|
Main
- books.jibble.org
My Books
- IRC Hacks
Misc. Articles
- Meaning of Jibble
- M4 Su Doku
- Computer Scrapbooking
- Setting up Java
- Bootable Java
- Cookies in Java
- Dynamic Graphs
- Social Shakespeare
External Links
- Paul Mutton
- Jibble Photo Gallery
- Jibble Forums
- Google Landmarks
- Jibble Shop
- Free Books
- Intershot Ltd
|
books.jibble.org
Previous Page
| Next Page
Page 13
"Hold on, Brown," interrupted Kinnison. "Wasn't it a dark night?"
"Yes," replied Brown; "but we saw where the fife lay, by the quick
flashes of the guns. Didn't we, Hanson?"
"Yes; it's a fact," replied the drummer; "and when we returned, I found
a couple of balls had passed through the heads of my drum."
"I told you I thought you wouldn't swallow it," observed Brown; "but
here's the fife, and here's the mark where the ball passed through my
hand." Brown exhibited the scar, and doubt seemed to be set at rest.
Kinnison, however, shook his head, as if unsatisfied.
"There wasn't a great deal in the mere going after the fife at such a
time," continued the fifer, "but I thought I'd mention it, to give you
an idea of Hanson's spirit."
"Very well," remarked Hand, "we are satisfied now that both Mr. Brown
and Mr. Hanson are really men of spirit."
ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION.
"Mr. Davenport," said one of the young men, "won't you entertain us with
an account of something you saw or joined in, or did yourself, during
the war?"
"Were any of you at Quebec, with Arnold and Montgomery?" inquired one of
the veterans who had been an attentive and silent listener to the
preceding narratives.
"I accompanied Colonel Arnold on the expedition up the Kennebec,"
replied Davenport.
"Then tell us about it, won't you?" eagerly exclaimed one of the young
men.
"Ay, Davenport, tell us about it," added Kinnison. "I've never heard
anything I could depend on about that march through the wilderness. Old
Joe Weston tried to give me an account of it; but his memory was very
weak, and he hadn't the knack of talking so that a person could
understand him."
"Well, you see," began Davenport, "I was livin' up here on the Lexington
road, when I hear that General Washington had planned an expedition to
Canada by way of the Kennebec and the wilderness north of it, and that
Colonel Arnold had been appointed to command the troops who were to
undertake it. I was preparing to join the army at Cambridge; but I
thought that Arnold's expedition would suit me better than staying in
camp around Boston. So I furnished myself with many little knick-nacks,
shouldered my musket, and started off to offer my services. They placed
me in one of the companies of Major Bigelow's battalion. I believe there
was about eleven hundred men, in all, under Arnold's command, who
marched from Cambridge to Newburyport. There we embarked on board of
eleven transports, and, on the nineteenth of September, sailed for the
Kennebec. I must confess, I didn't like the idea of starting so late in
the year, because I knew we'd meet with some of the coldest kind of
weather before we reached Canada; but I had to be satisfied. At the end
of two days, we had entered the Kennebec and reached the town of
Gardiner. The only accident we had met with was the grounding of two of
our transports; but we got them off without much difficulty. I forgot to
mention, however, that two hundred carpenters had been sent up the
river, before we started from Cambridge, with orders to build two
hundred batteaux at Pittston, opposite Gardiner. Well, when we arrived
at that place, we found the batteaux ready, and immediately transferred
our baggage and provisions to them, and pushed up the river to Fort
Western. At that place our real work was to commence. Colonel Arnold
knew a great deal about the route, and he had undertaken it because he
knew what he had to encounter, and how much glory he would win if he
succeeded; but we men, who were to work and suffer most, knew nothing
about the route; except that it was through a wilderness where few white
men had set foot. Before the army started from Fort Western, two small
parties were sent forward to survey and reconnoitre the route as far as
Lake Megantic and the Dead River. Next, the army began to move in four
divisions. Morgan and his riflemen went first; next day, Green and
Bigelow, with three companies; next day, Meigs, with four companies; and
the next day, Colonel Enos, with the three other companies. You see, the
divisions started a day apart, so as to prevent any difficulty in
passing rapids and falls. Colonel Arnold waited to see all the troops
embarked, and then passed the whole line till he overtook Morgan. On the
fourth day after our party--that is, Green and Bigelow's--started from
Fort Western, we arrived at Norridgewock Falls. You may recollect, there
used to be a tribe of Indians called the Norridgewocks, who had a
village near these falls. I saw the plain where the village stood, and
the ruins of the church which was destroyed by Captain Moulton during
the war with the tribe. At the falls, all the batteaux had to be taken
out of the river and transported a mile and a quarter by land. You may
suppose, there was some work about that part of the journey. The banks
on each side of the river were very rugged and rocky; and we had to
carry the greater part of our baggage on our backs. One half of the
party helped the oxen to draw the boats up to the place where they were
to be put into the water again. We found some of the boats were leaky,
and a great deal of the provisions damaged, which was a matter of
importance, as you will see when I get farther on in my story. We were
seven days in passing round that fall and repairing our boats. During
those seven days, we worked as I had never seen men work before; and,
strangely enough, there were very few grumblers in our party. We joked
and sang lively songs, even during the hardest labor; and I got into a
much better humor than I was in when I started. We had an Irishman,
named Jim O'Brien, in our mess, who was one of the best hearted and
quickest-witted chaps I ever encountered; and we had a friend of his,
named Murtough Johnson, who was as dull and blundering as O'Brien was
keen and ready. So, you see, with O'Brien's jokes and Johnson's blunders
we had something to amuse us. I recollect, at one time, we were pushing
our boat up on the bank clear of the water, and Johnson handled his pole
so clumsily that he fell into the river. O'Brien hauled him out after he
had a severe ducking in rather cold water. The officers worked as hard
as the men. Every sinew and muscle was brought into use. Colonel Arnold
seemed to be ever active, cheering on the men, and often lending his
hand to aid them."
Previous Page
| Next Page
|
|