Bennett, Emerson - Ella Barnwell

by Ella Barnwell (lit)

  "Ay," answered Algernon, sadly, "that is what I fear. I dare not meet her suddenly, Isaac--the shock might be too much for her nerves. I have sent for you to go first and communicate intelligence of my arrival, in a way to surprise her as little as possible."

  "I'll do it, Mr. Reynolds; but--(here Isaac's voice trembled, his features grew pale as death, and his whole frame quivered with intense emotion)--but--but my--my father--what--"

  He could say no more--his voice had completely failed him.

  "Alas! Isaac," replied Algernon, deeply affected, and turning away his face; "think the worst."

  "Oh God!" groaned Isaac, covering his face with his hands, and endeavoring to master his feelings. "But--but--he's dead, Mr. Reynolds?"

  "He is."

  For a few moments Isaac sobbed grievously; then withdrawing his hands, and raising himself to an erect posture, with a look of resignation, he said:

  "I--I can bear it now--for I know he's in Heaven. Stay here, Mr. Reynolds, till I come back;" and he turned abruptly away.

  In a few minutes Isaac returned--his features calm, but very pale--and silently motioned the other to follow him. On their way to the cottage, they had to cross the common, where their progress was greatly impeded by a crowd of persons, who, having heard of Algernon's arrival, were deeply anxious to gather what tidings he might have concerning the movements of the Indians. In reply, he informed them of the threats made by Girty to him while a captive; and that, having since been a prisoner of the British at Detroit, he had learned, from reliable sources, that a grand army of the Indians was forming to march upon the frontiers, attack some stronghold, and, if possible, desolate the entire country of Kentucky; and that he believed they were already on their way.

  "More'n that, they're already here," cried a voice; "for it's them, I 'spect, as has attacked Hoy's Station, of which we've just got news, and are gitting ready to march at daylight and attack them in turn. Arm, boys, arm! Don't let us dally here, and be lagging when the time comes to march and fight!"

  With this the speaker turned away, and the crowd instantly dispersed to resume their occupations of preparing for the coming expedition, while our hero and Isaac pressed forward to the cottage of Mrs. Younker. At the door they were met by the good dame herself, who, with eyes wet with tears, caught the proffered hand of Reynolds in both of hers, pressed it warmly in silence, and led him into the house. Ella, who was seated at a short distance, on the entrance of Algernon, rose to her feet, took a step forward, staggered back, and the next moment her insensible form was caught in the arms of the being she loved, but had long mourned as dead.

  [Footnote 19: This happened in June, 1782. For particulars of Crawford's disastrous campaign, and horrible fate--_See Howe's Ohio_, p. 542.]

  CHAPTER XVI.

  THE ALARM AND STRATAGEM.

  It was late at night; but still Algernon Reynolds sat beside Ella Barnwell, relating the sad story of his many hair-breadth escapes and almost intolerable sufferings. A rude sort of light, on a rough table, a few feet distant, threw its faint gleams over the homely apartment, and revealed the persons of Isaac and his mother, his wife and her parents, together with several others, attracted hither by curiosity, grouped around our hero, and listening to his thrilling narrative with breathless attention.

  "After being sufficiently recovered from my wound and bruises, to proceed upon my journey, (continued Reynolds, to resume the account of his adventures since leaving him at Piqua) Girty came to me, and inquired what I thought of my fate, and how I felt concerning it; to which I replied, rather briefly, that it was no worse than I had expected, since knowing into whose hands I had fallen.

  "'Perhaps you think to escape?' said he, sneeringly.

  "'I have no such hope,' I replied.

  "'No, and by ----! you needn't have, either,' rejoined he, with a savage grin; 'for I'm determined you shall experience the torture to its fullest extent, if for nothing else than to revenge myself on you for your insults. I have only one thing to regret; and that is, that you didn't suffer in place of Younker, who is the only one whose torments I would I had had no hand in. But you--_you_ I could see tormented forever, and laugh heartily throughout. But I'll wreak my vengeance on you yet; I will by ----!' and with these words he left me to the charge of my guards, with whom he spoke a short time in the Indian tongue--probably giving them instructions of caution regarding myself.

  "It was about mid-day, when, with my arms tightly bound, we set off for Upper Sandusky, where, as I had previously been informed by Girty, I was condemned to suffer before the assembled tribes of the different nations, who would there shortly meet to receive their annual presents from the British. Our march, very fatiguing to myself, was without incident worthy of note, until one night we arrived at a small village on the Scioto river, where one of my guards, who could speak a little English, informed me resided the celebrated Mingo chief, Logan. A thought suddenly flashed across my brain. I had often heard of Logan, as the great and good chief, humane in his principles, and friendly to the whites--particularly those who were signally unfortunate--and it occurred to me, that could I gain an interview, I might perhaps prevail upon him to assist me in making my escape; and accordingly I at once expressed to my informant my desire of beholding one so celebrated. To my great delight, he replied that it was in Logan's cabin I was to pass the night--such being the private orders, as I afterwards learned, of Black Hoof--who had, it seems, from some cause unknown to myself, formed the design of saving my life; and had sent by the Indian in question, a verbal request to Logan, to use all his influence to this effect.

  "As we entered the village, we were immediately surrounded by men, women and children, who stared hard at me, but offered no violence. In a few minutes we gained Logan's hut, in the door of which I observed standing an old, noble-looking warrior, with a commanding form, and mild, benevolent countenance, who proved to be the chief himself. To him one of my guards now addressed a few words in Indian; and uttering a grunt, and looking closely at me some seconds, he moved aside, and we all passed in. Here I soon had a good supper of homminy provided me, whereof I did not partake lightly, having been from sunrise to sunset without tasting a morsel of food. Immediately after I had finished my repast, Logan approached me, and, in tolerable good English, said:

  "'White man, where from?'

  "I motioned toward the east, and answered:

  "'From sunrise--away beyond the big mountains.'

  "Logan shook his head sadly, and replied, with a sigh:

  "'Ah! so all come. Poor Indian get run over--he no place lay he head. But how you come all tied so?'

  "In answer, I entered into a full explanation of all that had occurred respecting the proceedings of Girty, from first to last. Logan listened throughout with great attention, shook his head, and rejoined:

  "'Ah! Simon Girty bad man--berry. Me always think so. Me sorry for you. Me do all me can for you. You shall sleep here. Me promise you nothing. Me tell you more sometime--to-morrow mebby!'

  "With this he rose and left the cottage, and I saw him no more that night.

  "Early in the morning, however, he came to me, and said that I was to remain at his cabin through the day; that he had laid a plan to effect my release from death, but not from captivity--the latter not being in accordance with his principles, nor in his power; that for this purpose he had despatched two young braves to Upper Sandusky, to speak a word in my favor; but that I must not be elated with hope, as it was very doubtful how much they might effect.[21] Notwithstanding his caution to the contrary, my spirits became exceedingly exhilarated; and grasping his hand in both mine, I pressed it to my heart in silence; while my eyes became suffused with tears, and the old chief himself seemed not a little affected.

  "Late the night following, the messengers returned; and on the morning succeeding, we resumed our journey. In parting from the noble old chief, he shook my hand cordially, but gave me no intimation of what would probably be my fate.

  "When with
in sight of Upper Sandusky, crowds of warriors, women and children came out to meet us, and, seeing me, set up many a hideous yell, until I again became alarmed for my safety, and fearful that Logan had not succeeded in his magnanimous design. This impression was the more strongly confirmed, shortly after, by one of my guides informing me that I must again run the gauntlet. Accordingly every preparation being speedily effected, I started upon the course; but possessing more strength and activity than before, and a better knowledge of what I had to perform, I succeeded in breaking through the lines, and reaching the council house unharmed. Here I was safe for the present; or until, as I was informed, my fate should once more be decided by a grand council.

  "The council in question was speedily convened; and on the opening thereof, a British agent, one Captain Druyer, made his appearance, and requested permission to address the assemblage, which was readily granted. He spoke rapidly, for a few minutes, with great vehemence; and though I understood not a word he uttered, yet something whispered me it was in my favor; for I observed that the glances directed towards me, were milder far than those on my previous trial.

  "To sum up briefly, it seems that Logan had despatched his messengers to Druyer, urging him to exert all his influence in obtaining my reprieve; and to effect this humane design, the latter had begun by stating to the Indians that their great white father, of whom he was an humble representative, was at war with the Long Knives; that nothing would please him better, than to hear of his red children having sacrificed all their enemies; but that in war, policy was ofttimes more effectual than personal revenge in accomplishing their destruction; and that he doubted not, if the prisoner present were put in his possession and taken to Detroit, that the great white chiefs of his own nation would there be able to extort from him such valuable information as would make the final conquest of the Long Knives comparatively easy. To this proposition, which was received rather coldly, he had added, that for this privilege he was willing to pay a fair recompense; and that so soon as all the information necessary had been gleaned from the prisoner, he should, if thought advisable, again be returned to them, to be put to death or not, as they might see proper. To this arrangement, all having at last consented, the gallant Captain advanced to me, shook my hand, and said that my life was for the present safe, and that I was to accompany him to Detroit, where I would be treated as a prisoner of war.

  "It is impossible to describe my feelings, on hearing this joyful intelligence; therefore I shall leave you to imagine them, aided as you will be by your own experience under similar circumstances. And now let me close my long narrative as briefly as possible; for the hour is already late, and I must rise betimes on the morrow to join this expedition against the savages."

  "Surely, Algernon," exclaimed Ella, with pale features, "you are not going to leave us again so soon?"

  "Where duty calls, Ella, there is my place; and if I fall in honorable action, in defence of my country and friends, perchance my life may atone for matters whereof _you_ are not ignorant."

  Ella buried her face in her hands, to conceal her emotion; and Algernon, with an effort at composure, again proceeded.

  "At Detroit I experienced kind treatment, as a prisoner of war; but still it was captivity, and I longed for freedom. Many, many an hour did I employ in planning my escape; yet month upon month rolled on, and still I remained in durance. At last startling rumors reached me, that the Indians of the different tribes were banding together, to march upon the frontiers and depopulate the country; and remembering the savage threat of Girty, I doubted not he was the instigator, and would be leader of the expedition; and I determined, at all hazards, if such a thing were in the province of possibility, to effect my escape, and give the country warning of the impending danger. To be brief, I succeeded, as my presence here tells for itself; but no one knows, save myself, and He who knows all things, the misery I suffered from fatigue, lack of food, and the fear of again being captured by some roving band of savages--the which I shall detail, perhaps, should my life be spared me, at some future period, but not at the present.

  "I swam the Ohio, a short distance above the Falls, and made my way, to the best of my judgment, directly towards Boonesborough, where I arrived, a few days since, in a state of complete exhaustion. The noble old hunter received me warmly; from whose lips I heard, with thrilling emotion, the particulars of the pursuit, headed by himself, and the rescue of two of my dearest friends, their present abode, as also many startling events that had transpired during my absence; and in return, I communicated to him the alarming intelligence which I have before alluded to. So soon as I felt myself sufficiently strong for the journey, I left Boonesborough for Bryan's Station, and here I am, and thus my tale."

  "And a mighty tough time you've had on't Mr. Reynolds, for sartin, and no mistake," rejoined Mrs. Younker, with a sigh, wiping her eyes. "Ah! me--poor Ben!--poor Ben!--I'm a widder now in arnest. Well, the Lord's will be done. The good Book says, 'The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord;' and them good words, my children and friends, must be our consolation."

  But little more was said; for each of the party felt oppressed with a weight of sadness, at the thought of the many mournful events a year had brought forth; and as the hour was late, each and all presently betook themselves to rest.

  Meantime, the preparations of the garrison for the morrow had been going forward in every part of the station; lights were moving to and fro; and all within the cabins, and on the common, was bustle and activity. At last the sounds gradually ceased, the lights went out one by one, and all finally became tranquil for the night.

  About an hour before day-break, the sleepers began to rouse themselves, and all was soon again in commotion. Horses were led forth, saddled, returned and fed, and every thing got in readiness to throw open the gates and march forth so soon as it should become sufficiently light for the purpose.

  At last came the exciting moment of all. Some were standing in groups, and weeping bitterly at the thought of parting, perhaps for the last time, with their fathers, husbands and sons; some were running to and fro with anxious messages; some were clasping each other to their hearts, in agonizing silence, and praying in secret that the Great Ruler of all might preserve and happily restore them again to the idols of their affections; some had mounted their noble steeds, or were leading them forth for the purpose--and all was in Babel-like confusion.

  "Farewell, my friends," said Algernon, as he stood in the door of Mrs. Younker's cottage, grasping one after another the proffered hands of its weeping inmates, among whom was the wife and mother-in-law of Isaac. "Farewell, dearest Ella; we may never meet again on earth. Farewell--farewell!" and pressing her hand to his lips, he rushed forth with a heaving heart, not daring to trust himself longer in her presence.

  Isaac and his father-in-law followed the example of Reynolds, moved away with weeping eyes, and all were quickly in their saddles.

  A few minutes later the roll was called, and the order given by the commanding officer to form in double file and throw open the eastern gate. Scarcely were the words uttered, when there arose a series of terrific Indian yells, accompanied by a volley of firearms, and every face became b lanched with surprise and dismay, and looked from one to the other in astonishment.

  "By heavens!" cried a voice; "our fighting 'll be at home, I reckon, judging by the specimen before us."

  Dismounting from their horses, the garrison, together with many of the women and children, now rushed to the southern pickets, where, through loop-holes and crevices, they beheld, only a few rods distant, about a hundred savages, running to and fro, jumping up and down, whooping, yelling, screeching and firing at the station, accompanied with all the wild, fantastic gestures of loosened madmen.

  "Thar's not more nor a hundred o' the varmints, any how," cried Isaac; "and I reckon as how we can jest lick them, and no mistake. Hurray for a fight."

  "Hurray for a fight!" echoed a dozen voices, as they rushed back to remoun
t their horses.

  "Hold!" cried the deep voice of Father Albach. "Hold! lads; don't do things rash! Them Indians wouldn't be dancing and sky-larking round that way, ef thar warn't some object in it, you may depend on."

  "And that's my opinion too," answered another gray-headed veteran. "The fact is, they're only a decoy party, sent our thar from the main body, jest to draw us out, so that the others can rush on and make an easy conquest on't. I tell you, friends, thar's no mistaking it; we're surrounded by a tremendous body o' the red heathen, and we're likely to have warm work on't. I've lived in the woods all my life, and I know the nater of the painted varmints as well as I know my own. Ef them war all thar war on 'em, we'd have seen very different proceedings, I assure you."

  "But what's to be done?" cried several voices in consternation.

  "I would suggest that we send immediately to Lexington for a reinforcement," spoke up Reynolds, in reply.

  "Who'll volunteer to go with me on the dangerous mission?" cried a young man, by the name of Bell.

  "I will!" instantly responded another, called Tomlinson.

  "Brave lads!" returned Father Albach. "You'll be doing us and your country a service, which we at least will ever gratefully remember. I'd advise your leaving by the western gate, riding round the station, and keeping away to the right, and you'll maybe pass them without trouble. But ef you go, now's your only chance."

  As he spoke, the young men in question sprung forward to their horses, and immediately quitted the fort, amid cheers for their gallantry and courage, and prayers for their safety and success.

  A council of the leading men was now speedily convened to deliberate upon the best means of insuring the safety of themselves, their wives, and children.