CHAPTER XIV
A SCOUTING EXPEDITION IN THE DEAD OF WINTER
One day about the end of February, Edmund came out of Rogers's hut, andsaid:--
"Rogers is going on a scout, boys, down to Ticonderoga, and will takeyour company. Johnson is going to send over fifty Mohawk Indians underCaptain Lotridge, and there'll be a number of regulars, too. There willbe about three hundred and fifty men in the party, so that there won'tbe much chance of your being treated as we were in our first expedition.An engineer lieutenant named Bhreems is going with you, and will makesketches of the fort. You are to try and take some prisoners to bringback information."
We set out on the third of March, 1759.
The snow was deep, and the Rangers and Indians were on snowshoes. Theregulars followed us, plodding along heavily through the snow. Wereached Halfway Brook that night, and the next day got over to LakeGeorge. We waited till it was dark and then marched down the lake to theFirst Narrows, which we reached about two in the morning.
It was bitter cold, and already some of the men were so badlyfrost-bitten that twenty of them had been sent back to Fort Edward.
"Now, boys," said Rogers, "we must keep under cover all day and hidetill night comes on. You can't have any fires. Get into sheltered spotsand huddle together to keep warm, and shift round now and then to giveevery one a fair chance."
We huddled together like sheep and covered ourselves with our blankets.Occasionally we rose, stamped our feet and beat our hands, and thencrouched down again.
When it was dark we put on our rackets and set out again. By daybreak wereached the landing-place. Rogers sent scouts to see if any of the enemywere out. They reported that there were two parties of them cuttingwood on the east side of Lake Champlain.
[Sidenote: FRENCH WOODCUTTERS]
Rogers now marched with fifty Rangers and as many Indians down to theisthmus, and we went up the same hill from which John Stark and EngineerClark made their observations the year before. Everything lookeddifferent in the winter. We were acting as a guard to Mr. Bhreems, whowent up to the crest of the hill and made sketches of the fort. Amos andI crept along the sidehill to where a few Indians and Rangers werewatching some Frenchmen at work on the other side of the lake. They werecutting down trees and chopping them up into firewood.
"I suppose we've got to go over and capture some of those men, Amos."
"Yes; seems a p-pity, too, to attack men cutting wood. It puts me inmind of home. That's what I'd be doing now if I were there."
Rogers left a few scouts to watch these men, and the rest of us returnedwith the engineer.
The weather grew colder and colder. All this time we could have nofires. We watched each other to see if an ear or a nose were gettingfrost-bitten. I told Amos that his right ear looked pretty white, andthat he had better see if there were any feeling in it.
He took off his mittens and pinched it.
"It don't hurt a bit. There isn't a mite of feeling."
I gave it a good rubbing, and he soon had feeling enough in it. "Thatcomes from wearing such long ears, my boy."
His toes felt numb, and he went to a place that was bare of snow, tookoff his rackets, and stamped to get some life into his feet.
The regulars suffered much more than we did, for they had no rackets,and had been wallowing along in the deep snow. So many were frost-bittenthat Rogers sent all the regulars back to Sabbath Day Point, and thirtyRangers with them.
Amos went with this party. They were told to build fires to keepthemselves warm, and to wait for us.
[Sidenote: THEY CAPTURE SOME PRISONERS]
At three in the morning the rest of us started out, Rogers, threelieutenants, one regular, and forty Rangers, and Captain Lotridge withforty-six Mohawk Indians.
We went southward to avoid being seen, and crossed South Bay about eightmiles south of the fort. Here we came upon the trail of a large party ofIndians who had gone toward Fort Edward; and Rogers sent off a couple ofscouts to notify the men at the fort.
Then we turned and marched north in a couple of files, till we gotwithin half a mile of the place where the French were cutting wood.
Two Rangers and two Indians were sent forward to scout. They returnedand reported that about forty Frenchmen were at work opposite the fort.
"Now, boys," said Rogers, "get ready."
We threw down our blankets, and crept up silently till we were nearthem. Then we rushed on them and took several prisoners. Many otherswere killed by our Indians.
The French over at Fort Ticonderoga saw what was going on, and someeighty Canadians and Indians ran out of the fort followed by about onehundred and fifty regulars.
They pursued us.
"Spread out, boys, into a line abreast. Don't let them get a raking shotat you. Make for that rising ground over there."
"I thought the old man wouldn't clear out without giving them a littlefun," said McKinstry. "'Twouldn't be neighbourly after all the troublethey are taking to entertain us."
We retreated till we reached the rising ground, and then made a stand.The Canadians and Indians had snowshoes, and were a good deal ahead ofthe regulars. As they approached us, McKinstry said: "I wonder what kindof a shot you can make, Ben, with that French gun you've got. I'll takethat big Frenchman over there with the blue shirt on."
"Well, then, I'll take the fellow next to him on the left."
They ran up toward us, and began to fire. We waited till they got close,and returned their fire. As the smoke blew away, McKinstry said:--
[Sidenote: A WARM RECEPTION]
"Both of our men are down. You did well, Ben. It's a good deal easier toshoot a partridge than it is to shoot a man who is running at you with agun in his hand."
The French fell back and waited for the regulars, and we started onagain.
We reached a long ridge, and crossing to the further side of it, halted.
They came close to us, and McKinstry and I again chose our men. TheRangers poured a hot fire into them. We could not see till the smokelifted.
"Your man is down, Ben; and I can see my man running away, but helimps."
"His toes may be frost-bitten, Mac."
"They weren't five minutes ago."
Our last fire completely routed the French, and they gave up thepursuit.
Two Rangers were killed; one of them was next to me as he fell. Theregular who went with us was shot, and an Indian was wounded.
Of the enemy, some thirty were killed. We had the advantage inposition, being sheltered by the ridge.
We kept on the go till twelve o'clock that night, having marched overfifty miles since we started in the morning. This, together with ourthree small scrimmages, might be considered an ample day's work. Thesnow was about four feet deep, and many of the party had their feetfrozen, for it was bitter cold.
When we got to Sabbath Day Point, we found the rest of our men there,and a number of good fires. We warmed ourselves at them, and ourcompanions brought us some warm food and drink.
Amos's ear was puffed up, and his toes were so sore he could hardlywalk.
We were very tired, and rolled ourselves up in our blankets near thefires, and had a sound sleep.
The next day we marched as far as Long Island, and camped there thatnight.
At sunrise one of our Indians brought word that a large herd of deer wason the lake near the west side.
[Sidenote: A HERD OF DEER]
McKinstry, Martin, Amos, and I got leave to go after them with someother Rangers and Indians. Amos started with us too.
"This is f-fun, Ben. A whole herd of d-deer waiting to be knocked over.Oh, my feet!"
He limped along, and the sweat stood out on his face. "It's no use, Ben.I can't do it. I call that t-tough luck--to be cheated out of the bestchance for hunting I ever had. Good-by."
He felt as bad over it as a boy of twelve would to lose Thanksgivingdinner.
We divided into two parties. A half a dozen Indians walked up the lakebeyond the deer, so as to dr
ive them toward us; and the rest of us wentto the west side of the lake and up into the woods, till we were hiddenfrom the lake.
We walked along on a path that was near the shore of the lake, till wewere opposite the deer, and the Indians were already in a line on thefurther side of them.
"Now, boys," said McKinstry, "spread out, so that they can't run to theshore, and in this going we ought to get them all."
We went down on the ice and drove them toward the Indians and thenformed a circle around them.
As we had rackets on, and the snow was deep, we could outrun the deer,and we killed the whole herd--twelve in all. Most of us shot our deer,but the Indians ran alongside of them and killed their deer with theirhunting-knives.
"No more salt beef for us for a week or so," said McKinstry. "I've beenlonging for a bit of venison."
We cut up our deer, and making some rude sleds out of bark, placed ourvenison on them, and soon overtook the rest of our party, for they movedslowly.
Rogers had sent word to Fort Edward that many of the men werefrost-bitten and unable to walk; and one hundred men with a number ofIndian sleds were sent to us and met us on the lake. Amos got on one ofthese sleds, and we marched back to Fort Edward.