Horse-Shoe Robinson: A Tale of the Tory Ascendency
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CHAPTER L.
A BRITISH PARTISAN.
As the events of this history are confined to the duration of the ToryAscendency in South Carolina, it becomes me to prepare my reader for theconclusion to which, doubtless much to his content, he will hear that weare now hastening. We have reached a period which brings us to takenotice of certain important operations that were in progress upon thefrontier, and touching the details of which, to avoid prolixity, I mustrefer to the graver chronicles of the times. It answers my presentpurpose merely to apprise my reader that Colonel Clarke had latelyassembled his followers and marched to Augusta, where he had made anattack upon Brown, but that almost at the moment when his dexterous andvaliant adversary had fallen within his grasp, a timely succor from FortNinety-Six, under the command of Cruger, had forced him to abandon hisground, and retreat towards the mountain districts of North Carolina. Tothis, it is important to add that Ferguson had now recruited aconsiderable army amongst the native Tories, and had moved to the smallfrontier village of Gilbert-town, with a purpose to intercept Clarke,and thus place him under the disadvantage of having a foe both in frontand rear.
The midnight seizure of Arthur Butler and his friends, whilst returningfrom Ramsay's funeral, was effected by McAlpine, who happened at thatmoment to be hastening, by a forced march, with a detachment ofnewly-recruited cavalry from Ninety-Six, to strengthen Ferguson, and toaid in what was expected to be the certain capture of the troublesomeWhig partisan.
As M'Alpine's purpose required despatch, he made but a short delay aftersunrise at Drummond's cabin, and then pushed forward with his prisonerswith all possible expedition. The route of his journey diverged, almostat the spot of the capture, from the roads leading towards Musgrove'sMill, and he consequently had but little chance to fall in with partieswho might communicate to him the nature of the accident which threw theprisoners into his possession; whilst the prisoners themselves weresufficiently discreet to conceal from him everything that might afford ahint of Butler's previous condition.
The road lay through a rugged wilderness, and the distance to betravelled, before the party could reach Gilbert-town, was something morethan sixty miles. It was, accordingly, about the middle of the secondday after leaving Drummond's habitation, before the troop arrived at theterm of their journey, a period that coincided with that of Cornwallis'sbreaking ground from his late encampment at the Waxhaws, which we haveseen in the last chapter.
Ferguson was a stout, fearless, and bluff soldier, and instigatedby the most unsparing hatred against all who took up the Whig cause.He had been promoted by Earl Cornwallis to the brevet rank oflieutenant-colonel, a short time before the battle of Camden, anddespatched towards this wild and mountainous border to collect togetherand organize the Tory inhabitants of the district. His zeal andactivity, no less than his peremptory bearing, had particularlyrecommended him to the duty to be performed; and he is, at least,entitled to the commendation of having acquitted himself with greatpromptitude and efficiency in the principal objects of his appointment.He was now at the head of between eleven and twelve hundred men, ofwhich about one hundred and fifty were regulars of the British line, theremainder consisting of the disorderly and untamed population of thefrontier.
Gilbert-town was a small village, composed of a number of ratherwell-built and comfortable log-houses. It was situated in a mountainousbut fertile district of North Carolina, about the centre of Rutherfordcountry. And I may venture to add (which I do upon report only), thatalthough its former name has faded from the maps of the present day,under that reprehensible indifference to ancient associations, and thatpernicious love of change which have obliterated so many of thelandmarks of our revolutionary history, yet this village is still aprosperous and pleasant community, known as the seat of justice to thecounty to which it belongs.
When the troop having charge of Butler and his companions arrived, theyhalted immediately in front of one of the largest buildings of thevillage, and in a short time the prisoners were marched into thepresence of Ferguson. They were received in a common room of ampledimensions, furnished with a table upon which was seen a confused arrayof drinking vessels, and a number of half-emptied bottles of spiritsurrounding a wooden bucket filled with water. Immediately against oneof the posts of the door of the apartment, the carcass of a buck,recently shot and now stripped of its skin, hung by the tendons of thehinder feet; and a soldier was at this moment employed with his knife inthe butcher-craft necessary to its preparation for the spit. Fergusonhimself, conspicuous for his robust, athletic, and weather-beatenexterior, stood by apparently directing the operation. Around the roomwere hung the hide and antlers of former victims of the chase,intermingled with various weapons of war, military cloaks,cartridge-boxes, bridles, saddles, and other furniture denoting thehabitation of a party of soldiers. There was a general air of disorderand untidiness throughout the apartment, which seemed to bespeak earlyand late revels, and no great observance of the thrift of even militaryhousekeeping. This impression was heightened to the eye of the beholder,by the unchecked liberty with which men of all ranks, privates as wellas officers, flung themselves, as their occasions served, into the roomand made free with the contents of the flasks that were scattered overthe table.
The irregular and ill-disciplined host under Ferguson's command lay inand around the village, and presented a scene of which the predominatingfeatures bore a sufficient resemblance to the economy of their leader'sown quarters, to raise but an unfavorable opinion of their subordinationand soldier-like demeanor: it was wild, noisy, and confused.
When M'Alpine entered the apartment, the words that fell from Fergusonshowed that his mind, at the moment, was disturbed by a doublesolicitude--alternating between the operations performed upon thecarcass of venison, and certain symptoms of uproar and disorder thatmanifested themselves amongst the militia without.
"Curse on these swaggering, upland bullies!" he said, whilst M'Alpineand the prisoners stood inside the room, as yet unnoticed. "I would assoon undertake to train as many wolves from the mountain, as bring thesefellows into habits of discipline. Thady, you cut that haunch toolow--go deep, man--a long sweep from the pommel to the cantle--it is asaddle worth riding on! By the infernal gods! if these yelping savagesdo not learn to keep quiet in camp, I'll make a school for them with myregulars, where they shall have good taste of the cat! nine hours' drilland all the camp duty besides! Ha, M'Alpine, is it you who have beenstanding here all this while? I didn't observe it, man--my quarters arelike a bar-room, and have been full of comers and goers all day. Ithought you were but some of my usual free-and-easy customers. Damnthem, I am sick of these gawky, long-legged, half-civilized recruits!but I shall take a course with them yet. What news, old boy? What haveyou to tell of the rebels? Where is my pretty fellow, Clarke?"
"Clarke is still in the woods," replied M'Alpine. "It would take goodhounds to track him."
"And Cruger, I hope, has nose enough to follow. So, the cunning Indianhunter will be caught at last! We have him safe now, M'Alpine. There isbut one path for the fox to come out of the bush, and upon that pathPatrick Ferguson has about as pretty a handful of mischievous imps asever lapped blood. The slinking runaway never reaches the other side ofthe mountains while I am awake. With Cruger behind him--our line ofposts upon his right--the wild mountains, as full of Cherokees assquirrels, upon his left--and these devils of mine right before him--wehave him in a pretty net. Who have you here, captain?"
"Some stray rebel game, that I picked up on my road, as I came fromNinety-Six. This gentleman, I learn, is Major Butler of the Continentalarmy, and these others, some of his party."
"So, ho, more rebels! damn it, man," exclaimed the commandant, "why doyou bring them to me? What can I do with them"--then dropping his voiceinto a tone of confidential conference, he added, "but follow thefashion and hang them? I have got some score of prisoners already--andhave been wishing that they would cut some devilish caper, that I mighthave an excuse for stringing them up, to get clear of
them. A major inthe regular Continental line, sir?" he asked, addressing himself toButler.
Butler bowed his head.
"I thought the cuffs your people got at Camden had driven everythinglike a daylight soldier out of the province. We have some skulkingbush-fighters left--some jack-o'-lantern devils, that live in the swampsand feed on frogs and water-snakes--Marion and Sumpter, and a few oftheir kidney: but you, sir, are the first regular Continental officer Ihave met with. What brought you so far out of your latitude?"
"I was on my way to join one," replied Butler, "that but now you seemedto think in severe straits."
"Ha! to visit Clarke, eh? Well, sir, may I be bold to ask, do you knowwhere that worshipful gentleman is to be found?"
"I am free to answer you," said Butler, "that his position, at thismoment, is entirely unknown to me. On my journey I heard the report thathe had been constrained to abandon Augusta."
"Yes, and in haste, let me tell you. And marches in this direction,Major Butler, as he needs must. I shall make his acquaintance: andinasmuch as you went to seek him, you may count it a lucky accident thatbrought you here--you will find him all the sooner by it."
"Doubtless, sir, Colonel Clarke will feel proud to see you," returnedButler.
"Well, M'Alpine," said Ferguson, "I have my hands full of business; forI certainly have the wildest crew of devil's babies that ever stolecattle, or fired a haystack. I am obliged to coax them into disciplineby a somewhat free use of this mother's milk"--(pointing to thebottles)--"to which I now and then add a gentle castigation at thedrum-head, and, when that doesn't serve, a dose of powder and lead,administered at ten paces from a few files of grenadiers. I have shot abrace of them, since you left me, only for impertinence to theirofficers! This waiting for Clarke plays the devil with us. I must bemoving, and have some thought of crossing the mountains westward, andburning out the settlements. Faith! I would do it, just to keep my ladsin spirits, if I thought Clarke would give me another week. How, now,Thady?--that buck should have been half roasted by this time. We shallnever have dinner with your slow work. Look at that, M'Alpine, there issomething to make your mouth water--an inch and a half of fat on thevery ridge of the back. Give over your prisoners to the camp major--hewill take care of them: and, hark you, captain," he added, beckoning hiscomrade aside, "if you choose, as you seem to think well of this MajorButler, you may bring him in to dinner presently, with my compliments.Now, away--I must to business."
The prisoners were conducted to a separate building, where they were putin charge of an officer, who performed the duties of provost-marshalover some twenty or more Whigs that had been captured in the lateexcursions of the Tories, and brought into camp for safe keeping. Theplace of their confinement was narrow and uncomfortable, and Butler wassoon made aware that in the exchange of his prison at Musgrove's millfor his present one, he had made an unprofitable venture. His conditionwith Ferguson, however, was alleviated by the constantly-exciting hopethat the events which were immediately in prospect might, by the chancesof war, redound to his advantage.
In this situation Butler remained for several days. For althoughFerguson found it necessary to keep in almost constant motion, with aview to hover about the supposed direction of Clarke's retreat, and,conformably to this purpose, to advance into South Carolina, and againto fall back towards his present position, yet he had established aguard at Gilbert-town which, during all these operations, remainedstationary with the prisoners, apparently waiting some fit opportunityto march them off to Cornwallis's army, that was now making its waynorthwards. That opportunity did not present itself. The communicationsbetween this post and the commander-in-chief were, by a fatal error,neglected; and in a short time from the date of the present events, aswill be seen in the sequel, a web was woven which was strong enough toensnare and bind up the limbs of the giant who had, during the last fivemonths, erected and maintained the Tory Ascendency in Carolina.