Chapter VIII (2)

About the middle of August, a committee of Congress visited Washington in his camp, and a plan was then devised to send a force to Canada, by way of the Kennebec River, to co-operate with Schuyler, already preparing to invade that province by way of the North ern lakes. Arnold was then at Cambridge, uttering loud complaints of ill usage upon Lake Champlain. His bravery was well known, and the proposed expedition was exactly suited to his adventurous disposition. To silence his complaints and to secure his services, Washington appointed him to the command of that perilous expedition, and at the same time gave him a commission of colonel in the Continental army. Eleven hundred hardy men were detached for the service from the army, consisting of ten companies of musketeers from New England and three companies of riflemen from Virginia and Pennsylvania. Arnold's field officers were Lieutenant-colonel Christopher Greene (the hero of Red Bank, on the Delaware), Lieutenant- colonel Roger Enos, and Majors Meigs and Bigelow. The riflemen were commanded by Captain Daniel Morgan, the renowned partisan leader in subsequent years of the war.

Arnold and his troops marched from Cambridge to Newburyport, where they embarked September 18 on board eleven transports for the mouth of the Kennebec. They reached Gardiner in safety and found two hundred bateaux ready for them at Pitts-ton, on the opposite side of the river. Carpenters had been previously sent to construct

* Artemas Ward was a native of Massachusetts, and graduated at Harvard in 1748. He was successively a representative in the Legislature and member of the Council of his state. He was also a justice of the Court of Common Pleas for Worcester county. Having considerable military knowledge, he was chosen to command the army that gathered around Boston in the spring of 1775. Congress appointed him the first of the four major generals under Washington, and to him was assigned the division of the army at Roxbury, when the siege of Boston, in 1776, took place. He resigned his commission a month after that event, yet, at the request of Washington, he continued in command till toward the last of May. He was a member of Congress under the Confederation, and also after the adoption of the present Constitution. He died at Shrewsbury in 1800, aged 73 years.

** Four major generals and eight brigadiers were appointed at the same time. To the former rank were chosen Artemas Ward, Charles Lee, Philip Schuyler, and Israel Putnam (the Major Putnam in the French and Indian war); to the latter, Seth Pomeroy (supposed to be the soldier who shot Dieskau), Richard Montgomery, David Wooster, William Heath, Joseph Spencer, John Thomas, John Sullivan, and Nathaniel Greene. Horatio Gates was appointed adjutant general, with the rank of brigadier.

Arrival at Fort Western.--Norridgewock Falls.--The Ancient Indians.-- Father Ralle.--Fatiguing Portage.

191then rendezvoused at Fort Western, opposite the present town of Augusta. This was on the verge of an uninhabited and almost unexplored wilderness, * and toward its fearful shadows these brave men turned their faces.

A small reconnoitering party was sent in advance to Lake Megantic, or Chaudière Pond, and another to survey the course and distances of the Dead River, a tributary of the Kennebec. The main body moved forward in four divisions, a day apart in time. Morgan, with the riflemen, was in the van; next were Greene and Bigelow, with their companies of musketeers; Meigs, with four other companies, followed, and the rear was brought up by Elios, with three remaining companies. Arnold was the last to leave Fort Western. He proceeded in a birch canoe, passed the several parties, and overtook Morgan on the third day at Norridgewock Falls. Here, upon a beautiful plain on the eastern bank of the river, the ancient Norridgewock Indians, a tribe of the Abenakes, had a village, and in the midst of the grandeur, beauty, and fertility of nature, and the barbarous heathenism of man in this picturesque region, Father Ralle, a French Jesuit, had erected a Christian altar, and taught the sublime truths of the Gospel. **

Here the first severe toils of the little army began, for they were obliged to carry all their bateaux, provisions, and stores around the falls, a mile and a quarter, into the navigable waters above. The banks were rocky and precipitous. They found, too, that their boats were leaky, and much of their provisions was spoiled or greatly damaged. Seven days were consumed in passing the falls and repairing the 191these vessels. The troops vessels. The same labor, though not so fatiguing, was demanded at the Carratunc Falls.

* Colonel Montressor, a British officer, had traversed the wilderness fifteen years before. He ascended the Chaudière from Quebec, crossed the Highlands near the head waters of the Penobscot, passed through Moose- head Lake, and entered the eastern branch of the Kennebec. Arnold possessed an imperfect copy of the printed journal of Montressor, and this, with information received from some St. Francis Indians who visited Washington's camp, gave him an idea of the country and the privations his men must suffer. The same region was traversed by a French missionary named Decuillettes, more than two hundred years before. He crossed the St. Lawrence to the sources of the Kennebec, down which river he descended to its mouth, and thence coasted eastward to the missionary station on the Penobscot.--Hildreth, ii., 84.

** Father Ralle resided among the Norridgewocks twenty-six years, and possessed great influence over them. He was considered an enemy to the British settlers in Massachusetts, and an expedition was planned against him and the settlement. A party fell upon them suddenly, and killed and scalped the priest and thirty of the Indians. This event occurred in 1724, and when Colonel Arnold was there, in 1775, the foundations of the church and altar were still visible, but the red men had forever departed. Father Ralle left a manuscript dictionary of the Abenake language (the dialect of the Norridgewocks), which is preserved in the library of Harvard University.

Voyage up the Kennebec.--The Dead River.--Elevated Country.--A Freshet. Return of Enos.--His Trial and Acquittal

192Desertions and sickness reduced their number to about nine hundred and fifty effective men when they arrived at the great carrying-place, twelve miles below the junction of Dead River with the Kennebec. So rapid was the stream, that the men waded more than half way, pushing the bateaux against the current; yet they were in good spirits, and seemed to partake of the enthusiasm of their leader.

Arnold now examined his muster-roll and commissariat. The troops, though somewhat reduced in number, were strong and enthusiastic, and he ascertained that he had twenty-five days' provisions in store. The Chaudière, on which were French settlements, he estimated to be at a distance of ten days' travel. The weather was fine, and the prospect so encouraging that they pushed forward with alacrity. The great carrying- place was a portage of fifteen miles, broken by three ponds. Oxen dragged the bateaux part of the way on sleds, and the baggage and stores were carried on the shoulders of the men. Over craggy knolls and tangled ravines, through deep morasses, creeks, and ponds, they pursued their journey, sometimes carrying their vessels and the vessels sometimes bearing them, until they reached the Dead River. The ponds afforded an abundance of delicious salmon-trout, and want of food had not yet been among their privations. The surface of the Dead River was smooth, and the waters flowed on in a gentle current in the midst of the magnificent forest, now rendered gorgeous by the brilliant hues imparted to the foliage by early frost. Occasional falls interrupted their progress, but the labors of the men were far less severe than hitherto. Suddenly the monotony of the vast forest was broken by the appearance of a lofty mountain covered with snow, at the foot of which Arnold encamped three days, raising the Continental flag over his tent. * A small hamlet called Flag-staff, in commemoration of the event, is upon the camp- ground, and the lofty eminence bears the name of Mount Bigelow. **

When the expedition moved forward, a heavy rain set in, which sent down such torrents from the hills that the river arose eight feet in one night, overflowing its banks October 22-23 and filling its channels with rafts of drift wood. So suddenly did this freshet occur, that the water came roaring down the valley where the soldiers were encamped, so unexpectedly and powerfully that they had barely time to retreat to their bateaux before the whole plain was overflowed. Seven boats were overturned and the provisions lost, and others were in imminent peril in the midst of the flood. They were yet thirty miles from the head of the Chaudière, and but about twelve days' provisions remained. The storm and exposure made many sick, and despondency supplanted cheerfulness, for the future seemed pregnant with misery. A council of war was held, and it was decided to send the sick and feeble back, and to press forward with the healthy. Arnold wrote to Greene and Enos, who were in the rear, to select as many of their best men as they could supply with fifteen days' provisions, and come on with them, leaving the others to return to Norridgewock. Enos, either through a false construction of the order or willful disobedience, returned to Cambridge with his whole division. His appearance excited the greatest indignation in the Continental camp, and Enos was looked upon as a traitor for thus deserting his companions and endangering the whole expedition. He was tried by a court-martial, and it being proved that he was short of provisions, and that none could be procured in the wilderness, he was acquitted. He never was restored in public estimation, however, and soon afterward left the army.

In the mean while Arnold, with the rest of the troops, pressed onward. The rain changed to snow, and ice formed upon the water in which the men waded to push the bateaux as

* What the device on this flag, or what its color was, we have no means of ascertaining. The stripes and stars were not used until 1777. On the 14th of June that year, Congress "resolved that the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the Union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation." Since then we have added a star for every new state.

** Tradition asserts that, while the Americans encamped there, Major Bigelow ascended to the summit of the mountain, with the expectation of seeing the spires of Quebec! From this supposed adventure the mountain derives its name. .

Lake Megantie and the Chaudière.--Perilous Voyage.--Narrow Escape.-- Sertigan.--Timely Relief for the Troops

October 29. 193they passed the numerous ponds and marshes near the sources of the Dead River. Seventeen falls were passed, and on a bleak day, marching through snow two inches deep, they reached the Highlands which separated the waters of New England from Canada. A portage of four miles brought them to a small stream, down which they pushed their vessels and reached Lake Megantic, the great source of the Chaudière. There they found Lieutenants Steele and Church, who had been sent forward from the great carrying-place to explore and clear the portages. Here also was Jakins, who had been sent to the French settlers on the Chaudière to ascertain their political sentiments, which he reported to be favorable. *

The little army encamped on the eastern shore of the lake, and the next morning Arnold, with a party of fifty-five men on shore, under Captain Hanchet, and thirteen men with himself, in five bateaux and a birch canoe, pushed onward down the Chaudière to the French settlements, there to obtain provisions and send them back to meet the main forces. It was a fearful voyage. As soon as they left the lake and October 27. 1775 entered the river, the current ran with great rapidity, boil ing and foaming over a rocky bottom. They had no guide. They lashed their baggage and provisions to the bateaux and committed themselves to the mercy of the stream. At length the fearful roar of rushing waters met their ears, and in a few minutes they were plunging amid rapids. Three of the boats were dashed in pieces upon the rocks and their contents ingulfed, but, fortunately, no lives were lost. Six men struggled long in the waters, but were saved. The other bateaux were moored in shallow estuaries, while aid was rendered to those in the stream, and this proved the salvation of the whole party. The apparent calamity was a mercy in disguise, for had they not been thus checked, they must all have plunged into destruction over a fall just beyond, which was discovered by one of the rescued men. For seventy miles falls and rapids succeeded each other, but the voyagers reached Sertigan (four miles below the mouth of Des Lou-pis), the first French settlement, in safely. The people were friendly, and sold provisions freely. As soon as the wants of his own party were supplied, Arnold sent back some Canadians and Indians with flour and cattle for the approaching troops, who were in great distress, all their boats having been destroyed, with their provisions. They had slaughtered their last ox several days before. In a few days the whole army emerged in detachments from the forests, wilderness, and united at Sertigan. **

October 30

* Two Indians were sent forward with Jakins to carry letters, one to General Schuyler on Lake Champlain, the other to some persons in Quebec. They betrayed their trusts, for the latter, named Eneas, was known to have reached Quebec, but the letters went into the hands of Lieutenant- governor Carmache instead of those for whom they were intended. The letters to General Schuyler never reached him.

** Judge Henry, who at the close of the last century was president of the second judicial district in Pennsylvania, was one of the soldiers in this expedition, and has left behind him a lucid and exceedingly interesting narrative of the ''hardships and sufferings of that band of heroes." In reference to the destitute condition of the troops before food was sent back from Sertigan, he says, "Coming to a low, sandy beach of the Chaudière, for we sometimes had such, some of our companies were observed to dart from the file, and with their nails tear out of the sands roots which they esteemed eatable, and ate them raw, even without washing. The knowing one sprang; half a dozen followed; he who obtained it ate the root instantly.... They washed their moose-skin moccasins in the river, scraping away the dirt and sand with great care. These were brought to the kettle and boiled a considerable time, under the vague but consolatory hope that a mucilage would take place. The poor fellows chewed the leather, but it was leather still. They had not received food for the last forty-eight hours. Disconsolate and weary we passed the night." A dog was killed and furnished material for broth, but starvation would have destroyed them all in a few days. *

* "My dog was very large and a great favorite. I gave him up to several men of Captain Goodrich's company. They caried him to their company, and killed and divided him among those who were suffering most severely from hunger. They ate every part of him, not excepting his entrails."--Letter of General Dearborn to the Rev. William Allen.

Valley of the Chaudière.--Washington's Manifesto.--Joined by Indians.-- Arrival at Point Levi.--Incidents of the March

194The beautiful valley of the Chaudière was now before them, enlivened with a friendly population and blessed with abundance of provisions. Arnold had been furnished with printed copies, in French, of a manifesto by Washington, to be distributed among the people. It explained the causes of the contest, and asked them, as neighbors and friends, to join the standard of liberty. Arnold, with great discretion, circulated these freely, at the same time acquiescing in the wishes of Washington by treating the inhabitants with the greatest respect. Every thing received from them was paid for, and they rendered aid in return with a hearty good will. *

About forty Indians of the Norridgewoeks, under the famous _Natanis_ and his brother _Sabatis_, here joined the Americans, and on the 9th of November the whole army that remained arrived at Point Levi, opposite Quebec, after one of the most wonderful marches on record, during the space of two months. Thirty-two days they traversed the gloomy wilderness without meeting a human being. Frost and snow were upon the ground, and ice was upon the surface of the marshes and streams, which they were obliged to traverse and ford, sometimes armpit deep in water and mud; yet they murmured not, and even women followed in the train of the suffering patriots. ** It was an effort in the cause of freedom worthy of its divine character; and the men who thus periled life and endured pain, whatever may have been their course in after life, deserve the highest praise from the hearts and lips of posterity. ***

* I met a gentleman at Quebec (August, 1848) who had just made a journey across the country from the Kennebec to the St. Lawrence by the way of the Chaudière. He said that many of the old habitans were still living in that beautiful valley, and spoke very highly of the "good Bostonians," whose passage through their country was one of the greatest events in the quiet lives of those isolated and simple people. He showed me an order for flour and cattle, signed by Arnold at Sertigan, which he procured from an old man 93 years of age. Many documents of the kind are, he said, preserved in the families of the old settlers.

** Judge Henry speaks of two women, the wives of soldiers attached to the division of the army to which he belonged. Their names deserve preservation for the admiration of posterity. "One was the wife of Sergeant Grier, a large, virtuous, and respectable woman." The other was the wife of a private soldier named Warner. Judge H. says, in reference to their march through the wet country near Megantic Lake, "Entering the ponds, and breaking the ice here and there with the butts of our guns and feet, we were soon waist deep in mud and water. As is generally the case with youths, it came to my mind that a better path might be found than that of the more elderly guide. Attempting this, the water in a trice cooling my armpits, made me gladly return in the file. Now Mrs. Grier had got before me. My mind was humbled, yet astonished, at the exertions of this good woman. Her clothes more than waist high, she waded on before me to firm ground. Not one, so long as she was known to us, dared to intimate a disrespectful idea of her."

*** Those most prominent afterward in the history of our country, who accompanied Arnold on that expedition, were Morgan, Greene, Dearborn, Febiger, Meigs, and Burr. "Here it was" (near Sertigan), says Judge Henry, "that, for the first time. Aaron Burr, a most amiable youth of twenty, came to my view. He was then a cadet."

American Army at Point Levi.--Alarm of the Canadians.--Storm on the St. Lawrence.--Passage of the Army.

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