Rolf In The Woods by Ernest Thompson Seton (most popular ebook readers .txt) 📖

At Them

-- Ha,  Ha! Here,  Help Yourself,  Macomb," And The General Pushed

The Decanter To A Grave Young Officer Who Was Standing By.

 

"No,  Thank You,  Sir," Was The Only Reply.

 

The General Waved His Hand,  The Scouts Went Out,  Puzzled And

Ashamed. Was This The Brains Of The Army? No Wonder Our Men Are

Slaughtered.

 

Now Macomb Ventured To Suggest: "Have You Any Orders,  Sir? These

Scouts Are Considered Quite Reliable. I Understand From Them That

The British Await Only A Change Of Wind. They Have Between One

Thousand And Two Thousand Men."

 

"Plenty Of Time In The Morning,  Sah. Plattsburg Will Be The Bait

Of My Trap,  Not One Of Them Shall Return Alive," And The General

Dismissed His Staff That He Might Fortify Himself Against A

Threatened Cold.

 

Another Young Man,  Lieut. Thomas Macdonough,  The Naval

Commandant,  Now Endeavoured To Stir Him By A Sense Of Danger.

First He Announced That His Long Boats,  And Gunboats Were Ready

And In Six Hours He Could Transfer Three Thousand Troops From

Burlington To Plattsburg. Then He Ventured To Urge The Necessity

For Action.

 

Champlain Is A Lake Of Two Winds. It Had Brown From The South For

Two Weeks; Now A North Wind Was Likely To Begin Any Day.

Macdonough Urged This Point,  But All In Vain,  And,  Shocked And

Humiliated,  The Young Man Obeyed The Order "To Wait Till His

Advice Was Asked."

 

The Next Day Hampton Ordered A Review,  Not An Embarkation,  And

Was Not Well Enough To Appear In Person.

 

The Whole Army Knew Now Of The Situation Of Affairs,  And The

Militia In Particular Were Not Backward In Expressing Their Minds.

 

Next Day,  July 30th,  The Wind Changed. Hampton Did Nothing. On

The Morning Of July 3ist They Heard The Booming Of Guns In The

North,  And At Night Their Scouts Came With The News That The Raid

Was On. Plattsburg Was Taken And Pillaged By A Force Less Than

One Third Of Those Held At Burlington.

 

There Were Bitter,  Burning Words On The Lips Of The Rank And

File,  And Perfunctory Rebukes On The Lips Of The Young Officers

When They Chanced To Overhear. The Law Was Surely Working Out As

Set Forth By Si Sylvanne: "The Fools In Command,  The Leaders In

The Ranks."

 

And Now Came News Of Fresh Disasters -- The Battles Of Beaverdam,

Stony Creek,  And Niagara River. It Was The Same Story In Nearly

Every Case -- Brave Fighting Men,  Ill-Drilled,  But Dead Shots,

Led Into Traps By Incompetent Commanders.

 

In September Lieutenant Macomb Was Appointed To Command At

Plattsburg. This Proved As Happy An Omen As It Was A Wise Move.

Immediately After,  In All This Gloom,  Came The News Of Perry's

Famous Victory On Lake Erie,  Marking A New Era For The American

Cause,  Followed By The Destruction Of Moraviantown And The

British Army Which Held It.

 

Stirred At Last To Action General Wilkinson Sent Despatches To

Hampton To Arrange An Attack On Montreal. There Was No

Possibility Of Failure,  He Said,  For The Sole Defence Of Montreal

Was 600 Marines. His Army Consisted Of 8000 Men. Hampton's

Consisted Of 4000. By A Union Of These At The Mouth Of Chateaugay

River,  They Would Form An Invincible Array.

 

So It Seemed. Rolf Had Not Yet Seen Any Actual Fighting And Began

To Long For The Front. But His Powers As A Courier Kept Him Ever

Busy Bearing Despatches. The Road To Sackett's Harbour And Thence

To Ogdensburg And Covington,  And Back To Plattsburg He Knew

Thoroughly,  And In His Canoe He Had Visited Every Port On Lakes

Champlain And George.

 

He Was Absent At Albany In The Latter Half Of October And First

Of November,  But The Ill News Travelled Fast. Hampton Requested

Macdonough To "Swoop Down On Isle Au Noix" -- An Insane Request,

Compliance With Which Would Have Meant Certain Destruction To The

American Fleet. Macdonough's General Instructions Were:

"Cooperate With The Army,  But At Any Price Retain Supremacy Of

The Lake," And He Declined To Receive Hampton's Order.

 

Threatening Court-Martials And Vengeance On His Return,  Hampton

Now Set Out By Land; But At Chateaugay He Was Met By A Much

Smaller Force Of Canadians Who Resisted Him So Successfully That

He Ordered A Retreat And His Army Retired To Plattsburg.

 

Meanwhile General Wilkinson Had Done Even Worse. His Army

Numbered 8000. Of These The Rear Guard Were 2500. A Body Of 800

Canadians Harassed Their Line Of March. Turning To Brush Away

This Annoyance,  The Americans Were Wholly Defeated At Chrystler's

Farm And,  Giving Up The Attack On Montreal,  Wilkinson Crossed The

St. Lawrence And Settled For The Winter At Chateaugay.

 

In December,  America Scored An Important Advance By Relieving

Hampton Of His Command.

 

As The Spring Drew Near,  It Was Clearly Wilkinson's First Play To

Capture La Colle Mill,  Which Had Been Turned Into A Fortress Of

Considerable Strength And A Base For Attack On The American

Border,  Some Five Miles Away.

 

Of All The Scouts Rolf Best Knew That Region,  Yet He Was The One

Left Out Of Consideration And Despatched With Papers To

Plattsburg. The Attack Was Bungled From First To Last,  And When

Wilkinson Was Finally Repulsed,  It Was Due To Macomb That The

Retreat Was Not A Rout.

 

But Good Came Out Of This Evil,  For Wilkinson Was Recalled And

The Law Was Nearly Fulfilled -- The Incompetents Were Gone.

General Macomb Was In Command Of The Land Force And Macdonough Of

The Lake.

 

 

Chapter 77 (Rumours And Papers)

 

Macdonough's Orders Were To Hold Control Of The Lake. How He Did

It Will Be Seen. The British Fleet At Isle Au Noix Was Slightly

Stronger Than His Own,  Therefore He Established A Navy Yard At

Vergennes,  In Vermont,  Seven Miles Up The Otter River,  And At The

Mouth Erected Earthworks And Batteries. He Sent For Brown (Of The

Firm Of Adam And Noah Brown) A Famous New York Shipbuilder. Brown

Agreed To Launch A Ship Of Twenty-Four Guns In Sixty Days. The

Trees Were Standing In The Forest On March 2d The Keel Was Laid

March 7th,  And On April 11th The Saratoga Was Launched -- Forty

Days After The Timbers Were Green Standing Trees On The Hills.

 

Other Vessels Were Begun And Pushed As Expeditiously. And Now

Macdonough's Wisdom In Choice Of The Navy Yard Was Seen,  For A

British Squadron Was Sent To Destroy His Infant Fleet,  Or At

Least Sink Stone-Boats Across The Exit So As To Bottle It Up.

 

But Their Attempts Were Baffled By The Batteries Which The

Far-Seeing American Had Placed At The River's Mouth.

 

The American Victory At Chippewa Was Followed By The Defeat At

Lundy's Lane,  And On August 25th The City Of Washington Was

Captured By The British And Its Public Buildings Destroyed. These

Calamities,  Instead Of Dampening The Spirits Of The Army,  Roused

The Whole Nation At Last To A Realization Of The Fact That They

Were At War. Fresh Troops And Plentiful Supplies Were Voted,  The

Deadwood Commanders Were Retired,  And The Real Men Revealed By

The Two Campaigns Were Given Place And Power.

 

At The Same Time,  Great Britain,  Having Crushed Napoleon,  Was In

A Position To Greatly Reinforce Her American Army,  And Troops

Seasoned In Continental Campaigns Were Poured Into Canada.

 

All Summer Rolf Was Busied Bearing Despatches. During The Winter

He And Quonab Had Built A Birch Canoe On Special Lines For Speed;

It Would Carry Two Men But No Baggage.

 

With This He Could Make Fully Six Miles An Hour For A Short Time,

And Average Five On Smooth Water. In This He Had Crossed And

Recrossed Champlain,  And Paddled Its Length,  Till He Knew Every

Bay And Headland. The Overland Way To Sackett's Harbour He Had

Traversed Several Times; The Trail From Plattsburg To Covington

He Knew In All Weathers,  And Had Repeatedly Covered Its Sixty

Miles In Less Than Twenty-Four Hours On Foot.  The Route He

Picked And Followed Was In Later Years The Line Selected For The

Military Highway Between These Two Camps.

 

But The Chief Scene Of His Activities Was The Canadian Wilderness

At The North End Of Lake Champlain. Chazy,  Champlain,  Odelltown,

La Colle Mill,  Isle Au Noix,  And Richelieu River He Knew

Intimately And Had Also Acquired A Good Deal Of French In

Learning Their Country.

 

It Was Characteristic Of General Wilkinson To Ignore The Scout

Who Knew And Equally Characteristic Of His Successors,  Izard And

Macomb,  To Seek And Rely On The Best Man.

 

The News That He Brought In Many Different Forms Was That The

British Were Again Concentrating An Army To Strike At Plattsburg

And Albany.

 

Izard On The Land At Plattsburg And Champlain,  And Macomb At

Burlington Strained All Their Resources To Meet The Invader At

Fair Terms. Izard Had 4000 Men Assembled,  When An Extraordinary

And Devastating Order From Washington Compelled Him To Abandon

The Battle Front At Champlain And Lead His Troops To Sackett's

Harbour Where All Was Peace. He Protested Like A Statesman,  Then

Obeyed Like A Soldier,  Leaving Macomb In Command Of The Land

Forces Of Lake Champlain,  With,  All Told,  Some 3400 Men.  On The

Day That Izard Left Champlain,  The British Troops,  Under

Brisbane,  Advanced And Occupied His Camp.

 

As Soon As Rolf Had Seen Them Arrive,  And Had Gauged Their

Number,  He Sent Quonab Back To Report,  And Later Retired By Night

Ten Miles Up The Road To Chazy. He Was Well Known To Many Of The

Settlers And Was Welcome Where Ever Known,  Not Only Because He

Was A Patriot Fighting His Country's Battles,  But For His Own

Sake,  For He Was Developing Into A Handsome,  Alert,  Rather Silent

Youth. It Is Notorious That In The Drawing-Room,  Given Equal

Opportunity,  The Hunter Has The Advantage Over The Farmer. He Has

Less Self-Consciousness,  More Calm Poise. He Is Not Troubled

About What To Do With His Feet And Hands,  And Is More Convinced

Of His Native Dignity And Claims To Respect. In The Drawin-Room

Rolf Was A Hunter: The Leading Inhabitants Of The Region Around

Received Him Gladly And Honoured Him. He Was Guest At Judge

Hubbell's In Chazy,  In September Of 1814. Every Day He Scouted In

The Neighbourhood And At Night Returned To The Hospitable Home Of

The Judge.

 

On The 12th Of September,  From The Top Of A Tall Tree On A

Distant Wooded Hill,  He Estimated The Force At Champlain To Be

10,000 To 15,000 Men. Already Their Bodyguard Was Advancing On

Chazy.

 

Judge Hubbell And Anxious Neighbours Hastily Assembled Now,

Discussed With Rolf The Situation And Above All,  "What Shall We

Do With Our Families?" One Man Broke Into A Storm Of Hate And

Vituperation Against The British. "Remember The Burning Of

Washington And The Way They Treated The Women At Bladensburg."

 

"All Of Which About The Women Was Utterly Disproved,  Except In

One Case,  And In That The Criminal Was Shot By Order Of His Own

Commander," Retorted Hubbell.

 

At Plattsburg Others Maintained That The British Had Harmed No

One. Colonel Murray Had Given Strict Orders That All Private

Property Be Absolutely Respected. Nothing But Government Property

Was Destroyed And Only That Which Could Be Construed Into War

Stores And Buildings. What Further Damage Was Done Was The Result

Of Accident Or Error. Officers Were Indeed Quartered On The

Inhabitants,  But They Paid For What They Got,  And Even A Carpet

Destroyed By Accident Was Replaced Months Afterward By A British

Officer Who Had Not The Means At The Time.

 

So It Was Agreed That Hubbell With Rolf And The Village Fathers

And Brothers Should Join Their Country's Army,  Leaving Wives And

Children Behind.

 

There Were Wet Bearded Cheeks Among The Strong,  Rugged Men As

They Kissed Their Wives And Little Ones And Prepared To Go,  Then

Stopped,  As Horrible Misgivings Rose Within. "This Was War,  And

Yet Again,  'We Have Had Proofs That The British Harmed No Woman

Or Child'." So They Dashed Away The Tears,  Suppressed The Choking

In Their Throats,  Shouldered Their Guns,  And Marched Away To The

Front,  Commending Their Dear Ones To The Mercy Of God And The

British Invaders.

 

None Had Any Cause To Regret This Trust. Under Pain Of Death,  Sir

George Prevost Enforced His Order That The Persons Of Women And

Children And All Private Property Be Held Inviolate. As On The

Previous Raid,  No Damage Was Done To Non-Combatants,  And The Only

Hardships Endured Were By The Few Who,  Knowing Nothing,  Feared

Much,  And