Chapter 11: The Happy Escape

The spirits of young Lennox rose to the zenith. Although they were still grazing the edge of peril, he had supreme confidence in Tayoga and also in the fog. It was a great fog, a thick fog, a kindly fog, and it had made possible their escape and the achievement of their mission. Having held so long it would hold until they needed it no longer.

“Have they come any nearer, Tayoga?” he asked.

“Jumonville is still giving orders, and sending the canoes somewhat at random. He is not the leader Sharp Sword would be in an emergency, nor anything like it. He is having his own boat paddled about uncertainly.

I can hear the paddles of the four men in it. Now and then he speaks angrily, too. He is upbraiding those who are not to blame. How are you feeling now, Dagaeoga? Has Manitou already filled you with new strength?”

“I’m feeling as well as I ever did in my life. I’m ready to swing the paddle again.”

“Then we go. The fog will not wait for us forever. We must use it while we have it.”

They swept their paddles through the water in long and vigorous strokes, and the canoe shot forward once more. They were confident now that no enemy was ahead of them, and that none of those behind could overtake them. The wet, cold fog still enclosed them like a heavy, damp blanket, but their vigorous exercise and their high spirits kept them warm. After ten minutes they made another stop, but as Tayoga could hear nothing of Jumonville’s party they pushed on again at speed. By and by the Onondaga said:

“I feel the fog thinning, Dagaeoga. A wind out of the west has risen, and soon it will take it all away.”

“But it has served its purpose. I shall always feel well toward fogs.

Yes, here it goes! The wind is rising fast, and it is taking away the mists and vapors in great folds.”

The water began to roughen under the stiff breeze. The fog was split asunder, the pieces were torn to fragments and shreds, and then everything was swept away, leaving the surface of the lake a silver mirror, and the mountains high and green on either shore. Far behind them hovered the Indian canoes, and four or five miles ahead a tower of smoke rose from the west bank.

“Certainly our people,” said Robert, looking at the smoke.

“There is no doubt of it,” said the Onondaga, “and that is where we will go.”

“And those behind us know now that we tricked them in the fog and have escaped. They give forth a shout of anger and disappointment. Now they turn back.”

They eased their strokes a little as the pursuit had been abandoned, but curved more toward the center of the lake, lest some hidden sharpshooter on shore might reach them, and made fair speed toward the smoke, which Robert surmised might be made by a vanguard of troops.

“We ought to have help for Colden and Willet very soon,” he said.

“It will not be long,” said Tayoga; “but Dagaeoga has forgotten something. Can he not think what it is?”

“No, Tayoga, I can’t recall anything.”

“Dagaeoga’s body is bare from the waist up. It is well for an Indian to go thus into a white camp, but it is not the custom of the people to whom Lennox belongs.”

“You’re right. I’ve had so much excitement that I’d forgotten all about my clothes. I must be true to my race, when I meet my brethren.”

He reclothed himself, resumed his paddle, and they pushed on steadily for the smoke. No trace of the fog was left. The lake glistened in the sun, the ranges showed green from base to summit, and the tower of smoke deepened and broadened.

“Can you make out what lies at the foot of it, Tayoga?” asked Robert.

“I think I can see a gleam of the sun on an epaulet. It is certainly a camp of your people. The lake is supposed to be under their command, and if the French should make a new incursion here upon its shores they would not build their fires so boldly. Now, I see another gleam, and I hear the ring of axes. They are not boat builders, because no boats, either finished or unfinished, show at the water’s edge. They are probably cutting wood for their fires. I hear, too, the crack of a whip, which means that they have wagons, and the presence of wagons indicates a large force. They may be coming ahead with supplies for our great army when it advances. I can now see men in uniform, and there are some red coats among them. Hold your paddle as high as you can, Dagaeoga, as a sign that we are friends, and I will send the canoe in toward the shore. Ah, they see us now, and men are coming down to the lake’s edge to meet us! It is a large camp, and it should hold enough men to make St. Luc give up the siege of Colden.”

The two sent the canoe swiftly toward the land, where soldiers and others in hunter’s dress were already gathered to meet them. Robert saw a tall, thin officer in a Colonial uniform, standing on the narrow beach, and, assuming him to be in command, he said as the canoe swept in:

“We are messengers, sir, from the force of Captain Colden, which is besieged at the sawmill ten or twelve miles farther north.”

“Besieged, did you say?” said the officer, speaking in a sharp, dry voice. “It’s one of those French tricks they’re always playing on us, rushing in under our very noses, and trying to cut out our forces.”

“That’s it, sir. The French and Indian host, in this case, is led by St. Luc, the ablest and most daring of all their partisans, and, unless you give help, they’ll have to escape as best they can in what boats they have.”

“As I’m a good Massachusetts man, I expected something of this kind. I sent word to Pownall, our Governor, that we must be extremely cautious in respect to the French, but he thinks the army of General Abercrombie will overwhelm everything. Forest fighting is very different from that of the open fields, a fact which the French seem to have mastered better than we have. My name, young sir, is Elihu Strong. I’m a colonel of the Massachusetts militia, and I command the force that you see posted here.”

“And mine, sir, is Robert Lennox, a free lance, and this is Tayoga, of the clan of the Bear, of the great Onondaga nation, a devoted friend of ours and the finest trailer the world has ever produced.”

“Ah, I heard something of you both when I was at Albany from one Jacobus Huysman, a stout and worthy burgher, who spoke well of you, and who hazarded a surmise that I might meet you somewhere in the neighborhood of the lakes.”

“We lived in the house of Mynheer Jacobus when we went to school in Albany. We owe him much.”

“There was a third who was generally with you, a famous hunter, David Willet, was there not?”

“He is with Captain Colden, sir, assisting in the defense.”

“I’m glad he’s there. Judging from what I’ve heard of him, he’s a tower of strength. But come into the camp. Doubtless, both of you need food and rest. The times be dark, and we must get out of each day whatever it has to offer.”

Robert looked at him with interest. He was the forerunner of a type that was to develop markedly in New England, tall, thin, dry-lipped, critical, shrewd and tenacious to the last degree. He and his kind were destined to make a great impress upon the New World. He gave to the two the best the camp had, and ordered that they be treated with every courtesy.

“I’ve a strong force here,” he said, “although it might have been stronger if our Governor and Legislature had done their full duty.

Still, we must make the best of everything. My men reported Indians in the forest to the north of us, and that, perhaps, is the reason why we have not come into contact with Captain Colden, but I did not suspect that he was besieged.”

Robert, as he ate the good food set before him, looked over the camp, which had been pitched well, with far-flung pickets to guard against ambush, and his eyes glistened, as they fell upon two brass cannon, standing side by side upon a slight rise in the center of the camp.

The big guns, when well handled, were always effective against forest warriors. Colonel Strong’s eyes followed his.

“I see that you are taking notice of my cannon,” he said. “They’re good pieces, but if our governor and legislature had done their duty they’d be four instead of two. Still, we have to make the best of what we have. I told Shirley that we must prepare for a great war, and I tell Pownall the same. Those who don’t know him always underrate our French foe.”

“I never do, sir,” said Robert. “I’ve seen too much of him to do that.”

“Well, well, we’ll do the best we can. I’ve four hundred men here, though if the Governor and the Legislature of Massachusetts had done their full duty they’d be eight hundred, not to say a thousand. I’ll advance as soon as possible to the relief of Colden. He can surely hold out until the morrow.”

“Not a doubt of it, sir, and, if you’ll pardon me for making a suggestion, I wouldn’t begin any advance until the morning. Not much of the day is left. If we started this afternoon, night would overtake us in the woods and the Chevalier de St. Luc is sure to plant an ambush for us.”

“Sensibly spoken, young sir. We’re an eternally rash people. We’re always walking into traps. I’ve in my force about twenty good scouts, though if the Governor and Legislature of Massachusetts had done their full duty they’d be forty, not to say fifty, and I don’t want to risk their loss in night fighting in the forest.”

He went away and Robert saw him moving among his men, giving orders.

Elihu Strong, a merchant, nevertheless had made himself a strenuous soldier at his province’s call, and he was not unwilling to learn even from those not more than half his age.

“Open Eyes will do well,” said Tayoga.

“Open Eyes?”

“Aye, Dagaeoga. The colonel who is named Strong I will call Open Eyes, because he is willing to look and see. He will look when you tell him to look, and many who come from the cities will not do that. And because his eyes are open he will not stick his head into an ambush.

Yet he will always complain of others.”

“And sometimes of himself, too,” laughed Robert. “I think he’ll be fair in that respect. Now, Tayoga, we’ll rest here, and be easy with ourselves until to-morrow morning, when we advance.”

“We will stay, Dagaeoga, but I do not know whether it will be so easy.

Since Jumonville saw us escape he will tell St. Luc of it, and Sharp Sword will send a force here to harry Open Eyes, and to make him think the forest is full of warriors. But Open Eyes, though he may complain, will not be afraid.”

It was even as the Onondaga predicted. The foe came with the twilight.

The dark wilderness about them gave back whoops and yells, and furtive bands skirmished with Strong’s scouts. Then the shouts of the warriors increased greatly in number, and seemed to come from all points about the camp. It was obvious to Robert that the enemy was trying to make Strong’s men believe that a great force was confronting them, and some of them, unused to the woods, showed apprehension lest such an unseen and elusive danger overwhelm them. But Elihu Strong never flinched.

The forest was almost as much of a mystery to him as it was to his troops, but he was there to dare its perils and he dared them.

“I shall keep my men in camp and await attack, if they make it,” he said to Robert, to whom he seemed to have taken a great fancy, “and whatever happens I shall move forward in the morning to the relief of Colden.”

He shut his thin lips tightly together and his pale blue eyes flashed.

The merchant, turned soldier, had the stoutest of hearts, and a stout heart was what was needed in his camp that night. The warriors gave his men no rest. They circled about continually, firing and whooping, and trying to create panic, or at least a fear that would hold Strong where he was.

Robert went to sleep early, and, when he awakened far in the night, the turmoil was still going on. But he saw Elihu Strong walking back and forth near one of the fires, and in the glow his thin face still reflected an iron resolution. Satisfied that the camp was in no danger of being frightened, young Lennox went back to sleep.

A gray, chilly morning came, and soon after dawn Elihu Strong began to prepare his men for their perilous progress, serving first an ample hot breakfast with plenty of tea and coffee.

“Open Eyes not only watches but he knows much,” said Tayoga. “He has learned that an army marches better on a full stomach.”

Strong then asked Robert and Tayoga to serve in a way as guides, and he made his dispositions, sending his scouts in advance, putting his most experienced soldiers on the flanks and heading his main column with the two brass cannon. The strictest injunctions that nobody straggle were given, and then the force took up its march.

They had not been molested while at breakfast, and when making the preparations, but as soon as they left the fire and entered the deep forest, the terrifying turmoil burst forth again, fierce whoops resounding on every side and bullets pattering on the leaves or bark.

Colonel Strong left his scouts and flankers to deal with the ambushed warriors, and the main column, face to the front, marched steadily toward Colden’s camp. It was to be a trial of nerves, and Robert was quite confident that the stern New England leader would win.

“The savages make a tremendous tumult,” he said to young Lennox, “but their bullets are not reaching us. We’re not to be shaken by mere noise.”

“When they find that out, as they soon will,” said Robert, “they’ll make an attack. Some French officers and troops must be with them.

Perhaps Jumonville came in the night to lead them.”

He and Tayoga then went a short distance into the forest ahead of the scouts, and Tayoga saw ample evidence that the French were present with the Indians.

“You are right in your surmise that Jumonville came in the night,” he said. “He wore boots, and here are the imprints of his heels. I think he is not far away now. Watch well, Dagaeoga, while I lie on the earth and listen.”

Ear to the ground, the Onondaga announced that he could hear men on both sides of them moving.

“There is the light step of the warriors,” he said, “and also the heavier tread of the French. I think I can hear Jumonville himself. It sounds like the crush of boots. Perhaps they are now seeking to lay an ambush.”

“Then it’s time for us to fall back, Tayoga, both for our own sakes and for the sake of Colonel Strong’s force.”

The two retreated quickly lest they be caught in an ambush, and gave warning to Elihu Strong that an attack was now probable, a belief in which they were confirmed by the report the scouts brought in presently that a creek was just ahead, a crossing always being a favorite place for an Indian trap.

“So be it,” said Colonel Strong, calmly. “We are ready. If the Governor and Legislature of Massachusetts had done their full duty, we’d be twice as strong, but even as we are we’ll force the passage of the creek.”

“You will find a body of the warriors on this side of the stream,” said Tayoga. “They will give way after a little firing, tempting you to think you have won an easy victory. Then when about half of your men are across they will attack with all their might, hoping to cut you down.”

“I thank you for telling me,” said Colonel Strong. “I’ve no doubt you know what you’re talking about. Your manner indicates it. We might be much better equipped than we are if those in authority in my province had done their full duty, but we will make way, nevertheless. I’ll cover the passage of the creek with the guns.”

The firing in front already showed that Tayoga’s prediction was coming true, and it was accompanied by a tremendous volume of yelling, as if the whole Indian force were gathered on the near side of the creek.

Robert from the crest of a hill saw the stream, narrow and deep, though not too deep for fording as he was to learn later, fringed on either side with a dense growth of low bushes, from the shelter of which warriors were sending their bullets toward the white force. The men were eager to go against them at once, but the scouts were sent forward through the undergrowth to open up a flanking fire, and then the main column marched on at a steady pace.

The crash of the rifles grew fast. The warriors on the near side of the creek leaped from the bushes as Strong’s men drew near, waded the stream and disappeared in the forest on the other bank, giving forth howls of disappointment as they fled. The soldiers, uttering a shout of triumph, undertook to rush forward in pursuit, but Strong restrained them.

“It’s the ambush against which the Onondaga warned us,” he said to his lieutenants, “and we won’t run into it. Bring forward the cannon.”

The two brass guns, fine twelve pounders, were moved up within close range of the creek, and they swept the forest on the other side with balls and grape shot. It was probably the first time cannon were ever heard in those woods, and the reports came back in many echoes. Boughs and twigs rained down.

“It is a great sound,” said Tayoga admiringly, “and the warriors who are trying to plant an ambush will not like it.”

“But you’ll remember Braddock’s fate,” said Robert. “The cannon didn’t do much then.”

“But this is different, Dagaeoga. Open Eyes has his eyes open. He is merely using the cannon as a cover for his advance. They will be backed up by the rifles. You will see.”