Chapter X: Canto I

To drive the kine, one summer's morn,
The tanner[27] took his way:
The calf shall rue that is unborn
The jumbling of that day.

And Wayne descending steers shall know,
And tauntingly deride,
And call to mind, in ev'ry low,
The tanning of his hide.

Let Bergen cows still ruminate
Unconscious in the stall,
What mighty means were used to get,
And lose them after all.

For many heroes bold and brave
From New Bridge and Tapaan,
And those that drink Passaic's wave,
And those that eat soupaan;[28]

And sons of distant Delaware,
And still remoter Shannon,
And Major Lee with horses rare,
And Proctor with his cannon--

All wondrous proud in arms they came!
What hero could refuse
To tread the rugged path to fame,
Who had a pair of shoes?[29]

At six the host, with sweating buff,
Arrived at Freedom's Pole,[30]
When Wayne, who thought he'd time enough,
Thus speechified the whole:

"O ye whom glory doth unite,
Who Freedom's cause espouse,
Whether the wing that's doomed to fight,
Or that to drive the cows;

"Ere yet you tempt your further way,
Or into action come,
Hear, soldiers, what I have to say,
And take a pint of rum.[31]

"Intemperate valor then will string
Each nervous arm the better,
So all the land shall IO! sing,
And read the gen'ral's letter.[32]

"Know that some paltry refugees,
Whom I've a mind to fight,
Are playing h--l among the trees
That grow on yonder height!

"Their fort and block-house we'll level,
And deal a horrid slaughter;
We'll drive the scoundrels to the devil,
And ravish wife and daughter.

"I under cover of th' attack,
Whilst you are all at blows,
From English Neighb'rhood and Tinack
Will drive away the cows.

"For well you know the latter is
The serious operation,
And fighting with the refugees[33]
Is only--demonstration."

His daring words from all the crowd
Such great applause did gain,
That every man declared aloud
For serious work with--Wayne.

Then from the cask of rum once more
They took a heavy gill,
When one and all they loudly swore
They'd fight upon the hill.

But here--the Muse has not a strain
Befitting such great deeds:
"Hurra," they cried, "hurra for Wayne!"
And, shouting--did their needs.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 27: André seems to have been impressed with the idea that the occupation of General Wayne, the leader of the expedition, was that of a tanner in his early life.

A few foot-notes were made to the poem when it was published in England. These are here placed in italics. The remainder are by the author of this volume.]

[Footnote 28: _A hasty-pudding made of the meal of Indian corn._]

[Footnote 29: This is in allusion to the fact that many of the American soldiers, at that time, were without shoes or stockings.]

[Footnote 30: _Freedom's, i.e., liberty-pole--a long stick stuck in the ground._]

[Footnote 31: Rum was the usual kind of spirituous liquor that formed a portion of the rations of the soldiers.]

[Footnote 32: In his letter to Congress (July 26, 1780) concerning this expedition, Washington spoke of the American cannons being "too light to penetrate the logs of which it [the block-house] was constructed." He also attributed the great loss of the Americans in that attack to the "intemperate valor" of the men. André exercised a poetical license in putting these words into the mouth of Wayne before the occurrence.]

[Footnote 33: Loyalists expelled from the American lines.]