dark +scenes was Tommy Ten-Canoes. He flew +from place to place like the wind, carrying +news and spying out the enemy.</p> + +<p>Tommy grew proud over his title of “Ten-Canoes.” +He felt like ten Tommies. He<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span> +wore his crown of osprey feathers like a royal +king. His ten canoes ferried the painted +Indians at night, and carried the chiefs +hither and thither.</p> + +<p>There was a grizzly old Boston Captain, +who had done hard service on the sea, +named Moseley. He wore a wig, a thing +that the Indians had never seen, and of +whose use they knew nothing at all.</p> + +<p>Tommy Ten-Canoes had never feared the +white man nor the latter’s death-dealing +weapons. He had never retreated; he had +always been found in front of the stealthy +bands as they pursued the forest trails. But +his courage was at last put to a test of which +he had never dreamed.</p> + +<p>Old Captain Moseley had led a company +of trained soldiers against the Indians from +Boston. Tommy Ten-Canoes had discovered +the movement, and had prepared the Indians +to meet it. Captain Moseley’s company, +which consisted of one hundred men, had +first marched to a place called Myles Bridge +in Swansea. Here was a garrison house in +which lived Rev. John Myles. The church<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span> +was called Baptist, but people of all faiths +were welcome to it; among the latter, +Marinus Willett, who afterwards became the +first Mayor of New York. It was the first +church of the kind in Massachusetts, and it +still exists in Swansea.</p> + +<p>Over the glimmering waterways walled +with dark oak woods came Tommy Ten-Canoes, +with five of his famous boats, and +landed at a place near the thrifty Baptist +colony, so that his little navy might be at +the ready service of Philip. It was the last +days of June. There had been an eclipse of +the moon on the night that Tommy Ten-Canoes +had glided up the Sowans River +towards Myles Bridge. He thought the +eclipse was meant for him and his little +boats, and he was a very proud and happy +man.</p> + +<p>“The moon went out in the clear sky when +we left the bay,” said he; “so shall our +enemies be extinguished. The moon shone +again on the calm river. For whom did the +moon shine again? For Nipanset.”</p> + +<p>Poor Tommy Ten-Canoes! He was not the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span> +first hero of modern times who has thought +that the moon and stars were made for him +and shone for him on special occasions.</p> + +<p>In old Captain Moseley’s company was a +Jamaica pilot who had visited Pokanoket +and been presented to Tommy, and told that +the latter was a very renowned Indian.</p> + +<p>“<em>What</em> are you?” asked the Pilot.</p> + +<p>“I am Tommy One-Canoe.”</p> + +<p>“Ah!”</p> + +<p>“I am Tommy Two-Canoes.”</p> + +<p>“Indeed! Ah!”</p> + +<p>“I am Tommy Three-Canoes.”</p> + +<p>“Oh! Ah! Indeed!”</p> + +<p>“I am Tommy Four-Canoes, <em>and</em> I am +Tommy Five-Canoes, <em>and</em> I am Tommy Six-Canoes, +<em>and</em> I am Tommy <em class="smcap">Ten</em>-Canoes.”</p> + +<p>“Well, Tommy Ten-Canoes,” said the +Pilot, “don’t you ever get into any trouble +with the white people, because you might +find yourself merely Tommy No-Canoes.”</p> + +<p>Tommy was offended at this. He had +no fears of such a fall from power, however.</p> + +<p>The old Jamaica pilot had taken a boat<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span> +and drifted down the Sowans River one long +June day, when he chanced to discover +Tommy and his five canoes. The canoes +were hauled up on the shore under the cool +trees which overshadowed the water. The +Pilot, who had with him three men, rowed +boldly to the shore and surprised Tommy +Ten-Canoes, who had gone into the wood, +leaving his weapons in one of his canoes.</p> + +<p>The Pilot seized the canoe with the weapons +and drew it from the shore.</p> + +<p>Tommy Ten-Canoes beheld the movement +with astonishment. He called to the old +Pilot, “I am Tommy Ten-Canoes!”</p> + +<p>“No, no,” answered the Pilot. “You are +Tommy Nine-Canoes.”</p> + +<p>Presently the Pilot drew from the shore +another canoe. Tommy called again:</p> + +<p>“Don’t you know me? I am—”</p> + +<p>“Tommy Eight-Canoes,” said the Pilot.</p> + +<p>Another boat was removed in like manner, +and the Pilot shouted, “And now you are +Tommy Seven-Canoes.” Another, and the +Pilot called again, “Now you are Tommy +Six-Canoes.” Another. “Good-bye, Tommy<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span> +Five-Canoes,” said the Pilot, and he and his +men drew all of the light canoes after them +up the river.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> +<a name="TOMMY_FIVE-CANOES" id="TOMMY_FIVE-CANOES"></a> +<img src="images/illus-032.jpg" width="500" height="335" alt="" title="" /> +<p class="caption">“GOOD-BYE, TOMMY FIVE-CANOES”</p> +</div> + +<p>Xerxes at Salamis could hardly have felt +more crushed in heart than Tommy Ten-Canoes. +But hope revived; he was Tommy Five-Canoes +still. He was not quite so sure +now, however, that the moon on that still +June night had been eclipsed expressly for +him.</p> + +<p>The scene of the war now changed to the +western border, as the towns of Hadley and +Deerfield were called, for these towns in that +day were the “great west,” as afterwards was +the Ohio Reserve. Tommy having lost five of +his canoes, now used his swift feet as a messenger. +He still had hopes of doing great +deeds, else why had the moon been eclipsed +on that beautiful June night?</p> + +<p>But an event followed the loss of his five +canoes that quite changed his opinion. As +a messenger or runner he had hurried to the +scene of the brutal conflicts on the border, +and had there discovered that Captain Moseley, +the old Jamaica pirate, was subject to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span> +some spell of enchantment; that he had two +heads.</p> + +<p>“Ugh! ugh! him no good!” said one of the +Indians to Tommy; “he take off his head +and put him in his pocket. It is no use to +fight him. Spell set on him—enchanted.”</p> + +<p>Tommy Ten-Canoes’ fear of the man with +two heads, one of which he sometimes took +off and put in his pocket, spread among the +Indians. One day in a skirmish Tommy saw +Moseley take off one of his enchanted heads +and hang it on a blueberry bush. Other Indians +saw it. “No scalp him,” said they. +“Run!” And run they did, not from the +open foe, but from the supposed head on the +bush. Moseley did not dream at the time +that it was his wig that had given him the +victory.</p> + +<p>Across the Mount Hope Bay, among the +sunny headlands of Pocassett, there was an +immense cedar swamp, cool and dark, and in +summer full of fire-flies. Tommy Ten-Canoes +called it the swamp of the fire-flies. It was +directly opposite Pokanoket, across the placid +water. A band of Indians gathered there,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span> +and covered their bodies with bushes, so +that they might not be discovered on the +shore.</p> + +<p>One moonlight night in September Tommy +went to visit these masked Indians in four of +his canoes. He rowed one of his canoes, and +three squaws the others. On reaching the +fire-fly cedar swamp the party met the +masked Indians, and late at night retired to +rest, the three Indian squaws sleeping on the +shore under their three canoes.</p> + +<p>Captain Moseley had sent the old Jamaica +pilot to try to discover the hiding-place of +this mysterious band of Indians. The Pilot +had seen the four canoes crossing the bay +from Pokanoket under the low September +moon, and had hurried with a dozen men to +the place of landing. He surprised the party +early the next morning, when they were disarmed +and asleep.</p> + +<p>The crack of his musket rang out in the +clear air over the bay. A naked Indian was +seen to leap up.</p> + +<p>“Stop! I am Tommy Ten-Canoes.”</p> + +<p>“No, Tommy Five-Canoes,” answered the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span> +Pilot; “and now you are only Tommy Four-Canoes.” +Saying which, the Pilot seized the +<em>sixth</em> canoe.</p> + +<p>A shriek followed; another, and another. +Three canoes hidden in the river-weeds were +overturned, and three Indian squaws were +seen running into the dark swamp.</p> + +<p>“And now you are Tommy Three-Canoes,” +said the Pilot, seizing the seventh canoe. +“And now Tommy Two-Canoes,” seizing the +eighth.</p> + +<p>“And only Tommy One-Canoe,” taking +possession of the ninth canoe. “And now +you are Tommy No-Canoes, as I told you you +would be if you went to war,” said the Pilot, +taking according to this odd reckoning the +Indian’s last canoe.</p> + +<p>But Tommy had one canoe left, notwithstanding +the dark Pilot had taken his <em>tenth</em>. +He was glad that it was not here. It would +have been his <em>eleventh</em> canoe, although he had +but ten. He knew that the Pilot was one of +Moseley’s men, the Captain who put his head +at times in his pocket or hung it upon a +bush. Poor Tommy Ten-Canoes! He uttered<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span> +a shriek, like the fugitive squaws, and +fled.</p> + +<p>“Don’t shoot at him,” said the old Pilot to +his men. “I have taken from him all of his +ten canoes; let him go.”</p> + +<p>Tommy had not a mathematical mind or +education, but he knew that somehow he +had no eleventh canoe, and that one of his +ten canoes yet remained. And even the old +Pilot must have at last seen that his count of +ten was only nine. Tommy fled to a point +on the Titicut River at which he could swim +across, and then made his solitary way back +to the shores of Pokanoket and to his remaining +canoe, which did not belong to mathematics.</p> + +<p>One morning late in September Tommy +Ten-Canoes turned his solitary canoe towards +Cole’s River, near which lived his boy friend, +James Brown. He paddled slowly, and late +in the dreamy afternoon reached the shore +opposite the Brown farm. He landed and +tied his one canoe to Jemmie Brown’s boat, +in which the two had spent many happy +hours before the war.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span> +The canoe was found there the next day; +but Tommy Ten-Canoes? He was never seen +again; he probably sought a grave in the +waters of the bay.</p> + +<p>But he had fulfilled his promise. He had +been true in his heart as “the north wind to +the river, the west wind to the sea, and the +south wind to the flowers.”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span></p> + +<h2><a name="IV" id="IV"></a>IV<br /> +JONATHAN’S ESCAPE<br /> +<i>A Young Hero of Hadley who Fought at Turner’s +Falls in 1676</i></h2> + +<p>Though the Indians of New England +were for many years vastly +superior in numbers to the white +men, they were never wholly +united, and their cowardice and lack of +discipline were weaknesses for which their +treachery and deceit could not compensate. +The long conflict between the races culminated +in 1675 in King Philip’s War, when +the wily Wampanoag sachem succeeded in +forming a confederation, embracing nearly +all the New England tribes, for a final +desperate struggle.</p> + +<p>It seemed for a time as though the combination +might succeed. At the end of the summer<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span> +the scattered settlements, and especially +those along the Connecticut River, which +formed the outposts of the colonies, were +panic-stricken. Everywhere the savage allies +had been victorious. A dozen towns had +been attacked and burned, bands of soldiers +had been cut off, and isolated murders without +number had been committed. Prowling +bands of Indians lurked about the stockaded +towns, driving off cattle and rendering impossible +the cultivation of the fields, so that +the settlers were called upon to face starvation +as well as the scalping-knife and tomahawk.</p> + +<p>There was no meeting the Indians face to +face, except by surprise. They fought from +ambush, or by sudden assault on unprotected +points, and would be gone before troops could +be brought to the scene. The white men +were unable to follow them without Indian +allies, and they were slow to adapt themselves +to the Indian mode of fighting. Flushed +by their success, the confederates became +overconfident, and grew to despise their +clumsy opponents. In the spring of 1676<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span> +more than five thousand of them were encamped +on the Connecticut River, twenty +miles north of Hadley. Here they planted +their corn and squashes, and amused themselves +with councils, ceremonies, and feasts, +boasting of what they had done and what +they would do. They judged the white men +by themselves, and did not suspect the iron +courage and stubborn determination that +were urging the people in the towns below +them “to be out against the enemy.” On +the night of May 18th they indulged in a +great feast, and after it was over, slept +soundly in their bark lodges, all but the +wary Philip, who, scenting danger, had withdrawn +across the river.</p> + +<p>On that same evening about two hundred +and fifty men and boys gathered in Hadley +street. Of this number fifty-six were soldiers +from the garrisons of Hadley, Northampton, +Springfield, Hatfield, and Westfield. +The rest were volunteers, among whom was +Jonathan Wells, of Hadley, sixteen years old, +whose adventures and miraculous escape +have been preserved.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span> +The party was under the command of +Captain William Turner, and the expedition +which it was about to undertake was inspired +by a daring amounting to rashness. The +plan was to attack the Indian camp, which +contained four times their number of well-armed +braves. Defeat meant death, or captivity +and torture worse than death. The +march began after nightfall so as not to +attract the attention of the Indian scouts, +and the little band made its way safely +through swamps and forests, past the Indian +outposts, and at daybreak arrived in the +neighborhood of the camp. Here the horses +were left under a small guard among the +trees, while the men crept forward to the +lodges of the enemy.</p> + +<p>The surprise was complete. The panic-stricken +savages, crying that the dreaded +Mohawks were upon them, were shot down +by scores, or, plunging into the river, were +swept over the falls which now bear Captain +Turner’s name. The backbone of Philip’s +conspiracy was broken, and he himself was +driven to begin soon afterwards the hunted<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span> +wanderings which were to end in the fatal +morass.</p> + +<p>But the attacking party, though victorious, +was not yet out of danger. It was still +heavily outnumbered by the surviving Indians. +While the soldiers were destroying +arms, ammunition, and food, or scattered in +pursuit of the fleeing enemy, the warriors +rallied, and opened fire upon them from +under cover of the trees. Captain Turner +became alarmed and ordered a retreat. The +main body hastily mounted and plunged into +the forest, seeking to shake off the cloud of +savages who hung upon their flanks like a +swarm of angry bees.</p> + +<p>Young Jonathan was with a detachment of +about twenty who were some distance up the +river when the retreat began. They ran back +to the horses and found their comrades gone. +The Indians pressed upon them in numbers +they could not hope to withstand. It was +every man for himself. In the confusion the +boy kept his wits about him, and managed to +find his horse. As he plunged forward under +the branches three Indians levelled their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span> +pieces and fired. One shot passed through +his hair, another struck his horse, and the +third entered his thigh, splintering the bone +where it had been broken by a cart-wheel +and never properly healed. He reeled, and +would have fallen had he not clutched the +mane of his horse. The Indians, seeing that +he was wounded, pursued him, but he pointed +his gun at them, and held them at bay until +he was out of their reach. As he galloped on +he heard a cry for help, and reining in his +horse, regardless of the danger which encompassed +him, found Stephen Belding, a boy of +his own age, lying sorely wounded on the +ground. He managed to pull him up behind, +and they rode double until they overtook the +party in advance. This brave act saved +Belding’s life.</p> + +<p>The retreat had become a rout. All was +panic and dismay; but Jonathan was unwilling +to desert the comrades left behind. +He sought out Captain Turner, and begged +him to halt and turn back to their relief. +“It is better to save some than to lose all,” +was the Captain’s answer. The confusion<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span> +increased, and to add to it the guides became +bewildered and lost their way. “If you love +your lives, follow me!” cried one. “If you +would see your homes again! follow me,” +shouted another, and the party was soon +split up into small bands. The one with +which Jonathan found himself became entangled +in a swamp, where it was once more +attacked by the Indians. He escaped again, +with ten others, who, finding that his horse +was going lame from his wound, and that he +himself was weak from loss of blood, left him +with another wounded man and rode away. +His companion, thinking the boy’s hurt +worse than his own, concluded that he would +stand a better chance of getting clear alone, +and riding off on pretence of seeking the path, +failed to return. Jonathan was now wholly +deserted. Wounded, ignorant even of the +direction of his home, surrounded by bloodthirsty +Indians, and weak with hunger, he +pushed desperately on. He was near fainting +once, when he heard some Indians running +about and whooping near by; but they +did not discover him, and a nutmeg which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span> +he had in his pocket revived him for a +time.</p> + +<p>After straying some distance farther he +swooned in good earnest, and fell from his +horse. When he came to he found that he +had retained his hold on the reins, and that +the animal stood quietly beside him. He +tied him to a tree, and lay down again; but +he soon grew so weak that he abandoned all +hope of escape, and out of pity loosed the +horse and let him go. He succeeded in kindling +a fire by flashing powder in the pan of +his gun. It spread in the dry leaves and +burned his hands and face severely. Feeling +sure that the Indians would be attracted by +the smoke and come and kill him, he threw +away his powder-horn and bullets, keeping +only ammunition for a single shot. Then he +stopped his wound with tow, bound it up +with his neckcloth, and went to sleep.</p> + +<p>In the morning he found that the bleeding +had stopped and that he was much stronger. +He managed to find a path which led him to +a river which he remembered to have crossed +on the way to the camp. With great pain<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span> +and difficulty, leaning on his gun, the lock +of which he was careful to keep dry, he waded +through it, and fell exhausted on the farther +bank. While he lay there an Indian in a +canoe appeared, and the boy, who could +neither fight nor run, gave himself up for +lost. But he remembered the three Indians +in the woods, and putting a bold face on the +matter, aimed his gun, though its barrel was +choked with sand. The savage, thinking he +was about to shoot, leaped overboard, leaving +his own gun in the canoe, and ran to tell +his friends that the white men were coming +again.</p> + +<p>Jonathan knew that pursuit was certain, +and as it was broad daylight, and he could +only hobble at best, he assured himself that +there was no hope for him. Nevertheless he +looked about for a hiding-place, and presently, +a little distance away, noticed two trees +which, undermined by the current, had fallen +forward into the stream close together. A +mass of driftwood had lodged on their trunks. +Jonathan got back into the water so as to +leave no tracks, and creeping between the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span> +trunks under the driftwood, found a space +large enough to permit him to breathe. In +a few minutes the Indians arrived in search +of him, as he had expected. They ransacked +the whole neighborhood, even running out +upon the mat of driftwood over his head, +and causing the trees to sink with their weight +so as to thrust his head under water; but +they could find no trace of him, and at last +retired, completely outwitted.</p> + +<p>The boy limped on, tortured by hunger +and thirst, and so giddy with weakness that +he could proceed but a short distance without +stopping to rest. Happily he saw no +more of the Indians, and at last, on the third +day of his painful journey, he arrived at +Hadley, where he was welcomed as one risen +from the dead.</p> + +<p>The story of his escape was told for years +around the wide fireplaces throughout the +country-side, and was thought so remarkable +that one who heard it, unwilling that the +record of so much coolness and courage +should be lost, wrote it down for future generations +of boys to read.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span></p> + +<h2><a name="V" id="V"></a>V<br /> +THE CROWN OF AN AMERICAN QUEEN<br /> +<i>In the Days of Bacon’s Rebellion in Virginia</i></h2> + +<p>In the age when America was but +a name and Virginia only a hamlet, +there was a dusky queen who +wore a silver crown by order of +his most sacred Majesty King Charles II., +King of England, Scotland, France, Ireland, +and Virginia.</p> + +<p>There are few distinct Indian personalities. +Powhatan, Pocahontas, Opechancanough, Totopotomoi +and his wife, the Queen of the +Pamunkeys, are savage heroes who sentinel +the seventeenth century; they all belonged +to the Pamunkey tribe of the great Powhatan +Confederacy, the most powerful Indian +combination that ever existed.</p> + +<p>When the boisterous and heroic Nathaniel<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span> +Bacon<a name="FNanchor_A_1" id="FNanchor_A_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a> was in the flush of his wonderful success, +and had brought his followers to Jamestown, +he demanded of the Governor redress +for Indian depredations and outrages. When +the Assembly in council was sitting, the +Queen of the Pamunkeys came in, leading +her son by the hand. She came to tell of +grievances also. She wore a dress of black +and white wampum peake and a mantle of +deer-skin, “cut in a frenge” six inches from +the outer edge. It fell loosely from her +shoulders to her feet. On her head was a +crown of “purple bead of shell, drilled.” +She was a beautiful woman, old chronicles +tell us, and she walked in with a proud but +aggrieved countenance.</p> + +<p>She sat down in the midst of the Assembly,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span> +listening eagerly to the arguments for the +suppression and, if need be, the extinction of +her race. And she remembered Totopotomoi +bleeding for these people who would not recognize +her rights. She arose and made a +speech in her own tongue, eloquent with +gesticulation; the refrain of it was a mad +wail: “Totopotomoi chepiak!” (<i>i.e.</i>, Totopotomoi +dead).</p> + +<p>Colonel Hill, the younger, touched a fellow-member +on the shoulder, and whispered: +“What she says is true. Totopotomoi +fought with my father, and fell with his +warriors.”</p> + +<p>But the Assembly would not listen to the +poor suffering Queen. They wanted to fight +more battles, and the Queen of the Pamunkeys +must furnish her quota.</p> + +<p>“How many men will you furnish?” asked +Nathaniel Bacon. “How many will you +give to fight and subdue the treacherous +tribes which threaten our peace?”</p> + +<p>The Queen was silent. She remembered +her husband and his slain braves. She had +fears for her son, and she would not speak.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span> +“How many?” asked Bacon.</p> + +<p>The poor Queen had her head turned away +and bowed.</p> + +<p>“How many?” demanded the famous rebel +again.</p> + +<p>Then she slowly turned her lovely face, +and softly whispered, “Six.”</p> + +<p>Her answer infuriated Bacon, who considered +the number contemptible. “How +many more?” he asked.</p> + +<p>The Queen gave him a glance of indignant +hate, and haughtily answered, “Twelve.” +Then she gathered her robes about her, and +majestically left the room.</p> + +<p>Once more we see the Queen of the Pamunkeys, +and now in fear and adversity. +Bacon in his campaign destroyed the Pamunkey +settlement—the same tribe which +had so nobly assisted the English.</p> + +<p>The poor Queen, terrified, fled far into the +forest, accompanied by “onely a little Indian +boy.” Her old nurse followed her, but +was captured. Bacon ordered the old woman +to guide him to a certain point, but she, full +of revenge, led him in an opposite direction,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span> +whereupon the rebel ordered her to be knocked +in the head.</p> + +<p>The Queen wandered about almost crazy, +and at last determined to return and throw +herself upon Bacon’s mercy; but as she was +rushing towards her desolated wigwam she +came upon the body of her murdered nurse, +which so affrighted her that she ran back +into the wilderness, where she remained +“fourteen daies without food, and would have +perished but that she gnawed on the legg of a +terrapin which the little Indian boy brought +her.”</p> + +<p>So only a few vivid sketches of this Queen +are preserved to us in history but they have +gained for her a place as a martyr. In recognition +of her own and her husband’s deeds, +Charles II. bestowed upon her a silver crown, +with the lion of England, the lilies of France, +and the harp of Ireland engraved thereon.</p> + +<p>Savages are not averse to the baubles of +civilization, and the crown which their Queen +wore was a blessed treasure to her tribe for a +hundred years after the Queen was dead.</p> + +<p>The Pamunkey tribe, or a pitiful remnant<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span> +of them, still dwell in Virginia, on the river +which bears their name. They have a chief, +and their own government. Annually they +send tribute of fish and game and Indian +handiwork to the Governor of Virginia. They +are weakening physically, and pray for new +blood from the Western reservation.</p> + +<p>Once the tribe started for the West, carrying +their best treasure, the silver crown. They +came to the plantation of Mr. Morson, at +Falmouth, and there bad weather and sickness +made them halt. Mr. Morson attended +to their physical wants, and allowed them to +pitch their tents upon his land until their +distress abated.</p> + +<p>“What do we owe you?” asked the chief, +when they had decided to return to their +former Virginia reservation.</p> + +<p>“Nothing,” said Mr. Morson. Perhaps he +remembered Totopotomoi and his sorrowing +Queen.</p> + +<p>“Then we will give you what we value +most,” and the chief presented to Mr. Morson +the crown of the Queen of the Pamunkeys. +For three generations it remained in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span> +Morson family, and then it was purchased +by the Association for the Preservation of +Virginia Antiquities.</p> + +<p>The crown is really a frontlet, and the +Queen of the Pamunkeys wore it upon her +brow, surmounted by a red velvet cap, long +since destroyed by moths, and bound to her +head by two silver chains.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"> +<h3 class="smcap">Footnotes:</h3> +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_A_1" id="Footnote_A_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_1"><span class="label">[A]</span></a> Nathaniel Bacon, patriot, born in England, 1642; +settled in Gloucester County, Virginia, 1670; led an independent +force against hostile Indians in 1675-76 in +spite of Governor Berkeley’s opposition; as the head +of the republican movement he came into open conflict +with Berkeley and the royalists; he captured and +burned Jamestown in September, 1676; died the following +October; known as a rebel, but the principles +for which he fought were in the main those of independence +and patriotism.</p></div> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span></p> + +<h2><a name="VI" id="VI"></a>VI<br /> +HOW A BLACKSMITH’S BOY BECAME A KNIGHT<br /> +<i>The Treasure-hunt of William Phipps in the +late Seventeenth Century</i></h2> + +<p>Sir William Phipps, Baronet; +Captain in the Royal Navy; Captain-General +and Commander-in-Chief +of Massachusetts Bay; Governor +of Massachusetts.</p> + +<p>What do you think of all these titles for +one man to wear? Surely, you say, he must +naturally have been a great man to deserve +so much distinction; and again you say +that the conditions of his life must account +for such honors; that he must have been of +gentle birth, reared in luxury, his education +carefully attended by excellent masters, and +great influence brought to bear upon his +King to advance him so far on the high-road<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span> +of fame. Well, let us see if facts will sustain +this thought.</p> + +<p>William Phipps was born February 2, 1650, +in a wretched log house on the banks of the +Kennebec River. His father, an honest but +ignorant blacksmith, was more dependent +upon his rifle and fishing-line to supply +his family with food than upon the occasional +shilling that found its way into the +smoke-begrimed interior of his rude workshop.</p> + +<p>Without education himself, the father was +unable to instruct his children beyond the +simplest rules of arithmetic and the plainest +spelling and reading, but these he drilled +them in as perseveringly as he did in the +terrifying religious catechism of that day. +In the course of years, when William developed +into a robust, courageous lad, he +shared with his parents the duties of providing +for his sisters and brothers by either +shouldering the heavy fire-arm and plunging +into the dark Maine forests in quest of game, +or in taking his father’s place and beating +out the iron sparks, while the sturdy smith<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span> +dropped a temptingly baited hook into the +swiftly flowing stream.</p> + +<p>In the year 1676, in his twenty-seventh +year, the hero of our story received his parents’ +blessing, and left home for the purpose +of seeking his fortune. With a hopeful heart +and an exceedingly light pocket, he made his +way to Boston, and found employment in the +blacksmith-shop of one Roger Spencer, whose +pretty daughter Charity soon won the heart +of her father’s handsome, stalwart helper.</p> + +<p>So far we fail to find very much in the +way of gentle birth, luxury, education, and +influence. But then, you may ask, how, under +such circumstances, could he ever have +risen so high? Let us follow his career.</p> + +<p>His lack of worldly goods was made the +excuse for refusing the offer of his heart and +hand that he made to the fair Puritan, and +in the hope of improving his fortunes he +forsook the forge and shipped on board of a +merchant vessel to follow the adventurous +life of a sailor. When saying farewell, he +gave his promise to return in a few years +with money enough to build a fair brick<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span> +house for his lady-love in one of the green +lanes of Boston.</p> + +<p>The ship in which Phipps sailed carried a +cargo to the island of Jamaica, then cruised +between that port and England for several +voyages. Owing to his industry and ability +as a seaman, Phipps was after a time advanced +to the position of mate. A voyage +or two following his promotion he fell in with +an old seaman who claimed to be the only +survivor of a Spanish vessel containing immense +treasure that had been wrecked on +one of the coral islands in the West Indies +some years before. It appears that this +treasure-ship had sailed from the coast of +South America, freighted with a cargo of +silver which had been dug out of the mines +and cast into bricks to be conveyed to Spain. +The sailor assured Mr. Phipps that the exact +location of the wreck was known to him, and +agreed, for a certain share of the profits, to +conduct an expedition to the place where the +vessel had gone down. Believing the story to +be true, the mate bound the seaman to secrecy, +and gave him a berth on board his vessel.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span> +Upon arriving in London, application was +made by him to the King for permission and +aid to fit out a ship for the purpose of recovering +a great treasure that had been lost +by the sinking of a Spanish galleon in the +West Indies, claiming that he had accidentally +learned the location of the vessel, and +that he would guarantee to secure the precious +cargo. After considerable delay a ship +called the <i>Algier Rose</i> was placed under his +command, and with a crew of ninety men +he set sail. Upon reaching the West Indies +a mutiny broke out among the forecastle +hands, and Captain Phipps found it necessary +to put into Jamaica, discharge all hands, and +ship a new company. He now started for +the scene of the wreck, but a day or two +following the carpenter informed him that +he had overheard the sailors plot to capture +the vessel as soon as the treasure was recovered, +and use the craft thereafter as a +pirate. The Captain immediately decided +to return to England, where he arrived after +a stormy passage. Under the patronage +of the Duke of Albemarle the ship was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span> +refitted, and a trustworthy crew put on +board.</p> + +<p>The second voyage across the Atlantic was +pleasant and speedy, but just after entering +the Caribbean Sea a new danger threatened +the adventurers, for early one morning they +encountered a large Spanish frigate, which +at once started in chase of them. Captain +Phipps addressed his crew, telling them that +if they permitted their ship to be captured +they would be sent into the interior of the +country as slaves, to drag out their lives in +the silver-mines. He bade them fight bravely +if they wished to enjoy home and freedom +ever again. The superior speed of the Spaniard +soon enabled that vessel to open fire on +the <i>Algier Rose</i>, which so heartily returned +the compliment that some of the foreigner’s +spars were shot away, making her fall astern +of her saucy enemy, who now succeeded in escaping. +Without further trouble the treasure-hunters +reached the island on whose treacherous +coral reefs the silver-ship had been wrecked. +Here the <i>Algier Rose</i> was safely moored, +and search commenced for the sunken wealth.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span> +The small boats were used to explore the +reefs, and served as platforms from which +the best swimmers in the crew would dive +into the channels between the walls of coral +on the lee side of the island, endeavoring to +locate the spot where the galleon had been +carried before she struck. As the water in +these places seldom exceeded twenty feet in +depth, the bottom would have been plainly +visible from the boat had it not been for the +continuous rippling and foaming of the surface +water. Several weeks were passed in a +vain pursuit, and at last, worn out and discouraged, +the men positively refused to continue +the work. By agreeing to abandon +the enterprise and set sail for England at the +end of another week, unless some success was +met with, the Captain prevailed upon several +of his seamen to aid him for that length of +time.</p> + +<p>Day after day went by, and the seventh +and last day specified in the agreement arrived. +Two of the divers had broken down +under the strain, and now when the final trial +was to be made the Captain called for two<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span> +men to go in their stead, but no one responded. +He then appealed to their manhood, +asked them if he had not shared all their +labors, and asked them to give him but one +day more. The dispirited sailors made no +response to the appeal, but the cook volunteered +to go if some one would take his place +in the galley. This man was a negro about +thirty years of age, and had been shipped in +England to act as a cabin servant on the +<i>Algier Rose</i>, but the ship’s cook having died +on the passage out, he had been sent into the +caboose to take the former’s place. Possessing +a powerful physique and being an excellent +swimmer, he stood by his Captain that +day, the sole remaining hope, and seemed +tireless in his efforts to find for the disheartened +commander some evidence of the treasure, +which the seamen swore existed only +in the capsized brain of the man whom they +could see out yonder under the broiling sun +guiding the boat in and out of the channels, +while the laughing, leaping waters tinkled +against the bows and ran in gurgling, +mocking glee along the side. The negro<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span> +would dive into the sea, and a few moments +later reappear; then, as he swam towards +the boat, he would shake his head in answer +to the anxious, questioning look in the +Captain’s eyes. The boat would move on +again a short distance, and while the rowers +held it stationary a dark form would part the +water and sink down and down among the +startled fishes, that flashed away in affright +from the strange creature whose darting +arms seemed to grasp at them as they shot +for safety among the branches of coral underbush.</p> + +<p>The morning has passed gloomily away, +and the negro plunges over the side for the +last time before the men row back to the +ship for dinner. Suddenly a black face in +which is set two wildly rolling eyes bobs up +alongside the boat, and a voice choking for +breath and broken with excitement manages +to gasp, “Him down thar, Massa Cap’n; him +down thar!”</p> + +<p>The great treasure is discovered!</p> + +<p>No more despondency now. No more +aching limbs. Splash, splash, splash! The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span> +rowers have torn off their scanty clothing, +and jumped over the side to prove with their +own eyes the story brought up to them from +the bottom of the sea. One by one men reappear, +and their recovered breath is used +to send such a glad shout across the reefs +that their shipmates hear it over a mile away, +tumble into the boats alongside, and pull +madly out to them; then learning the joyful +news, they break into cheers, kick off their +garments, and overboard they also go to see +the ingots of silver scattered over the white +sand amid the torn and broken remnants of +the wreck.</p> + +<p>During the two weeks that followed the +crew of the <i>Algier Rose</i> worked zealously at +recovering the wealth that the Spaniards had +taken such pains to garner from the mountain +range just back of the coast. A shallow +net-work bag was hitched together by the +seamen for the purpose of holding the bars +of silver that the divers would throw into it. +Those manning the float that had been constructed +would lower the rope cradle until it +rested on the bottom; then the diver would<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span> +thrust his feet into a pair of heavy lead slippers +and drop through the hole in the centre +of the raft which was anchored above the +wreck. An instant later, when the bed of +sand was reached, the diver would quickly +select and throw a brick of metal into the +basket, drop his clumsy foot-gear into the +same receptacle, and then, relieved of the +weight which had held him down, he would +shoot up to the surface of the water. Accepting +his reappearance as a signal, the men +on the float would haul up the net, lift out +the treasure, and pass it into the small boats +to be carried to the ship. At the end of a +fortnight, when the divers reported that the +last bar had been gathered, the Captain calculated +that he had recovered fully thirty tons +of pure silver.</p> + +<p>The stone in the lower hold was thrown +overboard to make room for the noble ballast, +which was carefully stowed and wedged +in its mean and gloomy quarters under the +decks. The <i>Algier Rose</i> now sailed for England, +where she arrived safely five weeks +from the day that her anchor had been hove<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span> +up from its resting-place on the white coral +bed off the treasure island.</p> + +<p>Captain Phipps’s share of the profits was +very large, but the exact amount is unknown. +In addition to a princely revenue, the King +was so much pleased with him for bringing +such wealth into the country that he conferred +on him the honor of knighthood, +and to reward him still further for having +beaten off the Spanish man-of-war, +his Majesty was pleased to grant him +a commission as Captain in the Royal +Navy.</p> + +<p>Sir William soon sailed for Boston in command +of a fine frigate, and a reunion with +the now-envied Charity was speedily followed +by the tying of a true-lover’s knot before the +altar of the old meeting-house near the fort. +A few months later the former blacksmith’s +boy redeemed his promise by presenting to +my lady “a fair brick house in one of the +green lanes of Boston.” This residence, +which was erected on Salem Street, stood +until a few years ago, being last used as an +orphan asylum for boys. In 1690 Sir William +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span>was named by the King, Captain-General +and Commander-in-Chief of Massachusetts +Bay, and several years later received a royal +patent as Governor of Massachusetts.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span></p> + +<h2><a name="VII" id="VII"></a>VII<br /> +THE GIRL CAPTAIN OF CASTLE DANGEROUS<br /> +<i>How Three Children Fought the Iroquois in 1692</i></h2> + +<p>Among all the incidents of endurance +and pluck set forth in the +annals of the history of North +America, few can be found more +remarkable than that which is contained +in some very dusty pages to be read in +quaint French in a Paris library, or in the +transcription of them by one of our own historical +authors—the “Statement of Mademoiselle +Magdeleine de Verchères, aged Fourteen +Years,” daughter of the commander of a +lonely French fort, called after her father, +which stood on the St. Lawrence River a +score of miles below Montreal.</p> + +<p>It was October 22, 1692. The strong +fort enclosure, stockade and block-house,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span> +were open, and the residents were at work +in their fields at some distance. M. de Verchères +was at Quebec on military business. +His wife (who was the heroine of another +famous incident of those perilous days) had +gone to Quebec. In the stockade were actually +only two soldiers, a couple of lads who +were the young girl’s brothers, one very aged +man, and a few women and children. Magdeleine—or, +as we should now spell it, Madeleine—was +standing at a considerable distance +from the open gate of the fort with a servant, +little suspecting any danger.</p> + +<p>All at once a rattle of arms from the direction +where some of the agriculturists were +busy startled her. It was repeated. She +began to see men running in terror in the +far-away fields. At the same moment the +serving-man beside her, equally astonished, +exclaimed, “Run, Mademoiselle, run; the +Iroquois are upon us!” The young girl looked +where he pointed, and lo! a troop of some +forty or fifty of the wily savages, thinking to +surprise the stockade while their main band +attacked those who were outside, were running<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span> +towards the gates, scarcely a hundred +yards from where she stood trembling. There +was not an instant to lose. It was life or +death for her and all. She fled for the fort. +The rest of her story can largely be quoted +from Mademoiselle Madeleine’s own recitation, +published at the time.</p> + +<p>“The Iroquois who chased me, seeing that +they could not catch me alive before I reached +the gate, stopped and fired at me. The +bullets whistled about my ears, and [as she +says, dryly] made the time seem very long. +As soon as I was near enough to be heard, I +cried out, ‘To arms! to arms!’ hoping that +somebody would come out and help me, but +it was no use. The two soldiers in the fort +were so terrified that they had hidden within +the block-house.</p> + +<p>“At the gate I found two women crying +for their husbands, who had just been killed. +I forced them to go in and shut the gate. I +next thought what I could do to save myself +and the few people with me. I went to inspect +the fort, and found that several palisades +had fallen down and left openings by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span> +which the enemy could easily get in. I +ordered them to be set up again, and helped +to carry them myself.”</p> + +<p>It may be asked how there was sufficient +time for this necessary work. But it must +be remembered that the Indians seldom came +directly to the stockade in daylight, dreading +concealed defenders greatly, and in the present +instance they were ignorant of the singularly +unprotected state of this fort. So +the brave little girl was able to prepare for +the worst with all her wonderful presence of +mind and courage. She continues:</p> + +<p>“When all the breaches were stopped, I +went to the block-house, where the ammunition +is kept, and here I found the two soldiers, +one hiding in a corner, and the other with a +lighted match in his hand. ‘What are you +going to do with that match?’ I asked. He +answered, ‘Set off the powder and blow us +all up!’ ‘You are a miserable coward,’ said I. +‘Go out of this place!’ I spoke so resolutely +that he obeyed. I then threw off my bonnet, +and after putting on a hat and taking a gun +I said to my brothers: ‘Let us fight to the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span> +death. We are fighting for our country and +our religion. Remember that our father has +taught you that gentlemen are born to shed +their blood for the service of God and the +King.’”</p> + +<p>Getting her little company together in the +stockade, and discovering the Iroquois moving +about the fields, and either pursuing the +unfortunate men and women in them, or else +discussing the best means of advancing, +Madeleine began firing at them from various +loop-holes, and directed a cannon to be discharged +to deter them from coming nearer, +and at the same time to spread the alarm +over the vicinity. The women and children +shrieked and clamored. She made them be +silent, for fear of letting the redskins suspect +the situation. The foe drew back and remained +quiet for a time, and as they did this +a canoe with several persons in it was seen +out upon the river coming swiftly to the dock +near the fort. It was evident that those in +it did not suspect the danger that was so near, +whatever else they had heard. It was possible +to save them from slaughter, and at the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span> +same time add the settler she recognized in +the canoe, with his family, to the little garrison. +Madeleine went out alone—none other +dared—from the stockade to the dock, and +received them.</p> + +<p>The Indians, seeing only a little girl meet +the new arrivals, feared a grand sortie if they +dashed out of their ambush, and allowed +Madeleine to escort the new-comers—a settler +named Fontaine and his party—into the +fort gates unhurt. She had hoped for this, +and was overjoyed at her success. Her garrison +now numbered six. She goes on:</p> + +<p>“Strengthened by this reinforcement, I +ordered that the enemy should be fired on +whenever they showed themselves. After +sunset a violent northeast wind began to +blow, accompanied by snow and hail, which +told us we should have a terrible night. The +Iroquois were all this time lurking about us, +and I judged by their movements that, instead +of being deterred by the storm, they +would climb into the fort under cover of the +darkness. I assembled all my troop (that is +to say, six persons), and spoke to them thus:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span> +‘God has saved us to-day from the hands of +our foes, but we must take care not to fall +into their snares to-night. As for me, I want +you to see that I am not afraid. I will take +charge of the fort, with the old man [she adds +that he was eighty, and had never fired a gun, +but he could probably carry an alarm]; and +you, Pierre Fontaine, with La Bonté and +Gachet, go to the block-house with the +women and children, because that is the +strongest place; and if I am taken, don’t +surrender, even if I am cut to pieces and +burned before your eyes. The enemy cannot +hurt you in the block-house, if you make +the least show of fight.’</p> + +<p>“I placed my young brothers on two of +the bastions, the old man on the third, and +I took the fourth; and all night, in spite of +wind, snow, and hail, the cries of ‘All’s well!’ +were kept up from the block-house to the +fort, and from the fort to the block-house. +One would have thought that the place was +full of soldiers. The Iroquois believed so, +and were completely deceived, as they confessed +afterwards to M. de Callières, to whom<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span> +they told that they had held a council to +make a plan for capturing the fort in the +night, but had done nothing because such a +constant watch was kept.</p> + +<p>“About one o’clock in the morning the +sentinel [the old man] on the bastion by the +gate called out, ‘Mademoiselle, I hear something!’ +I went to him to find out what it +was, and by the help of the snow which covered +the ground I could see in the darkness +a number of cattle, the miserable remnant +that the Iroquois had left us. The others +wanted to open the gate and let them in, but +I answered: ‘No. You don’t know all the +tricks of the savages. They are, no doubt, +following the cattle, covered with skins of +such animals, so as to get into the fort if we +are foolish enough to open the gate for them.’ +Nevertheless, after taking every precaution, +I decided that we might open it without risk.</p> + +<p>“At last the daylight came again, and as +the darkness disappeared our anxieties seemed +to disappear with it. Everybody took +courage excepting Madame Marguerite, wife +of the Sieur Fontaine, who, being extremely<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span> +timid, as all Parisian women are, asked her +husband to carry her to another fort. [A +silly request, certainly.] He said, ‘I will +never abandon this fort while Mademoiselle +Madeleine is here.’ I answered him that I +would rather die than give it up to the +enemy, and that it was of the greatest importance +that they should never get possession +of any French fort, because if they took +<em>one</em> they would think they could get others, +and would grow more bold and presumptuous +than ever.</p> + +<p>“I may say, with truth, that I did not eat +nor sleep for twice twenty-four hours. I did +not go once into my father’s house, but kept +always on the bastion, or went to the block-house +to see how the people there were behaving. +I always kept a cheerful and smiling +face, and encouraged my little company +with the hope of speedy succor.</p> + +<p>“We were one week in constant alarm, +with the enemy always about us. At last +M. de la Monnerie, a lieutenant sent by M. +de Callières, arrived in the night with forty +men. [He came down the river.] As he did<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span> +not know whether the fort was taken or not, +he approached as silently as possible. One +of our sentinels, hearing a slight sound, cried, +‘Who goes there?’ I was at the time dozing, +with my head on a table and my gun lying +across my arms. The sentinel told me that +he heard a voice from the river. I went up +at once to the bastion to see whether it was +of Indians or Frenchmen. I demanded, +‘Who goes there?’ One of them replied, +‘We are Frenchmen; it is De la Monnerie, +come to bring you help.’ I caused the gate +to be opened, placed a sentinel there, and +went down to the river to meet them. As +soon as I saw M. de la Monnerie I saluted +him and said, ‘Monsieur, I resign my arms +to you.’ He answered, gallantly, ‘Mademoiselle, +they are in good hands.’ ‘Better +than you suppose,’ I returned. He inspected +the fort and found everything in order +and a sentinel on each bastion. ‘It is time +to relieve them, monsieur,’ said I; ‘we have +not been off our bastions for a week.’”</p> + +<p>M. de la Monnerie in astonished admiration +took charge of the relieved fort. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span> +heroine’s work was over. The savages fled, +and not long after they were captured near +Lake Champlain, and some twenty persons +they had made prisoners at Verchères were +brought safely back. The father and mother +of Madeleine came from Montreal and Quebec, +and heard the story of her valor and coolness +with rapturous praise. She grew up to be a +woman, receiving for her life a pension from +the King of France as a mark of honor, and +she died at an advanced age.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span></p> + +<h2><a name="VIII" id="VIII"></a>VIII<br /> +HOW MARC WAS MADE CAPTAIN<br /> +<i>A Rescue from the “Lords of the Woods” in 1695</i></h2> + +<p>One evening in the winter of 1694-95 +a dozen young men were lounging +around the fire in the big room +of the storehouse at St. Maxime, a +small settlement on the St. Lawrence River. +The door opened and two others entered, +brushing the snow from their leggings and +moccasins.</p> + +<p>“What luck with your traps?” cried one +of the loungers.</p> + +<p>“An otter and eight beaver,” answered +Noël Duroc, as he tossed a pack of pelts into +the corner. He was a tall, straight young +Frenchman, whose gay and careless nature +looked out frankly through a pair of laughing +black eyes. “But come, Madame Bouvier,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span>” +he cried to the store-keeper’s wife, “give us +something to eat; hot, and plenty of it—eh, +Philippe! If you want news, there’s more +than news of traps—it’s of the Iroquois. +’Tis said they’re ready for a raid to the +north—to make glad the hearts of their good +friends the Algonquins and the French. So +our old bear of a seigneur may do some hugging. +But to-night he has other things to +think of. Marc is home—came up along the +river from Quebec to-day.”</p> + +<p>“Is he as much of a monk as ’twas said he +would be?” asked Jean Bourdo. “You know +the old seigneur swears he will have no monk’s +scholar around him—though he were twice +his nephew.”</p> + +<p>“We have just seen Marc, and, trust me, he +is the same jolly lad he was two years ago. +You can make no grave-faced monk of him! +But the old seigneur thinks him surely spoiled. +’Twere better Marc had not seen the +monastery—not that I lack as a churchman; +what would we do at St. Maxime were it not +for our good Father Auguste, who taught us +when we were boys, and keeps us straight<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span> +now that we are men?—for if he had stayed +here he would doubtless be our captain—a +post worth having, now that the Iroquois are +like to visit us.”</p> + +<p>“Who will be our captain?” asked Jean +Bourdo.</p> + +<p>“The seigneur has sent to Quebec for an +officer—one that’s lately from France, and +that’s been well trained in the King’s army. +The old man knows how much we sympathize +with Marc, and so, being surly as a +bear, he will have none of us.”</p> + +<p>“It may be a costly mistake, this putting +of an Old-World soldier over us,” said Jean. +“’Tis true we have small knowledge of the +science of war as taught in old France; but +we can fight in the woods, and know how to +beat the Iroquois at their own game, and I’ll +warrant that’s more than this fine soldier +can do! ’Tis a pity that Marc—a lad brought +up in the woods, whom we all like and would +gladly follow—should be kept back just because +madame his mother sent him to school +to the monks. But the old seigneur will +have his way, even when ’tis to his harm!”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span> +“So he will; and if Marc is to lead us, the +seigneur must be made to think that it is +his own doing. Come, Philippe,” continued +Noël, turning to the man who had come in +with him, “you are older than the rest, and +have a wiser head; think of some way of +bending the seigneur to our purpose.”</p> + +<p>They talked till far into the night, and +when they separated the young Frenchmen +had the cheerful and impatient air of men +(or boys, for so they would now be counted) +who had planned an undertaking and were +in a hurry to carry it out.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>In the afternoon of the next day old +Antoine de la Carre, seigneur of the score of +log-houses and the vast tract of woodland +belonging to the royal settlement of St. +Maxime, marshalled his fighting force. In +front of the storehouse was an open space, +from which the snow was kept clear, and +here the soldiers of St. Maxime were drawn +up in line. There were about forty of them +all told, half of their number being young +men, voyageurs, and <i>coureurs des bois</i>; the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span> +others were older, heads of families who +devoted themselves to the more peaceful occupations +of fishing and farming.</p> + +<p>“I have news,” said Antoine de la Carre, +“that the Iroquois are moving, so it behooves +us to make ready for them. You +older men shall act as a reserve; the younger +ones I will organize into a company always +to be under arms and ready to repel attack. +Noël Duroc, I appoint you lieutenant, to +have charge till the officer who is to be your +captain comes from Quebec. Be active in +your duty, and see that you leave nothing +undone that is for the good of the settlement.”</p> + +<p>“We’ll do what we think is best for the +settlement, and he’ll find us active enough—that’s +certain!” whispered Jean Bourdo, +nudging his neighbor.</p> + +<p>In the ranks of the younger men was a +tall, dark-haired lad who had the same bold +features that belonged to the old seigneur. +All observed him, for it was Marc Larocque’s +first appearance after his two years’ stay in +Quebec. He met his uncle’s sour looks with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span> +unflinching, smiling eyes, and the settlers +whispered among themselves that the old +seigneur would find it no easy matter to +ignore his nephew—he had the De la Carre +spirit, in spite of the monks and their book-learning.</p> + +<p>That evening was a gloomy one in the +house of Antoine de la Carre. The old man +sat in silence, drinking deep draughts of red +French wine; across the room was his sister, +the widow Larocque, teaching their catechism +to two little maids. He knew she +thought him unfair to her son, who, by right +of birth and his own qualities, had reason to +expect a place of authority at St. Maxime, +and this knowledge made the old seigneur +more than usually irritable. When the children +had finished reading their tasks and left +the room he broke out:</p> + +<p>“Ha, Madeleine, you look so solemn, doubtless, +because of your dear Marc! Well, why +did you send him to the monks to have a +scholar made out of him? You know how +I despise these long-faced readers of musty +books, yet you must thwart me in this way.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span> +I’ll not forgive you nor him. I had no fault +to find in the old days—then he was a good +lad enough, and a true De la Carre. But I +tell you now, as I told you two years ago +when you talked of sending him to Quebec, +that I’ll have no bookman for a nephew. +So you’ve only yourself to blame if he be set +aside. But you were always obstinate.”</p> + +<p>“Ah, almost as obstinate as you, Antoine. +But I’ll not trouble about Marc; if you’ll not +help him, there are others that will. In these +stirring times a boy like him is not forgotten.”</p> + +<p>After a pause he burst out again: “What +folly it was! Has a lad here, in our rugged +New France, any need of court manners and +monk’s learning? If you had sent him to +learn war it would have been different. But +to a monastery! When a boy in old France, +I was made to read Latin and dig into musty +manuscripts till they nearly made a philosopher +of me. But I had the good sense to +turn soldier, and since then I’ve had no liking +for monks and their learning. Madeleine, +you knew all this, and remember now—”</p> + +<p>He was interrupted by a crash. The door<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span> +was burst open and half a dozen Indians +sprang into the room. Before Antoine could +draw his dagger they had leaped upon him, +seized his arms, and smothered his shouts. +Madame Larocque was quickly and securely +bound hand and foot and gagged.</p> + +<p>The Iroquois—for by their paint and dress +the old man thought his captors to belong +to the dreaded tribes of the Five Nations—worked +noiselessly and swiftly; in less than +five minutes from the bursting in of the door +they led out Antoine de la Carre, his hands +tied behind his back, and a piece of leather +so fastened over his mouth that he could +make no sound. The guards that should +have been watching were nowhere to be seen, +and the Indians, with their prisoner, quickly +scaled the stockade, crept across a cleared +space to the woods, hurried to the river, and +were soon on the smooth, wind-swept ice and +moving rapidly westward. “Where were +those young rascals of my company when I +needed them?—drinking in the storehouse +or dancing in one of the cabins, most like!” +growled old Antoine to himself.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span> +He was as strong as an old bear, but his +joints were stiffened with age, and he had +difficulty in keeping up with the rapid pace +of the Indians. “What sinews these Iroquois +have!” he thought, as he struggled on. +“No Algonquin could hold his own with +them; they run as well as our own young +<i>coureurs des bois</i>!”</p> + +<p>When it became evident that he could go +no farther, they stopped their journey along +the ice and, turning into the forest, went +about a quarter of a mile from the river’s +bank. Here they found a dense evergreen +thicket and prepared to make their camp. +A fire was built, and some strips of dried +meat they carried were heated and eaten; +then they stretched themselves on evergreen +boughs which had been piled on the snow +near the fire. A tall young Indian, who +seemed to be the leader of the little band, +now turned to Antoine de la Carre and, +much to his surprise, spoke to him in French.</p> + +<p>“Old man, eat and warm yourself. We +have far to go, and you are not yet to die.”</p> + +<p>Antoine obeyed, and after he had managed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span> +to swallow some of the tough meat he felt +better. “How do you, that are of the Iroquois, +who trade with the English and Dutch, +come to speak French?” he asked of the +young Indian.</p> + +<p>“A French girl was brought a captive to +our tribe; my father, who was a great warrior, +took her for his squaw, and she was my +mother. She taught me the language of the +French, and taught me also to listen to the +words of the black-robed Jesuits who used +to come south to teach the Iroquois. My +mother loved my father, and bade me fight +the enemies of his people, and so I am here. +But I wish the Jesuit teachers would come +among the Iroquois as they used to do. I +liked to hear them talk in that strange tongue +they called the Latin.”</p> + +<p>“Did you?” said Antoine, glad to make +friends with the young Iroquois. “When +young I was taught by the monks, and know +some Latin.”</p> + +<p>“That is well,” returned the Indian, with +much satisfaction. “I too was a pupil of the +monks, and always listened to them gladly.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span> +Stand up and repeat to us some of the Latin +you learned. When the good Jesuit would +talk in that tongue to my mother and to me, +the words came like music, and then he would +tell us the meaning—it told of adventures +and battles and great warriors. Repeat to +us this musical tongue.”</p> + +<p>Antoine de la Carre would rather have +fought a bull moose single-handed; but here +was no choice, and he stood up and did his +best. That was not very well; for his voice +was as hoarse as a swamp-raven’s, and it +was many years since he had looked in a +book.</p> + +<p>The Iroquois lying around on the evergreen +boughs were greatly amused at his +efforts, laughing at his hoarse voice and at +his stammering over the Latin words.</p> + +<p>“You do not do it as well as did the +Jesuit,” exclaimed the half-breed. “Be careful, +Frenchman! Remember, I am no dull log +of a Montagnais—I am an Iroquois, a lord of +the woods, and will have no trifling!”</p> + +<p>Antoine stammered on, getting more angry +each moment; for to a proud old soldier like<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span> +him nothing was worse than appearing ridiculous. +But this was a matter of life and +death, and he suppressed his feelings. “’Tis +well my young scamps of <i>coureurs des bois</i> +cannot see me now,” he thought. “They’d +never stop laughing!”</p> + +<p>“Look more cheerful, Frenchman!” said +the tall half-breed, getting to his feet. +“What if you are to die to-morrow; surely +death has no terrors for so great a scholar +and philosopher! And come, when you are +talking to warriors of the Iroquois take off +your cap!” Antoine wore his black velvet +house-cap, and as the Iroquois spoke he +stepped forward and plucked it from the old +man’s head.</p> + +<p>Antoine had been able to keep down his +anger at their laughing, but this was too +much for his small stock of patience, which +already was sorely tried. He was desperate +and reckless, for death was fairly certain +under any circumstances, and it might as +well come to-night as later.</p> + +<p>“Insolent—take that!” he exclaimed, and +he struck out savagely.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span> +The tall half-breed, hit squarely between +the eyes, went down as if before the blow of +a sledge-hammer.</p> + +<p>Several of the Indians sprang to their feet +and seized the old man. The half-breed got +up slowly, half stunned. Antoine waited for +his tomahawk to strike the death-blow, but +the half-breed did not raise his arm to strike. +“Old man,” he said, “if I were like these +other braves you would even now be dead; +but, as I told you, I am a convert, and the +Jesuit teaches that one must not be too quick +in anger—especially with the old and foolish. +You shall live, at least till to-morrow; give +thanks that I, like yourself, am a monk-taught +man!”</p> + +<p>Soon afterwards the Iroquois arranged +themselves to sleep, one of their number +being left as a sentinel and guard over their +prisoner. Antoine’s hands and ankles were +bound, and by the half-breed’s orders he +was laid on the boughs near the fire. One +by one the Indians, save the guard, fell +asleep; but the old Frenchman was too +nervous and excited. Finally his attention<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span> +was arrested by an object that was slowly +and noiselessly stealing out from the evergreen +thicket. It crept straight towards the +Indian sentinel, who lay gazing up at the +stars that shone through the tree-tops. Of +a sudden there was a quick, stealthy movement +and the gleam of a knife: the sentinel’s +head sank back, and he lay stretched out, +still and motionless.</p> + +<p>“A skilful thrust!” thought Antoine. “I +never saw a man die so easily.”</p> + +<p>The man with the knife crept towards him, +and in a moment Antoine felt that the +thongs about his ankles and wrists were cut. +The man beckoned and stole away; Antoine +followed, and then they silently made their +way into the thicket—leaving the Indians +sleeping in the white starlight, the sentinel +looking most peaceful of all.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> +<a name="THONGS_WERE_CUT" id="THONGS_WERE_CUT"></a> +<img src="images/illus-092.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="" title="" /> +<p class="caption">THE THONGS WERE CUT</p> +</div> + +<p>“Do you know me, my uncle?” whispered +Marc Larocque. “I tracked you through the +snow. Follow me swiftly and quietly.”</p> + +<p>Back they hurried to the river, and then +began the journey over the ice down to St. +Maxime.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span> +“I thought the Iroquois strong and fleet, +Marc, but I see that none of them is a match +for you! You are a brave fellow, in spite of +the monks, and never shall I forget what you +have done this night. But I wish you had +thrust your knife into the heart of the leader +of the Iroquois, an insolent fellow who pulled +my cap from my head and laughed at me. +However, I gave him a good buffet between +the eyes!”</p> + +<p>Soon the old man began to lag behind, and +Marc had to grasp his arm to help him; so +they ran on through the white winter’s night. +With ghostly wings the great snowy owl +flapped across their path, and the wolf pack +halted for a moment to watch them pass, +and then turned away to hunt again for some +stray deer or wounded moose.</p> + +<p>It was almost dawn when they reached the +stockade at St. Maxime. Old Antoine was +exhausted, and had hardly strength enough +to say to Marc: “Send a messenger to Quebec +to tell the French officer he need not come. +I have found a captain here.”</p> + +<p>Marc took him to the seigneury, and he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span> +fell into a heavy sleep, from which he did +not wake till afternoon. The soldiers were +then at their daily drill, and after he had +eaten, the old man went out where they were. +Tall Lieutenant Noël Duroc was drilling +them. Antoine de la Carre gave them all a +severe scolding for their carelessness the night +before.</p> + +<p>“If it were not for my brave nephew,” he +said, “I would surely have been murdered by +the Iroquois. Marc, step out from the ranks. +I make you captain!”</p> + +<p>A shout went up from all the men, but old +Antoine silenced it with a gesture. He was +looking at Noël Duroc. “Lieutenant, your +face is black and blue; how were you hurt? +You were not so yesterday!”</p> + +<p>“Last night, seigneur, an old bear gave +me a buffet—and a good round blow it +was!”</p> + +<p>Antoine looked at him hard. “Lieutenant, +you had best let old bears alone!” Then he +turned quickly to his nephew. “Marc, has +that messenger yet started for Quebec who +was to stop the French officer?”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span> +“He left soon after daybreak this morning.”</p> + +<p>“Ah! you were not slow in sending him.” +The old man paused, and Noël, who was +watching him closely, thought he saw his +mouth twitch under the gray beard. “But +never mind; it may be for the best. You +shall be captain, my nephew, and you, Noël +Duroc, shall be lieutenant, though I think +you both rascals. However, no bookman +could run as Marc did this morning; and so +I know he is not wholly spoiled by the +monks.”</p> + +<p>“Bravo!” cried Noël Duroc, throwing up +his cap. “Bravo! Here is a right good +seigneur who knows what is best for his +people; and a kind uncle; and—I’ll pledge +my word—a great scholar and philosopher +too!”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span></p> + +<h2><a name="IX" id="IX"></a>IX<br /> +CAPTAIN KIDD<br /> +<i>An Overrated Pirate</i></h2> + +<p>Of all the pirates whose dreaded +top-sails appeared along the coast +of America in the old days of the +colonies none has left a more +grewsome and romantic reputation behind +him than Captain William Kidd, the New +York ship-master, who was born in 1650. +Legends abound of his boldness, his craftiness, +and his savage and blood-thirsty disposition, +and stories of the immense treasure +that he accumulated, the dreadful murders +that he committed in its acquisition, and +when and with what ghastly accompaniments +he buried it are still told over the firesides +of ’longshore hamlets from Maine to the +Carolinas.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span> +Fiction has not neglected to turn this +pirate’s career to its own purpose, and one +of Poe’s most imaginative and thrilling tales +is based upon the discovery on Sullivan’s +Island, in Charleston Harbor (South Carolina), +of a parchment which, on being held +to the fire, revealed a cryptogram of Kidd’s +that led to the discovery of buried wealth +amounting to millions of dollars.</p> + +<p>It seems almost a pity to tamper with the +halo of romance and mystery which posterity +has drawn about this worthy’s brow, +but the fact is that Kidd was an unready, +unwise, and vacillating character, and that +there was little truth in the romances told +about him. Beside such dreadfully famous +buccaneers as Blackbeard, Roberts, and +Avery he appears a pygmy in his own “profession,” +and his career, when contrasted +with theirs, seems colorless and contemptible.</p> + +<p>As to the vast riches that he was supposed +to have acquired, it is doubtful if in his whole +course of piracy he was able to accumulate +more than a hundred thousand dollars. One +thing is assured—the only money that he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span> +buried on the coast of America amounted to +not more than seventy-five thousand dollars, +which he hid on Gardiner’s Island, over +against New London, and the last penny of +this was recovered by Bellamont after Kidd’s +execution.</p> + +<p>During King William’s War Kidd, who was +a handsome man of somewhat pleasing address, +made the acquaintance of Lord Bellamont, +the Governor of Barbadoes. The two +were in New York at the time of the meeting, +and as Kidd was a member of a good family +and moved in the limited aristocratic circle +of that day, the new acquaintances saw much +of each other. Kidd’s plausible tongue, fund +of anecdote, and agreeable manner impressed +the Governor so pleasantly that his liking +for the shipman developed into esteem, and +esteem into friendship. Through Bellamont’s +influence Kidd obtained command of a privateer, +and a series of lucky events contributed +to his reputation, so that when he returned +to New York, after his cruise in the Gulf, +Bellamont and his other fine friends hailed +him with adulation as a conquering hero.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span> +He was wined and fêted, was toasted by +prominent men and noble dames, and over +many a steaming bowl and long-stemmed +pipe loosed his glib speech in a way to impress +his hearers with a fine notion of his +indomitable character. Through the thick +clouds of the Virginia tobacco smoke a great +idea was born in Bellamont’s hazy brain. +Complaints were made daily of the pirates +that infested the shores of the colonies. +These pirates were rich with plunder. True, +they were skilful and bold and crafty, but +here was a man who by his own confession +was more skilful and bolder and craftier +than any of them. Then, should Kidd be +fitted out with a fine ship and a good crew +to chase these pirates and capture them, great +glory would come to Bellamont’s name, and +great good to Bellamont’s pocket.</p> + +<p>The idea was acted upon, and the Governor +and some other wealthy gentlemen purchased +the <i>Adventure</i> galley, equipped her, and armed +her with thirty carronades, while Kidd +went down among the docks and the sailors’ +lodging-houses, picking out for his crew<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span> +sturdy two-handed mariners, men long of +the sea, blowzed by the weather, browned +by the wind, used to the pike and cutlass—men +like ducks on the shore and like monkeys +in the rigging.</p> + +<p>The ship was fitted out at Plymouth, and +the great day of the sailing arrived at last. +The <i>Adventure</i> pushed out into the stream, +Kidd smirking and bowing and striking attitudes +on the quarter-deck, the busy sailors +swarming aloft to loose sail, the good ship +heeling over farther and farther as canvas +after canvas was spread to a quartering +breeze, and an assemblage of fine ladies and +gorgeous beaux waving scarfs and fluttering +handkerchiefs from the end of the pier.</p> + +<p>Armed with a commission from King William +to apprehend the noted Captains “Thomas +Tew, John Ireland, Thomas Wake, and +William Maze, or Mace, and other subjects, +natives or inhabitants of New York and elsewhere +in our plantations in America, who +have associated with others, wicked and ill-disposed +persons, and do, against the laws of +nations, commit many and great piracies,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span> +robberies, and depredations on the seas, upon +the parts of America and in other parts, to +the great danger of our loving subjects, our +allies, and all others navigating the seas upon +their lawful occasions,” he steered from New +York on his way to the Guinea coast, where +his hunt was to begin. By the terms of his +commission he was to take the aforenamed +pirates by force if necessary, with all the +pirates, freebooters, and rovers associated +with them, wherever they were found. He +was to bring them into port, with all such +merchandise, money, goods, and wares as +should be discovered on board. But he was +strictly charged and commanded, “As you +will answer the contrary at your peril, that +you do not in any manner offend or molest +our friends or allies, their ships or subjects, +by whom or pretence of these presents or +the authority thereby granted.”</p> + +<p>Kidd had another commission, called Letters +of Marque and Reprisal, to empower him +to act against the French, with whom the +English and their colonies were then at war, +and under cover of these he captured a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span> +French merchantman off Fire Island on his +way westward.</p> + +<p>Upon arriving at New York he began to +request more assistance from his owners, +complained of the size of his ship and his +few guns, and, as he “proposed to deal with +a desperate enemy,” asked permission to increase +his complement. This was granted, +after some hesitation, and he finally sailed +from New York with a ship’s company of +one hundred and fifty-five men.</p> + +<p>He made first for Madeira, thence to one +of the Cape Verde Islands, and thence to St. +Jago, in order to lay in salt provisions and +other necessaries. He then rounded the +Cape and bent his course towards Madagascar, +whose waters were the known rendezvous of +swarms of pirates. On the way he fell in +with three English men-of-war, to whose +commodore he imparted his errand with +much pomp and circumstance. He dined +aboard the flag-ship, and left behind him +the same reputation for dare-devil recklessness +and determination that his valiant +speech had obtained for him elsewhere.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span> +He parted with these ships after a few +days, and arrived at Madagascar in February, +1697, after a voyage of nine months.</p> + +<p>At this time most of the pirate ships were +out in search of prey, so, having spent some +time in watering his ship and taking aboard +provisions, Kidd tried the coast of Malabar, +where he was equally unsuccessful in finding +his quarry. He touched at Mohila and at +Johanna, both famous resorts for pirates, but +he did not succeed even in getting news of +those whom he sought. The reason seemed +obvious—the pirate of those days was a dangerous +man to tackle. He had guns, and he +knew how to use them; he fought with a +halter round his neck, and was game to the +last gasp. He was in the habit of beating +the King’s ships sent to take him, and he +had a bending plank through the lee gangway +for their captured officers. A fat, rich +merchantman was an easier victim. Why +not sound the crew to see if they would agree +to a change of policy?</p> + +<p>Some such thoughts must have been passing +through Kidd’s mind at this time, for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span> +with the gift of a brass farthing he could +have purchased from the most guileless and +affectionate native of Mohila or Johanna his +entire confidence as to the whereabouts of +his friends the sea-rovers, and yet after a +cruise of many months in this infested neighborhood +Kidd had no tidings of a single pirate +craft.</p> + +<p>But however disposed towards acts of +violence, he had not yet the courage to put +his wishes into execution. On his second +voyage past the island of Mohila he passed +several Indian ships, richly laden and too +weak to offer him resistance, but he contented +himself with casting envious eyes upon +them and suffered them to go.</p> + +<p>The first outrage that he committed was +at Mabbee, in the Red Sea, where, after +careening his ship, he took some corn from +the natives by force. After this he sailed +to Babs Key, near the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, +where he first began to open himself +to the ship’s company, and to disclose +to them his change of policy. But instead +of coming out like a man and saying that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span> +he intended to turn to piracy, he hinted and +insinuated and beat about the bush. “Unlucky +have we been hitherto; but courage, +my lads, we’ll make our fortunes out of the +Mocha fleet.” This was the closest his +pygmy heart could come to broaching the +subject that occupied his mind. But his +mariners met him more than half-way, and +he found himself committed to buccaneering +before he knew it. By the advice of his +quartermaster (the first mate or executive +officer of those days) he sent a boat to go +upon the coast and make discoveries, while +he himself kept men in the tops of the <i>Adventure</i> +to look out for the Mocha fleet.</p> + +<p>The boat returned in a few days, bringing +word that fifteen or a score of ships were +about ready to sail, and that they were well +laden and rich.</p> + +<p>Four days after this the fleet appeared; +the eager lookouts reported them, and the +men rushed to the sheets and halyards, guns +and ammunition-lockers.</p> + +<p>Now was Kidd’s opportunity to dash in, +seize a valuable prize, and get off with her;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span> +but he hung off and on, perplexed between +timidity and cupidity, until by the time he +had made up his mind to put his fortune to +the touch his prey became alarmed and +began to scatter. He then bore down on +the nearest; but by this time he had been +sighted by the two men-of-war of the convoy, +and the sight of their black hulls speeding +towards him, straight and steady and +business-like through the flying merchantmen, +was enough for Kidd. He fired a feeble +shot or two, squared his yards, and made +off before the wind for dear life, while the +crew silently handled their tackle, and indulged +in I know not what contemptuous +thoughts of their commander.</p> + +<p>But by the act of firing upon a friendly +flag Kidd had determined his status; there +was nothing for him now but to go on with +his pirating. Soon he had an opportunity +to show that desperate courage of which, by +his own account, he was possessed. Off the +coast of Malabar he met a small Moorish +coasting-vessel. Having discovered that she +was short-handed and unarmed, he became<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span> +terrible indeed. He seized her and forced +her Captain and quartermaster to take on +with him as pilot and interpreter, the Captain +being an Englishman, and the other, Don +Antonio, a Portuguese. The men he used +cruelly, hoisting them up by the arms, drubbing +them with a bare cutlass, and putting +them to other tortures to force them to disclose +the whereabouts of their treasure; but +all he got from them was a parcel of coffee +and a bale of pepper.</p> + +<p>He then touched at Malabar, but finding +himself an object of suspicion he quickly +went away.</p> + +<p>The coast was alarmed by this time, however, +and a Portuguese man-of-war was sent +out after him. Kidd fought her for a while +in a half-hearted way, but, though she was +his inferior in men and metal, he soon had +enough of honest combat, and got off by his +superior speed.</p> + +<p>He next ran down to Porca, where he took +on board a number of hogs and other livestock +for provisions, and paid for them in +good British silver. He also watered his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span> +ship and otherwise provided for his ship’s +company.</p> + +<p>He then stood to sea again, and came up +with a Moorish craft, the master of which, +a Dutchman named Schipper Mitchell, hoisted +French colors, as Kidd chased under that +flag. The pirates hailed in French, and were +answered in the same tongue by a Frenchman +who was one of Mitchell’s passengers. Kidd +then ordered the Dutchman to send a boat +on board, and when it arrived at his gangway +he asked the Frenchman if he had a +pass for himself. The passenger replied that +he had, whereupon Kidd told him to pass +for the Captain, “For, by Heaven, you are +the Captain, and if you say you’re not I’ll +hang you!”</p> + +<p>The Frenchman of course dared not refuse +to do as he was ordered.</p> + +<p>The object of the manœuvre is apparent. +Kidd had not the pluck to go on openly with +his high-sea robbery, but fancied that if he +seized the ship as a prize, pretending that +she belonged to French subjects, he would +get into no trouble on account of her. He<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span> +did not seem to take into account the fact +that his previous conduct had already stamped +him as a criminal, but appeared to think +that as long as he did not openly hoist the +black flag he might do as he liked with impunity. +Indeed, his whole career as a sea-robber +consisted of similar acts of fatuous +and ostrich-like stupidity.</p> + +<p>He landed on one of the Malabar islands +for wood and water, and as his cooper was +murdered by the natives he plundered and +burned their village. He took one of the +islanders and had him tied to a tree and shot, +after which he again put to sea in quest of +prizes. After being at sea less than a week +he fell in with and captured the greatest +prize that ever fell into his hands, the Moorish +bark <i>Quedah Merchant</i>, of four hundred tons. +From this vessel he got a cargo which he sold +for more than ten thousand pounds.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> +<a name="PLUNDERED_AND_BURNED" id="PLUNDERED_AND_BURNED"></a> +<img src="images/illus-108.jpg" width="500" height="316" alt="" title="" /> +<p class="caption">HE PLUNDERED AND BURNED</p> +</div> + +<p>The Indians came on board of him and +trafficked, and he performed his bargains +punctually for a time, until he was ready to +sail; and then he took their goods and set +them on shore with no payment, which was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span> +quite in accord with his despicable character. +The Indians had been accustomed to deal +with pirates, and had found them, as a rule, +men of honor in the way of trade, so it was +easy for Kidd to impose upon them.</p> + +<p>The pirate put some men aboard of the +<i>Quedah Merchant</i>, and in her company sailed +for Madagascar. He had no sooner arrived +there than off came a canoe in which were +several old acquaintances of his who had +long been “upon the account,” as they called +buccaneering. They belonged to a ship called +the <i>Resolution</i>, which was commanded by +one Culliford, a notorious sea-robber. When +they met Kidd they told him that they were +informed he had come to hang them, which +they would take very unkind in such an old +friend. Kidd dissipated their fears by telling +them that he was in every respect their +brother, and as bad as they, and in token of +amity drank their health in a bowl of grog.</p> + +<p>Kidd then went aboard, Culliford promising +his friendship and assistance; and Culliford +in turn boarded Kidd, and the two +worthies made a merry night of it in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span> +cabin of the <i>Adventure</i>, spinning their yarns +of the deep seas and laughing at their enemies; +and as Culliford was in need of some necessaries, +Kidd fitted him out from his spare +tackle.</p> + +<p>The <i>Adventure</i> was now so leaky that Kidd +transferred her guns and stores to the <i>Quedah +Merchant</i> and got to sea again, but not before +more than half of his disgusted crew had left +him.</p> + +<p>He touched at Amboyan, and there learned +that the news of his conduct had reached +England and that he was outlawed. Indeed, +the reports of his misdeeds were so exaggerated +that the English merchants became +greatly alarmed, and had Kidd, with one +Captain Avery, excepted in a general pardon +of freebooters which had just been promulgated. +Kidd knew nothing of this, but relying +on some French passes which he had +found on one or two of his prizes, and deeming +his brazen assurance enough to carry him +through any peril from the law, he made for +New York. Here, by the orders of Lord +Bellamont, he was promptly seized, with all<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span> +of his effects, and was sent to England to be +tried.</p> + +<p>Here his conduct was such as to destroy +the last shreds of respect that one might have +had for his character. Instead of meeting +his fate like a man, he begged and implored +and whined and promised, but all to no +avail.</p> + +<p>He insisted much upon his own innocence +and the villainy of his men. He went out +upon a laudable employment, he said, and +had no occasion to go pirating, but the men +mutinied against him and did as they pleased. +As to the friendship shown to that notorious +villain Culliford, Kidd denied it, and said +that he would have taken him, but his own +men, being a parcel of rogues, refused to +stand by him, and several of them even ran +from his ship to join the wicked pirate.</p> + +<p>But the evidence was too strong against +him, and he was condemned.</p> + +<p>When asked what he had to say why sentence +should not be pronounced upon him, +he replied that he had nothing to say except +that he had been sworn against by wicked<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span> +people; and when sentence was pronounced +he said: “My lord, it is a very hard sentence. +For my part, I am the most innocent person +of them all, only I have been sworn against +by perjured persons.”</p> + +<p>And so, in 1701, whining and protesting +miserably, he was led away to the scaffold, +and there paid the penalty of his crimes.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span></p> + +<h2><a name="X" id="X"></a>X<br /> +HOWARD THE BUCCANEER<br /> +<i>A Captain of Many Ships</i></h2> + +<p>In the days when high-sterned galleons +sailed the Spanish Main, +keelless and lofty, and helpless in +the wind’s eye; when all the sailors +wore their tarry queues and ear-rings; +when “Down along the coast of the high +Barbaree” there was no law but that of +the Moorish buccaneer, a young man in the +peaceful British hamlet of Barwich reached +the age of twenty-one.</p> + +<p>Thomas Howard was a youth of promise +and capacity. He was handsome, burly, +popular, and generous, and always ready for +any adventure. His father, a gentleman of +rank and estate, was dead, but his doting +mother lavished upon him an affection as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span> +blind as it was deep, supplied him with an +excess of pocket-money, and left no wish of +his ungratified. The result is readily imagined. +His old amiability deserted him, and +he sank into a savage discontent that found +expression in numerous acts of roguery and +violence.</p> + +<p>As he grew worse and worse, an old friend +of his father’s persuaded him to seek employment +upon the seas, and purchased him a +berth as midshipman on a trading-craft bound +from Liverpool to the West Indies.</p> + +<p>A few months of sea discipline shattered +young Howard’s patience, and upon his arrival +at Jamaica he promptly deserted his +ship.</p> + +<p>He had still a few pounds left of his fortune, +and with these he purchased admittance +to the society of a gang of ruffians who +frequented the beaches. One night, with +some of these, he stole a canoe and went to +the Grand Camanas to join a party of others +of their ilk who lurked thereabouts with the +design of going “on the account.”</p> + +<p>They soon fell in with those whom they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span> +sought, and, as the party now numbered +twenty, they deemed themselves strong +enough to set to their work, and accordingly +began their preparations. At a council held +the night when this decision was reached, +the question of the election of officers came +up; the men seemed about evenly divided +in their choice of a captain between Howard +and a tall islander named James. The latter +was finally elected by a vote of ten to eight, +while Howard was chosen quartermaster.</p> + +<p>Their first need was a boat; in the offing +at anchor lay a turtle-sloop with two small +swivels mounted fore and aft. She was the +very craft for their purpose, but how were +they to get her?</p> + +<p>Close inshore on the other side of an estuary +a mile wide Howard remembered seeing +a large canoe moored in the light of a patrol’s +camp-fire. He and two others swam over to +her, cut her line with their sheath-knives, and +brought her away without discovery.</p> + +<p>The robbers then boarded her, and, with +two men forward and two aft handling the +paddles, the rest concealed behind the high<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span> +bulwarks, stole out silently towards the +turtle-vessel. The nature of their craft was +not perceived until they were alongside their +victim, when, with a yell, they burst from +their concealment and made their capture +without losing a man. They then started +out for booty, but for a long time their only +prizes were turtlers, which supplied them +with men without increasing their wealth. +After about two weeks they met an Irish +brigantine with provisions and servants for +the Governor of Jamaica. They laid her +aboard, captured her without resistance, +forced her men, and made off with her, leaving +her master the old turtle-sloop and five +men to bring him to port. Not long after +this they surprised a sloop of six guns, and +finding her larger, faster, and sounder than +the brigantine, they shifted to her with their +belongings. This was the third time within +two months that they had changed their +vessel, but still the game of “Progressive +Piracy” went on. Off the coast of Virginia +they fell in with a large New England brigantine +laden with provisions and bound for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span> +Barbadoes. They made a prize of her, and +shifting their own guns aboard of her, found +themselves in a fine vessel of ten guns well +equipped for a long voyage.</p> + +<p>While on the coast of Virginia in this ship +they took several English vessels, from which +they got men, arms, provisions, clothes, and +other necessaries. As most of these ships +had on board felons for the Virginia colonies, +they took from them a number of volunteers +besides their forced men, and they soon +acquired so large a complement that they +had no hesitation in ranging up to and +boarding a Virginia galley of superior size +and twenty-four guns. They got a number +of convict volunteers from her, transferred +their stores to her, and set out to sweep the +seas in earnest. They steered for the Guinea +coast, that Mecca of pirates, and made many +captures, which not only enriched them but +increased their complement. After they had +been for some months on this ground they +spied a large Portuguese ship from Brazil, +whose thirty-six guns did not frighten them +from the attack.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span> +As they hoisted the black flag the Brazilian +Captain became overpowered with fear, commanded +the quartermaster to strike, and +sought safety for himself in the hold. His +mate, however, a New-Englander, refused to +surrender, and kept off the pirates for the +better part of the afternoon. His resistance +was strong and well sustained, but the Portuguese +finally fled from the deck, leaving him +with only thirty men—English, French, and +Dutch—and he was obliged to ask for quarter. +The pirates then went down the coast +in their newly acquired ship and made several +prizes, some of which they burned and some +of which they sank. As they now mustered +nearly two hundred men, the only ones that +they forced from captured crews were carpenters, +calkers, and surgeons, whose services +they needed greatly.</p> + +<p>Off the Cape of Good Hope they took two +Spanish brigantines, in whose company they +proceeded, until they ran the <i>Alexander</i> +ashore on a small island north of Madagascar, +where she stuck fast.</p> + +<p>The Captain being sick in bed, the men<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span> +went ashore on the island and carried off +provisions and water to lighten the ship, on +board of which none but the Captain, the +quartermaster (Howard), and all others were +left.</p> + +<p>This was too good a chance for the exercise +of Howard’s love of treachery. He brought +the faster of the two brigantines alongside, +tumbled all the treasure into her, scuttled +the other, and made off with twenty men and +two hundred thousand pounds, leaving the +rest of his shipmates to shake their impotent +fists and roar maledictions after his diminishing +sail.</p> + +<p>After rounding the Cape, Howard and his +fellows went into a fine harbor on the east +side of Madagascar hardly known to European +vessels. Here they buried most of the +treasure, and for a short time enjoyed the +luxury of shore life. Wood and water were +abundant, game plentiful, and the waters +swarmed with edible fish.</p> + +<p>It was pleasant to the pirate, after his long +trick afloat, to lie on the yellow sands under +the shade of palm and mango and tamarind<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span> +trees and see the slow surf breaking gently +on the beach. In his nostrils was the odor +of orange and spice; golden sunbirds and +crimson cockatoos nested above him, gaudy +butterflies floated about him, and in the shallow +waters of the still lagoons were long-legged +curlew, busy kingfishers, and wild duck +with tenderly shaded plumes. Behind him +the tropical jungles blazed gloriously with +trees of blooming scarlet and flaring yellow, +about which twined gorgeous creepers of dark +purple, and from whose leafy depths came the +chattering of monkeys and the twittering of +innumerable birds. Far off he could hear +the smothered thunder of lofty falls, near +at hand the plashing of rivulets, and seaward +the deep voice of the Indian Ocean. +The Malagasy women brought him cooling +fruits from the mountains, the hunters came +back laden with the flesh of wild cattle and +pigs and great, feathery bunches of waterfowl, +and the native king sent down to him +rice and bananas, maize and manioc, from +the rich store of his harvest.</p> + +<p>After but a month of this happy shore life<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span> +they set sail, and running down the coast of +Africa met the English ship <i>Prosperous</i>, which +they captured by a night attack. The <i>Prosperous</i> +was a large, well-found ship of sixteen +guns, and well suited to Howard’s purpose, +so he transferred his crew and stores to her +and sailed to Maritan. They found there a +number of shipwrecked pirates, who, with +some of the <i>Prosperous’s</i> crew, took on with +them, and increased their complement to +seventy men.</p> + +<p>They next steered for St. Mary’s, where +they wooded, watered, and shipped more +hands. Here they had an invitation from +one Ort van Tyle, a sturdy Dutch trader of +social ambition, to attend the christening of +two of his children. He received them with +hospitality and civility, but they had no +sooner entered his house than they began to +plunder it, and Van Tyle protesting, they +took him prisoner, and designed to hang +him, but one of the pirates aided him to +escape and he took to the woods. Here he +met some of his black; he armed them, and +formed an ambush on a scrubby island where<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span> +the river channel was narrow. The pirates +came down in their canoe and Howard’s pinnace, +laughing and shouting, bringing with +them the booty of the looted house and some +captives, whom they set at the paddles. The +canoe was overturned in the rapids just as +they came abreast of the ambush, and the +captives swam ashore and escaped, while the +pirates clung to the sides of Howard’s boat. +As they drifted by, Van Tyle let drive at +them, and in a shower of musket-balls, arrows, +and assagais the helpless pirates were +swept back to their ships, dismally howling +with rage and mortification. In this affair +two of Howard’s men were killed, while he +was shot through the arm, and two others +were seriously wounded.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> +<a name="THE_HELPLESS_PIRATES" id="THE_HELPLESS_PIRATES"></a> +<img src="images/illus-122.jpg" width="500" height="332" alt="" title="" /> +<p class="caption">THE HELPLESS PIRATES WERE SWEPT BACK</p> +</div> + +<p>He then sailed to Mathelage, where he +designed to victual for a West-Indian cruise, +but he found there a large Dutch merchantman +of forty guns, whose captain curtly told +Howard to get out or he’d fall foul of him. +Howard’s recent experience with Dutchmen +had been unpleasant, so, as his vessel was +not strong enough to cope with the Amsterdamer,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span> +he made sail for Mayotta, and passed +down the bay amid a volley of gibes, jeers, +and ingenious Dutch profanity. On his way +to Mayotta he fell in with Captain Bowen, of +the pirate ship <i>Speedy Return</i>, of thirty guns, +and communicated to him the contumely to +which a “Gentleman of the Seas” had been +subjected. Bowen promised to avenge the +insult to their honorable craft, and accordingly +anchored in the dusk of the next evening +within hail of the irascible burgher. The +<i>Speedy Return</i> was a small ship for her armament +and crew, and this, with her suspicious +appearance, determined the Dutchman once +more to exhibit the bold front that he could +assume when there seemed to be no danger +in it. Accordingly he went to the rail and +bawled over the quiet waters, “Vot sheep is +dot, and vy for you don’d git oud to onced?”</p> + +<p>“This is his Majesty’s cruiser <i>Haystack</i>,” +came the unruffled response, in Bowen’s clear +voice. “She has three decks and no bottom, +and sails four miles to leeward and one +ahead. Want to race?”</p> + +<p>“Vot sheep is dot, and none of your tomfoolishness?”<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span> +roared the Teuton, purple with +rage.</p> + +<p>“This is the <i>Flying Dutchman</i>, Captain +Vanderdecken, and the crew’s all ghosts,” +replied the pirate, in high glee. “Come +aboard and cheer up our spirits.”</p> + +<p>This was too much. The Dutchman +mounted the rail and shrieked, hoarsely, +“I now asks you der last time for, vot sheep +you is, vere you vrom, and vot you to do +goin’ about to be?”</p> + +<p>“This is the ship <i>Speedy Return</i>,” sang +out Bowen, “<em>from the seas</em>, and I’m goin’ to +fire a salute.”</p> + +<p>The pirate then gave the word, and his +ship roared out a broadside that shivered +the Dutchman’s rail, smashed his boats, and +carried away his spanker-boom. The merchantman +waited no longer, but slipped his +cable and made off to sea, leaving the greater +part of his cargo ashore, where it was promptly +gathered in by the thrifty buccaneers.</p> + +<p>Bowen now made sail for Mayotta, where +he joined the <i>Prosperous</i>, and the two ships +sailed together for the East Indies. After<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span> +some successes there they returned by separate +routes to Madagascar, for the purpose +of revictualling and refitting, agreeing +to meet again at St. John’s and lie in wait +for the Moorish fleet. They did this, and +one of the Moors fell a prize to Bowen, but +Howard did not come up with them till they +were anchored at the bay of Surat, where +they waited to lighten.</p> + +<p>Howard came up among them slowly, +under shortened sail, and as he concealed +his men and kept his ports closed, they +took him for an English East-Indiaman and +suffered him to approach. Howard suddenly +attacked the largest vessel, and after a +desperate fight, in which he lost thirty men, +carried her by boarding.</p> + +<p>On this vessel was a nobleman belonging +to the court of the Great Mogul. The prize +itself was immensely valuable, and the nobleman’s +ransom amounted to twenty thousand +pounds, so by this time Howard’s +fortune was well assured. He then ran +down to Malabar, where he met Bowen and +his prize, a fine, stout ship of sixty guns.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span> +The two captains with their quartermasters +held a consultation (on the night of their +meeting) in the cabin of the <i>Speedy Return</i>, +and their future plans were decided upon +over a rich banquet provided from the stores +of the prizes.</p> + +<p>The <i>Prosperous</i> they sank and the <i>Speedy +Return</i> they burned, and in Bowen’s prize +they continued their depredations, the two +crews being joined together. This made +Howard’s ninth change of vessels since he +had taken to piracy.</p> + +<p>As they cruised down the coast of Madagascar +they came in sight of Howard’s old +haven, where he had buried his treasure. +He became seized with a desire for shore +life, and with those of his men who had +lived there before with him, and with their +share of the recent booty, he went back to +his old stamping-ground to settle down. He +was received with open arms by his old +friends among the natives; he married a +Malagasy woman, and for a long time lived +quietly and peaceably, shooting, fishing, +watching his herds, and cultivating his fields.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span> +A missionary who was shipwrecked on the +coast about a year after Howard’s return +worked on the pirate’s soft heart so successfully +that before being taken home on a +trading-vessel that put in for water he had +brought the gallant buccaneer into the close +folds of the Roman Catholic Church and to +a full realization of his unusually sinful state. +After the missionary’s departure Howard +missed the theological discourse and dispute +that had whiled away many a tropic +twilight, and he knew not where to turn for +an outlet of his intellectual activities. Finally +the bright idea struck him that it would +be both pleasing and beneficial to evangelize +the natives. In a fit of religious enthusiasm +he proceeded to this work with his usual +prodigal hand. Unfortunately for himself, he +used a club in the process, and this, coupled +with his brutal treatment of his wife, made +him unpopular among the Malagasy.</p> + +<p>One night the docile aborigines fell upon +him while he was asleep in his hammock, +and left mementos of their presence in the +shape of thirty-seven assagais stuck decoratively +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span>in various parts of his body. When +found he was very dead, and thus terminated +the earthly career of a treacherous and unworthy +ruffian, whose only claims to our +consideration were his good seamanship and +Anglo-Saxon pluck.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span></p> + +<h2><a name="XI" id="XI"></a>XI<br /> +TEW, OF RHODE ISLAND<br /> +<i>A Fighter from the Seas</i></h2> + +<p>On a lovely morning in the early +part of the eighteenth century +two vessels might have been seen +approaching each other at that +point where the northern waters of the +Mozambique Channel mingle with those of +the Indian Ocean. The day was mild and +the wind light and variable. The ships +rolled lazily on the languid swell, and a +couple of leagues to the south and east of +them the low, green shores of Madagascar +were dimly visible.</p> + +<p>As the vessels drew near to each other +the smaller of the two, a large brig-sloop +with raking masts and a narrow, speedy-looking +hull, put down her helm, rounded<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span> +into the wind, and ran the black flag up +to her main peak. The other, a trim and +sturdy ship-rigged craft, with something of +a man-of-war look about her lofty spars and +graceful lines, seemed little perturbed by +this significant display of the pirate emblem. +She hove to, however, and the two vessels +lay rolling idly on the blue water a long +musket-shot apart.</p> + +<p>Before the sloop had time for any further +demonstration one of the ship’s quarter-boats +was lowered and brought to the starboard +gangway, and into her stepped a spare, dark, +wiry-looking man of medium height, evidently +the Captain. The boat shoved off and +made for the sloop, the Captain steering, and +the crew pulling with the long, regular stroke +of man-of-war’s men.</p> + +<p>So far the ship had displayed no colors, +and the peculiar nonchalance with which +her crew had behaved towards the pirates +excited the latter’s marked apprehension. +Could she be a public ship in disguise? If +so, then farewell to the buccaneer’s hopes of +brave booty in the Indian seas, for the wind<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span> +had fallen and the vessels were drifting nearer +together.</p> + +<p>The dark man seized the life-lines as they +were extended to him from the pirates’ gangway, +and climbed up the ladder with catlike +agility.</p> + +<p>“What ship is this?” he asked, curtly, +ignoring the crew that pressed ominously +about him, and addressing himself to a tall +man of a quiet but commanding appearance +who stepped forward to meet him.</p> + +<p>“This is the sloop <i>Hope</i>, sir, and I am her +commander, Thomas Tew, at your service.”</p> + +<p>“And I am Captain Misson of the ship +<i>Victoire</i>, lately of his French Majesty’s service, +but now from the seas.”</p> + +<p>The expression “from the seas” at once +allayed the fears of Tew’s pirates, for the +buccaneers of that day thus characterized +themselves in their answering hails.</p> + +<p>The crew went about their duty, and the +two captains entered the cabin, where they +began a friendly conversation, and informed +each other of their respective histories.</p> + +<p>It seemed that Mr. Richier, the Governor<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span> +of Bermuda, had fitted out two sloops on the +privateer account, one commanded by Captain +George Drew, and the other by Thomas +Tew. They were instructed to make their +way to the river Gambia, in Africa, and to +attempt the taking of the French factory of +Goree on that coast. The vessels sailed together +and kept company for some time, but, +a violent storm coming up, Drew sprung his +mast and they lost each other.</p> + +<p>Tew, separated from his consort, thought +of providing for his future with one bold +stroke. Accordingly he summoned his crew +to the mast, and addressed them upon the +subject of his plans.</p> + +<p>He told them that they were afloat in a +fine craft bent upon a dangerous mission, +with no prospect of advantage for themselves, +but only for their employers. That +he was little inclined to risk his health and his +life except for some great personal gain, and +finally he proposed bluntly that they should +throw off their allegiance to Governor Richier, +and go “on the account,” as piracy was +called in those days.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span> +The crew listened eagerly, and at the conclusion +of his speech sung out as one man:</p> + +<p>“A gold chain or a wooden leg. We’ll +stand by you, Captain.”</p> + +<p>Tew then made sail for and doubled the +Cape of Good Hope, and as he entered the +Red Sea on his cruise northward came up +with a ship bound from the Indies to Arabia. +She was richly laden, and carried three hundred +soldiers to aid the crew in defending +her cargo; but, notwithstanding her superior +force, the pirates carried her with a dash, and +shared fifteen thousand dollars a man in +plunder. They then stood down the coast +towards Madagascar, and the <i>Victoire</i> was +the first ship they had sighted since leaving +their prize.</p> + +<p>Misson listened with interest to Captain +Tew’s story, and then gave him a brief account +of his own adventures. He said that, +having gone to sea as a sub-officer on the +ship <i>Victoire</i> of the French royal service, he +had participated in an engagement with an +English man-of-war; that all his superior +officers had been killed in the action, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span> +that he had assumed command and sunk the +Briton; and that after this his crew had +requested him to retain command and go “on +the account” for himself. He confessed that +he had willingly acted upon their suggestion, +had made several prizes, and established a +colony on a bay to the northward of Diego +Suariez, on the island of Madagascar. He +informed Tew further that he was much impressed +with the courage with which the +<i>Hope</i> had borne down to engage a vessel so +much her superior in size and strength as +the <i>Victoire</i>, and that, as he could not have +too many resolute fellows as his allies, he +would be glad to join forces with Tew’s men.</p> + +<p>Tew answered that before entering into an +alliance with Misson he would prefer to examine +the workings of the latter’s colony. +Misson agreed to this, and the <i>Victoire</i> and +the <i>Hope</i> sailed in company for Libertaita, +as Misson called his new republic.</p> + +<p>Just at sunrise the two ships passed between +the fortified headlands that guarded +the entrance to the pirate stronghold, and +Tew, standing on his quarter-deck and following<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span> +the motions of the <i>Victoire</i>, was astonished +at the strength of the harbor he +entered, and the discipline that seemed to +prevail there.</p> + +<p>With the timbers and guns of captured +ships Misson had constructed and armed +two powerful forts which stood on the headlands +at the entrance to the harbor. On a +little island, where the channel branched, a +brown earthwork pointed ten heavy cannon +so as to rake the seaward approaches, and +far back of it, on the edge of the bay, the +walls and roofs of a fortified town reared +themselves orderly amid the green of the +tropical foliage. Everywhere was the appearance +of industry and discipline. On a +beach near the town a group of sailors was +engaged careening a small brig to scrape the +sea-growths from her sides, another party +was filling water-casks at a well-constructed +reservoir, and the rattling of echoes of carpenters’ +hammers came from a couple of +storehouses in process of construction near +the water’s edge. From a citadel in the +centre of the town and from flag-staffs erected<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span> +on both forts and the water-battery the +flag of Libertaita fluttered in the breeze, +vigilant sentries walked the ramparts with +military tread, and as the <i>Victoire</i> and the +<i>Hope</i> let go their anchors in the gentle +ground-swell of the harbor, a battery of +eighteen-pounders roared out a welcome of +nine guns.</p> + +<p>Tew was charmed with the appearance of +the place, and upon going ashore with Misson +had his favorable impressions strengthened +and confirmed. The captains were received +with great respect by Caraccioli, Misson’s +lieutenant, who admired not a little the +courage that Tew had displayed in capturing +his prize and in giving chase to Misson.</p> + +<p>The colony at this time was peopled by +over one thousand men, many of them having +been captured by Misson in his prizes. +Of these three hundred had taken on with +him, one hundred were natives of the island +of Mohilla, with whose queen Misson had +formed a matrimonial and political alliance, +and the remainder were prisoners whom +Misson intended to send to their homes, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span> +whom he employed in the mean time as +laborers around his fortifications.</p> + +<p>The day after the arrival of the captains +at Libertaita a formal council was held. +Tew promptly expressed his willingness to +join forces with Misson, and was made second +in command.</p> + +<p>The question of the disposition of Misson’s +numerous prisoners was brought up at once. +It was decided to tell them that Misson had +formed an alliance with a prince of the +natives, and to propose to them that they +should either assist the new colony or be +sent up the country as prisoners. On this +decision being imparted to them, seventy-three +of the prisoners took on, and the remainder +desired that they be given any +other fate than that of being sent up into +the wild and savage interior; so one hundred +and seventeen of them were set to +work upon a dock near the mouth of the +harbor, and the other prisoners, lest they +should revolt, were forbidden, under pain +of death, to pass certain prescribed bounds. +The <i>Hope</i> lay in the harbor as a guard-ship,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span> +and the Johanna men were armed and put +on patrol duty; but while the pirates were +providing for their protection they did not +forget their support, and large quantities of +Indian and European corn and other grain +were sowed in the fertile fields of Libertaita.</p> + +<p>Soon after this it was decided to send away +the prisoners, as they were too much of a +burden for the infant colony. They were accordingly +summoned before the captains and +told that they were to be set at liberty. +Misson informed them that he knew the consequence +of giving them freedom; that he +expected to be attacked as soon as the place +of his retreat was known, and had it in his +hands to avoid further trouble by putting +them all to death; but that Captain Tew had +agreed with him to practise humanity, and +that they were to have their property restored +to them, and were to sail for a friendly +coast the next morning in a ship that was +well provisioned but unarmed. All he asked +was that they should never serve against him. +An oath to this effect was cheerfully taken,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span> +and away the prisoners sailed to the nearest +European settlement.</p> + +<p>When they had gone Misson returned to +the work of improving his town, and gave +the command of his ship, the <i>Victoire</i>, to +Tew, who, with one hundred and sixty picked +fellows, set out to sweep the seas. He sailed +down the wind to the coast of Zanzibar, and +off Quiloa made up to a large ship which +backed her main-topsail and laid by for him. +Tew engaged her for four hours, losing many +men, but finding her a Portuguese public ship +of fifty guns and three hundred men, much +more than a match for the little <i>Victoire</i>, he +attempted to make off. The <i>Victoire</i>, however, +was so foul from her long service that +she could not show her customary clean pair +of heels, and the stranger, proving fast and +weatherly, drew up with her. The Portuguese +Captain, a gallant officer of great height +and herculean strength, lay alongside the <i>Victoire</i> +and boarded her at the head of his men; +but the pirates, not used to being attacked, +and expecting no quarter, made so desperate +a resistance that they not only drove back<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span> +the enemy with loss, but were enabled to +board in their turn. At first only a few followed +the Portuguese as they leaped back +into their own ship; but Tew, perceiving the +desperate resolution of these, sang out, “Follow +me, lads!” and sprang over his enemy’s +rail. The Portuguese opposed the pirates +firmly for a time, but to Tew’s cry, “She’s our +own! Board her! Board her!” his men replied +in continually augmenting numbers, +and drove the defenders back to the main-hatch. +Here a bloody conflict ensued, for +the Portuguese Captain fought in the front +rank of his men, and with voice and example +encouraged them to combat. Seeing this, +Tew rushed forward to meet him, and the +two captains crossed swords with equal +bravery. The crews paused to observe the +duel, and watched with fiercely excited eyes +the flashing sabres and shifting poises of their +champions. The Portuguese had a longer +reach, and was much taller and stronger than +the pirate, but the latter had the agility of a +panther, and was noted as one of the best +swordsmen of his day. Time and again the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span> +Portuguese made a dash against his adversary +with point or blade, only to be met with an +accurate parry or a quick return stroke that +forced him backward nearer and nearer to +the open hatch. Finally Tew parried a furious +lunge and delivered his terrible return +stroke on the neck of the Portuguese, who +threw up his hands and fell backward down +the hatch. This ended the fight, and the +crew of the public ship called for quarter.</p> + +<p>With his rich prize, which yielded him +one hundred thousand pounds in Spanish +gold, Tew put back to port, where, notwithstanding +his severe loss, his courage and dash +were loudly acclaimed by the colony. Caraccioli +persuaded two hundred and ten of +the Portuguese to join the Libertaitans, and +among them, to Misson’s great pleasure, was +found a school-master, whose services he +at once devoted to the instruction of his +negroes.</p> + +<p>Two sloops of eighty tons each had been +built in a creek, and when they were finished +they were armed with eight guns apiece out +of a Dutch prize, and sent on a trial trip.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span> +They proved to be fast, weatherly vessels, +and on their return from their first trip to +sea Misson proposed to send them out on a +voyage of survey to lay down a chart of the +shoals and deep water around the coast of +Madagascar. As Tew was an excellent navigator +he was given command of the expedition +and of one of the sloops, while the school-master, +who proved to be a good seaman and +skilful surveyor, commanded the other. The +sloops were manned with a crew of fifty +blacks and fifty whites each, and their four +months’ voyage enabled the negroes not only +to learn how to handle the boarding-pike, +but, as they were anxious to learn and be +useful, to pick up a fair knowledge of French +and seamanship. They returned with an excellent +chart and three prizes. Misson now +determined to make a foray in force, and, +dividing five hundred men, white and black, +between the <i>Victoire</i> and the <i>Hope</i>, he and +Tew set out for the high seas; of course a +strong force was left behind as a garrison.</p> + +<p>Off the coast of Arabia Felix they fell in +with a ship of one hundred and ten guns belonging<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span> +to the Great Mogul. This ship carried +a crew of seven hundred men and nine +hundred passengers, and towered monstrously +above the low sides of the pirate vessels; +but Tew on the starboard quarter and Misson +on the port bore up gallantly, and engaged +her. To the opening broadsides of the +pirates she thundered an awful response. +Soon the wind died out, and thick clouds of +smoke lay motionless on the water; under +its cover Tew brought the little <i>Hope</i> alongside, +and, with his cutlass between his teeth +and his pistol in his hand, clambered up the +lofty side. He had barely reached the rail +when he was severely wounded and knocked +overboard by a pike-thrust. However, he +soon came to the surface, and managed, at +the head of a few of his men, to enter one of +his enemy’s lower-deck ports. In the mean +time Misson had boarded the Mussulman on +the port quarter, and a hand-to-hand fight +was going on over the rail. Misson was hard +pressed by numbers when Tew appeared from +the fore-hatch. One glance at this murderous-looking +figure, with bloody and smoke-grimed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span> +garments, rushing at them sword in +hand from behind, was enough for the Mussulmans, +and with a wild shriek of “Allah!” +they broke and fled down the hatches, leaving +the pirates in possession.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 320px;"> +<a name="KNOCKED_OVERBOARD" id="KNOCKED_OVERBOARD"></a> +<img class="no-b" src="images/illus-144.jpg" width="320" height="550" alt="" title="" /> +<p class="caption">HE WAS KNOCKED OVERBOARD BY A PIKE-THRUST</p> +</div> + +<p>This proved a most valuable capture, as +over one million pounds, besides many rich +silks, spices, valuable carpets, and diamonds +were stored in the prize’s hold and strong-boxes.</p> + +<p>The prisoners were landed at a point between +Ain and Aden, and the captured ship +brought back to Libertaita, where, as she had +proved a slow and unwieldly craft, she was +taken to pieces. Her cordage and knee-timbers +were preserved with all the bolts, +eyes, chains, and other iron-work, and her +guns were used in two strong water-batteries +as an additional support to the forts on the +headlands.</p> + +<p>The colony was now in prime condition; +a number of acres had been enclosed, and +afforded pasturage for three hundred head +of cattle—a purchase from the natives, who +had begun to manifest a most friendly spirit<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span>—the +grain was ripening finely, the storehouses +and magazines were well under way, +and the dock was finished.</p> + +<p>As the <i>Victoire</i> was foul from long service +and very loose from recent storms, she was +docked and practically rebuilt. When she +was floated again she was provisioned for a +long cruise, and was about to set out for the +Guinea coast when one of the sloops came in, +schooner-rigged, with the news that she had +been driven to port by five lofty ships, Portuguese, +of fifty guns each and full of men.</p> + +<p>The alarm was given, the forts and batteries +manned, and the men put under arms. +Tew was given command of the English and +Portuguese, while Misson directed the French +and one hundred disciplined negroes. Slowly +and majestically the fleet swept on towards +the pirate stronghold; as they came within +easy gun-shot Tew leaped to the side of his +water-battery, and with both arms outstretched +stood waving in one hand the black +flag, and in the other the banner of Libertaita, +with its white albatross on a blue field. +A storm of solid shot greeted the daring<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span> +figure, but he leaped down unharmed, as +battery after battery and fort after fort +opened with a steady roar against the invader. +The Portuguese dashed by the forts +triumphantly, but wavered as they came +under the fire at close range of the heavy +guns of the water-batteries. They had +thought to carry all before them with one +bold dash, and after passing the headlands +had deemed victory assured, but here they +were in a hornets’ nest. Under the dreadful +fire from Tew’s and Misson’s skilful gunners +two of the Portuguese vessels were speedily +sunk. The others turned to flee; but they +were not to get off so easily. No sooner were +they clear of the forts than the pirates manned +both ships and sloops, gave them chase, +and engaged them in the open sea. The +Portuguese defended themselves gallantly, +and one of them, which was attacked by the +two sloops, beat off the Libertaitans twice; +two made a running fight and got off, and +the third was left to shift as she could. This +last, a fifty-gun ship of three hundred and +twenty men, defended herself till the greater<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span> +number of her crew were killed. Finally, +finding that she was left to an unequal fight, +she asked for quarter, and good quarter was +given. Thus ended Admiral X’s “holiday +jaunt to wipe out a nest of pirates,” as the +Portuguese Commander-in-Chief had described +his expedition in advance.</p> + +<p>None of the prisoners were plundered, but, +on the contrary, the pirate captains invited +to their table the officers of the captured +ship, and congratulated them upon their +courage and ability.</p> + +<p>For some months after this nothing occurred +to interrupt the quiet of the colony. +Finally, wearying of inactivity, Tew took the +<i>Victoire</i> and three hundred men and sailed +in search of prizes. Sixty miles from Libertaita +he found a strange colony of buccaneers. +The ship hove to and the Captain went ashore +alone to make the acquaintance of the strangers. +While he was absent from the ship a +great gale rose and blew the <i>Victoire</i> ashore +on a dangerous reef; she went down before +his eyes, carrying with her every man of the +crew.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span> +This was not the end of misfortune, for a +few nights afterwards the two Libertaitan +sloops appeared, and from one of them Misson +came ashore with disastrous news. The +same night that the <i>Victoire</i> went down the +natives had risen and destroyed Libertaita; +Misson had saved a quantity of diamonds +and bar gold, and fled in the sloops with the +remnant of his band; they were now without +a ship and without a haven.</p> + +<p>The plunder and the men were equally +divided between the sloops, and the two +captains sailed in company for the coast of +America. Misson’s vessel went down with +all hands in a gale off Cape Infantes, but +Tew made a peaceful voyage to the British +colonies. He settled in Rhode Island, dispersed +his crew, and lived for a time unquestioned +with his wealth. He might have +reached an honored old age, with nothing to +recall the memories of his past, but at the +end of a few years he was persuaded to go +once more “on the account.” In the Red Sea +he engaged a ship of the Great Mogul, vastly +his superior in size and armament. During<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span> +the action Tew received a mortal wound, but +fought on as long as he could stand. When +he fell his men became terrified, and suffered +themselves to be taken without resistance. +They were all hanged; and so ended the last +of the Libertaitans.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span></p> + +<h2><a name="XII" id="XII"></a>XII<br /> +THE VROUW VAN TWINKLE’S KRULLERS<br /> +<i>A Story of Old New York</i></h2> + +<p>Clean, snug, and picturesque as +a Holland town was our city of +New York for some years after +it had dropped its juvenile name +of New Amsterdam and adopted its present +name; but not so suddenly could it change +its nature and Dutch ways. Dutch neatness +and the Dutch tongue still reigned supreme. +Substantial wooden houses turned gable ends +of black and yellow Holland bricks to the +front, until Pearl Street appeared like a triumphal +procession of chess-boards; while no +mansion in that then fashionable quarter +could boast more big doors and small windows +than that of the worthy burgher Van +Twinkle, and the little weathercock on the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span> +roof was as giddy as any of its neighbors, +and as undecided as to which way the wind +actually did blow.</p> + +<p>An air of festivity pervaded this residence +on a certain winter’s day in the early part +of the eighteenth century; windows were +thrown open, and Gretel, the eldest daughter +of the family, followed by black Sophy, +armed with brooms, mops, and pails, entered +that <i>sanctum sanctorum</i>, the best parlor, +to scrub and scour with unwonted energy; +for to-morrow would be that greatest of +Knickerbocker holidays, <i>Nieuw Jaar</i>, or New +Year, when every good Hollander would +consider it his duty to call upon his friends +and neighbors, and the front door with its +great brass knocker would swing from morning +till night to admit the well-wishers of +the season.</p> + +<p>In the big kitchen also active preparations +were going forward. A royal fire blazed in +the wide chimney, and the Vrouw Van +Twinkle, in short gown and petticoat, was +cutting out and boiling those lightest and +richest of krullers for which she was famous<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span> +among the good housewives of the town: +real Dutch krullers, brown as nuts, and crisp +as pie-crust.</p> + +<p>“Out of the way, youngsters!” cried the +dame to a boy and girl lounging near to +watch the boiling, “or spattered will you be +with the hog’s fat. Take thy sister, Jan, +and off with her to the Flatten Barrack. +She would enjoy a good sledding this fine +day, and that I know.”</p> + +<p>“Rather would I go to the skating on the +Salt River,” said Jan.</p> + +<p>“But that you must not. It I forbid, for +very unsafe is it now, thy father did observe +only this morning.”</p> + +<p>“Foolishness, though, was that, mother,” +argued Jan, “for last night Tunis Vanderbeck +from Breucklyn came over on the ice, +and told me that firm was it as any rock, +and smooth as thy soft, pink cheek.”</p> + +<p>“Thou flatterer!” laughed his mother; +“but not so canst thou pull the wool over +my eyes; so away with you both to the +sledding, and here are two stivers with +which to buy New-Year cakes at Peter<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span> +Clopper’s bake-house.” And diving in the +patchwork pocket hung at her side, Madam +Van Twinkle produced the coins, which sent +the children off with smiling faces to the hill +at the end of Garden Street, stopping on the +way to invest in the sweet New-Year cakes, +stamped with a crown and breeches.</p> + +<p>Jan made short work of his; but Katrina +had scarce begun to nibble her fluted oval +when she spied an aged man, with a long +gray beard, begging for charity.</p> + +<p>“See, Jan,” she cried, “the poor, miserable +old beggar! How cold and hungry he +looks!”</p> + +<p>“Then to work should he go.”</p> + +<p>“But it may be no work he has to do. +Ach! the sight of him makes my heart to +ache, and help him will I all I can.” So saying, +the kind-hearted girl darted to the mendicant’s +side and slipped her cake into his +hand.</p> + +<p>“A thousand thanks, little lady!” exclaimed +the man, fervently; “for I am near to +starving, or I would not be here; and you +are the first who has heeded me to-day.”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span> +He was evidently English; but Katrina +cared not for that, and, carried away by her +feelings, added a guilder, given her at Christmas, +to her gift of the New-Year cake, thereby +calling forth a shower of benedictions, +although the old fellow seemed strangely +nervous meanwhile, glancing in a frightened +manner at each passer-by. As soon as the +little maid’s back was turned he slunk into +a dark alley and out of sight.</p> + +<p>“A silly noodle art thou, Katrina, thus to +throw away thy presents,” said Jan, as they +hurried on. But his sister only shook her +head, and smiled as though quite satisfied, +while her heart beat a happy roundelay all +the short December afternoon as she slid on +her wooden sled and frolicked with the little +Dutch Vans and Vanders on the Flatten-Barrack +Hill.</p> + +<p>Twilight was falling when the young Van +Twinkles wended their way home, to find +their bread and buttermilk ready for them +by the kitchen fire, and their father and +mother and Gretel gone to a supper of +soft waffles and chocolate and a New-<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span>Year’s-Eve +dance at the Van Corlear Bouwerie.</p> + +<p>“The best parlor, does it look fine and gay, +Sophy?” asked Katrina, as she finished her +evening meal.</p> + +<p>“Dat it do,” replied the old slave woman; +“for waved am de sand on de floor like white +clouds, and de brass chair-nails shine jest +like little missy’s eyes. ’Spect de ole mynheer +and his vrouw come down and dance +dis night for sure.”</p> + +<p>“What mynheer, Sophy?” asked Jan.</p> + +<p>“De great mynheer in de portrait—your +gran’fader, ob course. Hab you chillens +neber heard how on New-Year Eve, when +de clock strike twelve, down come all de +pictur’ folkses to shake hands and wish each +oder ‘Happy New-Year,’ and den, if nuffin +disturb ’em, mebbe dey dance in de firelight.”</p> + +<p>“Really, Sophy, do they?” asked the little +girl.</p> + +<p>“Yah, dey do. Master Jan may laugh if +he please, but right am I. My ole moeder +hab so tole me, and wif her own eyes hab +she seen de ghostes dances.”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span> +“A rare sight it must be! I wish that I +could see it,” said Katrina; and later, when +she went in to inspect the parlor, she gazed +up with increased respect at her stolid-faced +Holland ancestors.</p> + +<p>“Much would I love to see them tread a +minuet!” sighed Katrina again, and even +after her head was laid on her pillow the idea +haunted her dreams, until, as the tall clock +in the hall struck eleven, she started up wide-awake, +with the feeling that something eventful +was about to happen.</p> + +<p>“Almost spent is the old year!” she thought, +“and soon down the picture folk will come to +greet the new. Oh, I must, I must them +see!” and although the household was by this +time asleep, she crept out of bed, slipped on +her clothes, and stole noiselessly down-stairs.</p> + +<p>“Still are they yet,” she whispered, glancing +up at the pictured faces. “But near the +hour draws, and hide I must, or they may +not come down, for Sophy says that spectators +they do not love. Ah, there is just the +place!” and running to the linen chest she +lifted the lid, and clambering lightly in,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span> +nestled down among the lavender-scented +sheets and table-cloths.</p> + +<p>“A very comfortable hiding-spot, truly!” +exclaimed Katrina, as she placed a book +beneath the cover to hold it slightly open; +and so cosey did it prove that she grew a bit +drowsy before the midnight bells chimed the +knell of another twelvemonth. Then indeed, +however, she was on the alert in an instant +and peering eagerly out. Her corner was in +shadow, but the ruddy glow from the hickory +logs revealed the portraits still unmoved, +and she was about to utter an exclamation +of disappointment, when she was startled to +see a door leading to the rear of the house +suddenly swing open and the figure of a man +carrying a lantern enter with slow and +stealthy tread. An old man, apparently, +with gray hair and beard, and a sack thrown +across his shoulders. “’Tis the Old Year +himself!” thought the fanciful girl; but the +next moment she almost betrayed herself by +a scream as she recognized the beggar to +whom she had given her New-Year cake that +very afternoon.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span> +Slowly the midnight marauder approached, +and then, all at once, a wonderful transformation +took place. The bent form became +straight, the gray beard and hair were torn +off, and a younger and not unhandsome man +stood before the little watcher’s astonished +gaze.</p> + +<p>She was too dumfounded to do anything +but tremble and stare, as the intruder seated +himself at the table and ate and drank, almost +snatching the viands in his eagerness. +His appetite appeased, however, he seemed +to hesitate; but then, with a muttered, +“Well, what must be must, and here’s for +home and Emily!” he seized a silver bowl +and dropped it into his bag, following it up +with the porringers and plates, that were the +very apple of the Dutch house-mother’s eye.</p> + +<p>Too frightened to speak, poor little Katrina +watched these proceedings; but when the +thief laid hands on a certain old and beautifully +engraved flagon, she murmured: “The +loving-cup! the dear loving-cup! Oh, my +father’s heart ’twill break to lose that!”</p> + +<p>“Plenty of the needful here!” chuckled the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span> +burglar; but a moment later he had his +surprise, for out of the shadows suddenly +emerged a small, slight figure, and a stern +voice cried, “Stop!”</p> + +<p>With a startled exclamation the man fell +back, and then, as Katrina exclaimed, “The +loving-cup that is so old—ah, take not that!” +he dropped into a chair, ejaculating, “By St. +George, ’tis the little lady of the cake herself!”</p> + +<p>“That is so,” said Katrina.</p> + +<p>The man reddened. “Believe me, miss,” +he said, “I did not know this was your home, +or naught would have tempted me here; and +this is the first time I have ever soiled my +fingers with such work as this.”</p> + +<p>“Then why begin now?” asked Katrina.</p> + +<p>“Because I was down on my luck, and +there seemed no other way. Listen! For +two years I have served as a soldier in the +British army, and no more honest one ever +entered the province. I did not mind hard +work, but my health gave out, and at last the +rude fare and the homesickness I could stand +no longer, and three days ago I deserted from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span> +the English fort down yonder. The officers +are on my track, but, so far, disguised as an +old beggar, I have escaped detection beneath +their very noses. If caught I shall be flogged +within an inch of my life, and, it may be, +shot. Just over the water my wife and a +blue-eyed lass like you are longing for my +return, but, saving your guilder, I was penniless, +and so, for the first time, determined to +take what was not my own.”</p> + +<p>“Poor man!” sighed Katrina, the tears +starting.</p> + +<p>“To-morrow night the <i>Golden Lion</i> sails +for England. Her crew, after the New-Year +festivities, will be dazed at least, so I can +readily conceal myself until the ship is out +at sea. Then ho! for home and my little +Jeanie!”</p> + +<p>“And as a bad, wicked robber will you go +to her?” asked the girl.</p> + +<p>“No; indeed no!” cried the man, emptying +his sack. “You have saved me from that, +little lady, as well as from starvation to-day, +for I would not steal from you or yours. +Give me but these krullers to eat while I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span> +am a stowaway, and all the plate I will +leave.”</p> + +<p>“Yes, that will I do,” said Katrina, rejoiced, +and she herself dropped the crisp +cakes into the man’s bag. “Now at once go, +and godspeed.”</p> + +<p>“But first you must promise to mention +this meeting to no one until after the <i>Golden +Lion</i> weighs anchor at seven o’clock on New-Year’s +night.”</p> + +<p>“To my mother may I not?” asked Katrina.</p> + +<p>“No, no, to nobody! Oh, remember my +life is in your hands! Promise, I beg.”</p> + +<p>His tone was so imploring the girl was +touched.</p> + +<p>“I like it not, but I promise,” she said.</p> + +<p>“Thank you. Farewell.” And again disguised, +the deserter departed, as he came, by +a back window.</p> + +<p>Feeling as though in a dream, Katrina rearranged +the disordered table, and then, +creeping up to bed, fell so sound asleep that +she never heard Jan when he awoke the +household with his “Happy New-Years.”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span> +Gayly the sunbeams glittered on the black-and-yellow +gables that 1st of January, and +fully as resplendent were the maids and +matrons of New York in their best muslins +and brocades; while Katrina presented a +very quaint, attractive little vision when she +came down in her taffeta gown and embroidered +stomacher, with her amber beads about +her neck. Her face was hardly in accord +with her attire, however, when she found +every one demanding, “What has become of +the krullers—the New-Year krullers?”</p> + +<p>Madam Van Twinkle looked flushed and +angry. “The beautiful cakes with which I +so much trouble took!” she cried. “Ach! a +bad, wicked theft it is, and a mystery unaccountable.”</p> + +<p>“Mebbe de great ole mynheer and his +vrouw gobbled ’em up,” put in Sophy.</p> + +<p>“But what is worse,” continued the dame, +“in one big kruller, as a surprise, I did hide +a ring of gold sent to Gretel by her godmother +in Holland, and that too is whisked +away.”</p> + +<p>At this Gretel also began to bewail the loss,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span> +and suggested that perhaps little black Josie, +Sophy’s son, was the miscreant.</p> + +<p>“If so it be, to the whipping-post shall he +go!” cried the enraged Dutchwoman, starting +for the kitchen; but before she reached +the door Katrina exclaimed, “No, mother, +no; Josie is not the one.”</p> + +<p>“Why, mine Katrina, what canst thou +know of this?” asked Mynheer Van Twinkle, +in amazement.</p> + +<p>“I know—I know who has taken the +cakes,” stammered the blushing girl; “but +tell I cannot now.”</p> + +<p>“Not tell!” gasped her mother. “Why +and wherefore?”</p> + +<p>“Because my promise I have given. But +when the night comes, then shall you know +all.”</p> + +<p>“Foolishness is this, Katrina,” cried the +good housewife, who was fast losing her temper +as well as her cakes, “and at once I command +you to say who has my New-Year +krullers.”</p> + +<p>“And my ring from Rotterdam,” added +Gretel.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span> +“But that I cannot. A lie would it be. +Oh, my vader, canst thou not me trust until +the nightfall?”</p> + +<p>“Surely, sweetheart. There, good vrouw, +say no more, but leave the little one in peace. +A promise thou wouldst not have her break.”</p> + +<p>“Some there be better broken than kept; +but whom promised she?”</p> + +<p>Katrina was silent, and now even her +father looked grave. “Speak, <i>mijn kind</i>; +whom didst thou promise?”</p> + +<p>“I cannot tell.”</p> + +<p>“See you, Jacobus, ’tis stubborn she is, +and wrong it looks. But list, Katrina; you +shall speak this minute, or else to your +chamber go, and there spend your New-Year’s +Day.”</p> + +<p>At this mynheer puffed grimly at his pipe, +and Gretel would have remonstrated, but +without a word Katrina turned and left the +parlor. Ascending to her little attic-room, +she removed her holiday finery, and sat +sadly down to work on her Flemish lace, trying +to console herself by repeating: “Right +am I, and I know I am right. A promise<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span> +once given must not broken be,” while the +New-Year callers came and went, and the +sound of merry greetings floated up from +below.</p> + +<p>So it was scarce a happy New-Year, and +the little weathercock must have pointed +very much to the east if he considered the +way the wind blew within-doors, for even +Jan turned fractious, and declared, “There +was no fun in calling on a parcel of old +<i>vrouws</i>,” and he should go to the turkey-shooting +at Beekman’s Swamp instead. But +this his mother forbade. “Shoot you will +not this day,” she said, “for at fourteen, like +a gentleman and a good Hollander should +you behave. So start at once, and my +greetings bear to the Van Pelts and Vander +Voorts and Mistress Hogeboom,” while his +father carried him off with him to call on +the dominie’s wife.</p> + +<p>This visit over, however, they parted company, +and Jan lingered long in the market-place +to see the darkies dance to the rude +music of horns and tom-toms. Here he encountered +two of his chums, Nicholas Van<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span> +Ripper and Rem Hochstrasser, carrying guns +on their shoulders.</p> + +<p>“Thee, Jan? Good!” they cried. “Now +come with us to the turkey-shooting. A +prize thou art sure to win.”</p> + +<p>“But I started the New-Year visits to +make!” said Jan.</p> + +<p>“And paid them in the market-place!” +laughed Nicholas. “Thou art a sly one, +Jan! But great sport is there at the Swamp +to-day; much better than the chatter of +the girls and a headache to-morrow.”</p> + +<p>“So think I, Nick; but I have on my <i>kirch</i> +clothes;” and Jan glanced down at his best +galligaskins and his coat with its silver buttons.</p> + +<p>“Not a bit will it hurt them; so come +along.” And thus urged, Jan joined his +friends, and was soon at Beekman’s Swamp, +where a bevy of youths were squandering +their stivers in the exciting sport of firing at +live turkeys.</p> + +<p>Nick and Rem did well, and each bore off +a plump fowl, but luck seemed against Jan, +who could not succeed in even ruffling a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span> +feather; while at last he had the misfortune +to slip and get a rough tumble, besides soiling +his breeches and tearing a rent in the skirt of +his fine broadcloth coat.</p> + +<p>“Ha! ha! What will Madam Van Twinkle +say to that?” laughed his unsympathetic +companions, when they saw Jan stamping +round, his little queue of hair, tied with an +eel-skin, fairly standing out with rage.</p> + +<p>“Whatever she says, ’twill be your fault, +ye dough-nuts!” he shouted, and would have +indulged in some rather forcible Dutch epithets +had not his cousin Tunis Vanderbeck +come up at the moment, saying, “Mind it +not, Jan, but with me come to Breucklyn to +skate.”</p> + +<p>“Yah; better will that be than facing the +mother in this plight,” said Jan; and he was +skating across the Salt River before he remembered +that he had been positively forbidden +to venture there.</p> + +<p>“Sure art thou that the ice is strong, +Tunis?” he asked.</p> + +<p>“Not so strong as it was. The thaw has +weakened it some, but ’twill hold to-night,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span> +if—” But at that instant an ominous cracking +sounded beneath their feet, and Tunis +had just time to glide to a firmer spot before +a scream rang through the air, and he looked +back to see the dark surging water in an +opening in the ice, and Jan’s head disappearing +beneath.</p> + +<p>While, in the twilight, Katrina sat by her +window, thinking of blue-eyed English Jeanie, +she was startled by a voice on the shed roof +without calling, “Let me in, Katrina—let me +in;” and on opening the casement a very +wet and bedraggled boy tumbled at her feet, +sputtering out, “Run for dry clothes and a +hot drink, my Trina, for nearly drowned am +I, and frozen as well.”</p> + +<p>The girl hastened to obey, and not until +her brother was snug and warm in her feather-bed +did she ask, “Whatever has happened +to thee, Jan?”</p> + +<p>“Why, on the river I was, and the ice it +broke, and in I fell. But for an old cove +who risked his life to save me, in Davy +Jones’s locker would I be this minute; for +never a hand did Tunis Vanderbeck stir to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span> +help me, and unfriends will we be henceforth.”</p> + +<p>“And thy <i>kirch</i> suit is ruined. Does the +mother know it?”</p> + +<p>“No; for fear of her I came in by the roof, +but I met the father outside, and angry +enough he is because I went to the shooting +and on the river. He says that on bread +and water shall I live for a week, and to the +Philadelphia Fair shall I not go;” and a sob +rose in the boy’s throat. “But what is +queerest, Katrina, the old chap who pulled +me out seemed to know me, and gave me +this for you,” and Jan produced a moist, +soggy package, which, on being undone, +revealed a single broken kruller, in the centre +of which, however, gleamed a heavy gold ring.</p> + +<p>“Good! good! Oh, glad am I!” cried Katrina; +and hastening to put on her festival +dress, when the clock chimed seven she went +dancing down to the parlor, and creeping to +her mother’s side, whispered, “Now, my +moeder, all will I tell thee.”</p> + +<p>In amazement the family listened to her +story of the midnight visitor, and when she<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span> +ended by slipping the ring on Gretel’s finger, +saying, “No common thief was he, for this +he sent me by Jan, whom he has saved from +a grave in the Salt River,” the Dutchwoman +caught her to her heart, sobbing, “Oh, my +Katrina, forgive thy mother, for it was in +my temper I spoke this morning, and a true, +brave girl hast thou been. To think that +but for thee our rare old silver would be on +its way to England!” Gretel too hugged her +rapturously, and the tears were in Mynheer +Van Twinkle’s eyes as he asked:</p> + +<p>“How can I repay my daughter for saving +the loving-cup of my ancestors, and for her +lonely day above?”</p> + +<p>“By forgiving Jan, father, and letting him +come to the New-Year supper. Disobedient +has he been, I know, but well punished is he, +and he is full of sorrow.”</p> + +<p>“Well, then, for thee, it shall be so.”</p> + +<p>So Jan was summoned down, and a truly +festal evening was held within the home +circle, beneath the gaze of the old mynheer +and his vrouw, who beamed benignantly from +their heavy frames.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span> +The <i>Golden Lion</i> sailed true to time, and +never again was the deserter heard of on +this side of the Atlantic; but for long after +Katrina was pointed out as “the blue-eyed +maid who saved the family plate and gave +away Vrouw Van Twinkle’s New-Year krullers.”</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span></p> + +<h2><a name="XIII" id="XIII"></a>XIII<br /> +THE SIGN OF THE SERPENT<br /> +<i>A Story of Louisiana in the Early Eighteenth +Century</i></h2> + +<p>The two Vidals—the father Captain +and second in command at +Fort Rosalie,<a name="FNanchor_B_2" id="FNanchor_B_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_2" class="fnanchor">[B]</a> and the son Jean, +who wore the stripes of a sub-lieutenant, +though his face had scarcely a +sign of beard on it yet—paced the parapet +of the fort in absorbed talk. Below them +rolled the brown flood of the Mississippi, +gilded into tawny gold by the setting sun.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span> +In the splendor of that glow stood out in +bold relief the galley which had arrived from +New Orleans that day. Young Jean, who +had been absent in the little Louisiana capital +for two months, and had received during +the visit his commission from Governor +Perier, had been a passenger, and was now +eagerly listening to the news of the fort.</p> + +<p>“It is almost word for word as I tell thee,” +said the senior. “’Twas a month since that +Monsieur le Commandant sent for Big Serpent +to tell him the Governor’s wish, but not, +as Monsieur Perier would have chosen to +make it, the beginning of negotiation. For +all feel that it is not well the Natchez should +remain in power so near the fort. But Chopart’s +words were like the lash of the slave-whip.</p> + +<p>“‘Does not my white brother know,’ answered +the Great Sun of the Natchez, ‘that +my people have lived in the village of White +Apple for more years than there are hairs in +the plaited scalp-lock which hangs from the +top of my head to my waist?’</p> + +<p>“‘Foolish savage!’ said Chopart. ‘What<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span> +ties of friendship can there be between our +races? Enough for you to know that you +must obey your master’s orders, as I obey +mine.’</p> + +<p>“‘We have other lands; take them, but +leave the village of White Apple to the +Natchez. There is our temple, there the +bones of our forefathers have slept since we +came to the banks of the Father of Waters,’ +pleaded Big Serpent.</p> + +<p>“‘Within the next moon comes the galley +from the big village of the French. If White +Apple is not then delivered to my soldiers, +and your people gone, the great chief of the +Natchez will be sent down the river, bound +hand and foot, to rot in prison. Go. I have +spoken,’ and Monsieur le Commandant waved +Big Serpent out of his presence.”</p> + +<p>“And do the Natchez submit? Will Big +Serpent give up their beautiful village? Mon +Dieu! It’s a shame! It might have been +managed differently hadst thou been made +commandant instead of Chopart, <i>mon père</i>.”</p> + +<p>“Tut! tut!” said the father. “Chopart +may carry his load, and welcome. ’Twould<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span> +have irked me much to have done the Governor’s +will, for, after all, ’tis the sword, not +the scabbard, which kills. Warning of treachery +and conspiracy has come from White +Apple, for thou knowest the old Princess had +a French husband and loves his race. Yet +her son, the chief, would bleed out every +French drop in his veins if he could. I like +not the signs, though only five days ago Big +Serpent came to Fort Rosalie, and when +Monsieur le Commandant flung the report of +foul play in his teeth, the chief smiled like a +baby in the face of its mother, and answered: +‘Let my brother believe what he sees. On +the seventh day hence my people will bring +thee more than the tribute due for the time, +thou hast granted, and will then give up +White Apple to the French.’ Yet Sergeant +Beaujean, who has been at the village since, +says there are no signs of preparation for +departure, and that warriors are pouring in +from all the outlying country. We shall +know in two days more. In the mean time, +Chopart reviles at all advice to keep the +garrison under arms, with closed gates and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span> +loaded cannon. The insolent calls doubters +cowards and old women. My sword should +answer that taunt,” continued the grizzled +soldier, fiercely, “were it not for a bad example +at this time. Big Serpent, though +young in years, is as old in guile as the most +ancient wiseacre of his tribe. So I fear to +have thee go to visit Akbal now, <i>mon fils</i>, for +the chief’s brother is sure to be deep in any +mischief brewing.”</p> + +<p>“Better reason, then,” answered Jean, “to +make the venture. Time flies swiftly, and I, +surer than another, could go safely and might +find a clew to hidden danger. Yet ’tis hard +to break bread and play the spy.”</p> + +<p>Captain Vidal paced up and down, his +features working in doubt, as the new +thought forced its way to acceptance. He +looked wistfully at his only son. “And thou +wouldst go there and pit thy young wits +against the Indian’s devilish cunning? Well, +it may do! Akbal was ever thy sworn +brother and hunting comrade.” So it was +arranged without further words, but the +father’s convulsive hand-clasp, when Jean,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span> +in hunter’s buckskins, bade him good-bye at +sunrise next morning, proved how loath he +was.</p> + +<p>It was ten o’clock when Jean arrived in +White Apple, which was about fifteen miles +from Fort Rosalie. Eight miles lay through +the black muck of a swamp where even the +wariest foot and quickest eye found their +way with trouble. The foul morass into +which the river highlands sloped down on +the landward side gave the shortest road. +But its profusion of deadly reptile life wriggling +and hissing at every turn encompassed +the narrow path across the little knolls and +tussocks which give the only foot-grip, with +no slight peril to a blundering step. An +easier route meant nearly double the distance.</p> + +<p>Almost the first greeting was that of Akbal, +but his manner was distant. He knew of +Jean’s long absence, but he asked no questions +with the tongue, though his eye was +keenly curious.</p> + +<p>“I come to chase the buck with my friend +once more before the Natchez seek a new +hunting-ground,” said Jean.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span> +“Akbal not hunt to-day,” was the answer, +in broken French; “must listen to wisdom +of great chiefs in council. They meet even +now in the Temple of the Sun. Go; the +woods are full of deer and turkeys; but first +must eat, for Akbal’s friend much hungry +from his walk.”</p> + +<p>This hospitable dismissal discomfited Jean, +for it seemed to close the gates to further +knowledge. The breakfast of venison and +sweet maize got no seasoning of cheer in the +gloomy looks of the boyish chief. Through +the door of the lodge the young Frenchman +saw the lines of Natchez warriors stalking +through the streets towards the temple, while +not a sound arose in the village. All moved +as silently as if they were a marching troop +of phantoms. Akbal sat patiently as a +bronze statue, waiting his guest’s motion to +depart.</p> + +<p>In the centre of the village stood the temple—a +huge, round structure built of logs, +now wrinkled with years, and surmounted +with a cylindrical roof thatched with swamp-canes, +leaves, and Spanish-moss in an im<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span>pervious +mat. It rose twenty feet higher +than the tallest lodges, and from one side +extended an arched thick-set hedge, embowering +a long passage to the adjacent forest, +a quarter of a mile away. Here the priests +and medicine-men of the Sun were wont to +seclude themselves from the rest of the +tribe.</p> + +<p>The way to accomplish his quest suddenly +flashed on Jean’s mind. Once he parted +from Akbal, seemingly to plunge into the +forest, he could make his way to the exit of +the long, bowery avenue, and thence come +to the outside of the temple. There, it might +be, he could learn all he wished, though with +great peril to his life. So when the young +chief pressed his hand in a sad and silent +adieu, Jean, after a brief push into the tangled +brake, fetched a détour, and found himself +at the mouth of the passage. Through +its dusky green light he moved cautiously +forward to a coign of vantage. This he +found in the shrinkage of two ill-fitting logs, +which gave a space for seeing and hearing.</p> + +<p>In the centre of the temple, on a rude stone<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span> +altar, smoked the unquenched fire which +had never died since the natal spark had +flamed in a Mexican temple two hundred +years before. This half a dozen hideously +painted priests fed with fragrant barks and +gums. Around them five hundred warriors +squatted on the ground, and passed the +council-pipe, while the priests mumbled +and chanted, and a portion of the sacred +band drew forth soft and monotonous music +from long reed instruments. A rattlesnake, +coiled around the right arm of the chief +priest, swayed its crest with an undulating +motion to the cadences of the music, and +its bright eyes seemed to watch every motion +with malign intentness, as if it were the +guiding spirit of the council. The braves +wore no war-paint, for their expedition was +not meant to blazon its own purpose; but +their faces, so far as they could be seen +through the smoke, were distorted with such +ferocity and lust of blood that they could +dispense with the help of pigments. And so +the priests chanted, and the players played +their soft melody, and the high-priest stroked<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span> +his serpent’s hideous head as it curved and +swayed to the rhythm of the tune, while the +watching Jean was maddened by the delay +and the passage of time and opportunity. +At last, perhaps mindful of some signal from +the high-priest, the snake darted its full +length and struck with open mouth as if at +some enemy,<a name="FNanchor_C_3" id="FNanchor_C_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_C_3" class="fnanchor">[C]</a> Big Serpent arose from the +seated ranks.</p> + +<p>The Great Sun’s oration to his warriors, +spoken in the Indian tongue, was mostly +jargon to the listener, but he construed +enough of it to unravel the Natchez plot. +Under the guise of paying their tribute, they +would surprise the fort the next morning.</p> + +<p>Jean waited for nothing more, but withdrew +swiftly, and dashed into the forest. +To reach Fort Rosalie as quickly as possible +he took his way again through the noisome +swamp which formed so much of the short-cut<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span> +to the French post. He had found his way +well towards the heart of that place of gloom +and reptilian life. Inspection of every tuft +of grass and weed now made progress slow, +and Jean looked forward to a few moments +of rest on the hummock twenty feet off which +projected from the edge of a canebrake. +How lucky, he thought, that he had escaped +without detection! On top of this thought +came the shock of a challenge, which made +his heart leap.</p> + +<p>“<i>Halte, là!</i>” and the figure of Akbal pushed +through the reeds. His gun lay in the hollow +of one arm, and from the other hand dangled +a silver clasp with which Jean’s hunting-shirt +had been fastened, and which he had not +missed till this moment. It had been found +in the bowery lane near the temple.</p> + +<p>“Better Akbal than another Natchez bring +this back to his French brother,” he went on, +with a note of mockery in his voice. “Jan +Akbal’s prisoner; no hurt him; to-morrow +set free.”</p> + +<p>Quick as a flash Jean’s gun swung to his +shoulder.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span> +“Stand aside, Akbal, or I shoot you dead. +It must be that or pledge of free passage.”</p> + +<p>The two stood like duellists with levelled +weapons, waiting for the word, with stern +faces and flashing eyes. This was not the +time nor place to remember old comradeship +and the rite of blood-brotherhood which had +once been solemnized between them. That +rite swore them to an undying amity, as if +born of the same mother and they had tasted +the red drops hot from each other’s veins in +testimony. But all this was forgotten. To +Jean, Akbal was the barrier to prevent his +saving the garrison. To Akbal, Jean was +the agent bent on foiling his people’s revolt +from French oppression. But though their +fingers touched triggers, they did not press +them. Perhaps this hesitation would have +lasted but a second.</p> + +<p>But now Jean heard a whirring noise that +disturbed even his tense train of thinking +with a cold chill. He dashed his musket +butt at something, but it flecked him like a +giant whip-lash. A monstrous rattlesnake +had fastened its fangs deep in his thigh.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span> +Another duellist had stepped to the fore. +Akbal saw the snake spring, and was himself +almost as swift in leaping the interval. He +shook his head as he saw the enormous size +of the serpent, which was in the deadliest +season of its venom, wriggling with a broken +back.</p> + +<p>“Much bad bite, but try save Jean,” said +he, as he helped him across to the larger +hummock. Luckily Jean’s canteen was full +of brandy, and this he gulped down eagerly, +while the Indian cut away the buckskin from +his leg. Two needle-point punctures, to be +sure, seemed scarcely worth bothering about, +but with an apology, “Knife much hurt, but +good,” he plunged the keen-edged blade into +the flesh, cutting out the envenomed parts, +and followed it by applying his lips and +sucking at the wound for a full five minutes.</p> + +<p>“Fine weed sometimes cure snake-bite. +Big bush over there,” and he danced across +the bubbling marsh to a bog-oak with a thick +mass of green at its base. The swollen leg +and the pain which gnawed through the +drowsiness of the working venom told Akbal<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span> +that there was no time to be lost. Flint and +steel quickly struck fire, and steeping leaves +and roots he made hot tea and a poultice. So +the Indian nurse fought the terrible poison in +the veins of the patient all that afternoon +and all the night long in the firefly-lit darkness +of that evil swamp.</p> + +<p>The panther screams, which mingled harshly +with the subtler horror of things hissing and +splashing in the fetid pools, passed into the +dreams of Jean. Copper-colored fiends with +serpent heads storming the palisades of Fort +Rosalie and shrieking the Natchez war-whoop +sank their long curved fangs in the +body after the knife had rifled the head. +“<i>Mon père! mon père! sauve mon père!</i>” he +cried, in his agonized nightmare, and then +awoke, clutching Akbal’s arm in a sweat of +despair.</p> + +<p>“Jan better now, stronger; no more bad +dream,” said Akbal, who recognized signs of +coming strength; and indeed when daylight +struggled into the swamp the color of the +French boy’s face had got back its lusty red.</p> + +<p>“Come, come, we must hasten to the fort!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span> +I am myself once more,” and Jean stumbled +to his feet to fall back again with the sore +stiffness of his wounded thigh. Then he remembered +the meaning of Akbal’s presence +with a frown. The comrade-foe dragged the +heart out of that look with a word:</p> + +<p>“Go soon. Akbal no stop Jan now.” He +spoke with a proud sadness and submission +in his tone. The serpent omen had come +from the Sun God—not even that deadly bite +could stop the young Frenchman’s return, +and he himself had been but the instrument +of duty. So he carefully bound the sore leg, +and they started across the boggy waste, +Jean leaning on his arm and limping with a +determined step. It took long to traverse +that quaking and slippery road, and the sun +climbed up the sky, and Jean became half +crazed with anxiety, for his leg would only +do so much work, with all the help of a human +crutch.</p> + +<p>At last they emerged from the morass and +began to climb the upland, toiling on with +the fiercest energy of Jean’s tortured spirit. +Hark! that was the sound of cannon from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span> +the fort, and then they heard the faint crackling +of guns. “Too late!” half shrieked Jean +Vidal, and he sank on the ground with the +reaction, hopeless, helpless, and his face +streaming with tears of rage and grief. Akbal +dragged him to a sheltered place under +a bank, and leaped like a deer up the hill. +He believed in the sign of the Sun God, for +the rattlesnake was the totem of the Natchez +nation. He did not reason, in his simple, +superstitious loyalty, that he could have left +Jean to die of the serpent’s bite. He only +knew that he had been inspired to cure him. +Now he believed that the further mission of +salvation had been passed from Jean to him, +and the French blood in his veins warmed to +the dedication. The lives of the garrison +might yet be kept from the tomahawk and +the torture stake.</p> + +<p>The fort was already in the hands of the +Natchez when Akbal arrived on the bloody +scene. The murdering crew gathered to his +assembly whoop, with Big Serpent at their +head. He told the story of the supposed +miracle with fervent eloquence, and the lives<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span> +of those who had not already fallen in battle +were spared, including Captain Vidal, for +these bloodthirsty warriors of the Natchez +were pious in their way, and believed the +sign of the serpent. Jean Vidal, too, remembered +the stroke of that terrible fang with +something like superstitious gratitude. Had +it not been for that he and Akbal would +probably have slain each other where they +stood, and every Frenchman in the fort +would have been butchered or reserved for +a more fiendish death. As it was, Chopart +was the only one to suffer execution, and he +justly expiated the deeds of a cold-blooded +tyrant.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"> +<h3 class="smcap">Footnotes:</h3> +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_B_2" id="Footnote_B_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_2"><span class="label">[B]</span></a> Fort Rosalie, during the early years of the eighteenth +century one of the advance-posts of the Louisiana +colony, was built on the bluff where now stands +the beautiful city of Natchez. This whole region for +many miles up and down the river and inland was the +seat of the Natchez nation, originally a Toltec race +which had emigrated from Mexico shortly after the +Spanish conquest.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_C_3" id="Footnote_C_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_C_3"><span class="label">[C]</span></a> The rattlesnake was sacred to the Sun God of the +Natchez, and was made to play an important part in +their religious ceremonies, and the mummery which +entered, too, into their war councils. Something similar +exists in the rites of the Moqui Pueblos to-day—a race +supposed also to have been of Toltec origin.</p></div> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span></p> + +<h2><a name="XIV" id="XIV"></a>XIV<br /> +A DRUMMER OF WARBURTON’S<br /> +<i>How a Boy Held Fort George at Cape Canso, +in 1757</i></h2> + +<p>A few hours ago I found an odd-shaped +bit of blackened brass. +The thing lies before me now as +I write. It is a drum-hook. I +know this for the simple reason that I was +once a drummer-boy myself, and could not +be mistaken regarding such a familiar object. +I found this drum-hook among a lot of other +odds and ends at the bottom of a well in an +old, long-abandoned fortification. The poor +scrap of silent metal brings to mind the tale +of Rupert Haydon, drummer-boy in one of +the old line regiments. His deed of heroism +was performed at this same old fort which I +have to-day been ransacking. Perhaps this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span> +drum-hook was once used by him! It is not +at all unlikely.</p> + +<p>By turning to your map of North America +you can easily distinguish Cape Canso, at +the eastern extremity of the mainland of +Nova Scotia. Upon an island, about a mile +from the shore and forming with it the harbor +of Canso, is the grass-grown fortress which +I have mentioned. The name of the island +is George’s; the fort has had several high-sounding +titles. Why should it not? It is +old—older perhaps than others with claims +of easier proof. In 1518, over a century before +the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, legend +says that Baron de Lery threw up the first +embankments and claimed the country for +the crown of France. Several times this +fort has been besieged and captured, at +heavy loss of life. New England sent expeditions +against it. The bloodthirsty Indians +repeatedly raided the place. In 1745 +Pepperell and his valiant little army of +Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Connecticut +militia remained here for some weeks, +in order to acquire drill and discipline before<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span> +moving upon the boasted Louisburg. And +many another martial display has this neglected +old fort witnessed, and personages +celebrated in our history have walked within +its ramparts upon occasion.</p> + +<p>In the year 1757 Fort George, as it was +then called, had as its garrison a small detachment +from Colonel Warburton’s regiment of +foot. This trifling force was compelled to +watch over a wide extent of territory in addition +to the special place they occupied. +France and England were again at war, and +both regular expeditions and lawless guerillas +abounded.</p> + +<p>On a certain day in midsummer the garrison +embarked upon a small vessel and sailed +away to the relief of a threatened settlement. +Rupert Haydon, the drummer-boy, was left +in charge of the fort. With him were several +women, wives of soldiers, and their small +children.</p> + +<p>“We shall be gone but a week at most, +drummer,” Captain Peabody had announced. +“It suits me not to leave women and stores +so ill protected, but the commands of my<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span> +superiors must be obeyed. However, it is +scarce likely that the enemy will have knowledge +of the fort’s weakness in time to profit +thereby.”</p> + +<p>The drummer-boy stood at attention and +saluted as the soldiers marched out through +the covered way. With the aid of the women +he hoisted the drawbridge and closed the +massive timber gates. Then, scrambling up +on top of the parapet, he watched the little +sailing craft, her decks all bright with the +scarlet-coated warriors, pass out through the +narrow harbor entrance and disappear from +view around the first headland. Scarcely +had the transport so vanished, when Rupert’s +keen eyes discovered another vessel making +for the harbor from the opposite side.</p> + +<p>Mere supposition was useless. The newcomer +might prove to be a friend. If an +enemy, the chance of being let alone was +problematical. It was now too late to recall +the recently departed garrison. Upon the +drummer’s young shoulders lay the whole +burden of maintaining the dignity of the +English flag.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span> +Rupert Haydon was only a poorly educated +boy, but he must have had a great deal of +latent talent. Even while gazing in consternation +at the fast-approaching vessel, he +mentally mapped out a plan of campaign. +Hastily gathering the women about him, he +explained the matter to them, and secured +their aid. They were all well used to the +happening of the unexpected, and inured +to danger and fatigue. The wife of a British +soldier has never had an easy lot. These +rugged-looking though golden-hearted women +donned some uniforms left behind by their +husbands, and became, in outward appearance +at least, full-fledged soldiers. The six +small cannon mounted in the fort’s bastions +were loaded, small-arms served out, and +ammunition placed conveniently to hand. +One of the soldier-women mounted guard +upon the ramparts, and marched up and +down, in plain view, with musket upon +shoulder. The English ensign was, of course, +flying from the tall staff in the centre of the +redoubt.</p> + +<p>As the vessel drew nearer, the little garrison<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span> +began to bustle with activity, and continued +in the same fashion for some while. +Two of the soldier-women would come out +of the fort, stroll down to the shore, examine +the stranger with an apparently mild +curiosity, and then walk off together over +the hills. Meanwhile the others, including +Rupert, would come and go, disappearing +and reappearing in all directions with the aid +of the rocky ravines and clumps of trees upon +the island. The idea of all this was to convince +the new-comers, whoever they might +be, that the fort’s garrison remained unimpaired, +and took no special notice of a single +vessel. That the scheme had a certain effect +was shown in the fact that the stranger came +to anchor far down the harbor, well out of +range of Fort George’s cannon. It looked +very much as if the appearance of these +redcoats coming and going about the island +had impressed her commander unfavorably.</p> + +<p>After some delay the ship hoisted a French +ensign, and a small boat put off from her +side and headed for the fort landing. This +boat contained three men—two rowing, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span> +one in the stern holding aloft a piece of white +cloth. It was evidently a flag of truce, coming +to parley.</p> + +<p>Although his worst fears were now realized, +and they plainly had a formidable enemy to +deal with, Rupert never wavered, but proceeded +to dispose of his forces in the best +manner possible. Leaving only the sentry +upon the parapet, he marched out of the fort +at the head of the others, as if they merely +constituted a suitable escorting party. One +of the squad he had equipped beforehand +with a flag of truce similar to that carried +by the man in the boat. The drummer drew +up his little company in a single rank upon +the glacis, about half-way between the intrenchments +and the water’s edge. At such +a distance their disguises could not be discovered. +Alone he advanced to the border +of the pebble-strewn strand, and there awaited +the coming of the emissary.</p> + +<p>The latter was wary of approaching too +hastily. He bade his oarsmen back the +skiff stern first to within ten or fifteen yards +of the shore. Then he stopped them, and,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span> +while they kept the boat in position with +gentle strokes, he held converse with the +intrepid drummer by means of lusty +shoutings.</p> + +<p>“I wish to speak with your Commandant,” +began the stranger, using good English, +yet with a decided Gallic accent. “You +are only a child.... A drummer-boy?... +Am I not right?... I judged so by your small +stature and pretty coat.... Inform the Commandant +of your fort that I desire a few +words with him.”</p> + +<p>“It is impossible,” replied Rupert, coolly.</p> + +<p>“What? Impossible?”</p> + +<p>“Yes; I regret to say that the Commandant +will not be able to see you at present. But +I am his representative, and can also act as +your messenger if you have something of +importance to transmit.”</p> + +<p>“O-ho! We are very high and mighty, it +seems!” retorted the stranger, angrily. “Like +should have like for meals. I will not be +so civil as I first intended. Tell your Commandant +that my name is Rabentine—Captain +Rabentine. I have the honor of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span> +commanding <i>La Belle Cerise</i>, privateer, of +St. Malo.”</p> + +<p>“A French privateer!” ejaculated Rupert.</p> + +<p>“Just so,” went on Captain Rabentine, +looking from the drummer to his escort, up +at the fort, and back again to the drummer, +with some appearance of suspicion.</p> + +<p>“I had thought you were a navy frigate,” +rejoined Rupert, promptly. “We are getting +rusty for the want of a little fighting.”</p> + +<p>The other seemed slightly taken aback at +this statement.</p> + +<p>“Perhaps you may have such a chance even +yet,” he growled.</p> + +<p>“Well, Captain Rabentine,” cried the boy, +courteously, “what else am I to say to the +Commandant? For surely you took not all +this trouble merely to let us know whom our +visitor might be?”</p> + +<p>“Inform him,” shouted the privateer Captain, +waxing wroth, “that I had intended +simply to lay in harbor here and weather out +the coming gale. That a good prize-ship +is more to my liking than an empty fort! +Perhaps there might even have been a case<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span> +of rare wine sent ashore by way of compliment. +But as he chooses to be so distant, +and sends a drummer-boy as fitting ambassador +to a French Captain, I shall give +myself the pleasure of—But, pshaw! there +is no money in this for my owners. Inform +your Commandant that I have a mind to +anchor farther up the harbor, where the +shelter is good, for a few days. That I will +not molest him if he leaves me alone. There +you have it in a nutshell. Go, and haste +quickly with the answer.”</p> + +<p>Gravely turning on his heel the drummer +strode back up the hill, joined his waiting +escort, and marched with them to the fort. +He was gone upon this pretended mission +some little time; quite long enough further to +exasperate the privateer Captain.</p> + +<p>“Truly ’tis a matter of wonderful ceremony,” +he sneered, when Rupert, after repeating +the former precautionary measures +with his escort, was once more at speaking +distance. “All this folderol is wearisome. +Your Commandant may regret not having +sent an officer before we are through with the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span> +thing. Did you sufficiently impress him +with the fact that I am not one to be trifled +with? Does he realize that his garrison can +scarcely outnumber my crew? <i>La Belle +Cerise</i> carries one hundred and fifty-four as +natty sailors as ever swung boarding-pikes, +and at a pinch we can spare a round hundred +for landing-party and still have enough on +board to work our biggest guns. He should +be thankful that I show an inclination to +leave his puny fort untouched. What has +he to say?”</p> + +<p>“Our two nations being at war at the +present time,” announced the drummer, +guardedly, “I am to tell you that we can +offer no harbor unless you care to surrender +yourself and crew as prisoners, and your ship +as lawful prize. Failing this, you must—”</p> + +<p>“What? Zounds!” howled the easily excited +Frenchman. “Your Commandant may +think this good jesting, but I do not share his +opinions. Tell him to look to his defences. +The flag of France shall once more wave +above them. We will attack at once, and for +every poor fellow I lose in this worthless<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span> +assault, two of your survivors shall be strung +up to die. Give way, my boys!” he cried, +addressing his oarsmen.</p> + +<p>The boat sped off to the vessel. The +drummer and his little party returned within +the fort, and prepared as best they could for +what was to follow.</p> + +<p>Almost immediately after the arrival of the +privateer Captain on board his ship, three +great pinnaces were lowered to the water +and filled with men. The glitter from naked +cutlasses, inlaid pistols, and carefully held +muskets could easily be distinguished among +them. This flotilla was soon ready, and at +once started for the fort landing. Luckily +for the trivial band of defenders the wind was +increasing to such an extent that Captain +Rabentine did not consider it wise to attempt +manœuvring his ship in an unbuoyed and +dangerous harbor. Therefore the flotilla +was without any aid from the guns of <i>La +Belle Cerise</i>. Moreover, the waves were +commencing to run high, and the overloaded +boats labored heavily. It was necessary to +keep them headed to the seas as much as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span> +possible, and, in consequence, their progress +towards the shore was rendered extremely +slow.</p> + +<p>Rupert Haydon and his improvised garrison +were all ready. The loaded cannon were +trained as nearly as could be upon the approaching +boats. The women soldiers had +kissed their children a fond good-bye, and +shut them up in the bomb-proof magazine, +away from danger of flying projectiles.</p> + +<p>When the flotilla had arrived within easy +range, the young drummer commenced discharging +the battery as fast as he could pull +the lanyards. After him hurried the women, +reloading the heated cannon. The roar of +the discharge came re-echoing back from the +rocky cliffs repeated over and over again, +and the smoke-clouds temporarily hid the +fort from view.</p> + +<p>This unskilful volley went wide of the +mark, as was to be expected under the circumstances, +and yet inflicted great damage +upon the privateersmen. The thing came +about after the following fashion: Upon +the very beginning of the cannonade, the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span> +officer in command of the leading boat had +bade his rowers swing their craft directly +head on to the fort, thus presenting as small +a target as possible. Those in the second +boat, however, more intent upon watching +the course of the projectiles than anything +else, had not noticed this manœuvre, and so, +before anything could be done to prevent it, +came smashing against the other’s gunwale. +In the heavy sea then running this was +specially disastrous. The stricken boat had +her side stove in, and the on-comer was overturned. +Both crews quickly found themselves +struggling in the water. Well convinced +of the hopelessness of continuing their +present assault, the men in the remaining +pinnace confined their efforts to rescuing +drowning comrades and getting out of range +again as quickly as possible.</p> + +<p>The gale had now increased considerably, +and its gathering force gave promise of still +fiercer might. By the time the survivors +of the boat expedition had returned to their +ship the day was drawing close to twilight. +Captain Rabentine well realized his double<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span> +danger. Failing shelter, which could only +be found farther up the harbor, and in range +of the fort’s cannon, he must put to sea. He +was wild with anger at his repulse. What +would have been his condition of mind if +he had known that the defenders consisted +merely of a boy and a few women dressed in +soldier clothes?</p> + +<p>Hastily ordering the cable slipped, Captain +Rabentine saw to the spreading of some small +storm-sails, and tried to beat out of the inhospitable +harbor. But even here fortune +seemed to be against him. The full flood-tide +was running, and although <i>La Belle +Cerise</i> strutted bravely, she could make no +perceptible offing. The only road to safety +lay directly past the fort and out the other +entrance. The privateer Captain well knew +that one lucky shot might disable his ship, +and cause him to lose control over her. In +such a wind and upon such a coast this meant +almost certain death and destruction. But +it appeared to be his only chance, and he +had to take it.</p> + +<p>Down on the wind swept the privateer.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span> +Her decks were awash with foam. She +rolled and pitched like a mad thing. Her +guns were lashed fast to the deck ring-bolts. +It would have been suicidal to try to use +them in such a sea. The crew clung to +shrouds and railings, gazing ruefully upon +the nearing battlements which they had so +unsuccessfully attempted to assail. In a few +minutes they were almost abreast of the +green hill. Scarcely a hundred yards distant +were the grinning embrasures, from which +protruded the muzzles of cannon in plain +view.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 348px;"> +<a name="ROLLED_AND_PITCHED" id="ROLLED_AND_PITCHED"></a> +<img src="images/illus-204.jpg" width="348" height="500" alt="" title="" /> +<p class="caption">SHE ROLLED AND PITCHED LIKE A MAD THING</p> +</div> + +<p>Within the fort Rupert Haydon stood +ready, lanyard in hand. The guns had been +more carefully sighted this time, and he felt +sure that they could not all miss such a +monstrous mark. One pull upon the blackened +cord and the chances for a prosperous +voyage of <i>La Belle Cerise</i> of St. Malo would +be small. For a second he hesitated. Then +dropping the lanyard, cried:</p> + +<p>“No, no. It would be murder, not battle.”</p> + +<p>Seizing the white flag of truce that had already +been used in the preliminary negotiations,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span> +and leaping upon the parapet, he +waved it to and fro.</p> + +<p>The meaning was instantly comprehended +on board of the privateer. Not to be outdone +in courtesy, some sailors, at risk of life +and limb, scrambled aft to their own halyards. +As the ship swept by, the proud ensign +of France descended to the deck in +salute to the drummer-boy of Warburton’s. +Ere it was hoisted again, <i>La Belle Cerise</i> +was a receding speck upon the darkening, +storm-swept ocean.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span></p> + +<h2><a name="XV" id="XV"></a>XV<br /> +ROGERS’ RANGERS<br /> +<i>The Famous New Hampshire Scouts of the +Old French War</i></h2> + +<p>Rogers’ Rangers were a +famous partisan corps during the old +French War. Besides the regular +forces employed, there were +irregular or partisan bodies, composed of Canadian +French and their Indian allies on one +side, and English frontiersmen on the other. +They acted as scouts and rangers for either +army, guarding trains, procuring intelligence, +and intercepting supplies destined for the +enemy. Both were composed of picked men, +skilled in woodcraft, and excellent marksmen. +One of Rogers’ companies was composed +entirely of Indians in their native +costume.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span> +The Rangers were a body of hardy and +resolute young men, principally from New +Hampshire. They were accustomed to hunting +and inured to hardships, and from frequent +contact with the Indians they had +become familiar with their language and customs. +Every one of these rugged foresters +was a dead shot, and could hit an object the +size of a dollar at a hundred yards.</p> + +<p>There was no idleness in the Rangers’ +camp. They were obliged to be constantly +on the alert, and to keep a vigilant watch +upon the enemy. They made long and +fatiguing journeys into his country on snow-shoes +in midwinter in pursuit of his marauding +parties, often camping in the forest +without a fire, to avoid discovery, and without +other food than the game they had +killed on the march. On more than one +occasion they made prisoners of the French +sentinels at the very gates of Crown Point and +Ticonderoga, their strongholds. They were +the most formidable body of men ever employed +in Indian warfare, and were especially +dreaded by their French and Indian foes.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span> +It was in this school that Israel Putnam, +John Stark, and others were trained for +future usefulness in the struggle for American +Independence. Several British officers, attracted +by this exciting and hazardous as +well as novel method of campaigning, joined +as volunteers in some of their expeditions. +Among them was the young Lord Howe, who +during this tour of duty formed a strong +friendship for Stark and Putnam, both of +whom were with him when he fell at Ticonderoga +shortly afterwards.</p> + +<p>Major Robert Rogers, who raised and commanded +this celebrated corps, was a native +of Dunbarton, New Hampshire. Tall and +well proportioned, but rough in feature, he +was noted for strength and activity, and was +the leader in athletic sports, not only in his +own neighborhood, but for miles around.</p> + +<p>Rogers’ lieutenant was John Stark, afterwards +the hero of Bennington. When in his +twenty-fourth year Stark, while out with a +hunting-party, was captured by some St. +Francis Indians and taken to their village. +While here he had to run the gauntlet. For<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span> +this cruel sport the young warriors of the +tribe arranged themselves in two lines, each +armed with a rod or club to strike the captive +as he passed them, singing some provoking +words taught him for the occasion, +intended to stimulate their wrath against the +unfortunate victim.</p> + +<p>Eastman, one of Stark’s companions when +he was taken, was the first to run the gauntlet +and was terribly mauled. Stark’s turn came +next. Making a sudden rush, he knocked +down the nearest Indian, and wresting his +club from him, struck out right and left, +dealing such vigorous blows as he ran that +he made it extremely lively for the Indians, +without receiving much injury himself. This +feat greatly pleased the old Indians who were +looking on, and they laughed heartily at the +discomfiture of the young men.</p> + +<p>When the Indians directed him to hoe corn, +Stark cut up the young corn and flung his +hoe into the river, declaring that it was the +business of squaws and not of warriors. +Stark was at length ransomed by his friends +on payment of £100 to his captors.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span> +During the Revolutionary war Stark’s services +were rendered at the most critical moments, +and were of the highest value to his +country. At Bunker Hill he commanded +at the rail fence on the left of the redoubt, +holding the post long enough to insure the +safety of his overpowered and retreating +countrymen. At the capture of the Hessians +at Trenton he led the van of Sullivan’s division, +and at Bennington he struck the decisive +blow that paralyzed Burgoyne and +made his surrender inevitable.</p> + +<p>Skilful and brave as were the Rangers, +they were not always successful. The French +partisans, under good leaders, with their wily +and formidable Indian allies, well versed in +forest strategy, on one occasion inflicted dire +disaster upon them.</p> + +<p>Near Fort Ticonderoga, in the winter of +1757, Rogers with 180 men attacked and dispersed +a party of Indians, inflicting upon +them a severe loss. This, however, was but +a small part of the force which, under De la +Durantaye and De Langry, French officers +of reputation, were fully prepared to meet<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span> +the Rangers, of whose movements they had +been thoroughly informed beforehand. The +party Rogers had dispersed was simply a +decoy.</p> + +<p>The Rangers had thrown down their +packs, and were scattered in pursuit of the +flying savages, when they suddenly found +themselves confronted with the main body +of the enemy, by whom they were largely +outnumbered and of whose presence they +were wholly unsuspicious. Nearly fifty of +the Rangers fell at the first onslaught; the +remainder retreated to a position in which +they could make a stand. Here, under such +cover as the trees and rocks afforded, they +fought with their accustomed valor, and +more than once drove back their numerous +foes. Repeated attacks were made +upon them both in front and on either flank, +the enemy rallying after each repulse, and +manifesting a courage and determination +equal to those of the Rangers. So close was +the conflict that the opposing parties were +often intermingled, and in general were not +more than twenty yards asunder. The fight<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span> +was a series of duels, each combatant singling +out a particular foe—a common practice in +Indian fighting.</p> + +<p>This unequal contest had continued an +hour and a half, and the Rangers had lost +more than half their number. After doing +all that brave men could do, the remainder +retreated in the best manner possible, each +for himself. Several who were wounded or +fatigued were taken by the pursuing savages. +A singular circumstance about this battle +was that it was fought by both sides upon +snow-shoes.</p> + +<p>Rogers, closely pursued, made his escape +by outwitting the Indians who pressed upon +him—such at least is the tradition. The +precipitous cliffs near the northern end of +Lake George, since called Rogers’ Rock, has +on one side a sharp and steep descent hundreds +of feet to the lake. Gaining this point, +Rogers threw his rifle and other equipments +down the rocks. Then, unbuckling the straps +of his snow-shoes, and turning round, he +replaced them, the toes still pointing towards +the lake. This was the work of a moment.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span> +He then walked back in his tracks from the +edge of the cliff into the woods and disappeared +just as the Indians, sure of their +prey, reached the spot. To their amazement, +they saw two tracks towards the cliff, +none from it, and concluded that two Englishmen +had thrown themselves down the +precipice, preferring to be dashed to pieces +rather than be captured. Soon a rapidly +receding figure on the ice below attracted +their notice, and the baffled savages, seeing +that the redoubtable Ranger had safely effected +the perilous descent, gave up the chase, +fully believing him to be under the protection +of the Great Spirit.</p> + +<p>By a wonderful exercise of his athletic +powers, Rogers, availing himself of the projecting +branches of the trees which lined the +rocky ravines in his course, had succeeded +in swinging himself from the top to the +bottom of this precipitous cliff. It was +a fortunate escape for him, for if captured +he would surely have been burned +alive.</p> + +<p>In this unfortunate affair the Rangers had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span> +eight officers and one hundred men killed. +Their losses, however, were soon repaired, +and they continued to render efficient service +until the close of the war.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span></p> + +<h2><a name="XVI" id="XVI"></a>XVI<br /> +THE PLOT OF PONTIAC<br /> +<i>How Detroit was Saved in 1763</i></h2> + +<p>The long contest between England +and France for the right to rule +over North America, which lasted +seventy years, and inflicted untold +misery upon the hapless settlers on +the English frontier, was at last brought +to an end. England was victorious, and +in 1763 a treaty was made by which +France gave up Canada and all her Western +posts.</p> + +<p>With the exception of the Six Nations, the +Indian tribes had fought on the side of the +French, whose kind and generous course had +won their affection. But the claims to the +country which they and their forefathers +had always possessed were utterly disregarded<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span> +by both parties. Said an old chief +on one occasion:</p> + +<p>“The French claim all the land on one +side of the Ohio, and the English claim all +the land on the other side. Where, then, +are the lands of the Indian?”</p> + +<p>The final overthrow of the French left the +Indians to contend alone with the English, +who were steadily pushing them towards the +setting sun. Seeing this, and wishing to rid +his country of the hated pale-faces, who had +driven the red men from their homes, Pontiac, +the great leader of the Ottawas, determined—to +use his own words—“to drive the dogs +in red clothing” (the English soldiers) “into +the sea.”</p> + +<p>This renowned warrior, who had led the +Ottawas at the defeat of General Braddock, +was courageous, intelligent, and eloquent, +and was unmatched for craftiness. Besides +the kindred tribes of Ojibways, or Chippewas, +and Pottawattomies, whose villages were +with his own in the immediate vicinity of +Detroit, a number of other warlike tribes +agreed to join in the plot to overthrow the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span> +English. Pontiac refused to believe that +the French had given up the contest, and +relied upon their assistance also for the +success of his plan.</p> + +<p>All the English forts and garrisons beyond +the Alleghanies were to be destroyed on a +given day, and the defenceless frontier settlements +were also to be swept away.</p> + +<p>The capture of Detroit was to be the task +of Pontiac himself. This terrible plot came +very near succeeding. Nine of the twelve +military posts on the exposed frontier were +taken, and most of their defenders slaughtered, +and the outlying settlements of +Pennsylvania and Virginia were mercilessly destroyed.</p> + +<p>On the evening of May 6, 1763, Major +Gladwin, the commander at Detroit, received +secret information that an attempt +would be made next day to capture the fort +by treachery. The garrison was weak, the +defences feeble. Fearing an immediate attack, +the sentinels were doubled, and an +anxious watch was kept by Gladwin all that +night.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span> +The next morning Pontiac entered the +fort with sixty chosen warriors, each of whom +had concealed beneath his blanket a gun, +the barrel of which had been cut short. His +plan was to demand that a council be held, +and after delivering his speech to offer a +peace belt of wampum. This belt was worked +on one side with white and on the other +side with green beads. The reversal of the +belt from the white to the green side was to +be the signal of attack. The plot was well +laid, and would probably have succeeded +had it not been revealed to Gladwin.</p> + +<p>The savage throng, plumed and feathered +and besmeared with paint to make themselves +appear as hideous as possible, as their +custom is in time of war, had no sooner passed +the gateway than they saw that their plan +had failed. Soldiers and employés were all +armed and ready for action. Pontiac and +his warriors, however, moved on, betraying +no surprise, and entered the council-room, +where Gladwin and his officers, all well +armed, awaited them.</p> + +<p>“Why,” asked Pontiac, “do I see so many<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span> +of my father’s young men standing in the +street with their guns?”</p> + +<p>“To keep the young men to their duty, and +prevent idleness,” was the reply.</p> + +<p>The business of the council then began. +Pontiac’s speech was bold and threatening. +As the critical moment approached, and just +as he was on the point of presenting the belt, +and all was breathless expectation, Gladwin +gave a signal. The drums at the door of the +council suddenly rolled the charge, the clash +of arms was heard, and the officers present +drew their swords from their scabbards. +Pontiac was brave, but this decisive proof +that his plot was discovered completely disconcerted +him. He delivered the belt in the +usual manner, and without giving the expected +signal.</p> + +<p>Stepping forward, Gladwin then drew the +chief’s blanket aside, and disclosed the proof +of his treachery. The council then broke up. +The gates of the fort were again thrown open, +and the baffled savages were permitted to +depart.</p> + +<p>Stratagem having failed, an open attack<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span> +soon followed, but with no better success. +For months Pontiac tried every method in +his power to capture the fort, but as the +hunting-season approached, the disheartened +Indians gradually went away, and he was +compelled to give up the attempt.</p> + +<p>In the campaign that followed, two armies +were marched from different points into the +heart of the Indian country. Colonel Bradstreet, +on the north, passed up the lakes, and +penetrated the region beyond Detroit, while +on the south Colonel Bouquet advanced from +Fort Pitt into the Delaware and Shawnee +settlements of the Ohio Valley. The Indians +were completely overawed. Bouquet compelled +them to sue for peace, and to restore +all the captives that had been taken from +time to time during their wars with the whites.</p> + +<p>The return of these captives, many of whom +were supposed to be dead, and the reunion +of husbands and wives, parents and children, +and brothers and sisters, presented a scene of +thrilling interest. Some were overjoyed at +regaining their lost ones; others were heartbroken +on learning the sad fate of those dear<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span> +to them. What a pang pierced that mother’s +breast who recognized her child only to find +it clinging the more closely to its Indian +mother, her own claims wholly forgotten!</p> + +<p>Some of the children had lost all recollection +of their former home, and screamed and +resisted when handed over to their relatives. +Some of the young women had married Indian +husbands, and, with their children, were unwilling +to return to the settlements. Indeed, +several of them had become so strongly attached +to their Indian homes and mode of +life that after returning to their homes they +made their escape and returned to their +husbands’ wigwams.</p> + +<p>Even the Indians, who are educated to +repress all outward signs of emotion, could +not wholly conceal their sorrow at parting +with their adopted relatives and friends. +Cruel as the Indian is in his warfare, to his +captives who have been adopted into his +tribe he is uniformly kind, making no distinction +between them and those of his own +race. To those now restored they offered +furs and choice articles of food, and even<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span> +begged leave to follow the army home, that +they might hunt for the captives, and +supply them with better food than that +furnished to the soldiers. Indian women +filled the camp with their wailing and lamentation +both night and day.</p> + +<p>One old woman sought her daughter, who +had been carried off nine years before. She +discovered her, but the girl, who had almost +forgotten her native tongue, did not recognize +her, and the mother bitterly complained +that the child she had so often sung to sleep +had forgotten her in her old age. Bouquet, +whose humane instincts had been deeply +touched by this scene, suggested an experiment. +“Sing the song you used to sing +to her when a child,” said he. The mother +sang. The girl’s attention was instantly +fixed. A flood of tears proclaimed the +awakened memories, and the long-lost child +was restored to the mother’s arms.</p> + +<p id="end">THE END</p> + +<div id="advert"> +<h2 id="ad">STRANGE STORIES FROM HISTORY</h2> + +<p class="center">Each Post 8vo, Illustrated, with Introduction, 60 cents.</p> + +<p class="center">AMERICAN HISTORICAL FICTION FOR BOYS AND GIRLS</p> + +<p>These books tell thrilling stories of the personal life +and heroic deeds of Americans in the great struggles +of Colonial times, the Revolution, 1812, and 1861, +which have welded together and built up the American +nation. They are full of a close human interest and a +dramatic quality which cannot be imparted in compact +histories, although these tales are usually founded upon +actual historical events. They enlist and hold the attention +of readers, and they also clear the historical perspective +and convey lessons in courage and patriotism. +Mr. George Cary Eggleston’s successful “Strange Stories +from History” deals in part with heroes of other nations, +but these books, while similar to that in many respects, +tell of those whose gallant deeds gave us the America +of to-day.</p> + +<p>The following are the titles:</p> + +<p class="hang">STRANGE STORIES OF COLONIAL DAYS. By +<span class="smcap">Francis Sterne Palmer, Hezekiah Butterworth, +Francis S. Drake, G. T. Ferris, Rowan Stevens</span>, +and others.</p> + +<p class="hang">STRANGE STORIES OF THE REVOLUTION. By +<span class="smcap">Molly Elliot Seawell, Howard Pyle, Winthrop +Packard, Percival Ridsdale</span>, and others.</p> + +<p class="hang">STRANGE STORIES OF 1812. By <span class="smcap">W. J. Henderson, +James Barnes, S. G. W. Benjamin, Francis +Sterne Palmer</span>, and others.</p> + +<p class="hang">STRANGE STORIES OF THE CIVIL WAR. By +<span class="smcap">Robert Shackleton</span>, <span class="smcap">W. J. Henderson</span>, Capt. <span class="smcap">Howard +Patterson, U.S.N.</span>, <span class="smcap">L. E. Chittenden</span>, Gen. +<span class="smcap">G. A. Forsyth, U.S.A.</span>, and others.</p> +</div> + +<div id="tn"> +<h2>Transcriber’s Note:</h2> + +<p>Minor punctuation errors (e.g. periods instead of commas) have been +corrected without note. Inconsistent hyphenation and capitalization +have not been corrected.</p> + +<p>Illustrations have been moved to directly after the corresponding +paragraph. An advertisement has been removed from the beginning of the +book, as there is an identical one at the end, and a duplicate title +page has been removed from between the introduction and the beginning of +Chapter I.</p> + +<p>The following corrections were made to the text:</p> + +<p><a href="#Page_32">p. 32</a>: extra hyphen removed (Tommy-Five-Canoes to Tommy Five-Canoes)</p> + +<p><a href="#Page_152">p. 152</a>: Jar to Jaar (<i>Nieuw Jaar</i>)</p> + +<p><a href="#Page_159">p. 159</a>: He to he (he seized a silver bowl)</p> + +<p><a href="#Page_165">p. 165</a>: thout to thou (canst thou not me trust)</p> + +<p><a href="#Page_168">p. 166</a>: missing close quote added (“There was no fun in calling on a +parcel of old <i>vrouws</i>,”)</p> + +<p><a href="#Page_174">p. 174</a>: extra close quote removed (lash of the slave-whip.)</p> +</div> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Strange Stories of Colonial Days, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STRANGE STORIES OF COLONIAL DAYS *** + +***** This file should be named 34536-h.htm or 34536-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/4/5/3/34536/ + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, S.D., and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Strange Stories of Colonial Days + +Author: Various + +Release Date: December 1, 2010 [EBook #34536] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STRANGE STORIES OF COLONIAL DAYS *** + + + + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, S.D., and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + +[Illustration: [See page 43 + +HE MANAGED TO PULL HIM UP BEHIND] + + + + + STRANGE STORIES + + OF + + COLONIAL DAYS + + BY + + FRANCIS STERNE PALMER, G. T. FERRIS + HEZEKIAH BUTTERWORTH + FRANCIS S. DRAKE + ROWAN STEVENS + AND OTHERS + + ILLUSTRATED + + [Illustration] + + NEW YORK AND LONDON + HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS + + + Copyright, 1907, by Harper & Brothers. + + *** + + All rights reserved. + + Published May, 1907. + + + + +CONTENTS + + + I + THE CROWNING OF POWHATAN + Adventures in Early Indian History + By Francis S. Drake + + II + CORNELIS LABDEN'S LEAP + A Legend of 1645 Retold + By G. T. Ferris + + III + TOMMY TEN-CANOES + A Tale of King Philip's Scouts + By Hezekiah Butterworth + + IV + JONATHAN'S ESCAPE + A Young Hero of Hadley who Fought at Turner's + Falls in 1676 + By Robert H. Fuller + + V + THE CROWN OF AN AMERICAN QUEEN + In the Days of Bacon's Rebellion in Virginia + By Sally Nelson Robins + + VI + HOW A BLACKSMITH'S BOY BECAME A KNIGHT + The Treasure-hunt of William Phipps in the late + Seventeenth Century + By Paul Hull + + VII + THE GIRL CAPTAIN OF CASTLE DANGEROUS + How Three Children Fought the Iroquois in 1692 + By G. T. Lanigan + + VIII + HOW MARC WAS MADE CAPTAIN + A Rescue from the "Lords of the Woods" in 1695 + By Francis Sterne Palmer + + IX + CAPTAIN KIDD + An Overrated Pirate + By Rowan Stevens + + X + HOWARD THE BUCCANEER + A Captain of Many Ships + By Rowan Stevens + + XI + TEW, OF RHODE ISLAND + A Fighter from the Seas + By Rowan Stevens + + XII + THE VROUW VAN TWINKLE'S KRULLERS + A Story of Old New York + By Agnes Carr Sage + + XIII + THE SIGN OF THE SERPENT + A Story of Louisiana in the Early Eighteenth + Century + By G. T. Ferris + + XIV + A DRUMMER OF WARBURTON'S + How a Boy Held Fort George at Cape Canso, in + 1757 + By Percie W. Hart + + XV + ROGER'S RANGERS + The Famous New Hampshire Scouts of the Old + French War + By Francis S. Drake + + XVI + THE PLOT OF PONTIAC + How Detroit was Saved in 1763 + By Francis S. Drake + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + + HE MANAGED TO PULL HIM UP BEHIND Frontispiece + + "MEIN VROUW! MEIN GILDREN!" THE DUTCHMAN GROANED Facing p. 16 + + "GOOD-BYE, TOMMY FIVE-CANOES" " 32 + + THE THONGS WERE CUT " 92 + + HE PLUNDERED AND BURNED " 108 + + THE HELPLESS PIRATES WERE SWEPT BACK " 122 + + HE WAS KNOCKED OVERBOARD BY A PIKE-THRUST " 144 + + SHE ROLLED AND PITCHED LIKE A MAD THING " 204 + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +These pictures of Colonial life and adventure make up a panorama which +extends from Powhatan and John Smith, in the days of the Jamestown +colony, to Pontiac's attempt upon Detroit in the period which preceded +the Revolution. Here one may read stories which are strange indeed, of +King Philip's War in New England, of a Dutch hero's exploit on the +shores of Long Island Sound, of conflicts with the fierce Iroquois in +the North, of a young New Englander's successful treasure-hunt, and of +famous or infamous pirates of Colonial times. They carry the reader from +a boy's defence of Fort George in Nova Scotia to battle against the +Natchez at an advance post of the Louisiana colony. For the most part +these thrilling tales are in the form of fiction, but it is fiction +based upon historical incidents. The imaginative stories, and others +which are historical narratives, will, it is believed, illustrate many +unfamiliar dramas in Colonial life, and will help to give a clearer view +of the men and boys who fought and endured to clear the way for us upon +this continent. + + + + +STRANGE STORIES OF COLONIAL DAYS + + + + +I + +THE CROWNING OF POWHATAN + +Adventures in Early Indian History + + +The first European visitors to the shores of North America met with a +most friendly reception from the natives. Powhatan, the Indian Emperor +of Virginia, who ruled in savage state over twenty-six Indian nations, +on more than one occasion kept the Virginia colonists from starvation by +sending them corn when they were almost famished. To retain his +good-will a crown was sent over from England, and the Indian monarch was +crowned with as much ceremony as possible. A present from King James of +a basin and ewer, a bed, and some clothes was also brought to Jamestown, +but Powhatan refused to go there to receive it. + +"I also am a King, and gifts should be brought to me," said the proud +monarch of the Virginia woods. They were accordingly taken to him by the +colonists. + +The coronation was "a sad trouble," wrote Captain John Smith, but it had +its laughable side also, as we shall see. Custom required that the +Indian ruler should kneel. Only by bearing their whole weight upon his +shoulders could the English upon whom this duty devolved bring the chief +from an up-right position into one suitable to the occasion. By main +force he was made to kneel. + +The firing of a pistol as a signal for a volley from the boats in honor +of the event startled his copper-colored Majesty. Supposing himself +betrayed, Powhatan at once struck a defensive attitude, but was soon +reassured. The absurdity of the whole affair reached its climax when +Powhatan gave to the representatives of his royal brother in England +his old moccasins, the deer-skin he used as a blanket, and a few bushels +of corn in the ear. + + * * * * * + +On the New England coast the anger of the natives had been aroused by +the conduct of visiting sailors, who would persuade them to come on +board their ships, and then carry them off and sell them into slavery. + +One of these natives, named Epanow, "an Indian of goodly stature, +strong, and well proportioned," after being exhibited in London as a +curiosity, came into the service of Sir Ferdinand Gorges, Governor of +Plymouth. This gentleman was much interested in New England, and was +about fitting out a ship for a voyage to this country. + +The Indian soon found out that gold was the great object of the +Englishman's worship, and he was cunning enough to take advantage of the +fact. He assured Sir Ferdinand that in a certain place in his own +country gold was to be had in abundance. The Englishman believed him, +and Epanow sailed in Gorges's vessel to point out the whereabouts of +the supposed gold-mine. + +When the ship entered the harbor many of the natives came on board. +Epanow arranged with them a plan of escape, which was successfully +carried out the next morning. + +At the appointed time twenty canoes full of armed Indians came to within +a short distance of the ship. The captain invited them to come on board. +Epanow had been clothed in long garments, that he might the more easily +be laid hold of in case he attempted to escape, and he was also closely +guarded by three of Gorges's kinsmen. + +The critical moment arrived. Epanow suddenly freed himself from his +guards, and springing over the vessel's side, succeeded in reaching his +countrymen in safety, though many shots were fired after him by the +English. + +In this affair the European was completely outwitted by the ignorant +savage. Gorges was bitterly disappointed. Writing of it he says, "And +thus were my hopes of that particular voyage made void and frustrate." +And thus, we may add, the first gold-hunting expedition to the coast of +Maine "ended in smoke"--from the Englishmen's guns. + + * * * * * + +For many years after the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth the +relations of the English with the Massachusetts Indians were peaceful. +Only once was there any attempt to disturb them. To try the mettle of +the colonists, Canonicus, the powerful Narragansett chief, sent them by +a messenger a bundle of arrows wrapped in the skin of a snake--a +challenge to fight. Governor Bradford returned the skin filled with +powder and shot, with the message that if they had rather have war than +peace they might begin when they pleased, he was ready for them. This +prompt defiance impressed the chief. He would not receive the skin, and +wisely concluded to keep the peace. + + * * * * * + +What is known as King Philip's War broke out in 1675. Though it lasted +but little over a year, it was terribly destructive, and it carried +misery to many a hearth-stone. + +Philip of Pokanoket, the chief of the Wampanoags, had for years been +suspected of plotting against the English. He had resisted all their +efforts to convert his people to Christianity, and had told the +venerable apostle Eliot himself that he cared no more for the white +man's religion than for the buttons on his (Eliot's) coat. On another +occasion he refused to make a treaty with the Governor of Massachusetts, +sending him this answer: + +"Your Governor is but a subject of King Charles of England. I shall not +treat with a subject. I shall treat of peace only with the King, my +brother. When he comes, I am ready." + +On the morning of April 10, 1671, the meeting-house on Taunton Green +presented a scene of extraordinary interest. Seated on the benches upon +one side of the house were Philip and his warriors, and on the other +side were the white men. Both parties were equipped for battle. The +Indians looked as formidable as possible in their war-paint, their hair +"trimmed up in comb fashion," with their long bows and quivers of +arrows, and here and there a gun in the hands of those best skilled in +its use. The English wore the costume of Cromwell, with broad-brimmed +hats, cuirasses, long swords, and unwieldly guns. Each party looked at +the other with unconcealed hatred. + +The result of this conference was that the Indians agreed to give up all +their guns, and Philip, upon his part, also promised to send a yearly +tribute of five wolves' heads--"If he could get them." + +As the Indians had almost forgotten how to use their old weapons, the +taking of their fire-arms away was a serious grievance. Other causes of +enmity arose, and at last the war begun, which in its course caused the +destruction of thirteen towns and hundreds of valuable lives. + +Philip was joined by the Nipmucks, as the Indians of the interior were +called, and by the Narragansetts, whose stronghold was captured in the +winter of 1675-76. Here seven hundred of this hapless tribe perished by +fire or the sword. The death of Philip, in August, 1676, ended the war. +Many of the Indians fled to the west, and a large number died in slavery +in the West Indies. The power of the Indians of southern New England was +broken forever. + + * * * * * + +Captain Benjamin Church, a prominent actor in this war, was the most +celebrated Indian fighter of his day. One of his most remarkable feats +was the capture of Annawan, Philip's chief captain. Annawan often said +that he would never be taken by the English. + +Informed by a captured Indian where Annawan lay, Church, with only one +other Englishman and a few friendly Indians, succeeded in gaining the +rear of the Indian camp. + +The approach to this secluded spot was extremely difficult. It was +nearly dark when they reached it, and the Indians were preparing their +evening meal. A little apart from the others, and within easy reach of +the guns of the party, the chief and his son were reclining on the +ground. An old squaw was pounding corn in a mortar, the noise of which +prevented the discovery of Church's approach, as he and his companions +cautiously lowered themselves from rock to rock. They were preceded by +an old Indian and his daughter, whom they had captured, and who, with +their baskets at their backs, aided in concealing their approach. + +By these skilful tactics Church succeeded in placing himself between the +chief and the guns, seeing which, Annawan suddenly started up with the +cry, "Howoh!" ("I am taken.") Perceiving that he was surrounded, he made +no attempt to escape. + +After securing the arms, Church sent his Indian scouts among Annawan's +men to tell them that their chief was captured, and that Church with his +great army had entrapped them, and would cut them to pieces unless they +surrendered. This they accordingly did, and, on the promise of kind +treatment, gave up all their arms. This well-executed surprise was the +closing event of King Philip's War. + + + + +II + +CORNELIS LABDEN'S LEAP + +A Legend of 1645 Retold + + +The scene was only thirty miles from New York, on the shores of Long +Island Sound. At the time of which we write it was a sweep of dense +forest. + +Outside of the block-house, built where the Myanos River enters a bay of +the Sound, one September day in 1645 walked two elderly men, grizzled of +beard and soldierly in bearing. Broadswords swung from their cross-belts +and huge pistolets were stuck in their girdles. These were famous +fighting men in New England history, Daniel Patrick and John Underhill. +Bred to camps, they had chafed under Puritan laws, and had finally +deserted the older settlements. Indeed, Captain Patrick had been the +leader of the little colony which had made this beautiful place its +home. + +"I tell thee, John, I trust not the savage any longer. Ponus hath been +as surly as a bear with a sore head of late. I fear the Sagamore plots +evil." + +"Belike you are right, good Captain," said Underhill, "and we must match +craft with craft." + +"Rumor hath it, too," said Captain Patrick, with growing trouble on his +face, "that strange runners have been back and forth during the month at +the Sinoway village. We cannot look to our English friends for help, +since we signed the pact with his Excellency Governor Kieft, accepting +the rule of New Netherland. If an outbreak occurs, it must be from the +Manhattans that relief will come. But look! there rides Dutch Cornelis +with a bale of peltries to his crupper." + +Among a few Dutch who mingled with the English of the settlement was +Cornelis Labden, a bold hunter and trapper, who, unlike the rest of the +colonists, got his livelihood by the fur-trade. He sold his pelts at the +Dutch trading-post about seven miles west, just over the line which now +separates New York from Connecticut. Thither he was riding when accosted +by the two captains. Cornelis was noted for his daring and skill in +woodcraft, and had always lived on specially friendly terms with the +Indians, as was, indeed, his interest. His log house was built on the +brow of a great precipice of beetling rock one hundred feet or more in +height, in the heart of a gloomy forest two miles from the outskirts of +the settlement. The spot is still known as Labden's Rock, and the writer +has shot many a squirrel there in woods still solemn with deepest +shadow. Here Cornelis lived with his English wife and two children, Hans +and Anneke. + +"Well met, Cornelis," said Patrick. "We were holding counsel concerning +our Indian neighbors. What think you of their peaceful purpose?" + +The Dutchman shook his head. He was a man of few words. "Der outlook ist +pad, Cabdain. Dot yoong Gief Owenoke say to me toder day, 'Cornelis, +Indian's friend, bedder go 'way. Indian very angry at bale-faces.' +Owenoke's vader, Ponus, means misgief. But no tanger dill der snow +vlies. Der Indians, if dey addack, waid dill grops all in." + +"You are bound, I suppose, to Byram Fort with your peltries. Tarry +awhile, and carry me a letter for the Governor. I will write it +forthwith." Captain Patrick disappeared in the block-house, and wrote to +the Dutch Governor as follows: + + "_To his Excellency, Wilhelm Kieft, Governor-General of New + Netherland at New Amsterdam, greeting_: + + "This in haste:--Whereas it cometh to me with some surety that + the savages on our border plot an early outbreak, I would urge + that a company of musketeers be sent to the trading-post at + Byram to protect the outlying country. Thence sure help may + reach this settlement. Once the savages break loose they will + ravage the region for many miles with torch and tomahawk. I + would entreat your Excellency to act right speedily in this + affair. Cornelis Labden, who is well skilled in Indian + matters, bears this letter. + + "DANIEL PATRICK." + +It will be seen by this that Captain Patrick did not share the +confidence of Cornelis. But all the people were very busy afield at that +time gathering their crops, and they were loath to think that danger was +pressing. The women and children, however, were gathered every night in +the block-house. It may be that this measure of care on the part of the +settlers quickened the action of the Indians in the fear that their +purpose had been discovered. Within three days the outbreak came. The +forest was glowing with all the rich hues of autumn, when through its +arches burst at different points bands of naked warriors, painted with +as many colors as the leaves themselves, and yelling their shrill +war-whoops. Every colonist amid the yellowing corn-stalks of the fields +had his firelock close at hand. They all skirmished back through this +cover and across the rye and buckwheat stubble towards the block-house, +firing and loading as they ran. Yet several fell under the cloud of +arrows before the fugitives reached the little fort. The two captains, +each with a party of men, charged the savages fiercely on either flank +as they leaped into the open, and drove them back with heavy loss. The +settlers then withdrew behind the palisades, awaiting attack. + +The red besiegers, having exhausted their arts of attack and met with +heavy loss, for musket-balls told with terrible effect against flint +arrows, determined to starve out the little garrison. It was on the +morning of the third day that a rider galloped furiously from the west +to the bank of the Myanos, where the log bridge had been destroyed by +the Indians. Dutch Cornelis had ridden daringly through the midst of +them. A band of howling braves swarmed almost at his horse's tail. He +leaped his beast into the river amid the whizzing arrows, several of +which stung both steed and rider sharply. Captain Underhill, with a +score of colonists, sallied out from the palisades, driving the redskins +from their front and opening a heavy fire on those lining the opposite +bank. Under cover of this Cornelis landed safely. He had been sent on +from Byram to New Amsterdam with Patrick's letter, and it was only by +hard spurring that he had made such speed in return. He brought the good +news that even then a company of Dutch musketeers was on the march. + +The women and children trooped out of the block-house to hear the +tidings. Cornelis cast his eyes over them with agony stamped on his +usually stolid face. + +"Mein vrouw! mein gildren!" the Dutchman groaned. "What for you leave +dem to de mercy of de savage?" with a look of fierce reproach at the two +English captains. + +[Illustration: "MEIN VROUW! MEIN GILDREN!" THE DUTCHMAN GROANED] + +"Nay! nay! Cornelis, blame us not," they answered, almost in a breath. +"We were sharp beset. 'Twas not easy to gather in all the outlying +people in season. There be others as well not saved in the block. The +savage, too, is far more friendly to you than to us English. There's +right good hope that at the worst the lost are but captives." + +This cold comfort seemed to madden the bereaved man. Muttering to +himself in his own tongue, and darting wild looks around, as if his +brain were turned and he were about to run amuck, he suddenly sprang on +his horse, which panted there, fagged and dripping. + +"Oben der gate!" he shouted, in a tone so commanding that, though +several tried to seize his horse's head by the bit, fearing some act of +desperate folly, others unbarred the entrance. Cornelis dashed through +as swiftly as an Indian arrow. Two miles of clearing and forest lay +between him and his cabin. The way was thick with savages thirsting for +blood. Cornelis spurred on, numb to all sense of danger. The smoke even +yet curled from the embers of smouldering homesteads at every turn. But +he saw only one house in his mind's eye--that was a cabin perched in the +midst of a clearing on top of a great rock, with flames bursting from +its roof; he heard but one sound--the shrieking of wife and children in +their last peril. + +Perhaps it was the wild gestures of the rider, signalling as if to +unseen beings, the motions of a maniac, which barred any pursuit at the +outset, for the American Indian as well as the Mohammedan of the East +fancies the madman under the protection of God; perhaps it was that many +of the savages felt more kindly to Cornelis than to other whites. It was +not till he neared the base of the precipice, on the crest of which he +had built his home, that he saw six Indians on his track, leaping at a +pace which outran the strides of his weary horse. + +The Dutchman turned in his saddle, and his unerring aim dropped one of +the pursuers; then he urged his way amid the gloom of the great trees up +the hill. When he gained the clearing at the top he saw what had once +been his happy home, now only a pile of cold ashes and half-charred +logs. He had no time to search if by chance there might yet remain some +ghastly relic of those he had loved and lost. The red men were upon him, +running as fleetly as stag-hounds, for now they were on the level. + +They were sure of their prey. A triumphant whoop rang out. Tomahawks +whizzed through the air, one of them striking Cornelis in the shoulder, +as the savages pressed on at top speed. The white man laughed loud and +long with a laughter that filled the forest with shrill echoes, and +motioning to them as if he were their leader, leaped his horse from the +top of the terrible rock, crashing through the branches of trees down, +down a hundred feet. The human hounds so hot in the chase were going +with a rush which could not be stayed, and they too plunged to death in +the pathway of their victim. Cornelis escaped with broken limbs, though +his horse was killed, and all the Indians perished but one, who saved +himself by clutching at the limb of a tree. He fled and carried the +story to his tribe. + +With the coming of the Dutch soldiers the settlers were strong enough to +scatter their assailants. But most of the colonists, discouraged, +drifted away to the New Netherlands or to the more easterly settlements. +It was not till two years later that a force of Dutch and English +stormed the Sinoway village and crushed the power of the tribe, after +which the town was successfully settled. + + * * * * * + +Ten years have passed. The skill and toil of the whites have swept away +the scars of Indian warfare. Pleasant homes rise amid smiling fields of +maize and rye. One summer day, Cornelis Labden, a helpless cripple and +almost half-witted, sat on the porch of Captain Underhill's house, +smoking his long Dutch pipe and looking at the shining waters of the +Sound. Here or in the good Captain's hearth-corner he would doze and +mumble all day long summer and winter. An Indian youth, nearly grown, +walked up the lane and stood before this poor wreck of a man. Cornelis +shut his eyes, and waved him off as if to drive away some thought that +troubled his weak brain. + +"Lapten, me find Lapten," said the Indian, whose blue eyes and brown +hair were queerly amiss with the copper skin, the breech-clout, and the +moccasins of the savage. + +The sound of the voice stirred Cornelis strangely, and as if by some +instinct he spoke in Dutch. The lad listened eagerly, for the words +seemed to be half known to him, and he repeated them. Cornelis watched +him with an intent look, like the gaze of one just awakened from a long +sleep. He trembled, and for the first time in years intelligence burned +in his eyes. Without another word he led the Indian lad within and began +to rub the skin of his face with soap and water, and in a few moments +the clear white was shown. While he was thus engaged over the +unresisting youth, Captain Underhill entered. + +"Cabdain, Cabdain," said Cornelis, with a shaking voice, "mein Hans ist +goom back. Done ye know yer old vader, leedle Hans? Vare ist Anneke?" +And he threw his arms with a passion of sobs about the lad's neck. This +opened the gates of memory for father and son, and the identity was soon +made clear. In recovering his son, Dutch Cornelis had also regained his +reason. + +By gradual questioning, the facts were fully obtained as the +half-forgotten language of childhood came back. Hans and Anneke had been +carried off by strange Indians of the more northern tribes, who had +sent warriors to join in the Sinoway attack. The children had been +separated, and Anneke was lost forever. As Hans grew up, forgetting +much, he still remembered his father's name and his white blood. He had +finally escaped from his adopted tribe, and worked his way by a strange +series of accidents and guesses back to the place of his birth. Such, in +the main, is the legend of Labden's Rock. + + + + +III + +TOMMY TEN-CANOES + +A Tale of King Philip's Scout + + +There once lived in New York an Indian warrior by the name of Peter +Twenty-Canoes. Tommy Ten-Canoes lived in New England, at Pokanoket, near +Mount Hope, on an arm of the Mount Hope Bay. + +He was not a warrior, but a runner; not a great naval hero, as his +picturesque name might suggest, but a news agent, as it were; he used +his nimble feet and his ten canoes to bear messages to the Indians of +the villages of Pokanoket and to the Narragansetts, and, it may be, to +other friendly tribes. + +Pokanoket? You may have read Irving's sketch of Philip of Pokanoket, but +we doubt if you have in mind any clear idea of this beautiful region, +from whose clustering wigwams the curling smoke once rose among the +giant oaks along the many waterways. The former site of Pokanoket is now +covered by Bristol and Warren (Rhode Island) and Swansea +(Massachusetts). It is a place of bays and rivers, which were once rich +fishing-grounds; of shores full of shells and shellfish; of cool springs +and wild-grape vines; of bowery hills; and of meadows that were once +yellow with maize. + +Tommy Ten-Canoes was a great man in his day. As a news agent in peace he +was held in high honor, but as a scout in war and a runner for the great +chiefs he became a heroic figure. There were great osprey's nests all +about the shores of old Pokanoket on the ancient decayed trees, and +Tommy made a crown of osprey feathers, and crowned himself, with the +approval of the great Indian chiefs. + +Once when swimming with this crown of feathers on his head, he had been +shot at by an Englishman, who thought him some new and remarkable bird. +But while his crown was shattered, it was not the crown of his head. He +was very careful of both his crowns after that alarming event. + +Tommy Ten-Canoes was a brave man. He was ready to face any ordinary +danger for his old chief Massasoit, and for that chief's two sons, +Wamsutta (Alexander) and Pomebacen (Philip). He would cross the Mount +Hope or the Narragansett bay in tempestuous weather. He used to convey +the beautiful Queen Weetamoc from Pocassett to Mount Hope to attend +Philip's war-dances under the summer moons, and when the old Indian war +began he offered his two swift legs and all of his ten canoes to the +service of his chief. + +"Nipanset"--for this was his Indian name--"Nipanset's bosom is his +chief's, and it knows not fear. Nipanset fears not the storm or the foe, +or the gun of the pale-face. Call, call, O ye chiefs; in the hour of +danger call for Nipanset. Nipanset fears not death." + +So Tommy Ten-Canoes boasted at the great council under the moss-covered +cliff at Mount Hope. + +He was honest; but there was one thing that Nipanset, or Tommy +Ten-Canoes, did fear. It was enchantment. He would have faced torture or +death without a word, but everything mysterious filled him with terror. +If he had thought that a bush contained a hidden enemy and flintlock, he +would have been very brave; but had he thought that the same bush was +stirred by a spirit, or was enchanted, he would have run. + +Tommy Ten-Canoes had been friendly to the white people who had settled +in Pokanoket. There was a family by the name of Brown, who lived on +Cole's River, that he especially liked, and he became a companion of one +of the sons named James. The two were so often together that the people +used to speak of those who were very intimate as being "as _thick_ as +little James Brown and old Tommy Ten-Canoes," or rather as "Jemmie +Brown" and our young hero of the many birch boats. + +The two hunted and fished together; they made long journeys together; in +fact, they did everything in common, except work. Tommy did not work, +at least in the field, while James did at times, when he was not with +Tommy. + +When the Indian war began, King Philip sent word to the Brown family, +and also to the Cole family, who lived near them, both of whom had +treated him justly and generously, that he would do all in his power to +protect them, but that he might not be able to restrain his braves. + +Tommy Ten-Canoes brought a like friendly message to Jemmie Brown. + +"I will always be true to you," he said; "true as the north wind to the +river, the west wind to the sea, and the south wind to the flowers. +Nipanset's heart is true to his friends. Our hearts will see each other +again." + +The Indian torch swept the settlements. One of the bravest scouts in +these dark scenes was Tommy Ten-Canoes. He flew from place to place like +the wind, carrying news and spying out the enemy. + +Tommy grew proud over his title of "Ten-Canoes." He felt like ten +Tommies. He wore his crown of osprey feathers like a royal king. His +ten canoes ferried the painted Indians at night, and carried the chiefs +hither and thither. + +There was a grizzly old Boston Captain, who had done hard service on the +sea, named Moseley. He wore a wig, a thing that the Indians had never +seen, and of whose use they knew nothing at all. + +Tommy Ten-Canoes had never feared the white man nor the latter's +death-dealing weapons. He had never retreated; he had always been found +in front of the stealthy bands as they pursued the forest trails. But +his courage was at last put to a test of which he had never dreamed. + +Old Captain Moseley had led a company of trained soldiers against the +Indians from Boston. Tommy Ten-Canoes had discovered the movement, and +had prepared the Indians to meet it. Captain Moseley's company, which +consisted of one hundred men, had first marched to a place called Myles +Bridge in Swansea. Here was a garrison house in which lived Rev. John +Myles. The church was called Baptist, but people of all faiths were +welcome to it; among the latter, Marinus Willett, who afterwards became +the first Mayor of New York. It was the first church of the kind in +Massachusetts, and it still exists in Swansea. + +Over the glimmering waterways walled with dark oak woods came Tommy +Ten-Canoes, with five of his famous boats, and landed at a place near +the thrifty Baptist colony, so that his little navy might be at the +ready service of Philip. It was the last days of June. There had been an +eclipse of the moon on the night that Tommy Ten-Canoes had glided up the +Sowans River towards Myles Bridge. He thought the eclipse was meant for +him and his little boats, and he was a very proud and happy man. + +"The moon went out in the clear sky when we left the bay," said he; "so +shall our enemies be extinguished. The moon shone again on the calm +river. For whom did the moon shine again? For Nipanset." + +Poor Tommy Ten-Canoes! He was not the first hero of modern times who +has thought that the moon and stars were made for him and shone for him +on special occasions. + +In old Captain Moseley's company was a Jamaica pilot who had visited +Pokanoket and been presented to Tommy, and told that the latter was a +very renowned Indian. + +"_What_ are you?" asked the Pilot. + +"I am Tommy One-Canoe." + +"Ah!" + +"I am Tommy Two-Canoes." + +"Indeed! Ah!" + +"I am Tommy Three-Canoes." + +"Oh! Ah! Indeed!" + +"I am Tommy Four-Canoes, _and_ I am Tommy Five-Canoes, _and_ I am Tommy +Six-Canoes, _and_ I am Tommy TEN-Canoes." + +"Well, Tommy Ten-Canoes," said the Pilot, "don't you ever get into any +trouble with the white people, because you might find yourself merely +Tommy No-Canoes." + +Tommy was offended at this. He had no fears of such a fall from power, +however. + +The old Jamaica pilot had taken a boat and drifted down the Sowans +River one long June day, when he chanced to discover Tommy and his five +canoes. The canoes were hauled up on the shore under the cool trees +which overshadowed the water. The Pilot, who had with him three men, +rowed boldly to the shore and surprised Tommy Ten-Canoes, who had gone +into the wood, leaving his weapons in one of his canoes. + +The Pilot seized the canoe with the weapons and drew it from the shore. + +Tommy Ten-Canoes beheld the movement with astonishment. He called to the +old Pilot, "I am Tommy Ten-Canoes!" + +"No, no," answered the Pilot. "You are Tommy Nine-Canoes." + +Presently the Pilot drew from the shore another canoe. Tommy called +again: + +"Don't you know me? I am--" + +"Tommy Eight-Canoes," said the Pilot. + +Another boat was removed in like manner, and the Pilot shouted, "And now +you are Tommy Seven-Canoes." Another, and the Pilot called again, "Now +you are Tommy Six-Canoes." Another. "Good-bye, Tommy Five-Canoes," said +the Pilot, and he and his men drew all of the light canoes after them up +the river. + +[Illustration: "GOOD-BYE, TOMMY FIVE-CANOES"] + +Xerxes at Salamis could hardly have felt more crushed in heart than +Tommy Ten-Canoes. But hope revived; he was Tommy Five-Canoes still. He +was not quite so sure now, however, that the moon on that still June +night had been eclipsed expressly for him. + +The scene of the war now changed to the western border, as the towns of +Hadley and Deerfield were called, for these towns in that day were the +"great west," as afterwards was the Ohio Reserve. Tommy having lost five +of his canoes, now used his swift feet as a messenger. He still had +hopes of doing great deeds, else why had the moon been eclipsed on that +beautiful June night? + +But an event followed the loss of his five canoes that quite changed his +opinion. As a messenger or runner he had hurried to the scene of the +brutal conflicts on the border, and had there discovered that Captain +Moseley, the old Jamaica pirate, was subject to some spell of +enchantment; that he had two heads. + +"Ugh! ugh! him no good!" said one of the Indians to Tommy; "he take off +his head and put him in his pocket. It is no use to fight him. Spell set +on him--enchanted." + +Tommy Ten-Canoes' fear of the man with two heads, one of which he +sometimes took off and put in his pocket, spread among the Indians. One +day in a skirmish Tommy saw Moseley take off one of his enchanted heads +and hang it on a blueberry bush. Other Indians saw it. "No scalp him," +said they. "Run!" And run they did, not from the open foe, but from the +supposed head on the bush. Moseley did not dream at the time that it was +his wig that had given him the victory. + +Across the Mount Hope Bay, among the sunny headlands of Pocassett, there +was an immense cedar swamp, cool and dark, and in summer full of +fire-flies. Tommy Ten-Canoes called it the swamp of the fire-flies. It +was directly opposite Pokanoket, across the placid water. A band of +Indians gathered there, and covered their bodies with bushes, so that +they might not be discovered on the shore. + +One moonlight night in September Tommy went to visit these masked +Indians in four of his canoes. He rowed one of his canoes, and three +squaws the others. On reaching the fire-fly cedar swamp the party met +the masked Indians, and late at night retired to rest, the three Indian +squaws sleeping on the shore under their three canoes. + +Captain Moseley had sent the old Jamaica pilot to try to discover the +hiding-place of this mysterious band of Indians. The Pilot had seen the +four canoes crossing the bay from Pokanoket under the low September +moon, and had hurried with a dozen men to the place of landing. He +surprised the party early the next morning, when they were disarmed and +asleep. + +The crack of his musket rang out in the clear air over the bay. A naked +Indian was seen to leap up. + +"Stop! I am Tommy Ten-Canoes." + +"No, Tommy Five-Canoes," answered the Pilot; "and now you are only +Tommy Four-Canoes." Saying which, the Pilot seized the _sixth_ canoe. + +A shriek followed; another, and another. Three canoes hidden in the +river-weeds were overturned, and three Indian squaws were seen running +into the dark swamp. + +"And now you are Tommy Three-Canoes," said the Pilot, seizing the +seventh canoe. "And now Tommy Two-Canoes," seizing the eighth. + +"And only Tommy One-Canoe," taking possession of the ninth canoe. "And +now you are Tommy No-Canoes, as I told you you would be if you went to +war," said the Pilot, taking according to this odd reckoning the +Indian's last canoe. + +But Tommy had one canoe left, notwithstanding the dark Pilot had taken +his _tenth_. He was glad that it was not here. It would have been his +_eleventh_ canoe, although he had but ten. He knew that the Pilot was +one of Moseley's men, the Captain who put his head at times in his +pocket or hung it upon a bush. Poor Tommy Ten-Canoes! He uttered a +shriek, like the fugitive squaws, and fled. + +"Don't shoot at him," said the old Pilot to his men. "I have taken from +him all of his ten canoes; let him go." + +Tommy had not a mathematical mind or education, but he knew that somehow +he had no eleventh canoe, and that one of his ten canoes yet remained. +And even the old Pilot must have at last seen that his count of ten was +only nine. Tommy fled to a point on the Titicut River at which he could +swim across, and then made his solitary way back to the shores of +Pokanoket and to his remaining canoe, which did not belong to +mathematics. + +One morning late in September Tommy Ten-Canoes turned his solitary canoe +towards Cole's River, near which lived his boy friend, James Brown. He +paddled slowly, and late in the dreamy afternoon reached the shore +opposite the Brown farm. He landed and tied his one canoe to Jemmie +Brown's boat, in which the two had spent many happy hours before the +war. + +The canoe was found there the next day; but Tommy Ten-Canoes? He was +never seen again; he probably sought a grave in the waters of the bay. + +But he had fulfilled his promise. He had been true in his heart as "the +north wind to the river, the west wind to the sea, and the south wind to +the flowers." + + + + +IV + +JONATHAN'S ESCAPE + +A Young Hero of Hadley who Fought at Turner's Falls in 1676 + + +Though the Indians of New England were for many years vastly superior in +numbers to the white men, they were never wholly united, and their +cowardice and lack of discipline were weaknesses for which their +treachery and deceit could not compensate. The long conflict between the +races culminated in 1675 in King Philip's War, when the wily Wampanoag +sachem succeeded in forming a confederation, embracing nearly all the +New England tribes, for a final desperate struggle. + +It seemed for a time as though the combination might succeed. At the end +of the summer the scattered settlements, and especially those along the +Connecticut River, which formed the outposts of the colonies, were +panic-stricken. Everywhere the savage allies had been victorious. A +dozen towns had been attacked and burned, bands of soldiers had been cut +off, and isolated murders without number had been committed. Prowling +bands of Indians lurked about the stockaded towns, driving off cattle +and rendering impossible the cultivation of the fields, so that the +settlers were called upon to face starvation as well as the +scalping-knife and tomahawk. + +There was no meeting the Indians face to face, except by surprise. They +fought from ambush, or by sudden assault on unprotected points, and +would be gone before troops could be brought to the scene. The white men +were unable to follow them without Indian allies, and they were slow to +adapt themselves to the Indian mode of fighting. Flushed by their +success, the confederates became overconfident, and grew to despise +their clumsy opponents. In the spring of 1676 more than five thousand +of them were encamped on the Connecticut River, twenty miles north of +Hadley. Here they planted their corn and squashes, and amused themselves +with councils, ceremonies, and feasts, boasting of what they had done +and what they would do. They judged the white men by themselves, and did +not suspect the iron courage and stubborn determination that were urging +the people in the towns below them "to be out against the enemy." On the +night of May 18th they indulged in a great feast, and after it was over, +slept soundly in their bark lodges, all but the wary Philip, who, +scenting danger, had withdrawn across the river. + +On that same evening about two hundred and fifty men and boys gathered +in Hadley street. Of this number fifty-six were soldiers from the +garrisons of Hadley, Northampton, Springfield, Hatfield, and Westfield. +The rest were volunteers, among whom was Jonathan Wells, of Hadley, +sixteen years old, whose adventures and miraculous escape have been +preserved. + +The party was under the command of Captain William Turner, and the +expedition which it was about to undertake was inspired by a daring +amounting to rashness. The plan was to attack the Indian camp, which +contained four times their number of well-armed braves. Defeat meant +death, or captivity and torture worse than death. The march began after +nightfall so as not to attract the attention of the Indian scouts, and +the little band made its way safely through swamps and forests, past the +Indian outposts, and at daybreak arrived in the neighborhood of the +camp. Here the horses were left under a small guard among the trees, +while the men crept forward to the lodges of the enemy. + +The surprise was complete. The panic-stricken savages, crying that the +dreaded Mohawks were upon them, were shot down by scores, or, plunging +into the river, were swept over the falls which now bear Captain +Turner's name. The backbone of Philip's conspiracy was broken, and he +himself was driven to begin soon afterwards the hunted wanderings which +were to end in the fatal morass. + +But the attacking party, though victorious, was not yet out of danger. +It was still heavily outnumbered by the surviving Indians. While the +soldiers were destroying arms, ammunition, and food, or scattered in +pursuit of the fleeing enemy, the warriors rallied, and opened fire upon +them from under cover of the trees. Captain Turner became alarmed and +ordered a retreat. The main body hastily mounted and plunged into the +forest, seeking to shake off the cloud of savages who hung upon their +flanks like a swarm of angry bees. + +Young Jonathan was with a detachment of about twenty who were some +distance up the river when the retreat began. They ran back to the +horses and found their comrades gone. The Indians pressed upon them in +numbers they could not hope to withstand. It was every man for himself. +In the confusion the boy kept his wits about him, and managed to find +his horse. As he plunged forward under the branches three Indians +levelled their pieces and fired. One shot passed through his hair, +another struck his horse, and the third entered his thigh, splintering +the bone where it had been broken by a cart-wheel and never properly +healed. He reeled, and would have fallen had he not clutched the mane of +his horse. The Indians, seeing that he was wounded, pursued him, but he +pointed his gun at them, and held them at bay until he was out of their +reach. As he galloped on he heard a cry for help, and reining in his +horse, regardless of the danger which encompassed him, found Stephen +Belding, a boy of his own age, lying sorely wounded on the ground. He +managed to pull him up behind, and they rode double until they overtook +the party in advance. This brave act saved Belding's life. + +The retreat had become a rout. All was panic and dismay; but Jonathan +was unwilling to desert the comrades left behind. He sought out Captain +Turner, and begged him to halt and turn back to their relief. "It is +better to save some than to lose all," was the Captain's answer. The +confusion increased, and to add to it the guides became bewildered and +lost their way. "If you love your lives, follow me!" cried one. "If you +would see your homes again! follow me," shouted another, and the party +was soon split up into small bands. The one with which Jonathan found +himself became entangled in a swamp, where it was once more attacked by +the Indians. He escaped again, with ten others, who, finding that his +horse was going lame from his wound, and that he himself was weak from +loss of blood, left him with another wounded man and rode away. His +companion, thinking the boy's hurt worse than his own, concluded that he +would stand a better chance of getting clear alone, and riding off on +pretence of seeking the path, failed to return. Jonathan was now wholly +deserted. Wounded, ignorant even of the direction of his home, +surrounded by bloodthirsty Indians, and weak with hunger, he pushed +desperately on. He was near fainting once, when he heard some Indians +running about and whooping near by; but they did not discover him, and a +nutmeg which he had in his pocket revived him for a time. + +After straying some distance farther he swooned in good earnest, and +fell from his horse. When he came to he found that he had retained his +hold on the reins, and that the animal stood quietly beside him. He tied +him to a tree, and lay down again; but he soon grew so weak that he +abandoned all hope of escape, and out of pity loosed the horse and let +him go. He succeeded in kindling a fire by flashing powder in the pan of +his gun. It spread in the dry leaves and burned his hands and face +severely. Feeling sure that the Indians would be attracted by the smoke +and come and kill him, he threw away his powder-horn and bullets, +keeping only ammunition for a single shot. Then he stopped his wound +with tow, bound it up with his neckcloth, and went to sleep. + +In the morning he found that the bleeding had stopped and that he was +much stronger. He managed to find a path which led him to a river which +he remembered to have crossed on the way to the camp. With great pain +and difficulty, leaning on his gun, the lock of which he was careful to +keep dry, he waded through it, and fell exhausted on the farther bank. +While he lay there an Indian in a canoe appeared, and the boy, who could +neither fight nor run, gave himself up for lost. But he remembered the +three Indians in the woods, and putting a bold face on the matter, aimed +his gun, though its barrel was choked with sand. The savage, thinking he +was about to shoot, leaped overboard, leaving his own gun in the canoe, +and ran to tell his friends that the white men were coming again. + +Jonathan knew that pursuit was certain, and as it was broad daylight, +and he could only hobble at best, he assured himself that there was no +hope for him. Nevertheless he looked about for a hiding-place, and +presently, a little distance away, noticed two trees which, undermined +by the current, had fallen forward into the stream close together. A +mass of driftwood had lodged on their trunks. Jonathan got back into the +water so as to leave no tracks, and creeping between the trunks under +the driftwood, found a space large enough to permit him to breathe. In a +few minutes the Indians arrived in search of him, as he had expected. +They ransacked the whole neighborhood, even running out upon the mat of +driftwood over his head, and causing the trees to sink with their weight +so as to thrust his head under water; but they could find no trace of +him, and at last retired, completely outwitted. + +The boy limped on, tortured by hunger and thirst, and so giddy with +weakness that he could proceed but a short distance without stopping to +rest. Happily he saw no more of the Indians, and at last, on the third +day of his painful journey, he arrived at Hadley, where he was welcomed +as one risen from the dead. + +The story of his escape was told for years around the wide fireplaces +throughout the country-side, and was thought so remarkable that one who +heard it, unwilling that the record of so much coolness and courage +should be lost, wrote it down for future generations of boys to read. + + + + +V + +THE CROWN OF AN AMERICAN QUEEN + +In the Days of Bacon's Rebellion in Virginia + + +In the age when America was but a name and Virginia only a hamlet, there +was a dusky queen who wore a silver crown by order of his most sacred +Majesty King Charles II., King of England, Scotland, France, Ireland, +and Virginia. + +There are few distinct Indian personalities. Powhatan, Pocahontas, +Opechancanough, Totopotomoi and his wife, the Queen of the Pamunkeys, +are savage heroes who sentinel the seventeenth century; they all +belonged to the Pamunkey tribe of the great Powhatan Confederacy, the +most powerful Indian combination that ever existed. + +When the boisterous and heroic Nathaniel Bacon[A] was in the flush of +his wonderful success, and had brought his followers to Jamestown, he +demanded of the Governor redress for Indian depredations and outrages. +When the Assembly in council was sitting, the Queen of the Pamunkeys +came in, leading her son by the hand. She came to tell of grievances +also. She wore a dress of black and white wampum peake and a mantle of +deer-skin, "cut in a frenge" six inches from the outer edge. It fell +loosely from her shoulders to her feet. On her head was a crown of +"purple bead of shell, drilled." She was a beautiful woman, old +chronicles tell us, and she walked in with a proud but aggrieved +countenance. + +[A] Nathaniel Bacon, patriot, born in England, 1642; settled in + Gloucester County, Virginia, 1670; led an independent force + against hostile Indians in 1675-76 in spite of Governor + Berkeley's opposition; as the head of the republican movement + he came into open conflict with Berkeley and the royalists; he + captured and burned Jamestown in September, 1676; died the + following October; known as a rebel, but the principles for + which he fought were in the main those of independence and + patriotism. + +She sat down in the midst of the Assembly, listening eagerly to the +arguments for the suppression and, if need be, the extinction of her +race. And she remembered Totopotomoi bleeding for these people who would +not recognize her rights. She arose and made a speech in her own tongue, +eloquent with gesticulation; the refrain of it was a mad wail: +"Totopotomoi chepiak!" (_i.e._, Totopotomoi dead). + +Colonel Hill, the younger, touched a fellow-member on the shoulder, and +whispered: "What she says is true. Totopotomoi fought with my father, +and fell with his warriors." + +But the Assembly would not listen to the poor suffering Queen. They +wanted to fight more battles, and the Queen of the Pamunkeys must +furnish her quota. + +"How many men will you furnish?" asked Nathaniel Bacon. "How many will +you give to fight and subdue the treacherous tribes which threaten our +peace?" + +The Queen was silent. She remembered her husband and his slain braves. +She had fears for her son, and she would not speak. + +"How many?" asked Bacon. + +The poor Queen had her head turned away and bowed. + +"How many?" demanded the famous rebel again. + +Then she slowly turned her lovely face, and softly whispered, "Six." + +Her answer infuriated Bacon, who considered the number contemptible. +"How many more?" he asked. + +The Queen gave him a glance of indignant hate, and haughtily answered, +"Twelve." Then she gathered her robes about her, and majestically left +the room. + +Once more we see the Queen of the Pamunkeys, and now in fear and +adversity. Bacon in his campaign destroyed the Pamunkey settlement--the +same tribe which had so nobly assisted the English. + +The poor Queen, terrified, fled far into the forest, accompanied by +"onely a little Indian boy." Her old nurse followed her, but was +captured. Bacon ordered the old woman to guide him to a certain point, +but she, full of revenge, led him in an opposite direction, whereupon +the rebel ordered her to be knocked in the head. + +The Queen wandered about almost crazy, and at last determined to return +and throw herself upon Bacon's mercy; but as she was rushing towards her +desolated wigwam she came upon the body of her murdered nurse, which so +affrighted her that she ran back into the wilderness, where she remained +"fourteen daies without food, and would have perished but that she +gnawed on the legg of a terrapin which the little Indian boy brought +her." + +So only a few vivid sketches of this Queen are preserved to us in +history but they have gained for her a place as a martyr. In recognition +of her own and her husband's deeds, Charles II. bestowed upon her a +silver crown, with the lion of England, the lilies of France, and the +harp of Ireland engraved thereon. + +Savages are not averse to the baubles of civilization, and the crown +which their Queen wore was a blessed treasure to her tribe for a hundred +years after the Queen was dead. + +The Pamunkey tribe, or a pitiful remnant of them, still dwell in +Virginia, on the river which bears their name. They have a chief, and +their own government. Annually they send tribute of fish and game and +Indian handiwork to the Governor of Virginia. They are weakening +physically, and pray for new blood from the Western reservation. + +Once the tribe started for the West, carrying their best treasure, the +silver crown. They came to the plantation of Mr. Morson, at Falmouth, +and there bad weather and sickness made them halt. Mr. Morson attended +to their physical wants, and allowed them to pitch their tents upon his +land until their distress abated. + +"What do we owe you?" asked the chief, when they had decided to return +to their former Virginia reservation. + +"Nothing," said Mr. Morson. Perhaps he remembered Totopotomoi and his +sorrowing Queen. + +"Then we will give you what we value most," and the chief presented to +Mr. Morson the crown of the Queen of the Pamunkeys. For three +generations it remained in the Morson family, and then it was purchased +by the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. + +The crown is really a frontlet, and the Queen of the Pamunkeys wore it +upon her brow, surmounted by a red velvet cap, long since destroyed by +moths, and bound to her head by two silver chains. + + + + +VI + +HOW A BLACKSMITH'S BOY BECAME A KNIGHT + +The Treasure-hunt of William Phipps in the late Seventeenth Century + + +Sir William Phipps, Baronet; Captain in the Royal Navy; Captain-General +and Commander-in-Chief of Massachusetts Bay; Governor of Massachusetts. + +What do you think of all these titles for one man to wear? Surely, you +say, he must naturally have been a great man to deserve so much +distinction; and again you say that the conditions of his life must +account for such honors; that he must have been of gentle birth, reared +in luxury, his education carefully attended by excellent masters, and +great influence brought to bear upon his King to advance him so far on +the high-road of fame. Well, let us see if facts will sustain this +thought. + +William Phipps was born February 2, 1650, in a wretched log house on the +banks of the Kennebec River. His father, an honest but ignorant +blacksmith, was more dependent upon his rifle and fishing-line to supply +his family with food than upon the occasional shilling that found its +way into the smoke-begrimed interior of his rude workshop. + +Without education himself, the father was unable to instruct his +children beyond the simplest rules of arithmetic and the plainest +spelling and reading, but these he drilled them in as perseveringly as +he did in the terrifying religious catechism of that day. In the course +of years, when William developed into a robust, courageous lad, he +shared with his parents the duties of providing for his sisters and +brothers by either shouldering the heavy fire-arm and plunging into the +dark Maine forests in quest of game, or in taking his father's place and +beating out the iron sparks, while the sturdy smith dropped a +temptingly baited hook into the swiftly flowing stream. + +In the year 1676, in his twenty-seventh year, the hero of our story +received his parents' blessing, and left home for the purpose of seeking +his fortune. With a hopeful heart and an exceedingly light pocket, he +made his way to Boston, and found employment in the blacksmith-shop of +one Roger Spencer, whose pretty daughter Charity soon won the heart of +her father's handsome, stalwart helper. + +So far we fail to find very much in the way of gentle birth, luxury, +education, and influence. But then, you may ask, how, under such +circumstances, could he ever have risen so high? Let us follow his +career. + +His lack of worldly goods was made the excuse for refusing the offer of +his heart and hand that he made to the fair Puritan, and in the hope of +improving his fortunes he forsook the forge and shipped on board of a +merchant vessel to follow the adventurous life of a sailor. When saying +farewell, he gave his promise to return in a few years with money enough +to build a fair brick house for his lady-love in one of the green lanes +of Boston. + +The ship in which Phipps sailed carried a cargo to the island of +Jamaica, then cruised between that port and England for several voyages. +Owing to his industry and ability as a seaman, Phipps was after a time +advanced to the position of mate. A voyage or two following his +promotion he fell in with an old seaman who claimed to be the only +survivor of a Spanish vessel containing immense treasure that had been +wrecked on one of the coral islands in the West Indies some years +before. It appears that this treasure-ship had sailed from the coast of +South America, freighted with a cargo of silver which had been dug out +of the mines and cast into bricks to be conveyed to Spain. The sailor +assured Mr. Phipps that the exact location of the wreck was known to +him, and agreed, for a certain share of the profits, to conduct an +expedition to the place where the vessel had gone down. Believing the +story to be true, the mate bound the seaman to secrecy, and gave him a +berth on board his vessel. + +Upon arriving in London, application was made by him to the King for +permission and aid to fit out a ship for the purpose of recovering a +great treasure that had been lost by the sinking of a Spanish galleon in +the West Indies, claiming that he had accidentally learned the location +of the vessel, and that he would guarantee to secure the precious cargo. +After considerable delay a ship called the _Algier Rose_ was placed +under his command, and with a crew of ninety men he set sail. Upon +reaching the West Indies a mutiny broke out among the forecastle hands, +and Captain Phipps found it necessary to put into Jamaica, discharge all +hands, and ship a new company. He now started for the scene of the +wreck, but a day or two following the carpenter informed him that he had +overheard the sailors plot to capture the vessel as soon as the treasure +was recovered, and use the craft thereafter as a pirate. The Captain +immediately decided to return to England, where he arrived after a +stormy passage. Under the patronage of the Duke of Albemarle the ship +was refitted, and a trustworthy crew put on board. + +The second voyage across the Atlantic was pleasant and speedy, but just +after entering the Caribbean Sea a new danger threatened the +adventurers, for early one morning they encountered a large Spanish +frigate, which at once started in chase of them. Captain Phipps +addressed his crew, telling them that if they permitted their ship to be +captured they would be sent into the interior of the country as slaves, +to drag out their lives in the silver-mines. He bade them fight bravely +if they wished to enjoy home and freedom ever again. The superior speed +of the Spaniard soon enabled that vessel to open fire on the _Algier +Rose_, which so heartily returned the compliment that some of the +foreigner's spars were shot away, making her fall astern of her saucy +enemy, who now succeeded in escaping. Without further trouble the +treasure-hunters reached the island on whose treacherous coral reefs the +silver-ship had been wrecked. Here the _Algier Rose_ was safely moored, +and search commenced for the sunken wealth. + +The small boats were used to explore the reefs, and served as platforms +from which the best swimmers in the crew would dive into the channels +between the walls of coral on the lee side of the island, endeavoring to +locate the spot where the galleon had been carried before she struck. As +the water in these places seldom exceeded twenty feet in depth, the +bottom would have been plainly visible from the boat had it not been for +the continuous rippling and foaming of the surface water. Several weeks +were passed in a vain pursuit, and at last, worn out and discouraged, +the men positively refused to continue the work. By agreeing to abandon +the enterprise and set sail for England at the end of another week, +unless some success was met with, the Captain prevailed upon several of +his seamen to aid him for that length of time. + +Day after day went by, and the seventh and last day specified in the +agreement arrived. Two of the divers had broken down under the strain, +and now when the final trial was to be made the Captain called for two +men to go in their stead, but no one responded. He then appealed to +their manhood, asked them if he had not shared all their labors, and +asked them to give him but one day more. The dispirited sailors made no +response to the appeal, but the cook volunteered to go if some one would +take his place in the galley. This man was a negro about thirty years of +age, and had been shipped in England to act as a cabin servant on the +_Algier Rose_, but the ship's cook having died on the passage out, he +had been sent into the caboose to take the former's place. Possessing a +powerful physique and being an excellent swimmer, he stood by his +Captain that day, the sole remaining hope, and seemed tireless in his +efforts to find for the disheartened commander some evidence of the +treasure, which the seamen swore existed only in the capsized brain of +the man whom they could see out yonder under the broiling sun guiding +the boat in and out of the channels, while the laughing, leaping waters +tinkled against the bows and ran in gurgling, mocking glee along the +side. The negro would dive into the sea, and a few moments later +reappear; then, as he swam towards the boat, he would shake his head in +answer to the anxious, questioning look in the Captain's eyes. The boat +would move on again a short distance, and while the rowers held it +stationary a dark form would part the water and sink down and down among +the startled fishes, that flashed away in affright from the strange +creature whose darting arms seemed to grasp at them as they shot for +safety among the branches of coral underbush. + +The morning has passed gloomily away, and the negro plunges over the +side for the last time before the men row back to the ship for dinner. +Suddenly a black face in which is set two wildly rolling eyes bobs up +alongside the boat, and a voice choking for breath and broken with +excitement manages to gasp, "Him down thar, Massa Cap'n; him down thar!" + +The great treasure is discovered! + +No more despondency now. No more aching limbs. Splash, splash, splash! +The rowers have torn off their scanty clothing, and jumped over the +side to prove with their own eyes the story brought up to them from the +bottom of the sea. One by one men reappear, and their recovered breath +is used to send such a glad shout across the reefs that their shipmates +hear it over a mile away, tumble into the boats alongside, and pull +madly out to them; then learning the joyful news, they break into +cheers, kick off their garments, and overboard they also go to see the +ingots of silver scattered over the white sand amid the torn and broken +remnants of the wreck. + +During the two weeks that followed the crew of the _Algier Rose_ worked +zealously at recovering the wealth that the Spaniards had taken such +pains to garner from the mountain range just back of the coast. A +shallow net-work bag was hitched together by the seamen for the purpose +of holding the bars of silver that the divers would throw into it. Those +manning the float that had been constructed would lower the rope cradle +until it rested on the bottom; then the diver would thrust his feet +into a pair of heavy lead slippers and drop through the hole in the +centre of the raft which was anchored above the wreck. An instant later, +when the bed of sand was reached, the diver would quickly select and +throw a brick of metal into the basket, drop his clumsy foot-gear into +the same receptacle, and then, relieved of the weight which had held him +down, he would shoot up to the surface of the water. Accepting his +reappearance as a signal, the men on the float would haul up the net, +lift out the treasure, and pass it into the small boats to be carried to +the ship. At the end of a fortnight, when the divers reported that the +last bar had been gathered, the Captain calculated that he had recovered +fully thirty tons of pure silver. + +The stone in the lower hold was thrown overboard to make room for the +noble ballast, which was carefully stowed and wedged in its mean and +gloomy quarters under the decks. The _Algier Rose_ now sailed for +England, where she arrived safely five weeks from the day that her +anchor had been hove up from its resting-place on the white coral bed +off the treasure island. + +Captain Phipps's share of the profits was very large, but the exact +amount is unknown. In addition to a princely revenue, the King was so +much pleased with him for bringing such wealth into the country that he +conferred on him the honor of knighthood, and to reward him still +further for having beaten off the Spanish man-of-war, his Majesty was +pleased to grant him a commission as Captain in the Royal Navy. + +Sir William soon sailed for Boston in command of a fine frigate, and a +reunion with the now-envied Charity was speedily followed by the tying +of a true-lover's knot before the altar of the old meeting-house near +the fort. A few months later the former blacksmith's boy redeemed his +promise by presenting to my lady "a fair brick house in one of the green +lanes of Boston." This residence, which was erected on Salem Street, +stood until a few years ago, being last used as an orphan asylum for +boys. In 1690 Sir William was named by the King, Captain-General and +Commander-in-Chief of Massachusetts Bay, and several years later +received a royal patent as Governor of Massachusetts. + + + + +VII + +THE GIRL CAPTAIN OF CASTLE DANGEROUS + +How Three Children Fought the Iroquois in 1692 + + +Among all the incidents of endurance and pluck set forth in the annals +of the history of North America, few can be found more remarkable than +that which is contained in some very dusty pages to be read in quaint +French in a Paris library, or in the transcription of them by one of our +own historical authors--the "Statement of Mademoiselle Magdeleine de +Vercheres, aged Fourteen Years," daughter of the commander of a lonely +French fort, called after her father, which stood on the St. Lawrence +River a score of miles below Montreal. + +It was October 22, 1692. The strong fort enclosure, stockade and +block-house, were open, and the residents were at work in their fields +at some distance. M. de Vercheres was at Quebec on military business. +His wife (who was the heroine of another famous incident of those +perilous days) had gone to Quebec. In the stockade were actually only +two soldiers, a couple of lads who were the young girl's brothers, one +very aged man, and a few women and children. Magdeleine--or, as we +should now spell it, Madeleine--was standing at a considerable distance +from the open gate of the fort with a servant, little suspecting any +danger. + +All at once a rattle of arms from the direction where some of the +agriculturists were busy startled her. It was repeated. She began to see +men running in terror in the far-away fields. At the same moment the +serving-man beside her, equally astonished, exclaimed, "Run, +Mademoiselle, run; the Iroquois are upon us!" The young girl looked +where he pointed, and lo! a troop of some forty or fifty of the wily +savages, thinking to surprise the stockade while their main band +attacked those who were outside, were running towards the gates, +scarcely a hundred yards from where she stood trembling. There was not +an instant to lose. It was life or death for her and all. She fled for +the fort. The rest of her story can largely be quoted from Mademoiselle +Madeleine's own recitation, published at the time. + +"The Iroquois who chased me, seeing that they could not catch me alive +before I reached the gate, stopped and fired at me. The bullets whistled +about my ears, and [as she says, dryly] made the time seem very long. As +soon as I was near enough to be heard, I cried out, 'To arms! to arms!' +hoping that somebody would come out and help me, but it was no use. The +two soldiers in the fort were so terrified that they had hidden within +the block-house. + +"At the gate I found two women crying for their husbands, who had just +been killed. I forced them to go in and shut the gate. I next thought +what I could do to save myself and the few people with me. I went to +inspect the fort, and found that several palisades had fallen down and +left openings by which the enemy could easily get in. I ordered them to +be set up again, and helped to carry them myself." + +It may be asked how there was sufficient time for this necessary work. +But it must be remembered that the Indians seldom came directly to the +stockade in daylight, dreading concealed defenders greatly, and in the +present instance they were ignorant of the singularly unprotected state +of this fort. So the brave little girl was able to prepare for the worst +with all her wonderful presence of mind and courage. She continues: + +"When all the breaches were stopped, I went to the block-house, where +the ammunition is kept, and here I found the two soldiers, one hiding in +a corner, and the other with a lighted match in his hand. 'What are you +going to do with that match?' I asked. He answered, 'Set off the powder +and blow us all up!' 'You are a miserable coward,' said I. 'Go out of +this place!' I spoke so resolutely that he obeyed. I then threw off my +bonnet, and after putting on a hat and taking a gun I said to my +brothers: 'Let us fight to the death. We are fighting for our country +and our religion. Remember that our father has taught you that gentlemen +are born to shed their blood for the service of God and the King.'" + +Getting her little company together in the stockade, and discovering the +Iroquois moving about the fields, and either pursuing the unfortunate +men and women in them, or else discussing the best means of advancing, +Madeleine began firing at them from various loop-holes, and directed a +cannon to be discharged to deter them from coming nearer, and at the +same time to spread the alarm over the vicinity. The women and children +shrieked and clamored. She made them be silent, for fear of letting the +redskins suspect the situation. The foe drew back and remained quiet for +a time, and as they did this a canoe with several persons in it was seen +out upon the river coming swiftly to the dock near the fort. It was +evident that those in it did not suspect the danger that was so near, +whatever else they had heard. It was possible to save them from +slaughter, and at the same time add the settler she recognized in the +canoe, with his family, to the little garrison. Madeleine went out +alone--none other dared--from the stockade to the dock, and received +them. + +The Indians, seeing only a little girl meet the new arrivals, feared a +grand sortie if they dashed out of their ambush, and allowed Madeleine +to escort the new-comers--a settler named Fontaine and his party--into +the fort gates unhurt. She had hoped for this, and was overjoyed at her +success. Her garrison now numbered six. She goes on: + +"Strengthened by this reinforcement, I ordered that the enemy should be +fired on whenever they showed themselves. After sunset a violent +northeast wind began to blow, accompanied by snow and hail, which told +us we should have a terrible night. The Iroquois were all this time +lurking about us, and I judged by their movements that, instead of being +deterred by the storm, they would climb into the fort under cover of the +darkness. I assembled all my troop (that is to say, six persons), and +spoke to them thus: 'God has saved us to-day from the hands of our +foes, but we must take care not to fall into their snares to-night. As +for me, I want you to see that I am not afraid. I will take charge of +the fort, with the old man [she adds that he was eighty, and had never +fired a gun, but he could probably carry an alarm]; and you, Pierre +Fontaine, with La Bonte and Gachet, go to the block-house with the women +and children, because that is the strongest place; and if I am taken, +don't surrender, even if I am cut to pieces and burned before your eyes. +The enemy cannot hurt you in the block-house, if you make the least show +of fight.' + +"I placed my young brothers on two of the bastions, the old man on the +third, and I took the fourth; and all night, in spite of wind, snow, and +hail, the cries of 'All's well!' were kept up from the block-house to +the fort, and from the fort to the block-house. One would have thought +that the place was full of soldiers. The Iroquois believed so, and were +completely deceived, as they confessed afterwards to M. de Callieres, to +whom they told that they had held a council to make a plan for +capturing the fort in the night, but had done nothing because such a +constant watch was kept. + +"About one o'clock in the morning the sentinel [the old man] on the +bastion by the gate called out, 'Mademoiselle, I hear something!' I went +to him to find out what it was, and by the help of the snow which +covered the ground I could see in the darkness a number of cattle, the +miserable remnant that the Iroquois had left us. The others wanted to +open the gate and let them in, but I answered: 'No. You don't know all +the tricks of the savages. They are, no doubt, following the cattle, +covered with skins of such animals, so as to get into the fort if we are +foolish enough to open the gate for them.' Nevertheless, after taking +every precaution, I decided that we might open it without risk. + +"At last the daylight came again, and as the darkness disappeared our +anxieties seemed to disappear with it. Everybody took courage excepting +Madame Marguerite, wife of the Sieur Fontaine, who, being extremely +timid, as all Parisian women are, asked her husband to carry her to +another fort. [A silly request, certainly.] He said, 'I will never +abandon this fort while Mademoiselle Madeleine is here.' I answered him +that I would rather die than give it up to the enemy, and that it was of +the greatest importance that they should never get possession of any +French fort, because if they took _one_ they would think they could get +others, and would grow more bold and presumptuous than ever. + +"I may say, with truth, that I did not eat nor sleep for twice +twenty-four hours. I did not go once into my father's house, but kept +always on the bastion, or went to the block-house to see how the people +there were behaving. I always kept a cheerful and smiling face, and +encouraged my little company with the hope of speedy succor. + +"We were one week in constant alarm, with the enemy always about us. At +last M. de la Monnerie, a lieutenant sent by M. de Callieres, arrived in +the night with forty men. [He came down the river.] As he did not know +whether the fort was taken or not, he approached as silently as +possible. One of our sentinels, hearing a slight sound, cried, 'Who goes +there?' I was at the time dozing, with my head on a table and my gun +lying across my arms. The sentinel told me that he heard a voice from +the river. I went up at once to the bastion to see whether it was of +Indians or Frenchmen. I demanded, 'Who goes there?' One of them replied, +'We are Frenchmen; it is De la Monnerie, come to bring you help.' I +caused the gate to be opened, placed a sentinel there, and went down to +the river to meet them. As soon as I saw M. de la Monnerie I saluted him +and said, 'Monsieur, I resign my arms to you.' He answered, gallantly, +'Mademoiselle, they are in good hands.' 'Better than you suppose,' I +returned. He inspected the fort and found everything in order and a +sentinel on each bastion. 'It is time to relieve them, monsieur,' said +I; 'we have not been off our bastions for a week.'" + +M. de la Monnerie in astonished admiration took charge of the relieved +fort. The heroine's work was over. The savages fled, and not long after +they were captured near Lake Champlain, and some twenty persons they had +made prisoners at Vercheres were brought safely back. The father and +mother of Madeleine came from Montreal and Quebec, and heard the story +of her valor and coolness with rapturous praise. She grew up to be a +woman, receiving for her life a pension from the King of France as a +mark of honor, and she died at an advanced age. + + + + +VIII + +HOW MARC WAS MADE CAPTAIN + +A Rescue from the "Lords of the Woods" in 1695 + + +One evening in the winter of 1694-95 a dozen young men were lounging +around the fire in the big room of the storehouse at St. Maxime, a small +settlement on the St. Lawrence River. The door opened and two others +entered, brushing the snow from their leggings and moccasins. + +"What luck with your traps?" cried one of the loungers. + +"An otter and eight beaver," answered Noel Duroc, as he tossed a pack of +pelts into the corner. He was a tall, straight young Frenchman, whose +gay and careless nature looked out frankly through a pair of laughing +black eyes. "But come, Madame Bouvier," he cried to the store-keeper's +wife, "give us something to eat; hot, and plenty of it--eh, Philippe! If +you want news, there's more than news of traps--it's of the Iroquois. +'Tis said they're ready for a raid to the north--to make glad the hearts +of their good friends the Algonquins and the French. So our old bear of +a seigneur may do some hugging. But to-night he has other things to +think of. Marc is home--came up along the river from Quebec to-day." + +"Is he as much of a monk as 'twas said he would be?" asked Jean Bourdo. +"You know the old seigneur swears he will have no monk's scholar around +him--though he were twice his nephew." + +"We have just seen Marc, and, trust me, he is the same jolly lad he was +two years ago. You can make no grave-faced monk of him! But the old +seigneur thinks him surely spoiled. 'Twere better Marc had not seen the +monastery--not that I lack as a churchman; what would we do at St. +Maxime were it not for our good Father Auguste, who taught us when we +were boys, and keeps us straight now that we are men?--for if he had +stayed here he would doubtless be our captain--a post worth having, now +that the Iroquois are like to visit us." + +"Who will be our captain?" asked Jean Bourdo. + +"The seigneur has sent to Quebec for an officer--one that's lately from +France, and that's been well trained in the King's army. The old man +knows how much we sympathize with Marc, and so, being surly as a bear, +he will have none of us." + +"It may be a costly mistake, this putting of an Old-World soldier over +us," said Jean. "'Tis true we have small knowledge of the science of war +as taught in old France; but we can fight in the woods, and know how to +beat the Iroquois at their own game, and I'll warrant that's more than +this fine soldier can do! 'Tis a pity that Marc--a lad brought up in the +woods, whom we all like and would gladly follow--should be kept back +just because madame his mother sent him to school to the monks. But the +old seigneur will have his way, even when 'tis to his harm!" + +"So he will; and if Marc is to lead us, the seigneur must be made to +think that it is his own doing. Come, Philippe," continued Noel, turning +to the man who had come in with him, "you are older than the rest, and +have a wiser head; think of some way of bending the seigneur to our +purpose." + +They talked till far into the night, and when they separated the young +Frenchmen had the cheerful and impatient air of men (or boys, for so +they would now be counted) who had planned an undertaking and were in a +hurry to carry it out. + + * * * * * + +In the afternoon of the next day old Antoine de la Carre, seigneur of +the score of log-houses and the vast tract of woodland belonging to the +royal settlement of St. Maxime, marshalled his fighting force. In front +of the storehouse was an open space, from which the snow was kept clear, +and here the soldiers of St. Maxime were drawn up in line. There were +about forty of them all told, half of their number being young men, +voyageurs, and _coureurs des bois_; the others were older, heads of +families who devoted themselves to the more peaceful occupations of +fishing and farming. + +"I have news," said Antoine de la Carre, "that the Iroquois are moving, +so it behooves us to make ready for them. You older men shall act as a +reserve; the younger ones I will organize into a company always to be +under arms and ready to repel attack. Noel Duroc, I appoint you +lieutenant, to have charge till the officer who is to be your captain +comes from Quebec. Be active in your duty, and see that you leave +nothing undone that is for the good of the settlement." + +"We'll do what we think is best for the settlement, and he'll find us +active enough--that's certain!" whispered Jean Bourdo, nudging his +neighbor. + +In the ranks of the younger men was a tall, dark-haired lad who had the +same bold features that belonged to the old seigneur. All observed him, +for it was Marc Larocque's first appearance after his two years' stay in +Quebec. He met his uncle's sour looks with unflinching, smiling eyes, +and the settlers whispered among themselves that the old seigneur would +find it no easy matter to ignore his nephew--he had the De la Carre +spirit, in spite of the monks and their book-learning. + +That evening was a gloomy one in the house of Antoine de la Carre. The +old man sat in silence, drinking deep draughts of red French wine; +across the room was his sister, the widow Larocque, teaching their +catechism to two little maids. He knew she thought him unfair to her +son, who, by right of birth and his own qualities, had reason to expect +a place of authority at St. Maxime, and this knowledge made the old +seigneur more than usually irritable. When the children had finished +reading their tasks and left the room he broke out: + +"Ha, Madeleine, you look so solemn, doubtless, because of your dear +Marc! Well, why did you send him to the monks to have a scholar made out +of him? You know how I despise these long-faced readers of musty books, +yet you must thwart me in this way. I'll not forgive you nor him. I had +no fault to find in the old days--then he was a good lad enough, and a +true De la Carre. But I tell you now, as I told you two years ago when +you talked of sending him to Quebec, that I'll have no bookman for a +nephew. So you've only yourself to blame if he be set aside. But you +were always obstinate." + +"Ah, almost as obstinate as you, Antoine. But I'll not trouble about +Marc; if you'll not help him, there are others that will. In these +stirring times a boy like him is not forgotten." + +After a pause he burst out again: "What folly it was! Has a lad here, in +our rugged New France, any need of court manners and monk's learning? If +you had sent him to learn war it would have been different. But to a +monastery! When a boy in old France, I was made to read Latin and dig +into musty manuscripts till they nearly made a philosopher of me. But I +had the good sense to turn soldier, and since then I've had no liking +for monks and their learning. Madeleine, you knew all this, and remember +now--" + +He was interrupted by a crash. The door was burst open and half a dozen +Indians sprang into the room. Before Antoine could draw his dagger they +had leaped upon him, seized his arms, and smothered his shouts. Madame +Larocque was quickly and securely bound hand and foot and gagged. + +The Iroquois--for by their paint and dress the old man thought his +captors to belong to the dreaded tribes of the Five Nations--worked +noiselessly and swiftly; in less than five minutes from the bursting in +of the door they led out Antoine de la Carre, his hands tied behind his +back, and a piece of leather so fastened over his mouth that he could +make no sound. The guards that should have been watching were nowhere to +be seen, and the Indians, with their prisoner, quickly scaled the +stockade, crept across a cleared space to the woods, hurried to the +river, and were soon on the smooth, wind-swept ice and moving rapidly +westward. "Where were those young rascals of my company when I needed +them?--drinking in the storehouse or dancing in one of the cabins, most +like!" growled old Antoine to himself. + +He was as strong as an old bear, but his joints were stiffened with age, +and he had difficulty in keeping up with the rapid pace of the Indians. +"What sinews these Iroquois have!" he thought, as he struggled on. "No +Algonquin could hold his own with them; they run as well as our own +young _coureurs des bois_!" + +When it became evident that he could go no farther, they stopped their +journey along the ice and, turning into the forest, went about a quarter +of a mile from the river's bank. Here they found a dense evergreen +thicket and prepared to make their camp. A fire was built, and some +strips of dried meat they carried were heated and eaten; then they +stretched themselves on evergreen boughs which had been piled on the +snow near the fire. A tall young Indian, who seemed to be the leader of +the little band, now turned to Antoine de la Carre and, much to his +surprise, spoke to him in French. + +"Old man, eat and warm yourself. We have far to go, and you are not yet +to die." + +Antoine obeyed, and after he had managed to swallow some of the tough +meat he felt better. "How do you, that are of the Iroquois, who trade +with the English and Dutch, come to speak French?" he asked of the young +Indian. + +"A French girl was brought a captive to our tribe; my father, who was a +great warrior, took her for his squaw, and she was my mother. She taught +me the language of the French, and taught me also to listen to the words +of the black-robed Jesuits who used to come south to teach the Iroquois. +My mother loved my father, and bade me fight the enemies of his people, +and so I am here. But I wish the Jesuit teachers would come among the +Iroquois as they used to do. I liked to hear them talk in that strange +tongue they called the Latin." + +"Did you?" said Antoine, glad to make friends with the young Iroquois. +"When young I was taught by the monks, and know some Latin." + +"That is well," returned the Indian, with much satisfaction. "I too was +a pupil of the monks, and always listened to them gladly. Stand up and +repeat to us some of the Latin you learned. When the good Jesuit would +talk in that tongue to my mother and to me, the words came like music, +and then he would tell us the meaning--it told of adventures and battles +and great warriors. Repeat to us this musical tongue." + +Antoine de la Carre would rather have fought a bull moose single-handed; +but here was no choice, and he stood up and did his best. That was not +very well; for his voice was as hoarse as a swamp-raven's, and it was +many years since he had looked in a book. + +The Iroquois lying around on the evergreen boughs were greatly amused at +his efforts, laughing at his hoarse voice and at his stammering over the +Latin words. + +"You do not do it as well as did the Jesuit," exclaimed the half-breed. +"Be careful, Frenchman! Remember, I am no dull log of a Montagnais--I am +an Iroquois, a lord of the woods, and will have no trifling!" + +Antoine stammered on, getting more angry each moment; for to a proud old +soldier like him nothing was worse than appearing ridiculous. But this +was a matter of life and death, and he suppressed his feelings. "'Tis +well my young scamps of _coureurs des bois_ cannot see me now," he +thought. "They'd never stop laughing!" + +"Look more cheerful, Frenchman!" said the tall half-breed, getting to +his feet. "What if you are to die to-morrow; surely death has no terrors +for so great a scholar and philosopher! And come, when you are talking +to warriors of the Iroquois take off your cap!" Antoine wore his black +velvet house-cap, and as the Iroquois spoke he stepped forward and +plucked it from the old man's head. + +Antoine had been able to keep down his anger at their laughing, but this +was too much for his small stock of patience, which already was sorely +tried. He was desperate and reckless, for death was fairly certain under +any circumstances, and it might as well come to-night as later. + +"Insolent--take that!" he exclaimed, and he struck out savagely. + +The tall half-breed, hit squarely between the eyes, went down as if +before the blow of a sledge-hammer. + +Several of the Indians sprang to their feet and seized the old man. The +half-breed got up slowly, half stunned. Antoine waited for his tomahawk +to strike the death-blow, but the half-breed did not raise his arm to +strike. "Old man," he said, "if I were like these other braves you would +even now be dead; but, as I told you, I am a convert, and the Jesuit +teaches that one must not be too quick in anger--especially with the old +and foolish. You shall live, at least till to-morrow; give thanks that +I, like yourself, am a monk-taught man!" + +Soon afterwards the Iroquois arranged themselves to sleep, one of their +number being left as a sentinel and guard over their prisoner. Antoine's +hands and ankles were bound, and by the half-breed's orders he was laid +on the boughs near the fire. One by one the Indians, save the guard, +fell asleep; but the old Frenchman was too nervous and excited. Finally +his attention was arrested by an object that was slowly and noiselessly +stealing out from the evergreen thicket. It crept straight towards the +Indian sentinel, who lay gazing up at the stars that shone through the +tree-tops. Of a sudden there was a quick, stealthy movement and the +gleam of a knife: the sentinel's head sank back, and he lay stretched +out, still and motionless. + +"A skilful thrust!" thought Antoine. "I never saw a man die so easily." + +The man with the knife crept towards him, and in a moment Antoine felt +that the thongs about his ankles and wrists were cut. The man beckoned +and stole away; Antoine followed, and then they silently made their way +into the thicket--leaving the Indians sleeping in the white starlight, +the sentinel looking most peaceful of all. + +[Illustration: THE THONGS WERE CUT] + +"Do you know me, my uncle?" whispered Marc Larocque. "I tracked you +through the snow. Follow me swiftly and quietly." + +Back they hurried to the river, and then began the journey over the ice +down to St. Maxime. + +"I thought the Iroquois strong and fleet, Marc, but I see that none of +them is a match for you! You are a brave fellow, in spite of the monks, +and never shall I forget what you have done this night. But I wish you +had thrust your knife into the heart of the leader of the Iroquois, an +insolent fellow who pulled my cap from my head and laughed at me. +However, I gave him a good buffet between the eyes!" + +Soon the old man began to lag behind, and Marc had to grasp his arm to +help him; so they ran on through the white winter's night. With ghostly +wings the great snowy owl flapped across their path, and the wolf pack +halted for a moment to watch them pass, and then turned away to hunt +again for some stray deer or wounded moose. + +It was almost dawn when they reached the stockade at St. Maxime. Old +Antoine was exhausted, and had hardly strength enough to say to Marc: +"Send a messenger to Quebec to tell the French officer he need not come. +I have found a captain here." + +Marc took him to the seigneury, and he fell into a heavy sleep, from +which he did not wake till afternoon. The soldiers were then at their +daily drill, and after he had eaten, the old man went out where they +were. Tall Lieutenant Noel Duroc was drilling them. Antoine de la Carre +gave them all a severe scolding for their carelessness the night before. + +"If it were not for my brave nephew," he said, "I would surely have been +murdered by the Iroquois. Marc, step out from the ranks. I make you +captain!" + +A shout went up from all the men, but old Antoine silenced it with a +gesture. He was looking at Noel Duroc. "Lieutenant, your face is black +and blue; how were you hurt? You were not so yesterday!" + +"Last night, seigneur, an old bear gave me a buffet--and a good round +blow it was!" + +Antoine looked at him hard. "Lieutenant, you had best let old bears +alone!" Then he turned quickly to his nephew. "Marc, has that messenger +yet started for Quebec who was to stop the French officer?" + +"He left soon after daybreak this morning." + +"Ah! you were not slow in sending him." The old man paused, and Noel, +who was watching him closely, thought he saw his mouth twitch under the +gray beard. "But never mind; it may be for the best. You shall be +captain, my nephew, and you, Noel Duroc, shall be lieutenant, though I +think you both rascals. However, no bookman could run as Marc did this +morning; and so I know he is not wholly spoiled by the monks." + +"Bravo!" cried Noel Duroc, throwing up his cap. "Bravo! Here is a right +good seigneur who knows what is best for his people; and a kind uncle; +and--I'll pledge my word--a great scholar and philosopher too!" + + + + +IX + +CAPTAIN KIDD + +An Overrated Pirate + + +Of all the pirates whose dreaded top-sails appeared along the coast of +America in the old days of the colonies none has left a more grewsome +and romantic reputation behind him than Captain William Kidd, the New +York ship-master, who was born in 1650. Legends abound of his boldness, +his craftiness, and his savage and blood-thirsty disposition, and +stories of the immense treasure that he accumulated, the dreadful +murders that he committed in its acquisition, and when and with what +ghastly accompaniments he buried it are still told over the firesides of +'longshore hamlets from Maine to the Carolinas. + +Fiction has not neglected to turn this pirate's career to its own +purpose, and one of Poe's most imaginative and thrilling tales is based +upon the discovery on Sullivan's Island, in Charleston Harbor (South +Carolina), of a parchment which, on being held to the fire, revealed a +cryptogram of Kidd's that led to the discovery of buried wealth +amounting to millions of dollars. + +It seems almost a pity to tamper with the halo of romance and mystery +which posterity has drawn about this worthy's brow, but the fact is that +Kidd was an unready, unwise, and vacillating character, and that there +was little truth in the romances told about him. Beside such dreadfully +famous buccaneers as Blackbeard, Roberts, and Avery he appears a pygmy +in his own "profession," and his career, when contrasted with theirs, +seems colorless and contemptible. + +As to the vast riches that he was supposed to have acquired, it is +doubtful if in his whole course of piracy he was able to accumulate more +than a hundred thousand dollars. One thing is assured--the only money +that he buried on the coast of America amounted to not more than +seventy-five thousand dollars, which he hid on Gardiner's Island, over +against New London, and the last penny of this was recovered by +Bellamont after Kidd's execution. + +During King William's War Kidd, who was a handsome man of somewhat +pleasing address, made the acquaintance of Lord Bellamont, the Governor +of Barbadoes. The two were in New York at the time of the meeting, and +as Kidd was a member of a good family and moved in the limited +aristocratic circle of that day, the new acquaintances saw much of each +other. Kidd's plausible tongue, fund of anecdote, and agreeable manner +impressed the Governor so pleasantly that his liking for the shipman +developed into esteem, and esteem into friendship. Through Bellamont's +influence Kidd obtained command of a privateer, and a series of lucky +events contributed to his reputation, so that when he returned to New +York, after his cruise in the Gulf, Bellamont and his other fine friends +hailed him with adulation as a conquering hero. He was wined and feted, +was toasted by prominent men and noble dames, and over many a steaming +bowl and long-stemmed pipe loosed his glib speech in a way to impress +his hearers with a fine notion of his indomitable character. Through the +thick clouds of the Virginia tobacco smoke a great idea was born in +Bellamont's hazy brain. Complaints were made daily of the pirates that +infested the shores of the colonies. These pirates were rich with +plunder. True, they were skilful and bold and crafty, but here was a man +who by his own confession was more skilful and bolder and craftier than +any of them. Then, should Kidd be fitted out with a fine ship and a good +crew to chase these pirates and capture them, great glory would come to +Bellamont's name, and great good to Bellamont's pocket. + +The idea was acted upon, and the Governor and some other wealthy +gentlemen purchased the _Adventure_ galley, equipped her, and armed her +with thirty carronades, while Kidd went down among the docks and the +sailors' lodging-houses, picking out for his crew sturdy two-handed +mariners, men long of the sea, blowzed by the weather, browned by the +wind, used to the pike and cutlass--men like ducks on the shore and like +monkeys in the rigging. + +The ship was fitted out at Plymouth, and the great day of the sailing +arrived at last. The _Adventure_ pushed out into the stream, Kidd +smirking and bowing and striking attitudes on the quarter-deck, the busy +sailors swarming aloft to loose sail, the good ship heeling over farther +and farther as canvas after canvas was spread to a quartering breeze, +and an assemblage of fine ladies and gorgeous beaux waving scarfs and +fluttering handkerchiefs from the end of the pier. + +Armed with a commission from King William to apprehend the noted +Captains "Thomas Tew, John Ireland, Thomas Wake, and William Maze, or +Mace, and other subjects, natives or inhabitants of New York and +elsewhere in our plantations in America, who have associated with +others, wicked and ill-disposed persons, and do, against the laws of +nations, commit many and great piracies, robberies, and depredations on +the seas, upon the parts of America and in other parts, to the great +danger of our loving subjects, our allies, and all others navigating the +seas upon their lawful occasions," he steered from New York on his way +to the Guinea coast, where his hunt was to begin. By the terms of his +commission he was to take the aforenamed pirates by force if necessary, +with all the pirates, freebooters, and rovers associated with them, +wherever they were found. He was to bring them into port, with all such +merchandise, money, goods, and wares as should be discovered on board. +But he was strictly charged and commanded, "As you will answer the +contrary at your peril, that you do not in any manner offend or molest +our friends or allies, their ships or subjects, by whom or pretence of +these presents or the authority thereby granted." + +Kidd had another commission, called Letters of Marque and Reprisal, to +empower him to act against the French, with whom the English and their +colonies were then at war, and under cover of these he captured a +French merchantman off Fire Island on his way westward. + +Upon arriving at New York he began to request more assistance from his +owners, complained of the size of his ship and his few guns, and, as he +"proposed to deal with a desperate enemy," asked permission to increase +his complement. This was granted, after some hesitation, and he finally +sailed from New York with a ship's company of one hundred and fifty-five +men. + +He made first for Madeira, thence to one of the Cape Verde Islands, and +thence to St. Jago, in order to lay in salt provisions and other +necessaries. He then rounded the Cape and bent his course towards +Madagascar, whose waters were the known rendezvous of swarms of pirates. +On the way he fell in with three English men-of-war, to whose commodore +he imparted his errand with much pomp and circumstance. He dined aboard +the flag-ship, and left behind him the same reputation for dare-devil +recklessness and determination that his valiant speech had obtained for +him elsewhere. + +He parted with these ships after a few days, and arrived at Madagascar +in February, 1697, after a voyage of nine months. + +At this time most of the pirate ships were out in search of prey, so, +having spent some time in watering his ship and taking aboard +provisions, Kidd tried the coast of Malabar, where he was equally +unsuccessful in finding his quarry. He touched at Mohila and at Johanna, +both famous resorts for pirates, but he did not succeed even in getting +news of those whom he sought. The reason seemed obvious--the pirate of +those days was a dangerous man to tackle. He had guns, and he knew how +to use them; he fought with a halter round his neck, and was game to the +last gasp. He was in the habit of beating the King's ships sent to take +him, and he had a bending plank through the lee gangway for their +captured officers. A fat, rich merchantman was an easier victim. Why not +sound the crew to see if they would agree to a change of policy? + +Some such thoughts must have been passing through Kidd's mind at this +time, for with the gift of a brass farthing he could have purchased +from the most guileless and affectionate native of Mohila or Johanna his +entire confidence as to the whereabouts of his friends the sea-rovers, +and yet after a cruise of many months in this infested neighborhood Kidd +had no tidings of a single pirate craft. + +But however disposed towards acts of violence, he had not yet the +courage to put his wishes into execution. On his second voyage past the +island of Mohila he passed several Indian ships, richly laden and too +weak to offer him resistance, but he contented himself with casting +envious eyes upon them and suffered them to go. + +The first outrage that he committed was at Mabbee, in the Red Sea, +where, after careening his ship, he took some corn from the natives by +force. After this he sailed to Babs Key, near the Strait of +Bab-el-Mandeb, where he first began to open himself to the ship's +company, and to disclose to them his change of policy. But instead of +coming out like a man and saying that he intended to turn to piracy, he +hinted and insinuated and beat about the bush. "Unlucky have we been +hitherto; but courage, my lads, we'll make our fortunes out of the Mocha +fleet." This was the closest his pygmy heart could come to broaching the +subject that occupied his mind. But his mariners met him more than +half-way, and he found himself committed to buccaneering before he knew +it. By the advice of his quartermaster (the first mate or executive +officer of those days) he sent a boat to go upon the coast and make +discoveries, while he himself kept men in the tops of the _Adventure_ to +look out for the Mocha fleet. + +The boat returned in a few days, bringing word that fifteen or a score +of ships were about ready to sail, and that they were well laden and +rich. + +Four days after this the fleet appeared; the eager lookouts reported +them, and the men rushed to the sheets and halyards, guns and +ammunition-lockers. + +Now was Kidd's opportunity to dash in, seize a valuable prize, and get +off with her; but he hung off and on, perplexed between timidity and +cupidity, until by the time he had made up his mind to put his fortune +to the touch his prey became alarmed and began to scatter. He then bore +down on the nearest; but by this time he had been sighted by the two +men-of-war of the convoy, and the sight of their black hulls speeding +towards him, straight and steady and business-like through the flying +merchantmen, was enough for Kidd. He fired a feeble shot or two, squared +his yards, and made off before the wind for dear life, while the crew +silently handled their tackle, and indulged in I know not what +contemptuous thoughts of their commander. + +But by the act of firing upon a friendly flag Kidd had determined his +status; there was nothing for him now but to go on with his pirating. +Soon he had an opportunity to show that desperate courage of which, by +his own account, he was possessed. Off the coast of Malabar he met a +small Moorish coasting-vessel. Having discovered that she was +short-handed and unarmed, he became terrible indeed. He seized her and +forced her Captain and quartermaster to take on with him as pilot and +interpreter, the Captain being an Englishman, and the other, Don +Antonio, a Portuguese. The men he used cruelly, hoisting them up by the +arms, drubbing them with a bare cutlass, and putting them to other +tortures to force them to disclose the whereabouts of their treasure; +but all he got from them was a parcel of coffee and a bale of pepper. + +He then touched at Malabar, but finding himself an object of suspicion +he quickly went away. + +The coast was alarmed by this time, however, and a Portuguese man-of-war +was sent out after him. Kidd fought her for a while in a half-hearted +way, but, though she was his inferior in men and metal, he soon had +enough of honest combat, and got off by his superior speed. + +He next ran down to Porca, where he took on board a number of hogs and +other livestock for provisions, and paid for them in good British +silver. He also watered his ship and otherwise provided for his ship's +company. + +He then stood to sea again, and came up with a Moorish craft, the master +of which, a Dutchman named Schipper Mitchell, hoisted French colors, as +Kidd chased under that flag. The pirates hailed in French, and were +answered in the same tongue by a Frenchman who was one of Mitchell's +passengers. Kidd then ordered the Dutchman to send a boat on board, and +when it arrived at his gangway he asked the Frenchman if he had a pass +for himself. The passenger replied that he had, whereupon Kidd told him +to pass for the Captain, "For, by Heaven, you are the Captain, and if +you say you're not I'll hang you!" + +The Frenchman of course dared not refuse to do as he was ordered. + +The object of the manoeuvre is apparent. Kidd had not the pluck to go +on openly with his high-sea robbery, but fancied that if he seized the +ship as a prize, pretending that she belonged to French subjects, he +would get into no trouble on account of her. He did not seem to take +into account the fact that his previous conduct had already stamped him +as a criminal, but appeared to think that as long as he did not openly +hoist the black flag he might do as he liked with impunity. Indeed, his +whole career as a sea-robber consisted of similar acts of fatuous and +ostrich-like stupidity. + +He landed on one of the Malabar islands for wood and water, and as his +cooper was murdered by the natives he plundered and burned their +village. He took one of the islanders and had him tied to a tree and +shot, after which he again put to sea in quest of prizes. After being at +sea less than a week he fell in with and captured the greatest prize +that ever fell into his hands, the Moorish bark _Quedah Merchant_, of +four hundred tons. From this vessel he got a cargo which he sold for +more than ten thousand pounds. + +[Illustration: HE PLUNDERED AND BURNED] + +The Indians came on board of him and trafficked, and he performed his +bargains punctually for a time, until he was ready to sail; and then he +took their goods and set them on shore with no payment, which was quite +in accord with his despicable character. The Indians had been accustomed +to deal with pirates, and had found them, as a rule, men of honor in the +way of trade, so it was easy for Kidd to impose upon them. + +The pirate put some men aboard of the _Quedah Merchant_, and in her +company sailed for Madagascar. He had no sooner arrived there than off +came a canoe in which were several old acquaintances of his who had long +been "upon the account," as they called buccaneering. They belonged to a +ship called the _Resolution_, which was commanded by one Culliford, a +notorious sea-robber. When they met Kidd they told him that they were +informed he had come to hang them, which they would take very unkind in +such an old friend. Kidd dissipated their fears by telling them that he +was in every respect their brother, and as bad as they, and in token of +amity drank their health in a bowl of grog. + +Kidd then went aboard, Culliford promising his friendship and +assistance; and Culliford in turn boarded Kidd, and the two worthies +made a merry night of it in the cabin of the _Adventure_, spinning +their yarns of the deep seas and laughing at their enemies; and as +Culliford was in need of some necessaries, Kidd fitted him out from his +spare tackle. + +The _Adventure_ was now so leaky that Kidd transferred her guns and +stores to the _Quedah Merchant_ and got to sea again, but not before +more than half of his disgusted crew had left him. + +He touched at Amboyan, and there learned that the news of his conduct +had reached England and that he was outlawed. Indeed, the reports of his +misdeeds were so exaggerated that the English merchants became greatly +alarmed, and had Kidd, with one Captain Avery, excepted in a general +pardon of freebooters which had just been promulgated. Kidd knew nothing +of this, but relying on some French passes which he had found on one or +two of his prizes, and deeming his brazen assurance enough to carry him +through any peril from the law, he made for New York. Here, by the +orders of Lord Bellamont, he was promptly seized, with all of his +effects, and was sent to England to be tried. + +Here his conduct was such as to destroy the last shreds of respect that +one might have had for his character. Instead of meeting his fate like a +man, he begged and implored and whined and promised, but all to no +avail. + +He insisted much upon his own innocence and the villainy of his men. He +went out upon a laudable employment, he said, and had no occasion to go +pirating, but the men mutinied against him and did as they pleased. As +to the friendship shown to that notorious villain Culliford, Kidd denied +it, and said that he would have taken him, but his own men, being a +parcel of rogues, refused to stand by him, and several of them even ran +from his ship to join the wicked pirate. + +But the evidence was too strong against him, and he was condemned. + +When asked what he had to say why sentence should not be pronounced upon +him, he replied that he had nothing to say except that he had been sworn +against by wicked people; and when sentence was pronounced he said: "My +lord, it is a very hard sentence. For my part, I am the most innocent +person of them all, only I have been sworn against by perjured persons." + +And so, in 1701, whining and protesting miserably, he was led away to +the scaffold, and there paid the penalty of his crimes. + + + + +X + +HOWARD THE BUCCANEER + +A Captain of Many Ships + + +In the days when high-sterned galleons sailed the Spanish Main, keelless +and lofty, and helpless in the wind's eye; when all the sailors wore +their tarry queues and ear-rings; when "Down along the coast of the high +Barbaree" there was no law but that of the Moorish buccaneer, a young +man in the peaceful British hamlet of Barwich reached the age of +twenty-one. + +Thomas Howard was a youth of promise and capacity. He was handsome, +burly, popular, and generous, and always ready for any adventure. His +father, a gentleman of rank and estate, was dead, but his doting mother +lavished upon him an affection as blind as it was deep, supplied him +with an excess of pocket-money, and left no wish of his ungratified. The +result is readily imagined. His old amiability deserted him, and he sank +into a savage discontent that found expression in numerous acts of +roguery and violence. + +As he grew worse and worse, an old friend of his father's persuaded him +to seek employment upon the seas, and purchased him a berth as +midshipman on a trading-craft bound from Liverpool to the West Indies. + +A few months of sea discipline shattered young Howard's patience, and +upon his arrival at Jamaica he promptly deserted his ship. + +He had still a few pounds left of his fortune, and with these he +purchased admittance to the society of a gang of ruffians who frequented +the beaches. One night, with some of these, he stole a canoe and went to +the Grand Camanas to join a party of others of their ilk who lurked +thereabouts with the design of going "on the account." + +They soon fell in with those whom they sought, and, as the party now +numbered twenty, they deemed themselves strong enough to set to their +work, and accordingly began their preparations. At a council held the +night when this decision was reached, the question of the election of +officers came up; the men seemed about evenly divided in their choice of +a captain between Howard and a tall islander named James. The latter was +finally elected by a vote of ten to eight, while Howard was chosen +quartermaster. + +Their first need was a boat; in the offing at anchor lay a turtle-sloop +with two small swivels mounted fore and aft. She was the very craft for +their purpose, but how were they to get her? + +Close inshore on the other side of an estuary a mile wide Howard +remembered seeing a large canoe moored in the light of a patrol's +camp-fire. He and two others swam over to her, cut her line with their +sheath-knives, and brought her away without discovery. + +The robbers then boarded her, and, with two men forward and two aft +handling the paddles, the rest concealed behind the high bulwarks, +stole out silently towards the turtle-vessel. The nature of their craft +was not perceived until they were alongside their victim, when, with a +yell, they burst from their concealment and made their capture without +losing a man. They then started out for booty, but for a long time their +only prizes were turtlers, which supplied them with men without +increasing their wealth. After about two weeks they met an Irish +brigantine with provisions and servants for the Governor of Jamaica. +They laid her aboard, captured her without resistance, forced her men, +and made off with her, leaving her master the old turtle-sloop and five +men to bring him to port. Not long after this they surprised a sloop of +six guns, and finding her larger, faster, and sounder than the +brigantine, they shifted to her with their belongings. This was the +third time within two months that they had changed their vessel, but +still the game of "Progressive Piracy" went on. Off the coast of +Virginia they fell in with a large New England brigantine laden with +provisions and bound for Barbadoes. They made a prize of her, and +shifting their own guns aboard of her, found themselves in a fine vessel +of ten guns well equipped for a long voyage. + +While on the coast of Virginia in this ship they took several English +vessels, from which they got men, arms, provisions, clothes, and other +necessaries. As most of these ships had on board felons for the Virginia +colonies, they took from them a number of volunteers besides their +forced men, and they soon acquired so large a complement that they had +no hesitation in ranging up to and boarding a Virginia galley of +superior size and twenty-four guns. They got a number of convict +volunteers from her, transferred their stores to her, and set out to +sweep the seas in earnest. They steered for the Guinea coast, that Mecca +of pirates, and made many captures, which not only enriched them but +increased their complement. After they had been for some months on this +ground they spied a large Portuguese ship from Brazil, whose thirty-six +guns did not frighten them from the attack. + +As they hoisted the black flag the Brazilian Captain became overpowered +with fear, commanded the quartermaster to strike, and sought safety for +himself in the hold. His mate, however, a New-Englander, refused to +surrender, and kept off the pirates for the better part of the +afternoon. His resistance was strong and well sustained, but the +Portuguese finally fled from the deck, leaving him with only thirty +men--English, French, and Dutch--and he was obliged to ask for quarter. +The pirates then went down the coast in their newly acquired ship and +made several prizes, some of which they burned and some of which they +sank. As they now mustered nearly two hundred men, the only ones that +they forced from captured crews were carpenters, calkers, and surgeons, +whose services they needed greatly. + +Off the Cape of Good Hope they took two Spanish brigantines, in whose +company they proceeded, until they ran the _Alexander_ ashore on a small +island north of Madagascar, where she stuck fast. + +The Captain being sick in bed, the men went ashore on the island and +carried off provisions and water to lighten the ship, on board of which +none but the Captain, the quartermaster (Howard), and all others were +left. + +This was too good a chance for the exercise of Howard's love of +treachery. He brought the faster of the two brigantines alongside, +tumbled all the treasure into her, scuttled the other, and made off with +twenty men and two hundred thousand pounds, leaving the rest of his +shipmates to shake their impotent fists and roar maledictions after his +diminishing sail. + +After rounding the Cape, Howard and his fellows went into a fine harbor +on the east side of Madagascar hardly known to European vessels. Here +they buried most of the treasure, and for a short time enjoyed the +luxury of shore life. Wood and water were abundant, game plentiful, and +the waters swarmed with edible fish. + +It was pleasant to the pirate, after his long trick afloat, to lie on +the yellow sands under the shade of palm and mango and tamarind trees +and see the slow surf breaking gently on the beach. In his nostrils was +the odor of orange and spice; golden sunbirds and crimson cockatoos +nested above him, gaudy butterflies floated about him, and in the +shallow waters of the still lagoons were long-legged curlew, busy +kingfishers, and wild duck with tenderly shaded plumes. Behind him the +tropical jungles blazed gloriously with trees of blooming scarlet and +flaring yellow, about which twined gorgeous creepers of dark purple, and +from whose leafy depths came the chattering of monkeys and the +twittering of innumerable birds. Far off he could hear the smothered +thunder of lofty falls, near at hand the plashing of rivulets, and +seaward the deep voice of the Indian Ocean. The Malagasy women brought +him cooling fruits from the mountains, the hunters came back laden with +the flesh of wild cattle and pigs and great, feathery bunches of +waterfowl, and the native king sent down to him rice and bananas, maize +and manioc, from the rich store of his harvest. + +After but a month of this happy shore life they set sail, and running +down the coast of Africa met the English ship _Prosperous_, which they +captured by a night attack. The _Prosperous_ was a large, well-found +ship of sixteen guns, and well suited to Howard's purpose, so he +transferred his crew and stores to her and sailed to Maritan. They found +there a number of shipwrecked pirates, who, with some of the +_Prosperous's_ crew, took on with them, and increased their complement +to seventy men. + +They next steered for St. Mary's, where they wooded, watered, and +shipped more hands. Here they had an invitation from one Ort van Tyle, a +sturdy Dutch trader of social ambition, to attend the christening of two +of his children. He received them with hospitality and civility, but +they had no sooner entered his house than they began to plunder it, and +Van Tyle protesting, they took him prisoner, and designed to hang him, +but one of the pirates aided him to escape and he took to the woods. +Here he met some of his black; he armed them, and formed an ambush on a +scrubby island where the river channel was narrow. The pirates came +down in their canoe and Howard's pinnace, laughing and shouting, +bringing with them the booty of the looted house and some captives, whom +they set at the paddles. The canoe was overturned in the rapids just as +they came abreast of the ambush, and the captives swam ashore and +escaped, while the pirates clung to the sides of Howard's boat. As they +drifted by, Van Tyle let drive at them, and in a shower of musket-balls, +arrows, and assagais the helpless pirates were swept back to their +ships, dismally howling with rage and mortification. In this affair two +of Howard's men were killed, while he was shot through the arm, and two +others were seriously wounded. + +[Illustration: THE HELPLESS PIRATES WERE SWEPT BACK] + +He then sailed to Mathelage, where he designed to victual for a +West-Indian cruise, but he found there a large Dutch merchantman of +forty guns, whose captain curtly told Howard to get out or he'd fall +foul of him. Howard's recent experience with Dutchmen had been +unpleasant, so, as his vessel was not strong enough to cope with the +Amsterdamer, he made sail for Mayotta, and passed down the bay amid a +volley of gibes, jeers, and ingenious Dutch profanity. On his way to +Mayotta he fell in with Captain Bowen, of the pirate ship _Speedy +Return_, of thirty guns, and communicated to him the contumely to which +a "Gentleman of the Seas" had been subjected. Bowen promised to avenge +the insult to their honorable craft, and accordingly anchored in the +dusk of the next evening within hail of the irascible burgher. The +_Speedy Return_ was a small ship for her armament and crew, and this, +with her suspicious appearance, determined the Dutchman once more to +exhibit the bold front that he could assume when there seemed to be no +danger in it. Accordingly he went to the rail and bawled over the quiet +waters, "Vot sheep is dot, and vy for you don'd git oud to onced?" + +"This is his Majesty's cruiser _Haystack_," came the unruffled response, +in Bowen's clear voice. "She has three decks and no bottom, and sails +four miles to leeward and one ahead. Want to race?" + +"Vot sheep is dot, and none of your tomfoolishness?" roared the Teuton, +purple with rage. + +"This is the _Flying Dutchman_, Captain Vanderdecken, and the crew's all +ghosts," replied the pirate, in high glee. "Come aboard and cheer up our +spirits." + +This was too much. The Dutchman mounted the rail and shrieked, hoarsely, +"I now asks you der last time for, vot sheep you is, vere you vrom, and +vot you to do goin' about to be?" + +"This is the ship _Speedy Return_," sang out Bowen, "_from the seas_, +and I'm goin' to fire a salute." + +The pirate then gave the word, and his ship roared out a broadside that +shivered the Dutchman's rail, smashed his boats, and carried away his +spanker-boom. The merchantman waited no longer, but slipped his cable +and made off to sea, leaving the greater part of his cargo ashore, where +it was promptly gathered in by the thrifty buccaneers. + +Bowen now made sail for Mayotta, where he joined the _Prosperous_, and +the two ships sailed together for the East Indies. After some successes +there they returned by separate routes to Madagascar, for the purpose of +revictualling and refitting, agreeing to meet again at St. John's and +lie in wait for the Moorish fleet. They did this, and one of the Moors +fell a prize to Bowen, but Howard did not come up with them till they +were anchored at the bay of Surat, where they waited to lighten. + +Howard came up among them slowly, under shortened sail, and as he +concealed his men and kept his ports closed, they took him for an +English East-Indiaman and suffered him to approach. Howard suddenly +attacked the largest vessel, and after a desperate fight, in which he +lost thirty men, carried her by boarding. + +On this vessel was a nobleman belonging to the court of the Great Mogul. +The prize itself was immensely valuable, and the nobleman's ransom +amounted to twenty thousand pounds, so by this time Howard's fortune was +well assured. He then ran down to Malabar, where he met Bowen and his +prize, a fine, stout ship of sixty guns. The two captains with their +quartermasters held a consultation (on the night of their meeting) in +the cabin of the _Speedy Return_, and their future plans were decided +upon over a rich banquet provided from the stores of the prizes. + +The _Prosperous_ they sank and the _Speedy Return_ they burned, and in +Bowen's prize they continued their depredations, the two crews being +joined together. This made Howard's ninth change of vessels since he had +taken to piracy. + +As they cruised down the coast of Madagascar they came in sight of +Howard's old haven, where he had buried his treasure. He became seized +with a desire for shore life, and with those of his men who had lived +there before with him, and with their share of the recent booty, he went +back to his old stamping-ground to settle down. He was received with +open arms by his old friends among the natives; he married a Malagasy +woman, and for a long time lived quietly and peaceably, shooting, +fishing, watching his herds, and cultivating his fields. + +A missionary who was shipwrecked on the coast about a year after +Howard's return worked on the pirate's soft heart so successfully that +before being taken home on a trading-vessel that put in for water he had +brought the gallant buccaneer into the close folds of the Roman Catholic +Church and to a full realization of his unusually sinful state. After +the missionary's departure Howard missed the theological discourse and +dispute that had whiled away many a tropic twilight, and he knew not +where to turn for an outlet of his intellectual activities. Finally the +bright idea struck him that it would be both pleasing and beneficial to +evangelize the natives. In a fit of religious enthusiasm he proceeded to +this work with his usual prodigal hand. Unfortunately for himself, he +used a club in the process, and this, coupled with his brutal treatment +of his wife, made him unpopular among the Malagasy. + +One night the docile aborigines fell upon him while he was asleep in his +hammock, and left mementos of their presence in the shape of +thirty-seven assagais stuck decoratively in various parts of his body. +When found he was very dead, and thus terminated the earthly career of a +treacherous and unworthy ruffian, whose only claims to our consideration +were his good seamanship and Anglo-Saxon pluck. + + + + +XI + +TEW, OF RHODE ISLAND + +A Fighter from the Seas + + +On a lovely morning in the early part of the eighteenth century two +vessels might have been seen approaching each other at that point where +the northern waters of the Mozambique Channel mingle with those of the +Indian Ocean. The day was mild and the wind light and variable. The +ships rolled lazily on the languid swell, and a couple of leagues to the +south and east of them the low, green shores of Madagascar were dimly +visible. + +As the vessels drew near to each other the smaller of the two, a large +brig-sloop with raking masts and a narrow, speedy-looking hull, put down +her helm, rounded into the wind, and ran the black flag up to her main +peak. The other, a trim and sturdy ship-rigged craft, with something of +a man-of-war look about her lofty spars and graceful lines, seemed +little perturbed by this significant display of the pirate emblem. She +hove to, however, and the two vessels lay rolling idly on the blue water +a long musket-shot apart. + +Before the sloop had time for any further demonstration one of the +ship's quarter-boats was lowered and brought to the starboard gangway, +and into her stepped a spare, dark, wiry-looking man of medium height, +evidently the Captain. The boat shoved off and made for the sloop, the +Captain steering, and the crew pulling with the long, regular stroke of +man-of-war's men. + +So far the ship had displayed no colors, and the peculiar nonchalance +with which her crew had behaved towards the pirates excited the latter's +marked apprehension. Could she be a public ship in disguise? If so, then +farewell to the buccaneer's hopes of brave booty in the Indian seas, for +the wind had fallen and the vessels were drifting nearer together. + +The dark man seized the life-lines as they were extended to him from the +pirates' gangway, and climbed up the ladder with catlike agility. + +"What ship is this?" he asked, curtly, ignoring the crew that pressed +ominously about him, and addressing himself to a tall man of a quiet but +commanding appearance who stepped forward to meet him. + +"This is the sloop _Hope_, sir, and I am her commander, Thomas Tew, at +your service." + +"And I am Captain Misson of the ship _Victoire_, lately of his French +Majesty's service, but now from the seas." + +The expression "from the seas" at once allayed the fears of Tew's +pirates, for the buccaneers of that day thus characterized themselves in +their answering hails. + +The crew went about their duty, and the two captains entered the cabin, +where they began a friendly conversation, and informed each other of +their respective histories. + +It seemed that Mr. Richier, the Governor of Bermuda, had fitted out two +sloops on the privateer account, one commanded by Captain George Drew, +and the other by Thomas Tew. They were instructed to make their way to +the river Gambia, in Africa, and to attempt the taking of the French +factory of Goree on that coast. The vessels sailed together and kept +company for some time, but, a violent storm coming up, Drew sprung his +mast and they lost each other. + +Tew, separated from his consort, thought of providing for his future +with one bold stroke. Accordingly he summoned his crew to the mast, and +addressed them upon the subject of his plans. + +He told them that they were afloat in a fine craft bent upon a dangerous +mission, with no prospect of advantage for themselves, but only for +their employers. That he was little inclined to risk his health and his +life except for some great personal gain, and finally he proposed +bluntly that they should throw off their allegiance to Governor Richier, +and go "on the account," as piracy was called in those days. + +The crew listened eagerly, and at the conclusion of his speech sung out +as one man: + +"A gold chain or a wooden leg. We'll stand by you, Captain." + +Tew then made sail for and doubled the Cape of Good Hope, and as he +entered the Red Sea on his cruise northward came up with a ship bound +from the Indies to Arabia. She was richly laden, and carried three +hundred soldiers to aid the crew in defending her cargo; but, +notwithstanding her superior force, the pirates carried her with a dash, +and shared fifteen thousand dollars a man in plunder. They then stood +down the coast towards Madagascar, and the _Victoire_ was the first ship +they had sighted since leaving their prize. + +Misson listened with interest to Captain Tew's story, and then gave him +a brief account of his own adventures. He said that, having gone to sea +as a sub-officer on the ship _Victoire_ of the French royal service, he +had participated in an engagement with an English man-of-war; that all +his superior officers had been killed in the action, and that he had +assumed command and sunk the Briton; and that after this his crew had +requested him to retain command and go "on the account" for himself. He +confessed that he had willingly acted upon their suggestion, had made +several prizes, and established a colony on a bay to the northward of +Diego Suariez, on the island of Madagascar. He informed Tew further that +he was much impressed with the courage with which the _Hope_ had borne +down to engage a vessel so much her superior in size and strength as the +_Victoire_, and that, as he could not have too many resolute fellows as +his allies, he would be glad to join forces with Tew's men. + +Tew answered that before entering into an alliance with Misson he would +prefer to examine the workings of the latter's colony. Misson agreed to +this, and the _Victoire_ and the _Hope_ sailed in company for +Libertaita, as Misson called his new republic. + +Just at sunrise the two ships passed between the fortified headlands +that guarded the entrance to the pirate stronghold, and Tew, standing on +his quarter-deck and following the motions of the _Victoire_, was +astonished at the strength of the harbor he entered, and the discipline +that seemed to prevail there. + +With the timbers and guns of captured ships Misson had constructed and +armed two powerful forts which stood on the headlands at the entrance to +the harbor. On a little island, where the channel branched, a brown +earthwork pointed ten heavy cannon so as to rake the seaward approaches, +and far back of it, on the edge of the bay, the walls and roofs of a +fortified town reared themselves orderly amid the green of the tropical +foliage. Everywhere was the appearance of industry and discipline. On a +beach near the town a group of sailors was engaged careening a small +brig to scrape the sea-growths from her sides, another party was filling +water-casks at a well-constructed reservoir, and the rattling of echoes +of carpenters' hammers came from a couple of storehouses in process of +construction near the water's edge. From a citadel in the centre of the +town and from flag-staffs erected on both forts and the water-battery +the flag of Libertaita fluttered in the breeze, vigilant sentries walked +the ramparts with military tread, and as the _Victoire_ and the _Hope_ +let go their anchors in the gentle ground-swell of the harbor, a battery +of eighteen-pounders roared out a welcome of nine guns. + +Tew was charmed with the appearance of the place, and upon going ashore +with Misson had his favorable impressions strengthened and confirmed. +The captains were received with great respect by Caraccioli, Misson's +lieutenant, who admired not a little the courage that Tew had displayed +in capturing his prize and in giving chase to Misson. + +The colony at this time was peopled by over one thousand men, many of +them having been captured by Misson in his prizes. Of these three +hundred had taken on with him, one hundred were natives of the island of +Mohilla, with whose queen Misson had formed a matrimonial and political +alliance, and the remainder were prisoners whom Misson intended to send +to their homes, and whom he employed in the mean time as laborers +around his fortifications. + +The day after the arrival of the captains at Libertaita a formal council +was held. Tew promptly expressed his willingness to join forces with +Misson, and was made second in command. + +The question of the disposition of Misson's numerous prisoners was +brought up at once. It was decided to tell them that Misson had formed +an alliance with a prince of the natives, and to propose to them that +they should either assist the new colony or be sent up the country as +prisoners. On this decision being imparted to them, seventy-three of the +prisoners took on, and the remainder desired that they be given any +other fate than that of being sent up into the wild and savage interior; +so one hundred and seventeen of them were set to work upon a dock near +the mouth of the harbor, and the other prisoners, lest they should +revolt, were forbidden, under pain of death, to pass certain prescribed +bounds. The _Hope_ lay in the harbor as a guard-ship, and the Johanna +men were armed and put on patrol duty; but while the pirates were +providing for their protection they did not forget their support, and +large quantities of Indian and European corn and other grain were sowed +in the fertile fields of Libertaita. + +Soon after this it was decided to send away the prisoners, as they were +too much of a burden for the infant colony. They were accordingly +summoned before the captains and told that they were to be set at +liberty. Misson informed them that he knew the consequence of giving +them freedom; that he expected to be attacked as soon as the place of +his retreat was known, and had it in his hands to avoid further trouble +by putting them all to death; but that Captain Tew had agreed with him +to practise humanity, and that they were to have their property restored +to them, and were to sail for a friendly coast the next morning in a +ship that was well provisioned but unarmed. All he asked was that they +should never serve against him. An oath to this effect was cheerfully +taken, and away the prisoners sailed to the nearest European +settlement. + +When they had gone Misson returned to the work of improving his town, +and gave the command of his ship, the _Victoire_, to Tew, who, with one +hundred and sixty picked fellows, set out to sweep the seas. He sailed +down the wind to the coast of Zanzibar, and off Quiloa made up to a +large ship which backed her main-topsail and laid by for him. Tew +engaged her for four hours, losing many men, but finding her a +Portuguese public ship of fifty guns and three hundred men, much more +than a match for the little _Victoire_, he attempted to make off. The +_Victoire_, however, was so foul from her long service that she could +not show her customary clean pair of heels, and the stranger, proving +fast and weatherly, drew up with her. The Portuguese Captain, a gallant +officer of great height and herculean strength, lay alongside the +_Victoire_ and boarded her at the head of his men; but the pirates, not +used to being attacked, and expecting no quarter, made so desperate a +resistance that they not only drove back the enemy with loss, but were +enabled to board in their turn. At first only a few followed the +Portuguese as they leaped back into their own ship; but Tew, perceiving +the desperate resolution of these, sang out, "Follow me, lads!" and +sprang over his enemy's rail. The Portuguese opposed the pirates firmly +for a time, but to Tew's cry, "She's our own! Board her! Board her!" his +men replied in continually augmenting numbers, and drove the defenders +back to the main-hatch. Here a bloody conflict ensued, for the +Portuguese Captain fought in the front rank of his men, and with voice +and example encouraged them to combat. Seeing this, Tew rushed forward +to meet him, and the two captains crossed swords with equal bravery. The +crews paused to observe the duel, and watched with fiercely excited eyes +the flashing sabres and shifting poises of their champions. The +Portuguese had a longer reach, and was much taller and stronger than the +pirate, but the latter had the agility of a panther, and was noted as +one of the best swordsmen of his day. Time and again the Portuguese +made a dash against his adversary with point or blade, only to be met +with an accurate parry or a quick return stroke that forced him backward +nearer and nearer to the open hatch. Finally Tew parried a furious lunge +and delivered his terrible return stroke on the neck of the Portuguese, +who threw up his hands and fell backward down the hatch. This ended the +fight, and the crew of the public ship called for quarter. + +With his rich prize, which yielded him one hundred thousand pounds in +Spanish gold, Tew put back to port, where, notwithstanding his severe +loss, his courage and dash were loudly acclaimed by the colony. +Caraccioli persuaded two hundred and ten of the Portuguese to join the +Libertaitans, and among them, to Misson's great pleasure, was found a +school-master, whose services he at once devoted to the instruction of +his negroes. + +Two sloops of eighty tons each had been built in a creek, and when they +were finished they were armed with eight guns apiece out of a Dutch +prize, and sent on a trial trip. They proved to be fast, weatherly +vessels, and on their return from their first trip to sea Misson +proposed to send them out on a voyage of survey to lay down a chart of +the shoals and deep water around the coast of Madagascar. As Tew was an +excellent navigator he was given command of the expedition and of one of +the sloops, while the school-master, who proved to be a good seaman and +skilful surveyor, commanded the other. The sloops were manned with a +crew of fifty blacks and fifty whites each, and their four months' +voyage enabled the negroes not only to learn how to handle the +boarding-pike, but, as they were anxious to learn and be useful, to pick +up a fair knowledge of French and seamanship. They returned with an +excellent chart and three prizes. Misson now determined to make a foray +in force, and, dividing five hundred men, white and black, between the +_Victoire_ and the _Hope_, he and Tew set out for the high seas; of +course a strong force was left behind as a garrison. + +Off the coast of Arabia Felix they fell in with a ship of one hundred +and ten guns belonging to the Great Mogul. This ship carried a crew of +seven hundred men and nine hundred passengers, and towered monstrously +above the low sides of the pirate vessels; but Tew on the starboard +quarter and Misson on the port bore up gallantly, and engaged her. To +the opening broadsides of the pirates she thundered an awful response. +Soon the wind died out, and thick clouds of smoke lay motionless on the +water; under its cover Tew brought the little _Hope_ alongside, and, +with his cutlass between his teeth and his pistol in his hand, clambered +up the lofty side. He had barely reached the rail when he was severely +wounded and knocked overboard by a pike-thrust. However, he soon came to +the surface, and managed, at the head of a few of his men, to enter one +of his enemy's lower-deck ports. In the mean time Misson had boarded the +Mussulman on the port quarter, and a hand-to-hand fight was going on +over the rail. Misson was hard pressed by numbers when Tew appeared from +the fore-hatch. One glance at this murderous-looking figure, with bloody +and smoke-grimed garments, rushing at them sword in hand from behind, +was enough for the Mussulmans, and with a wild shriek of "Allah!" they +broke and fled down the hatches, leaving the pirates in possession. + +[Illustration: HE WAS KNOCKED OVERBOARD BY A PIKE-THRUST] + +This proved a most valuable capture, as over one million pounds, besides +many rich silks, spices, valuable carpets, and diamonds were stored in +the prize's hold and strong-boxes. + +The prisoners were landed at a point between Ain and Aden, and the +captured ship brought back to Libertaita, where, as she had proved a +slow and unwieldly craft, she was taken to pieces. Her cordage and +knee-timbers were preserved with all the bolts, eyes, chains, and other +iron-work, and her guns were used in two strong water-batteries as an +additional support to the forts on the headlands. + +The colony was now in prime condition; a number of acres had been +enclosed, and afforded pasturage for three hundred head of cattle--a +purchase from the natives, who had begun to manifest a most friendly +spirit--the grain was ripening finely, the storehouses and magazines +were well under way, and the dock was finished. + +As the _Victoire_ was foul from long service and very loose from recent +storms, she was docked and practically rebuilt. When she was floated +again she was provisioned for a long cruise, and was about to set out +for the Guinea coast when one of the sloops came in, schooner-rigged, +with the news that she had been driven to port by five lofty ships, +Portuguese, of fifty guns each and full of men. + +The alarm was given, the forts and batteries manned, and the men put +under arms. Tew was given command of the English and Portuguese, while +Misson directed the French and one hundred disciplined negroes. Slowly +and majestically the fleet swept on towards the pirate stronghold; as +they came within easy gun-shot Tew leaped to the side of his +water-battery, and with both arms outstretched stood waving in one hand +the black flag, and in the other the banner of Libertaita, with its +white albatross on a blue field. A storm of solid shot greeted the +daring figure, but he leaped down unharmed, as battery after battery +and fort after fort opened with a steady roar against the invader. The +Portuguese dashed by the forts triumphantly, but wavered as they came +under the fire at close range of the heavy guns of the water-batteries. +They had thought to carry all before them with one bold dash, and after +passing the headlands had deemed victory assured, but here they were in +a hornets' nest. Under the dreadful fire from Tew's and Misson's skilful +gunners two of the Portuguese vessels were speedily sunk. The others +turned to flee; but they were not to get off so easily. No sooner were +they clear of the forts than the pirates manned both ships and sloops, +gave them chase, and engaged them in the open sea. The Portuguese +defended themselves gallantly, and one of them, which was attacked by +the two sloops, beat off the Libertaitans twice; two made a running +fight and got off, and the third was left to shift as she could. This +last, a fifty-gun ship of three hundred and twenty men, defended herself +till the greater number of her crew were killed. Finally, finding that +she was left to an unequal fight, she asked for quarter, and good +quarter was given. Thus ended Admiral X's "holiday jaunt to wipe out a +nest of pirates," as the Portuguese Commander-in-Chief had described his +expedition in advance. + +None of the prisoners were plundered, but, on the contrary, the pirate +captains invited to their table the officers of the captured ship, and +congratulated them upon their courage and ability. + +For some months after this nothing occurred to interrupt the quiet of +the colony. Finally, wearying of inactivity, Tew took the _Victoire_ and +three hundred men and sailed in search of prizes. Sixty miles from +Libertaita he found a strange colony of buccaneers. The ship hove to and +the Captain went ashore alone to make the acquaintance of the strangers. +While he was absent from the ship a great gale rose and blew the +_Victoire_ ashore on a dangerous reef; she went down before his eyes, +carrying with her every man of the crew. + +This was not the end of misfortune, for a few nights afterwards the two +Libertaitan sloops appeared, and from one of them Misson came ashore +with disastrous news. The same night that the _Victoire_ went down the +natives had risen and destroyed Libertaita; Misson had saved a quantity +of diamonds and bar gold, and fled in the sloops with the remnant of his +band; they were now without a ship and without a haven. + +The plunder and the men were equally divided between the sloops, and the +two captains sailed in company for the coast of America. Misson's vessel +went down with all hands in a gale off Cape Infantes, but Tew made a +peaceful voyage to the British colonies. He settled in Rhode Island, +dispersed his crew, and lived for a time unquestioned with his wealth. +He might have reached an honored old age, with nothing to recall the +memories of his past, but at the end of a few years he was persuaded to +go once more "on the account." In the Red Sea he engaged a ship of the +Great Mogul, vastly his superior in size and armament. During the +action Tew received a mortal wound, but fought on as long as he could +stand. When he fell his men became terrified, and suffered themselves to +be taken without resistance. They were all hanged; and so ended the last +of the Libertaitans. + + + + +XII + +THE VROUW VAN TWINKLE'S KRULLERS + +A Story of Old New York + + +Clean, snug, and picturesque as a Holland town was our city of New York +for some years after it had dropped its juvenile name of New Amsterdam +and adopted its present name; but not so suddenly could it change its +nature and Dutch ways. Dutch neatness and the Dutch tongue still reigned +supreme. Substantial wooden houses turned gable ends of black and yellow +Holland bricks to the front, until Pearl Street appeared like a +triumphal procession of chess-boards; while no mansion in that then +fashionable quarter could boast more big doors and small windows than +that of the worthy burgher Van Twinkle, and the little weathercock on +the roof was as giddy as any of its neighbors, and as undecided as to +which way the wind actually did blow. + +An air of festivity pervaded this residence on a certain winter's day in +the early part of the eighteenth century; windows were thrown open, and +Gretel, the eldest daughter of the family, followed by black Sophy, +armed with brooms, mops, and pails, entered that _sanctum sanctorum_, +the best parlor, to scrub and scour with unwonted energy; for to-morrow +would be that greatest of Knickerbocker holidays, _Nieuw Jaar_, or New +Year, when every good Hollander would consider it his duty to call upon +his friends and neighbors, and the front door with its great brass +knocker would swing from morning till night to admit the well-wishers of +the season. + +In the big kitchen also active preparations were going forward. A royal +fire blazed in the wide chimney, and the Vrouw Van Twinkle, in short +gown and petticoat, was cutting out and boiling those lightest and +richest of krullers for which she was famous among the good housewives +of the town: real Dutch krullers, brown as nuts, and crisp as pie-crust. + +"Out of the way, youngsters!" cried the dame to a boy and girl lounging +near to watch the boiling, "or spattered will you be with the hog's fat. +Take thy sister, Jan, and off with her to the Flatten Barrack. She would +enjoy a good sledding this fine day, and that I know." + +"Rather would I go to the skating on the Salt River," said Jan. + +"But that you must not. It I forbid, for very unsafe is it now, thy +father did observe only this morning." + +"Foolishness, though, was that, mother," argued Jan, "for last night +Tunis Vanderbeck from Breucklyn came over on the ice, and told me that +firm was it as any rock, and smooth as thy soft, pink cheek." + +"Thou flatterer!" laughed his mother; "but not so canst thou pull the +wool over my eyes; so away with you both to the sledding, and here are +two stivers with which to buy New-Year cakes at Peter Clopper's +bake-house." And diving in the patchwork pocket hung at her side, Madam +Van Twinkle produced the coins, which sent the children off with smiling +faces to the hill at the end of Garden Street, stopping on the way to +invest in the sweet New-Year cakes, stamped with a crown and breeches. + +Jan made short work of his; but Katrina had scarce begun to nibble her +fluted oval when she spied an aged man, with a long gray beard, begging +for charity. + +"See, Jan," she cried, "the poor, miserable old beggar! How cold and +hungry he looks!" + +"Then to work should he go." + +"But it may be no work he has to do. Ach! the sight of him makes my +heart to ache, and help him will I all I can." So saying, the +kind-hearted girl darted to the mendicant's side and slipped her cake +into his hand. + +"A thousand thanks, little lady!" exclaimed the man, fervently; "for I +am near to starving, or I would not be here; and you are the first who +has heeded me to-day." + +He was evidently English; but Katrina cared not for that, and, carried +away by her feelings, added a guilder, given her at Christmas, to her +gift of the New-Year cake, thereby calling forth a shower of +benedictions, although the old fellow seemed strangely nervous +meanwhile, glancing in a frightened manner at each passer-by. As soon as +the little maid's back was turned he slunk into a dark alley and out of +sight. + +"A silly noodle art thou, Katrina, thus to throw away thy presents," +said Jan, as they hurried on. But his sister only shook her head, and +smiled as though quite satisfied, while her heart beat a happy roundelay +all the short December afternoon as she slid on her wooden sled and +frolicked with the little Dutch Vans and Vanders on the Flatten-Barrack +Hill. + +Twilight was falling when the young Van Twinkles wended their way home, +to find their bread and buttermilk ready for them by the kitchen fire, +and their father and mother and Gretel gone to a supper of soft waffles +and chocolate and a New-Year's-Eve dance at the Van Corlear Bouwerie. + +"The best parlor, does it look fine and gay, Sophy?" asked Katrina, as +she finished her evening meal. + +"Dat it do," replied the old slave woman; "for waved am de sand on de +floor like white clouds, and de brass chair-nails shine jest like little +missy's eyes. 'Spect de ole mynheer and his vrouw come down and dance +dis night for sure." + +"What mynheer, Sophy?" asked Jan. + +"De great mynheer in de portrait--your gran'fader, ob course. Hab you +chillens neber heard how on New-Year Eve, when de clock strike twelve, +down come all de pictur' folkses to shake hands and wish each oder +'Happy New-Year,' and den, if nuffin disturb 'em, mebbe dey dance in de +firelight." + +"Really, Sophy, do they?" asked the little girl. + +"Yah, dey do. Master Jan may laugh if he please, but right am I. My ole +moeder hab so tole me, and wif her own eyes hab she seen de ghostes +dances." + +"A rare sight it must be! I wish that I could see it," said Katrina; and +later, when she went in to inspect the parlor, she gazed up with +increased respect at her stolid-faced Holland ancestors. + +"Much would I love to see them tread a minuet!" sighed Katrina again, +and even after her head was laid on her pillow the idea haunted her +dreams, until, as the tall clock in the hall struck eleven, she started +up wide-awake, with the feeling that something eventful was about to +happen. + +"Almost spent is the old year!" she thought, "and soon down the picture +folk will come to greet the new. Oh, I must, I must them see!" and +although the household was by this time asleep, she crept out of bed, +slipped on her clothes, and stole noiselessly down-stairs. + +"Still are they yet," she whispered, glancing up at the pictured faces. +"But near the hour draws, and hide I must, or they may not come down, +for Sophy says that spectators they do not love. Ah, there is just the +place!" and running to the linen chest she lifted the lid, and +clambering lightly in, nestled down among the lavender-scented sheets +and table-cloths. + +"A very comfortable hiding-spot, truly!" exclaimed Katrina, as she +placed a book beneath the cover to hold it slightly open; and so cosey +did it prove that she grew a bit drowsy before the midnight bells chimed +the knell of another twelvemonth. Then indeed, however, she was on the +alert in an instant and peering eagerly out. Her corner was in shadow, +but the ruddy glow from the hickory logs revealed the portraits still +unmoved, and she was about to utter an exclamation of disappointment, +when she was startled to see a door leading to the rear of the house +suddenly swing open and the figure of a man carrying a lantern enter +with slow and stealthy tread. An old man, apparently, with gray hair and +beard, and a sack thrown across his shoulders. "'Tis the Old Year +himself!" thought the fanciful girl; but the next moment she almost +betrayed herself by a scream as she recognized the beggar to whom she +had given her New-Year cake that very afternoon. + +Slowly the midnight marauder approached, and then, all at once, a +wonderful transformation took place. The bent form became straight, the +gray beard and hair were torn off, and a younger and not unhandsome man +stood before the little watcher's astonished gaze. + +She was too dumfounded to do anything but tremble and stare, as the +intruder seated himself at the table and ate and drank, almost snatching +the viands in his eagerness. His appetite appeased, however, he seemed +to hesitate; but then, with a muttered, "Well, what must be must, and +here's for home and Emily!" he seized a silver bowl and dropped it into +his bag, following it up with the porringers and plates, that were the +very apple of the Dutch house-mother's eye. + +Too frightened to speak, poor little Katrina watched these proceedings; +but when the thief laid hands on a certain old and beautifully engraved +flagon, she murmured: "The loving-cup! the dear loving-cup! Oh, my +father's heart 'twill break to lose that!" + +"Plenty of the needful here!" chuckled the burglar; but a moment later +he had his surprise, for out of the shadows suddenly emerged a small, +slight figure, and a stern voice cried, "Stop!" + +With a startled exclamation the man fell back, and then, as Katrina +exclaimed, "The loving-cup that is so old--ah, take not that!" he +dropped into a chair, ejaculating, "By St. George, 'tis the little lady +of the cake herself!" + +"That is so," said Katrina. + +The man reddened. "Believe me, miss," he said, "I did not know this was +your home, or naught would have tempted me here; and this is the first +time I have ever soiled my fingers with such work as this." + +"Then why begin now?" asked Katrina. + +"Because I was down on my luck, and there seemed no other way. Listen! +For two years I have served as a soldier in the British army, and no +more honest one ever entered the province. I did not mind hard work, but +my health gave out, and at last the rude fare and the homesickness I +could stand no longer, and three days ago I deserted from the English +fort down yonder. The officers are on my track, but, so far, disguised +as an old beggar, I have escaped detection beneath their very noses. If +caught I shall be flogged within an inch of my life, and, it may be, +shot. Just over the water my wife and a blue-eyed lass like you are +longing for my return, but, saving your guilder, I was penniless, and +so, for the first time, determined to take what was not my own." + +"Poor man!" sighed Katrina, the tears starting. + +"To-morrow night the _Golden Lion_ sails for England. Her crew, after +the New-Year festivities, will be dazed at least, so I can readily +conceal myself until the ship is out at sea. Then ho! for home and my +little Jeanie!" + +"And as a bad, wicked robber will you go to her?" asked the girl. + +"No; indeed no!" cried the man, emptying his sack. "You have saved me +from that, little lady, as well as from starvation to-day, for I would +not steal from you or yours. Give me but these krullers to eat while I +am a stowaway, and all the plate I will leave." + +"Yes, that will I do," said Katrina, rejoiced, and she herself dropped +the crisp cakes into the man's bag. "Now at once go, and godspeed." + +"But first you must promise to mention this meeting to no one until +after the _Golden Lion_ weighs anchor at seven o'clock on New-Year's +night." + +"To my mother may I not?" asked Katrina. + +"No, no, to nobody! Oh, remember my life is in your hands! Promise, I +beg." + +His tone was so imploring the girl was touched. + +"I like it not, but I promise," she said. + +"Thank you. Farewell." And again disguised, the deserter departed, as he +came, by a back window. + +Feeling as though in a dream, Katrina rearranged the disordered table, +and then, creeping up to bed, fell so sound asleep that she never heard +Jan when he awoke the household with his "Happy New-Years." + +Gayly the sunbeams glittered on the black-and-yellow gables that 1st of +January, and fully as resplendent were the maids and matrons of New York +in their best muslins and brocades; while Katrina presented a very +quaint, attractive little vision when she came down in her taffeta gown +and embroidered stomacher, with her amber beads about her neck. Her face +was hardly in accord with her attire, however, when she found every one +demanding, "What has become of the krullers--the New-Year krullers?" + +Madam Van Twinkle looked flushed and angry. "The beautiful cakes with +which I so much trouble took!" she cried. "Ach! a bad, wicked theft it +is, and a mystery unaccountable." + +"Mebbe de great ole mynheer and his vrouw gobbled 'em up," put in Sophy. + +"But what is worse," continued the dame, "in one big kruller, as a +surprise, I did hide a ring of gold sent to Gretel by her godmother in +Holland, and that too is whisked away." + +At this Gretel also began to bewail the loss, and suggested that +perhaps little black Josie, Sophy's son, was the miscreant. + +"If so it be, to the whipping-post shall he go!" cried the enraged +Dutchwoman, starting for the kitchen; but before she reached the door +Katrina exclaimed, "No, mother, no; Josie is not the one." + +"Why, mine Katrina, what canst thou know of this?" asked Mynheer Van +Twinkle, in amazement. + +"I know--I know who has taken the cakes," stammered the blushing girl; +"but tell I cannot now." + +"Not tell!" gasped her mother. "Why and wherefore?" + +"Because my promise I have given. But when the night comes, then shall +you know all." + +"Foolishness is this, Katrina," cried the good housewife, who was fast +losing her temper as well as her cakes, "and at once I command you to +say who has my New-Year krullers." + +"And my ring from Rotterdam," added Gretel. + +"But that I cannot. A lie would it be. Oh, my vader, canst thou not me +trust until the nightfall?" + +"Surely, sweetheart. There, good vrouw, say no more, but leave the +little one in peace. A promise thou wouldst not have her break." + +"Some there be better broken than kept; but whom promised she?" + +Katrina was silent, and now even her father looked grave. "Speak, _mijn +kind_; whom didst thou promise?" + +"I cannot tell." + +"See you, Jacobus, 'tis stubborn she is, and wrong it looks. But list, +Katrina; you shall speak this minute, or else to your chamber go, and +there spend your New-Year's Day." + +At this mynheer puffed grimly at his pipe, and Gretel would have +remonstrated, but without a word Katrina turned and left the parlor. +Ascending to her little attic-room, she removed her holiday finery, and +sat sadly down to work on her Flemish lace, trying to console herself by +repeating: "Right am I, and I know I am right. A promise once given +must not broken be," while the New-Year callers came and went, and the +sound of merry greetings floated up from below. + +So it was scarce a happy New-Year, and the little weathercock must have +pointed very much to the east if he considered the way the wind blew +within-doors, for even Jan turned fractious, and declared, "There was no +fun in calling on a parcel of old _vrouws_," and he should go to the +turkey-shooting at Beekman's Swamp instead. But this his mother forbade. +"Shoot you will not this day," she said, "for at fourteen, like a +gentleman and a good Hollander should you behave. So start at once, and +my greetings bear to the Van Pelts and Vander Voorts and Mistress +Hogeboom," while his father carried him off with him to call on the +dominie's wife. + +This visit over, however, they parted company, and Jan lingered long in +the market-place to see the darkies dance to the rude music of horns and +tom-toms. Here he encountered two of his chums, Nicholas Van Ripper and +Rem Hochstrasser, carrying guns on their shoulders. + +"Thee, Jan? Good!" they cried. "Now come with us to the turkey-shooting. +A prize thou art sure to win." + +"But I started the New-Year visits to make!" said Jan. + +"And paid them in the market-place!" laughed Nicholas. "Thou art a sly +one, Jan! But great sport is there at the Swamp to-day; much better than +the chatter of the girls and a headache to-morrow." + +"So think I, Nick; but I have on my _kirch_ clothes;" and Jan glanced +down at his best galligaskins and his coat with its silver buttons. + +"Not a bit will it hurt them; so come along." And thus urged, Jan joined +his friends, and was soon at Beekman's Swamp, where a bevy of youths +were squandering their stivers in the exciting sport of firing at live +turkeys. + +Nick and Rem did well, and each bore off a plump fowl, but luck seemed +against Jan, who could not succeed in even ruffling a feather; while at +last he had the misfortune to slip and get a rough tumble, besides +soiling his breeches and tearing a rent in the skirt of his fine +broadcloth coat. + +"Ha! ha! What will Madam Van Twinkle say to that?" laughed his +unsympathetic companions, when they saw Jan stamping round, his little +queue of hair, tied with an eel-skin, fairly standing out with rage. + +"Whatever she says, 'twill be your fault, ye dough-nuts!" he shouted, +and would have indulged in some rather forcible Dutch epithets had not +his cousin Tunis Vanderbeck come up at the moment, saying, "Mind it not, +Jan, but with me come to Breucklyn to skate." + +"Yah; better will that be than facing the mother in this plight," said +Jan; and he was skating across the Salt River before he remembered that +he had been positively forbidden to venture there. + +"Sure art thou that the ice is strong, Tunis?" he asked. + +"Not so strong as it was. The thaw has weakened it some, but 'twill hold +to-night, if--" But at that instant an ominous cracking sounded beneath +their feet, and Tunis had just time to glide to a firmer spot before a +scream rang through the air, and he looked back to see the dark surging +water in an opening in the ice, and Jan's head disappearing beneath. + +While, in the twilight, Katrina sat by her window, thinking of blue-eyed +English Jeanie, she was startled by a voice on the shed roof without +calling, "Let me in, Katrina--let me in;" and on opening the casement a +very wet and bedraggled boy tumbled at her feet, sputtering out, "Run +for dry clothes and a hot drink, my Trina, for nearly drowned am I, and +frozen as well." + +The girl hastened to obey, and not until her brother was snug and warm +in her feather-bed did she ask, "Whatever has happened to thee, Jan?" + +"Why, on the river I was, and the ice it broke, and in I fell. But for +an old cove who risked his life to save me, in Davy Jones's locker would +I be this minute; for never a hand did Tunis Vanderbeck stir to help +me, and unfriends will we be henceforth." + +"And thy _kirch_ suit is ruined. Does the mother know it?" + +"No; for fear of her I came in by the roof, but I met the father +outside, and angry enough he is because I went to the shooting and on +the river. He says that on bread and water shall I live for a week, and +to the Philadelphia Fair shall I not go;" and a sob rose in the boy's +throat. "But what is queerest, Katrina, the old chap who pulled me out +seemed to know me, and gave me this for you," and Jan produced a moist, +soggy package, which, on being undone, revealed a single broken kruller, +in the centre of which, however, gleamed a heavy gold ring. + +"Good! good! Oh, glad am I!" cried Katrina; and hastening to put on her +festival dress, when the clock chimed seven she went dancing down to the +parlor, and creeping to her mother's side, whispered, "Now, my moeder, +all will I tell thee." + +In amazement the family listened to her story of the midnight visitor, +and when she ended by slipping the ring on Gretel's finger, saying, "No +common thief was he, for this he sent me by Jan, whom he has saved from +a grave in the Salt River," the Dutchwoman caught her to her heart, +sobbing, "Oh, my Katrina, forgive thy mother, for it was in my temper I +spoke this morning, and a true, brave girl hast thou been. To think that +but for thee our rare old silver would be on its way to England!" Gretel +too hugged her rapturously, and the tears were in Mynheer Van Twinkle's +eyes as he asked: + +"How can I repay my daughter for saving the loving-cup of my ancestors, +and for her lonely day above?" + +"By forgiving Jan, father, and letting him come to the New-Year supper. +Disobedient has he been, I know, but well punished is he, and he is full +of sorrow." + +"Well, then, for thee, it shall be so." + +So Jan was summoned down, and a truly festal evening was held within the +home circle, beneath the gaze of the old mynheer and his vrouw, who +beamed benignantly from their heavy frames. + +The _Golden Lion_ sailed true to time, and never again was the deserter +heard of on this side of the Atlantic; but for long after Katrina was +pointed out as "the blue-eyed maid who saved the family plate and gave +away Vrouw Van Twinkle's New-Year krullers." + + + + +XIII + +THE SIGN OF THE SERPENT + +A Story of Louisiana in the Early Eighteenth Century + + +The two Vidals--the father Captain and second in command at Fort +Rosalie,[B] and the son Jean, who wore the stripes of a sub-lieutenant, +though his face had scarcely a sign of beard on it yet--paced the +parapet of the fort in absorbed talk. Below them rolled the brown flood +of the Mississippi, gilded into tawny gold by the setting sun. In the +splendor of that glow stood out in bold relief the galley which had +arrived from New Orleans that day. Young Jean, who had been absent in +the little Louisiana capital for two months, and had received during the +visit his commission from Governor Perier, had been a passenger, and was +now eagerly listening to the news of the fort. + + [B] Fort Rosalie, during the early years of the eighteenth + century one of the advance-posts of the Louisiana colony, was + built on the bluff where now stands the beautiful city of + Natchez. This whole region for many miles up and down the river + and inland was the seat of the Natchez nation, originally a + Toltec race which had emigrated from Mexico shortly after the + Spanish conquest. + +"It is almost word for word as I tell thee," said the senior. "'Twas a +month since that Monsieur le Commandant sent for Big Serpent to tell him +the Governor's wish, but not, as Monsieur Perier would have chosen to +make it, the beginning of negotiation. For all feel that it is not well +the Natchez should remain in power so near the fort. But Chopart's words +were like the lash of the slave-whip. + +"'Does not my white brother know,' answered the Great Sun of the +Natchez, 'that my people have lived in the village of White Apple for +more years than there are hairs in the plaited scalp-lock which hangs +from the top of my head to my waist?' + +"'Foolish savage!' said Chopart. 'What ties of friendship can there be +between our races? Enough for you to know that you must obey your +master's orders, as I obey mine.' + +"'We have other lands; take them, but leave the village of White Apple +to the Natchez. There is our temple, there the bones of our forefathers +have slept since we came to the banks of the Father of Waters,' pleaded +Big Serpent. + +"'Within the next moon comes the galley from the big village of the +French. If White Apple is not then delivered to my soldiers, and your +people gone, the great chief of the Natchez will be sent down the river, +bound hand and foot, to rot in prison. Go. I have spoken,' and Monsieur +le Commandant waved Big Serpent out of his presence." + +"And do the Natchez submit? Will Big Serpent give up their beautiful +village? Mon Dieu! It's a shame! It might have been managed differently +hadst thou been made commandant instead of Chopart, _mon pere_." + +"Tut! tut!" said the father. "Chopart may carry his load, and welcome. +'Twould have irked me much to have done the Governor's will, for, after +all, 'tis the sword, not the scabbard, which kills. Warning of treachery +and conspiracy has come from White Apple, for thou knowest the old +Princess had a French husband and loves his race. Yet her son, the +chief, would bleed out every French drop in his veins if he could. I +like not the signs, though only five days ago Big Serpent came to Fort +Rosalie, and when Monsieur le Commandant flung the report of foul play +in his teeth, the chief smiled like a baby in the face of its mother, +and answered: 'Let my brother believe what he sees. On the seventh day +hence my people will bring thee more than the tribute due for the time, +thou hast granted, and will then give up White Apple to the French.' Yet +Sergeant Beaujean, who has been at the village since, says there are no +signs of preparation for departure, and that warriors are pouring in +from all the outlying country. We shall know in two days more. In the +mean time, Chopart reviles at all advice to keep the garrison under +arms, with closed gates and loaded cannon. The insolent calls doubters +cowards and old women. My sword should answer that taunt," continued the +grizzled soldier, fiercely, "were it not for a bad example at this time. +Big Serpent, though young in years, is as old in guile as the most +ancient wiseacre of his tribe. So I fear to have thee go to visit Akbal +now, _mon fils_, for the chief's brother is sure to be deep in any +mischief brewing." + +"Better reason, then," answered Jean, "to make the venture. Time flies +swiftly, and I, surer than another, could go safely and might find a +clew to hidden danger. Yet 'tis hard to break bread and play the spy." + +Captain Vidal paced up and down, his features working in doubt, as the +new thought forced its way to acceptance. He looked wistfully at his +only son. "And thou wouldst go there and pit thy young wits against the +Indian's devilish cunning? Well, it may do! Akbal was ever thy sworn +brother and hunting comrade." So it was arranged without further words, +but the father's convulsive hand-clasp, when Jean, in hunter's +buckskins, bade him good-bye at sunrise next morning, proved how loath +he was. + +It was ten o'clock when Jean arrived in White Apple, which was about +fifteen miles from Fort Rosalie. Eight miles lay through the black muck +of a swamp where even the wariest foot and quickest eye found their way +with trouble. The foul morass into which the river highlands sloped down +on the landward side gave the shortest road. But its profusion of deadly +reptile life wriggling and hissing at every turn encompassed the narrow +path across the little knolls and tussocks which give the only +foot-grip, with no slight peril to a blundering step. An easier route +meant nearly double the distance. + +Almost the first greeting was that of Akbal, but his manner was distant. +He knew of Jean's long absence, but he asked no questions with the +tongue, though his eye was keenly curious. + +"I come to chase the buck with my friend once more before the Natchez +seek a new hunting-ground," said Jean. + +"Akbal not hunt to-day," was the answer, in broken French; "must listen +to wisdom of great chiefs in council. They meet even now in the Temple +of the Sun. Go; the woods are full of deer and turkeys; but first must +eat, for Akbal's friend much hungry from his walk." + +This hospitable dismissal discomfited Jean, for it seemed to close the +gates to further knowledge. The breakfast of venison and sweet maize got +no seasoning of cheer in the gloomy looks of the boyish chief. Through +the door of the lodge the young Frenchman saw the lines of Natchez +warriors stalking through the streets towards the temple, while not a +sound arose in the village. All moved as silently as if they were a +marching troop of phantoms. Akbal sat patiently as a bronze statue, +waiting his guest's motion to depart. + +In the centre of the village stood the temple--a huge, round structure +built of logs, now wrinkled with years, and surmounted with a +cylindrical roof thatched with swamp-canes, leaves, and Spanish-moss in +an impervious mat. It rose twenty feet higher than the tallest lodges, +and from one side extended an arched thick-set hedge, embowering a long +passage to the adjacent forest, a quarter of a mile away. Here the +priests and medicine-men of the Sun were wont to seclude themselves from +the rest of the tribe. + +The way to accomplish his quest suddenly flashed on Jean's mind. Once he +parted from Akbal, seemingly to plunge into the forest, he could make +his way to the exit of the long, bowery avenue, and thence come to the +outside of the temple. There, it might be, he could learn all he wished, +though with great peril to his life. So when the young chief pressed his +hand in a sad and silent adieu, Jean, after a brief push into the +tangled brake, fetched a detour, and found himself at the mouth of the +passage. Through its dusky green light he moved cautiously forward to a +coign of vantage. This he found in the shrinkage of two ill-fitting +logs, which gave a space for seeing and hearing. + +In the centre of the temple, on a rude stone altar, smoked the +unquenched fire which had never died since the natal spark had flamed in +a Mexican temple two hundred years before. This half a dozen hideously +painted priests fed with fragrant barks and gums. Around them five +hundred warriors squatted on the ground, and passed the council-pipe, +while the priests mumbled and chanted, and a portion of the sacred band +drew forth soft and monotonous music from long reed instruments. A +rattlesnake, coiled around the right arm of the chief priest, swayed its +crest with an undulating motion to the cadences of the music, and its +bright eyes seemed to watch every motion with malign intentness, as if +it were the guiding spirit of the council. The braves wore no war-paint, +for their expedition was not meant to blazon its own purpose; but their +faces, so far as they could be seen through the smoke, were distorted +with such ferocity and lust of blood that they could dispense with the +help of pigments. And so the priests chanted, and the players played +their soft melody, and the high-priest stroked his serpent's hideous +head as it curved and swayed to the rhythm of the tune, while the +watching Jean was maddened by the delay and the passage of time and +opportunity. At last, perhaps mindful of some signal from the +high-priest, the snake darted its full length and struck with open mouth +as if at some enemy,[C] Big Serpent arose from the seated ranks. + + [C] The rattlesnake was sacred to the Sun God of the Natchez, + and was made to play an important part in their religious + ceremonies, and the mummery which entered, too, into their war + councils. Something similar exists in the rites of the Moqui + Pueblos to-day--a race supposed also to have been of Toltec + origin. + +The Great Sun's oration to his warriors, spoken in the Indian tongue, +was mostly jargon to the listener, but he construed enough of it to +unravel the Natchez plot. Under the guise of paying their tribute, they +would surprise the fort the next morning. + +Jean waited for nothing more, but withdrew swiftly, and dashed into the +forest. To reach Fort Rosalie as quickly as possible he took his way +again through the noisome swamp which formed so much of the short-cut +to the French post. He had found his way well towards the heart of that +place of gloom and reptilian life. Inspection of every tuft of grass and +weed now made progress slow, and Jean looked forward to a few moments of +rest on the hummock twenty feet off which projected from the edge of a +canebrake. How lucky, he thought, that he had escaped without detection! +On top of this thought came the shock of a challenge, which made his +heart leap. + +"_Halte, la!_" and the figure of Akbal pushed through the reeds. His gun +lay in the hollow of one arm, and from the other hand dangled a silver +clasp with which Jean's hunting-shirt had been fastened, and which he +had not missed till this moment. It had been found in the bowery lane +near the temple. + +"Better Akbal than another Natchez bring this back to his French +brother," he went on, with a note of mockery in his voice. "Jan Akbal's +prisoner; no hurt him; to-morrow set free." + +Quick as a flash Jean's gun swung to his shoulder. + +"Stand aside, Akbal, or I shoot you dead. It must be that or pledge of +free passage." + +The two stood like duellists with levelled weapons, waiting for the +word, with stern faces and flashing eyes. This was not the time nor +place to remember old comradeship and the rite of blood-brotherhood +which had once been solemnized between them. That rite swore them to an +undying amity, as if born of the same mother and they had tasted the red +drops hot from each other's veins in testimony. But all this was +forgotten. To Jean, Akbal was the barrier to prevent his saving the +garrison. To Akbal, Jean was the agent bent on foiling his people's +revolt from French oppression. But though their fingers touched +triggers, they did not press them. Perhaps this hesitation would have +lasted but a second. + +But now Jean heard a whirring noise that disturbed even his tense train +of thinking with a cold chill. He dashed his musket butt at something, +but it flecked him like a giant whip-lash. A monstrous rattlesnake had +fastened its fangs deep in his thigh. Another duellist had stepped to +the fore. Akbal saw the snake spring, and was himself almost as swift in +leaping the interval. He shook his head as he saw the enormous size of +the serpent, which was in the deadliest season of its venom, wriggling +with a broken back. + +"Much bad bite, but try save Jean," said he, as he helped him across to +the larger hummock. Luckily Jean's canteen was full of brandy, and this +he gulped down eagerly, while the Indian cut away the buckskin from his +leg. Two needle-point punctures, to be sure, seemed scarcely worth +bothering about, but with an apology, "Knife much hurt, but good," he +plunged the keen-edged blade into the flesh, cutting out the envenomed +parts, and followed it by applying his lips and sucking at the wound for +a full five minutes. + +"Fine weed sometimes cure snake-bite. Big bush over there," and he +danced across the bubbling marsh to a bog-oak with a thick mass of green +at its base. The swollen leg and the pain which gnawed through the +drowsiness of the working venom told Akbal that there was no time to be +lost. Flint and steel quickly struck fire, and steeping leaves and roots +he made hot tea and a poultice. So the Indian nurse fought the terrible +poison in the veins of the patient all that afternoon and all the night +long in the firefly-lit darkness of that evil swamp. + +The panther screams, which mingled harshly with the subtler horror of +things hissing and splashing in the fetid pools, passed into the dreams +of Jean. Copper-colored fiends with serpent heads storming the palisades +of Fort Rosalie and shrieking the Natchez war-whoop sank their long +curved fangs in the body after the knife had rifled the head. "_Mon +pere! mon pere! sauve mon pere!_" he cried, in his agonized nightmare, +and then awoke, clutching Akbal's arm in a sweat of despair. + +"Jan better now, stronger; no more bad dream," said Akbal, who +recognized signs of coming strength; and indeed when daylight struggled +into the swamp the color of the French boy's face had got back its lusty +red. + +"Come, come, we must hasten to the fort! I am myself once more," and +Jean stumbled to his feet to fall back again with the sore stiffness of +his wounded thigh. Then he remembered the meaning of Akbal's presence +with a frown. The comrade-foe dragged the heart out of that look with a +word: + +"Go soon. Akbal no stop Jan now." He spoke with a proud sadness and +submission in his tone. The serpent omen had come from the Sun God--not +even that deadly bite could stop the young Frenchman's return, and he +himself had been but the instrument of duty. So he carefully bound the +sore leg, and they started across the boggy waste, Jean leaning on his +arm and limping with a determined step. It took long to traverse that +quaking and slippery road, and the sun climbed up the sky, and Jean +became half crazed with anxiety, for his leg would only do so much work, +with all the help of a human crutch. + +At last they emerged from the morass and began to climb the upland, +toiling on with the fiercest energy of Jean's tortured spirit. Hark! +that was the sound of cannon from the fort, and then they heard the +faint crackling of guns. "Too late!" half shrieked Jean Vidal, and he +sank on the ground with the reaction, hopeless, helpless, and his face +streaming with tears of rage and grief. Akbal dragged him to a sheltered +place under a bank, and leaped like a deer up the hill. He believed in +the sign of the Sun God, for the rattlesnake was the totem of the +Natchez nation. He did not reason, in his simple, superstitious loyalty, +that he could have left Jean to die of the serpent's bite. He only knew +that he had been inspired to cure him. Now he believed that the further +mission of salvation had been passed from Jean to him, and the French +blood in his veins warmed to the dedication. The lives of the garrison +might yet be kept from the tomahawk and the torture stake. + +The fort was already in the hands of the Natchez when Akbal arrived on +the bloody scene. The murdering crew gathered to his assembly whoop, +with Big Serpent at their head. He told the story of the supposed +miracle with fervent eloquence, and the lives of those who had not +already fallen in battle were spared, including Captain Vidal, for these +bloodthirsty warriors of the Natchez were pious in their way, and +believed the sign of the serpent. Jean Vidal, too, remembered the stroke +of that terrible fang with something like superstitious gratitude. Had +it not been for that he and Akbal would probably have slain each other +where they stood, and every Frenchman in the fort would have been +butchered or reserved for a more fiendish death. As it was, Chopart was +the only one to suffer execution, and he justly expiated the deeds of a +cold-blooded tyrant. + + + + +XIV + +A DRUMMER OF WARBURTON'S + +How a Boy Held Fort George at Cape Canso, in 1757 + + +A few hours ago I found an odd-shaped bit of blackened brass. The thing +lies before me now as I write. It is a drum-hook. I know this for the +simple reason that I was once a drummer-boy myself, and could not be +mistaken regarding such a familiar object. I found this drum-hook among +a lot of other odds and ends at the bottom of a well in an old, +long-abandoned fortification. The poor scrap of silent metal brings to +mind the tale of Rupert Haydon, drummer-boy in one of the old line +regiments. His deed of heroism was performed at this same old fort which +I have to-day been ransacking. Perhaps this drum-hook was once used by +him! It is not at all unlikely. + +By turning to your map of North America you can easily distinguish Cape +Canso, at the eastern extremity of the mainland of Nova Scotia. Upon an +island, about a mile from the shore and forming with it the harbor of +Canso, is the grass-grown fortress which I have mentioned. The name of +the island is George's; the fort has had several high-sounding titles. +Why should it not? It is old--older perhaps than others with claims of +easier proof. In 1518, over a century before the Pilgrims landed at +Plymouth, legend says that Baron de Lery threw up the first embankments +and claimed the country for the crown of France. Several times this fort +has been besieged and captured, at heavy loss of life. New England sent +expeditions against it. The bloodthirsty Indians repeatedly raided the +place. In 1745 Pepperell and his valiant little army of Massachusetts, +New Hampshire, and Connecticut militia remained here for some weeks, in +order to acquire drill and discipline before moving upon the boasted +Louisburg. And many another martial display has this neglected old fort +witnessed, and personages celebrated in our history have walked within +its ramparts upon occasion. + +In the year 1757 Fort George, as it was then called, had as its garrison +a small detachment from Colonel Warburton's regiment of foot. This +trifling force was compelled to watch over a wide extent of territory in +addition to the special place they occupied. France and England were +again at war, and both regular expeditions and lawless guerillas +abounded. + +On a certain day in midsummer the garrison embarked upon a small vessel +and sailed away to the relief of a threatened settlement. Rupert Haydon, +the drummer-boy, was left in charge of the fort. With him were several +women, wives of soldiers, and their small children. + +"We shall be gone but a week at most, drummer," Captain Peabody had +announced. "It suits me not to leave women and stores so ill protected, +but the commands of my superiors must be obeyed. However, it is scarce +likely that the enemy will have knowledge of the fort's weakness in time +to profit thereby." + +The drummer-boy stood at attention and saluted as the soldiers marched +out through the covered way. With the aid of the women he hoisted the +drawbridge and closed the massive timber gates. Then, scrambling up on +top of the parapet, he watched the little sailing craft, her decks all +bright with the scarlet-coated warriors, pass out through the narrow +harbor entrance and disappear from view around the first headland. +Scarcely had the transport so vanished, when Rupert's keen eyes +discovered another vessel making for the harbor from the opposite side. + +Mere supposition was useless. The newcomer might prove to be a friend. +If an enemy, the chance of being let alone was problematical. It was now +too late to recall the recently departed garrison. Upon the drummer's +young shoulders lay the whole burden of maintaining the dignity of the +English flag. + +Rupert Haydon was only a poorly educated boy, but he must have had a +great deal of latent talent. Even while gazing in consternation at the +fast-approaching vessel, he mentally mapped out a plan of campaign. +Hastily gathering the women about him, he explained the matter to them, +and secured their aid. They were all well used to the happening of the +unexpected, and inured to danger and fatigue. The wife of a British +soldier has never had an easy lot. These rugged-looking though +golden-hearted women donned some uniforms left behind by their husbands, +and became, in outward appearance at least, full-fledged soldiers. The +six small cannon mounted in the fort's bastions were loaded, small-arms +served out, and ammunition placed conveniently to hand. One of the +soldier-women mounted guard upon the ramparts, and marched up and down, +in plain view, with musket upon shoulder. The English ensign was, of +course, flying from the tall staff in the centre of the redoubt. + +As the vessel drew nearer, the little garrison began to bustle with +activity, and continued in the same fashion for some while. Two of the +soldier-women would come out of the fort, stroll down to the shore, +examine the stranger with an apparently mild curiosity, and then walk +off together over the hills. Meanwhile the others, including Rupert, +would come and go, disappearing and reappearing in all directions with +the aid of the rocky ravines and clumps of trees upon the island. The +idea of all this was to convince the new-comers, whoever they might be, +that the fort's garrison remained unimpaired, and took no special notice +of a single vessel. That the scheme had a certain effect was shown in +the fact that the stranger came to anchor far down the harbor, well out +of range of Fort George's cannon. It looked very much as if the +appearance of these redcoats coming and going about the island had +impressed her commander unfavorably. + +After some delay the ship hoisted a French ensign, and a small boat put +off from her side and headed for the fort landing. This boat contained +three men--two rowing, and one in the stern holding aloft a piece of +white cloth. It was evidently a flag of truce, coming to parley. + +Although his worst fears were now realized, and they plainly had a +formidable enemy to deal with, Rupert never wavered, but proceeded to +dispose of his forces in the best manner possible. Leaving only the +sentry upon the parapet, he marched out of the fort at the head of the +others, as if they merely constituted a suitable escorting party. One of +the squad he had equipped beforehand with a flag of truce similar to +that carried by the man in the boat. The drummer drew up his little +company in a single rank upon the glacis, about half-way between the +intrenchments and the water's edge. At such a distance their disguises +could not be discovered. Alone he advanced to the border of the +pebble-strewn strand, and there awaited the coming of the emissary. + +The latter was wary of approaching too hastily. He bade his oarsmen back +the skiff stern first to within ten or fifteen yards of the shore. Then +he stopped them, and, while they kept the boat in position with gentle +strokes, he held converse with the intrepid drummer by means of lusty +shoutings. + +"I wish to speak with your Commandant," began the stranger, using good +English, yet with a decided Gallic accent. "You are only a child.... A +drummer-boy?... Am I not right?... I judged so by your small stature and +pretty coat.... Inform the Commandant of your fort that I desire a few +words with him." + +"It is impossible," replied Rupert, coolly. + +"What? Impossible?" + +"Yes; I regret to say that the Commandant will not be able to see you at +present. But I am his representative, and can also act as your messenger +if you have something of importance to transmit." + +"O-ho! We are very high and mighty, it seems!" retorted the stranger, +angrily. "Like should have like for meals. I will not be so civil as I +first intended. Tell your Commandant that my name is Rabentine--Captain +Rabentine. I have the honor of commanding _La Belle Cerise_, privateer, +of St. Malo." + +"A French privateer!" ejaculated Rupert. + +"Just so," went on Captain Rabentine, looking from the drummer to his +escort, up at the fort, and back again to the drummer, with some +appearance of suspicion. + +"I had thought you were a navy frigate," rejoined Rupert, promptly. "We +are getting rusty for the want of a little fighting." + +The other seemed slightly taken aback at this statement. + +"Perhaps you may have such a chance even yet," he growled. + +"Well, Captain Rabentine," cried the boy, courteously, "what else am I +to say to the Commandant? For surely you took not all this trouble +merely to let us know whom our visitor might be?" + +"Inform him," shouted the privateer Captain, waxing wroth, "that I had +intended simply to lay in harbor here and weather out the coming gale. +That a good prize-ship is more to my liking than an empty fort! Perhaps +there might even have been a case of rare wine sent ashore by way of +compliment. But as he chooses to be so distant, and sends a drummer-boy +as fitting ambassador to a French Captain, I shall give myself the +pleasure of--But, pshaw! there is no money in this for my owners. Inform +your Commandant that I have a mind to anchor farther up the harbor, +where the shelter is good, for a few days. That I will not molest him if +he leaves me alone. There you have it in a nutshell. Go, and haste +quickly with the answer." + +Gravely turning on his heel the drummer strode back up the hill, joined +his waiting escort, and marched with them to the fort. He was gone upon +this pretended mission some little time; quite long enough further to +exasperate the privateer Captain. + +"Truly 'tis a matter of wonderful ceremony," he sneered, when Rupert, +after repeating the former precautionary measures with his escort, was +once more at speaking distance. "All this folderol is wearisome. Your +Commandant may regret not having sent an officer before we are through +with the thing. Did you sufficiently impress him with the fact that I +am not one to be trifled with? Does he realize that his garrison can +scarcely outnumber my crew? _La Belle Cerise_ carries one hundred and +fifty-four as natty sailors as ever swung boarding-pikes, and at a pinch +we can spare a round hundred for landing-party and still have enough on +board to work our biggest guns. He should be thankful that I show an +inclination to leave his puny fort untouched. What has he to say?" + +"Our two nations being at war at the present time," announced the +drummer, guardedly, "I am to tell you that we can offer no harbor unless +you care to surrender yourself and crew as prisoners, and your ship as +lawful prize. Failing this, you must--" + +"What? Zounds!" howled the easily excited Frenchman. "Your Commandant +may think this good jesting, but I do not share his opinions. Tell him +to look to his defences. The flag of France shall once more wave above +them. We will attack at once, and for every poor fellow I lose in this +worthless assault, two of your survivors shall be strung up to die. +Give way, my boys!" he cried, addressing his oarsmen. + +The boat sped off to the vessel. The drummer and his little party +returned within the fort, and prepared as best they could for what was +to follow. + +Almost immediately after the arrival of the privateer Captain on board +his ship, three great pinnaces were lowered to the water and filled with +men. The glitter from naked cutlasses, inlaid pistols, and carefully +held muskets could easily be distinguished among them. This flotilla was +soon ready, and at once started for the fort landing. Luckily for the +trivial band of defenders the wind was increasing to such an extent that +Captain Rabentine did not consider it wise to attempt manoeuvring his +ship in an unbuoyed and dangerous harbor. Therefore the flotilla was +without any aid from the guns of _La Belle Cerise_. Moreover, the waves +were commencing to run high, and the overloaded boats labored heavily. +It was necessary to keep them headed to the seas as much as possible, +and, in consequence, their progress towards the shore was rendered +extremely slow. + +Rupert Haydon and his improvised garrison were all ready. The loaded +cannon were trained as nearly as could be upon the approaching boats. +The women soldiers had kissed their children a fond good-bye, and shut +them up in the bomb-proof magazine, away from danger of flying +projectiles. + +When the flotilla had arrived within easy range, the young drummer +commenced discharging the battery as fast as he could pull the lanyards. +After him hurried the women, reloading the heated cannon. The roar of +the discharge came re-echoing back from the rocky cliffs repeated over +and over again, and the smoke-clouds temporarily hid the fort from view. + +This unskilful volley went wide of the mark, as was to be expected under +the circumstances, and yet inflicted great damage upon the +privateersmen. The thing came about after the following fashion: Upon +the very beginning of the cannonade, the officer in command of the +leading boat had bade his rowers swing their craft directly head on to +the fort, thus presenting as small a target as possible. Those in the +second boat, however, more intent upon watching the course of the +projectiles than anything else, had not noticed this manoeuvre, and +so, before anything could be done to prevent it, came smashing against +the other's gunwale. In the heavy sea then running this was specially +disastrous. The stricken boat had her side stove in, and the on-comer +was overturned. Both crews quickly found themselves struggling in the +water. Well convinced of the hopelessness of continuing their present +assault, the men in the remaining pinnace confined their efforts to +rescuing drowning comrades and getting out of range again as quickly as +possible. + +The gale had now increased considerably, and its gathering force gave +promise of still fiercer might. By the time the survivors of the boat +expedition had returned to their ship the day was drawing close to +twilight. Captain Rabentine well realized his double danger. Failing +shelter, which could only be found farther up the harbor, and in range +of the fort's cannon, he must put to sea. He was wild with anger at his +repulse. What would have been his condition of mind if he had known that +the defenders consisted merely of a boy and a few women dressed in +soldier clothes? + +Hastily ordering the cable slipped, Captain Rabentine saw to the +spreading of some small storm-sails, and tried to beat out of the +inhospitable harbor. But even here fortune seemed to be against him. The +full flood-tide was running, and although _La Belle Cerise_ strutted +bravely, she could make no perceptible offing. The only road to safety +lay directly past the fort and out the other entrance. The privateer +Captain well knew that one lucky shot might disable his ship, and cause +him to lose control over her. In such a wind and upon such a coast this +meant almost certain death and destruction. But it appeared to be his +only chance, and he had to take it. + +Down on the wind swept the privateer. Her decks were awash with foam. +She rolled and pitched like a mad thing. Her guns were lashed fast to +the deck ring-bolts. It would have been suicidal to try to use them in +such a sea. The crew clung to shrouds and railings, gazing ruefully upon +the nearing battlements which they had so unsuccessfully attempted to +assail. In a few minutes they were almost abreast of the green hill. +Scarcely a hundred yards distant were the grinning embrasures, from +which protruded the muzzles of cannon in plain view. + +[Illustration: SHE ROLLED AND PITCHED LIKE A MAD THING] + +Within the fort Rupert Haydon stood ready, lanyard in hand. The guns had +been more carefully sighted this time, and he felt sure that they could +not all miss such a monstrous mark. One pull upon the blackened cord and +the chances for a prosperous voyage of _La Belle Cerise_ of St. Malo +would be small. For a second he hesitated. Then dropping the lanyard, +cried: + +"No, no. It would be murder, not battle." + +Seizing the white flag of truce that had already been used in the +preliminary negotiations, and leaping upon the parapet, he waved it to +and fro. + +The meaning was instantly comprehended on board of the privateer. Not to +be outdone in courtesy, some sailors, at risk of life and limb, +scrambled aft to their own halyards. As the ship swept by, the proud +ensign of France descended to the deck in salute to the drummer-boy of +Warburton's. Ere it was hoisted again, _La Belle Cerise_ was a receding +speck upon the darkening, storm-swept ocean. + + + + +XV + +ROGERS' RANGERS + +The Famous New Hampshire Scouts of the Old French War + + +Rogers' Rangers were a famous partisan corps during the old French War. +Besides the regular forces employed, there were irregular or partisan +bodies, composed of Canadian French and their Indian allies on one side, +and English frontiersmen on the other. They acted as scouts and rangers +for either army, guarding trains, procuring intelligence, and +intercepting supplies destined for the enemy. Both were composed of +picked men, skilled in woodcraft, and excellent marksmen. One of Rogers' +companies was composed entirely of Indians in their native costume. + +The Rangers were a body of hardy and resolute young men, principally +from New Hampshire. They were accustomed to hunting and inured to +hardships, and from frequent contact with the Indians they had become +familiar with their language and customs. Every one of these rugged +foresters was a dead shot, and could hit an object the size of a dollar +at a hundred yards. + +There was no idleness in the Rangers' camp. They were obliged to be +constantly on the alert, and to keep a vigilant watch upon the enemy. +They made long and fatiguing journeys into his country on snow-shoes in +midwinter in pursuit of his marauding parties, often camping in the +forest without a fire, to avoid discovery, and without other food than +the game they had killed on the march. On more than one occasion they +made prisoners of the French sentinels at the very gates of Crown Point +and Ticonderoga, their strongholds. They were the most formidable body +of men ever employed in Indian warfare, and were especially dreaded by +their French and Indian foes. + +It was in this school that Israel Putnam, John Stark, and others were +trained for future usefulness in the struggle for American Independence. +Several British officers, attracted by this exciting and hazardous as +well as novel method of campaigning, joined as volunteers in some of +their expeditions. Among them was the young Lord Howe, who during this +tour of duty formed a strong friendship for Stark and Putnam, both of +whom were with him when he fell at Ticonderoga shortly afterwards. + +Major Robert Rogers, who raised and commanded this celebrated corps, was +a native of Dunbarton, New Hampshire. Tall and well proportioned, but +rough in feature, he was noted for strength and activity, and was the +leader in athletic sports, not only in his own neighborhood, but for +miles around. + +Rogers' lieutenant was John Stark, afterwards the hero of Bennington. +When in his twenty-fourth year Stark, while out with a hunting-party, +was captured by some St. Francis Indians and taken to their village. +While here he had to run the gauntlet. For this cruel sport the young +warriors of the tribe arranged themselves in two lines, each armed with +a rod or club to strike the captive as he passed them, singing some +provoking words taught him for the occasion, intended to stimulate their +wrath against the unfortunate victim. + +Eastman, one of Stark's companions when he was taken, was the first to +run the gauntlet and was terribly mauled. Stark's turn came next. Making +a sudden rush, he knocked down the nearest Indian, and wresting his club +from him, struck out right and left, dealing such vigorous blows as he +ran that he made it extremely lively for the Indians, without receiving +much injury himself. This feat greatly pleased the old Indians who were +looking on, and they laughed heartily at the discomfiture of the young +men. + +When the Indians directed him to hoe corn, Stark cut up the young corn +and flung his hoe into the river, declaring that it was the business of +squaws and not of warriors. Stark was at length ransomed by his friends +on payment of L100 to his captors. + +During the Revolutionary war Stark's services were rendered at the most +critical moments, and were of the highest value to his country. At +Bunker Hill he commanded at the rail fence on the left of the redoubt, +holding the post long enough to insure the safety of his overpowered and +retreating countrymen. At the capture of the Hessians at Trenton he led +the van of Sullivan's division, and at Bennington he struck the decisive +blow that paralyzed Burgoyne and made his surrender inevitable. + +Skilful and brave as were the Rangers, they were not always successful. +The French partisans, under good leaders, with their wily and formidable +Indian allies, well versed in forest strategy, on one occasion inflicted +dire disaster upon them. + +Near Fort Ticonderoga, in the winter of 1757, Rogers with 180 men +attacked and dispersed a party of Indians, inflicting upon them a severe +loss. This, however, was but a small part of the force which, under De +la Durantaye and De Langry, French officers of reputation, were fully +prepared to meet the Rangers, of whose movements they had been +thoroughly informed beforehand. The party Rogers had dispersed was +simply a decoy. + +The Rangers had thrown down their packs, and were scattered in pursuit +of the flying savages, when they suddenly found themselves confronted +with the main body of the enemy, by whom they were largely outnumbered +and of whose presence they were wholly unsuspicious. Nearly fifty of the +Rangers fell at the first onslaught; the remainder retreated to a +position in which they could make a stand. Here, under such cover as the +trees and rocks afforded, they fought with their accustomed valor, and +more than once drove back their numerous foes. Repeated attacks were +made upon them both in front and on either flank, the enemy rallying +after each repulse, and manifesting a courage and determination equal to +those of the Rangers. So close was the conflict that the opposing +parties were often intermingled, and in general were not more than +twenty yards asunder. The fight was a series of duels, each combatant +singling out a particular foe--a common practice in Indian fighting. + +This unequal contest had continued an hour and a half, and the Rangers +had lost more than half their number. After doing all that brave men +could do, the remainder retreated in the best manner possible, each for +himself. Several who were wounded or fatigued were taken by the pursuing +savages. A singular circumstance about this battle was that it was +fought by both sides upon snow-shoes. + +Rogers, closely pursued, made his escape by outwitting the Indians who +pressed upon him--such at least is the tradition. The precipitous cliffs +near the northern end of Lake George, since called Rogers' Rock, has on +one side a sharp and steep descent hundreds of feet to the lake. Gaining +this point, Rogers threw his rifle and other equipments down the rocks. +Then, unbuckling the straps of his snow-shoes, and turning round, he +replaced them, the toes still pointing towards the lake. This was the +work of a moment. He then walked back in his tracks from the edge of +the cliff into the woods and disappeared just as the Indians, sure of +their prey, reached the spot. To their amazement, they saw two tracks +towards the cliff, none from it, and concluded that two Englishmen had +thrown themselves down the precipice, preferring to be dashed to pieces +rather than be captured. Soon a rapidly receding figure on the ice below +attracted their notice, and the baffled savages, seeing that the +redoubtable Ranger had safely effected the perilous descent, gave up the +chase, fully believing him to be under the protection of the Great +Spirit. + +By a wonderful exercise of his athletic powers, Rogers, availing himself +of the projecting branches of the trees which lined the rocky ravines in +his course, had succeeded in swinging himself from the top to the bottom +of this precipitous cliff. It was a fortunate escape for him, for if +captured he would surely have been burned alive. + +In this unfortunate affair the Rangers had eight officers and one +hundred men killed. Their losses, however, were soon repaired, and they +continued to render efficient service until the close of the war. + + + + +XVI + +THE PLOT OF PONTIAC + +How Detroit was Saved in 1763 + + +The long contest between England and France for the right to rule over +North America, which lasted seventy years, and inflicted untold misery +upon the hapless settlers on the English frontier, was at last brought +to an end. England was victorious, and in 1763 a treaty was made by +which France gave up Canada and all her Western posts. + +With the exception of the Six Nations, the Indian tribes had fought on +the side of the French, whose kind and generous course had won their +affection. But the claims to the country which they and their +forefathers had always possessed were utterly disregarded by both +parties. Said an old chief on one occasion: + +"The French claim all the land on one side of the Ohio, and the English +claim all the land on the other side. Where, then, are the lands of the +Indian?" + +The final overthrow of the French left the Indians to contend alone with +the English, who were steadily pushing them towards the setting sun. +Seeing this, and wishing to rid his country of the hated pale-faces, who +had driven the red men from their homes, Pontiac, the great leader of +the Ottawas, determined--to use his own words--"to drive the dogs in red +clothing" (the English soldiers) "into the sea." + +This renowned warrior, who had led the Ottawas at the defeat of General +Braddock, was courageous, intelligent, and eloquent, and was unmatched +for craftiness. Besides the kindred tribes of Ojibways, or Chippewas, +and Pottawattomies, whose villages were with his own in the immediate +vicinity of Detroit, a number of other warlike tribes agreed to join in +the plot to overthrow the English. Pontiac refused to believe that the +French had given up the contest, and relied upon their assistance also +for the success of his plan. + +All the English forts and garrisons beyond the Alleghanies were to be +destroyed on a given day, and the defenceless frontier settlements were +also to be swept away. + +The capture of Detroit was to be the task of Pontiac himself. This +terrible plot came very near succeeding. Nine of the twelve military +posts on the exposed frontier were taken, and most of their defenders +slaughtered, and the outlying settlements of Pennsylvania and Virginia +were mercilessly destroyed. + +On the evening of May 6, 1763, Major Gladwin, the commander at Detroit, +received secret information that an attempt would be made next day to +capture the fort by treachery. The garrison was weak, the defences +feeble. Fearing an immediate attack, the sentinels were doubled, and an +anxious watch was kept by Gladwin all that night. + +The next morning Pontiac entered the fort with sixty chosen warriors, +each of whom had concealed beneath his blanket a gun, the barrel of +which had been cut short. His plan was to demand that a council be held, +and after delivering his speech to offer a peace belt of wampum. This +belt was worked on one side with white and on the other side with green +beads. The reversal of the belt from the white to the green side was to +be the signal of attack. The plot was well laid, and would probably have +succeeded had it not been revealed to Gladwin. + +The savage throng, plumed and feathered and besmeared with paint to make +themselves appear as hideous as possible, as their custom is in time of +war, had no sooner passed the gateway than they saw that their plan had +failed. Soldiers and employes were all armed and ready for action. +Pontiac and his warriors, however, moved on, betraying no surprise, and +entered the council-room, where Gladwin and his officers, all well +armed, awaited them. + +"Why," asked Pontiac, "do I see so many of my father's young men +standing in the street with their guns?" + +"To keep the young men to their duty, and prevent idleness," was the +reply. + +The business of the council then began. Pontiac's speech was bold and +threatening. As the critical moment approached, and just as he was on +the point of presenting the belt, and all was breathless expectation, +Gladwin gave a signal. The drums at the door of the council suddenly +rolled the charge, the clash of arms was heard, and the officers present +drew their swords from their scabbards. Pontiac was brave, but this +decisive proof that his plot was discovered completely disconcerted him. +He delivered the belt in the usual manner, and without giving the +expected signal. + +Stepping forward, Gladwin then drew the chief's blanket aside, and +disclosed the proof of his treachery. The council then broke up. The +gates of the fort were again thrown open, and the baffled savages were +permitted to depart. + +Stratagem having failed, an open attack soon followed, but with no +better success. For months Pontiac tried every method in his power to +capture the fort, but as the hunting-season approached, the disheartened +Indians gradually went away, and he was compelled to give up the +attempt. + +In the campaign that followed, two armies were marched from different +points into the heart of the Indian country. Colonel Bradstreet, on the +north, passed up the lakes, and penetrated the region beyond Detroit, +while on the south Colonel Bouquet advanced from Fort Pitt into the +Delaware and Shawnee settlements of the Ohio Valley. The Indians were +completely overawed. Bouquet compelled them to sue for peace, and to +restore all the captives that had been taken from time to time during +their wars with the whites. + +The return of these captives, many of whom were supposed to be dead, and +the reunion of husbands and wives, parents and children, and brothers +and sisters, presented a scene of thrilling interest. Some were +overjoyed at regaining their lost ones; others were heartbroken on +learning the sad fate of those dear to them. What a pang pierced that +mother's breast who recognized her child only to find it clinging the +more closely to its Indian mother, her own claims wholly forgotten! + +Some of the children had lost all recollection of their former home, and +screamed and resisted when handed over to their relatives. Some of the +young women had married Indian husbands, and, with their children, were +unwilling to return to the settlements. Indeed, several of them had +become so strongly attached to their Indian homes and mode of life that +after returning to their homes they made their escape and returned to +their husbands' wigwams. + +Even the Indians, who are educated to repress all outward signs of +emotion, could not wholly conceal their sorrow at parting with their +adopted relatives and friends. Cruel as the Indian is in his warfare, to +his captives who have been adopted into his tribe he is uniformly kind, +making no distinction between them and those of his own race. To those +now restored they offered furs and choice articles of food, and even +begged leave to follow the army home, that they might hunt for the +captives, and supply them with better food than that furnished to the +soldiers. Indian women filled the camp with their wailing and +lamentation both night and day. + +One old woman sought her daughter, who had been carried off nine years +before. She discovered her, but the girl, who had almost forgotten her +native tongue, did not recognize her, and the mother bitterly complained +that the child she had so often sung to sleep had forgotten her in her +old age. Bouquet, whose humane instincts had been deeply touched by this +scene, suggested an experiment. "Sing the song you used to sing to her +when a child," said he. The mother sang. The girl's attention was +instantly fixed. A flood of tears proclaimed the awakened memories, and +the long-lost child was restored to the mother's arms. + + + + +THE END + + + + +STRANGE STORIES FROM HISTORY + + +Each Post 8vo, Illustrated, with Introduction, 60 cents. + +AMERICAN HISTORICAL FICTION FOR BOYS AND GIRLS + +These books tell thrilling stories of the personal life and heroic deeds +of Americans in the great struggles of Colonial times, the Revolution, +1812, and 1861, which have welded together and built up the American +nation. They are full of a close human interest and a dramatic quality +which cannot be imparted in compact histories, although these tales are +usually founded upon actual historical events. They enlist and hold the +attention of readers, and they also clear the historical perspective and +convey lessons in courage and patriotism. Mr. George Cary Eggleston's +successful "Strange Stories from History" deals in part with heroes of +other nations, but these books, while similar to that in many respects, +tell of those whose gallant deeds gave us the America of to-day. + +The following are the titles: + + STRANGE STORIES OF COLONIAL DAYS. By Francis Sterne Palmer, + Hezekiah Butterworth, Francis S. Drake, G. T. Ferris, Rowan + Stevens, and others. + + STRANGE STORIES OF THE REVOLUTION. By Molly Elliot Seawell, + Howard Pyle, Winthrop Packard, Percival Ridsdale, and others. + + STRANGE STORIES OF 1812. By W. J. Henderson, James Barnes, S. + G. W. Benjamin, Francis Sterne Palmer, and others. + + STRANGE STORIES OF THE CIVIL WAR. By Robert Shackleton, W. J. + Henderson, Capt. Howard Patterson, U.S.N., L. E. Chittenden, + Gen. G. A. Forsyth, U.S.A., and others. + + + + +---------------------------------------------------------------------- + +Transcriber's Note: + + +Minor punctuation errors (e.g. periods instead of commas) have been +corrected without note. Inconsistent hyphenation and capitalization have +not been corrected. + +Illustrations have been moved to directly after the corresponding +paragraph. An advertisement has been removed from the beginning of the +book, as there is an identical one at the end, and a duplicate title +page has been removed from between the introduction and the beginning of +Chapter I. + +Decorative italics (e.g. on chapter subtitles) have not been represented +in the plain-text versions of this book. + +The following corrections were made to the text: + +p. 32: extra hyphen removed (Tommy-Five-Canoes to Tommy Five-Canoes) + +p. 152: Jar to Jaar (_Nieuw Jaar_) + +p. 159: He to he (he seized a silver bowl) + +p. 165: thout to thou (canst thou not me trust) + +p. 166: missing close quote added ("There was no fun in calling on a +parcel of old _vrouws_,") + +p. 174: extra close quote removed (lash of the slave-whip.) + +---------------------------------------------------------------------- + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Strange Stories of Colonial Days, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STRANGE STORIES OF COLONIAL DAYS *** + +***** This file should be named 34536.txt or 34536.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/4/5/3/34536/ + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, S.D., and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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