Marching on Niagara; Or, The Soldier Boys of the Old Frontier

by Edward Stratemeyer

  CHAPTER XII

  DARK YEAR OF THE WAR

  At the time this story opens George Washington had been on the frontierfor nearly two years, with what was little more than a handful ofrangers and militia, doing his best to protect a section of countryextending through Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. His headquarterswere at Winchester, where the fort was in a good state for defence, buthe was frequently away from that place, directing minor operationsagainst the Indians, who, urged by their French allies, were continuallyattacking isolated settlements.

  At this time the future President of our country was still a young man,strong, resolute, and full of the fire of ambition. There was no thoughtof independence in those days. He was a subject of the King of England,and as a subject willing to do his utmost to sustain British authorityin America. He was dearly beloved by all the soldiers under him, but itmust be confessed that some of these soldiers were not as willing toremain in the army as was desirable.

  The trouble over the soldiers is easily explained. In the first placethe settlers objected to doing military duty when called upon to "playsecond fiddle" to the soldiers brought over from England, and in thesecond place the pay was poor and uncertain, and the pioneers, much asthey wished to defend their frontier and whip the French and Indians,could ill afford to neglect their farms and crops.

  "I'd like to enlist again," said one old pioneer to Washington, "But Ihave a wife and four little children at home, and if I don't care forthem they'll have nothing to eat. You know, sir, that I haven't receiveda dollar of pay for three months." This explanation was typical of many,and while Colonel Washington was sorry to have his men desert him thus,deep down in his heart he could not blame them for wishing to providefor those they dearly loved.

  Thus far the conduct of the war with France had been a series ofdisasters to England's cause, extending over a period of three years.Braddock's bitter defeat, in July, 1755, had been followed by Shirley'sabandonment of the plan to take Fort Niagara, and after a bitter battleat Lake George, Sir William Johnson, of whom we shall hear much morelater, was forced to give up his hope of pushing on to Crown Point. Thisclosed the fighting for the year, leaving the outlook for the coloniesgloomy indeed.

  War between France and England was formally declared in May, 1756--justtwenty years before that memorable Revolution which separated the UnitedStates from England. The Earl of Loudon was sent out to take command ofa new expedition north, but his work in that territory was no morevictorious than Johnson's had been, and as a consequence the Frenchcommander, General Montcalm, captured Oswego, with all the guns andsupplies left there the year previous by Shirley, and in his defeatGeneral Webb, with a large portion of the British troops, had to fallback to Albany.

  Early in the following year the English made greater preparations thanever to bring the war to a satisfactory close. Loudon sailed from NewYork with six thousand men, and was joined at Halifax by AdmiralHolborne with a fleet of eleven warships. The object of the expeditionwas to attack Louisburg, but when the English arrived in the vicinity ofthat French stronghold they found seventeen of the enemy's warshipsawaiting them, backed up by heavy land fortifications, and to attacksuch a force would have been foolhardy; so Loudon returned to New Yorkmuch dispirited.

  In the meantime, Montcalm was not idle. While Loudon was proceedingagainst Louisburg the great French general came down with a strong forcefrom Crown Point and attacked Fort William Henry. The fort was compelledto surrender, and did so with the understanding that the soldiers beallowed to march out with the honors of war. But the Indians with theFrench would not agree to this, and upon a given signal they fell withgreat fury on the English, slaughtering them right and left, butcheringnot only the soldiers but also about a hundred women and children whohad fled to the enclosure for safety. The barracks were battered downand burned, and the cannon, boats, and stores carried away. For theseoutrageous proceedings Montcalm was held responsible, but he claimedthat the Indians could not be controlled.

  The effect of so many disasters to British arms in other quarters, couldleave but one impression on the minds of the Indians who threatened thefrontier which Washington was trying to defend. These warriors came tothe conclusion that the English were too weak to defend themselves, and,consequently, they could rush in and kill, burn, and loot to suitthemselves. They were well aware that the French still held FortDuquesne, and that if the English came too far westward (in a chaseafter the redmen,) the French would rouse up in an effort to drive themback from whence they had come. More than this, there were among theIndians such rascally traders as Jean Bevoir, and these men, in order tofurther their own interests, told the Indians to go ahead and do as theypleased against the English, and that the French would never interfere,no matter how barbarous was the warfare thus carried on.

  At this time the population of Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia wasreckoned at about half a million souls, yet from such a numberWashington could only obtain two thousand militiamen and rangers, and,as stated before, this number was constantly decreasing, as one afteranother refused to re-enlist, for reasons already given. The youngcommander did all in his power to protect the numerous settlements fromattacks, but to cover such a wide expanse of territory was, under thecircumstances, impossible. The best that could be done was to stationparts of the army at various forts and hold the soldiers in readiness tomarch forth in any direction from whence should come an alarm.

  Colonel Washington had been out on a long tour of inspection, and wasjust settling down for a much needed sleep, when an orderly entered andtold him that an Indian messenger had arrived with news.

  "Who is the messenger?" questioned the commander, for in those days itwas necessary to guard against all possible treachery.

  "An under chief named White Buffalo, sir."

  Washington knew White Buffalo fairly well, and at once commanded thatthe chief be brought in. This was done, and the warrior delivered themessage written by Captain Tanner with all the ceremony the occasion, tothe Indian, seemed to require.

  "White Buffalo, my brother, has done well to bring this message soquickly," said Washington. "Fort Lawrence needs help and I shall giveall the help in my power. You know much of the Indians who are friendlyto the French. How soon will they attack the place, do you think?"

  "White Buffalo, my brother, has done well to bring thismessage so quickly."]

  "That White Buffalo cannot tell to his brother Washington," was thechief's answer. "They are eager for plunder and will hold off only solong as they think they are too weak to make the attack. But when theyfeel strong enough they will rush in, and if they take the fort, WhiteBuffalo is sure the massacre at Fort William Henry will be repeated."

  A few words more followed, and Washington hurried forth to notifyseveral of his officers of what was happening at Fort Lawrence. A forceof only thirty-six men could be spared from Fort Winchester, and thesewere placed under the command of Lieutenant Baldwick, an old Indianfighter. With the whites went nine Indians, who, after some littleurging, consented to act under White Buffalo, although they belonged toa different tribe. Washington was greatly tempted to take commandhimself but felt that he would soon be needed in other directions.

  The rangers chosen for this expedition were all on horseback, andLieutenant Baldwick started them off just as soon as they could begotten together, and the necessary food and ammunition could bedistributed. The Indians were on foot, but they were all good runners,and as the trail was a rough one for horses the warriors kept up withoutgreat difficulty.

  The expedition was yet within sight of Winchester when James Morris cameriding into the post, having been on a business trip a mile furthereastward. Dave's father met Colonel Washington at the entrance to thestockade and took the liberty to ask what the departure of the soldiersmeant.

  "They are on the way to Fort Lawrence," was the answer, and Washingtontold of the message received and of what White Buffalo had had torelate.

  "That's bad!" ejaculated James Morris. "Did he
say anything of my folks,Colonel?"

  "He mentioned your brother Joseph as being with Captain Tanner, but thatis all. I sincerely trust your family are in the fort and safe,"answered Washington.

  Dave's father had wished to see the commander about the purchase of anumber of horses needed by the British army, but now the business wasforgotten, and without delay the trader dashed off on his steed afterLieutenant Baldwick's command. As soon as he gained the expedition hesought out White Buffalo and asked concerning Dave.

  "He is at the fort," said the Indian. "And so is your brother Joseph andhis wife and Rodney and little Bright-face,"--meaning Nell.

  "And what of Henry?"

  "He was missing--but he may be at the fort when we get there." And aswell as he was able the warrior told of what had happened at UriahRisley's cabin and afterwards.

  Although the expedition moved on as rapidly as possible, it was highnoon before half the distance to Fort Lawrence was covered. The mid-daymeal was eaten on the march, and the only stop made was one to waterthe horses. Two white scouts and two Indians went ahead as spies, andhalf an hour later discovered the camp of four Indians, who had withthem one warrior who was suffering with a broken leg. A skirmish ensued,and two of the Indians, including the wounded man, were killed and theothers taken prisoners. After that the expedition moved onward withgreater vigilance than ever.

  It was nearly three o'clock, and the soldiers were still a mile from thefort, when one of the advance guard set up a shout. He had caught sightof two white men creeping along the edge of a ravine to the north of thetrail. A halt was ordered and another batch of scouts went forward tolearn who the whites could be.

  A short game of hide-and-seek now ensued, each side not knowing whetherthe other was a friend or an enemy. But at last there came a yell of joyfrom Sam Barringford as he swung his coonskin cap in the air.

  "I know you, Dick Hoggerly!" he shouted, to one of the scouts. "Don'tlet 'em shoot at us. I've got Henry Morris with me."

  "Hullo, so it's you, Sam," was the answer. "All right; we ain't shootin'no friends if we kin help it." And then the word was passed around andsoon the two wanderers were made welcome, Henry especially so by hisUncle James.

  The pair had but little to relate outside of what is already known. Theytold Lieutenant Baldwick that the Indians surrounded Fort Lawrencecompletely and that some sort of an attack had already taken place. Thiswas enough to arouse the spirit of even the most sluggish, and onceagain the expedition moved through the forest, determined to save thefort and its defenders, if such a thing were possible.