Chapter XIV: The Fight in the Forest

The vessel which Seth had sighted was a small schooner lying at anchor in a cove, and at first showing no sign of life. But, as the whale-boat shot toward her, a little dog on the deck set up a lively barking, which aroused the crew, and they crawled out of the cabin in a half-awake condition.

At first they did not realize their danger, mistaking the occupants of the boat for friends. Ere the latter could get near enough to board, however, their eyes were opened, and, snatching up whatever weapons were at hand, they prepared to defend themselves.

"Surrender or we'll fire!" Seth shouted, and then paused long enough to allow his words to be understood.

But the Frenchmen laughed scornfully at him, and shook their heads in refusal.

"Take good aim then, Rangers, and fire," was the command, and from the whale-boat flashed a volley whose effect on the schooner was deadly.

One-half the crew of the schooner fell either killed or seriously wounded, and, quick to take advantage of the confusion created, Seth dashed alongside; and, followed by his men, sprang over the bulwarks of the vessel.

He was not, however, to have everything his own way at once. Bewildered and appalled as the Frenchmen were, they rallied surprisingly when their assailants reached the deck, and fought desperately in self-defence.

Fortunately for the Rangers it was a hand-to-hand conflict in which fire-arms could not be used, and the sturdy provincials were more at home in such rough-and-tumble fighting as the contracted space permitted than were their opponents.

Seth instinctively sought out the captain that he might make him his prisoner, and threw himself upon him with such impetuosity as to hurl him backward to the deck.

But the man was agile and muscular, and had no idea of yielding without a struggle. He wound his arms about Seth, and put forth so tremendous an effort to reverse their position that Seth suddenly realized he had a mighty antagonist to deal with.

Now had he reason to be glad of his skill in wrestling gained at the cost of many a hard fall. Summoning all his strength, and resorting to his most artful devices, he was able to offset the other's greater muscular power as they struggled breathlessly for the mastery.

Being thus evenly matched, it looked like a question of endurance with the chances in favor of the older man; but before it could be thus fought out, the other members of the crew had either submitted, or leaped overboard; and their captain becoming aware of this, thought it best to surrender at discretion. And Seth to his great delight found himself in possession of the schooner and of several prisoners.

Having secured the latter, the Rangers, not one of whom had suffered a serious hurt, proceeded to examine their prize. She proved to be laden with flour, wine, and brandy, intended of course for the comfort of the force at Crown Point; and Seth decided that nothing should be done with this valuable cargo until Major Rogers had given directions concerning its disposition.

He accordingly returned with his good news, and had a warm reception from his chief, who was highly gratified at the capture, and made haste to see it for himself.

"If we could only take the whole thing down to Fort William Henry," he said regretfully, as he surveyed the tempting stuff, "we could make good use of it there. But that's out of the question. We'll just have to destroy it; and the easiest way to do that is by sinking the schooner where she is."

And so it was done, much to the disappointment of the Rangers, who would have greatly liked to help themselves freely to the liquid portion of the cargo; but this the Major sternly forbade, for it was no time to engage in a carouse with danger on every side.

Hardly had they finished with the schooner when they sighted two lighters coming up the lake, and Major Rogers at once set off in hot pursuit.

These cumbrous craft were easily overtaken; and ranging alongside the Major called to their crews:

"If you surrender at once I'll give you quarter; but if you resist or try to escape, I'll fire on you."

Under the circumstance the only wise action was to surrender; but whether they lost their heads through panic, or really hoped to escape capture, the men on board the lighters foolishly paid no heed to the demand, and strove desperately to get to the shore.

Thereupon the Major ordered his men to fire, and the effect of their volley was fearful, many of the Frenchmen being either killed or wounded, while the rest, thoroughly terrified, made no further effort to escape, but begged for mercy.

On examining the lighters they also proved to be laden with wine and flour, which was perforce ruthlessly destroyed and then came the question of disposing of the numerous prisoners taken. To bring them all back with them was not practicable, and accordingly Major Rogers selected six, and released the rest on parole.

Then, feeling well satisfied with the results of the expedition, he made his way back to Fort William Henry, where the whole party arrived without a mishap.

Throughout the remainder of the year the Rangers were in almost constant activity, parties of varying strength going out from time to time to spy upon the doings of the enemy at Ticonderoga and Crown Point, where the fortifications were being steadily strengthened and extended, and to take prisoners from whom information might be extracted as to the plans of the French authorities.

In all these proceedings Seth had his share, although he was not a member of every party, and he thoroughly enjoyed the adventurous life, particularly when the whale-boats were used, as he preferred them even to the canoes.

In spite of the innumerable risks run, and of the countless hardships endured, he was still unscathed and always ready for any service that might present itself to his active mind, or be required of him by his commander.

Toward the middle of January of the following year (1757) Major Rogers received orders to assemble his whole force which had been divided between Fort Edward and Fort William Henry at the latter place, in order to undertake a scouting expedition on a more extensive scale than had hitherto been attempted.

Counting both officers and men the muster showed seventy-five, and the first business was to prepare a proper supply of provisions, and also to secure snow-shoes for each member of the party, as the snow lay deep throughout the district.

This took several days, so that it was the seventeenth of the month before they got under way. They took their course along the lake until they were within a few miles of Ticonderoga, when they made a wide detour inland on the western side to avoid the fort, turning eastward again when it was judged safe, and once more reaching the lake at a point about midway between Ticonderoga and Crown Point at the end of the third day. Here they encamped to await developments.

These came promptly enough in the form of a number of sleds going from Ticonderoga to Crown Point, to which the Rangers at once gave chase.

So soon as they appeared the drivers of the sleds whipped up their horses, and made frantic efforts to escape; but so fleet-footed were their pursuers that only one-half of them succeeded, the result of the chase being the capture of seven men with three sleds and six horses.

On the prisoners being questioned very important information was elicited from them, for they stated that large numbers of Canadians and Indians were being sent to Ticonderoga from Crown Point, that there were six hundred regular troops at the latter fort, and three hundred and fifty at the former, that as soon as spring came a great many troops were to arrive for the purpose of besieging the English forts, and that the French forts were abundantly stocked with supplies and munitions of war.

Taking it for granted that those which had escaped him would give warning at Ticonderoga, and that a strong force would be sent out from there in pursuit of him, Major Rogers now hastened back to the place where he had encamped the previous night, and, having made every preparation for a fight, set out on the homeward march.

The January thaw had come, and the rain was pouring down upon the snow, making it so soft and sticky that rapid progress was not possible.

Much concerned by what he had learned from the prisoners, the Major led his company, which followed in single file.

"We shall be very lucky if we get off without being attacked this time," he said to Seth, who walked beside him. "The sleds have got to the fort before this, and the Frenchmen with their Indians are out after us already, I reckon. Well, if they find us we'll fight them so long as we can stand, won't we?"

"That we will," responded Seth emphatically. "And beat them too, unless they're four to our one."

Their course had been over broken ground, and they were now crossing a valley about fifteen rods in breadth, the van having reached the summit of the slope on the west side, when suddenly spurts of flame sprang out from the woods to right and left, and a hail of bullets fell upon the Rangers that made many a gap in their thin line.

Lieutenant Kennedy and Mr. Gardner, a volunteer, fell dead, and others were wounded, including Major Rogers himself, who was struck in the head, the injury happily being but slight.

Seth, with his usual luck, was left untouched, and made haste to return the fire, as did his comrades.

Major Rogers at once ordered his men to concentrate at the top of the hill, and although closely pressed by the enemy, and losing several more of their number, including Captain Spikeman, they succeeded in effecting the manoeuvre, and in securing an advantageous position for defending themselves, from which they maintained a brisk fire upon their assailants that prevented them from closing in upon them.

After the firing had been kept up on both sides for some time, the French attempted a flank movement on the right; but the watchful Major perceived it in time, and directed Lieutenant Stark to meet it with a counter-move, which was cleverly carried out, and the enemy checked with considerable loss.

Meanwhile Seth with a score of his men was bravely defending the centre, and, thanks to the shelter afforded by the big trees, he was able to stand off the attacks of the enemy although they outnumbered him three to one.

Again and again the bullets grazed him, one piercing his cap, and another penetrating his coat sleeve, but he seemed to bear a charmed life, for none of the leaden messengers of death drew blood.

Desperate as the situation of the Rangers seemed, not a man of them lost heart. Their dauntless leader issued his orders to them as calmly as if they were merely on parade, and they obeyed them promptly and precisely.

Seth was in perfect command of himself. Loading and firing his gun with deliberate care he wasted few of his shots, and the accuracy of his aim contributed in no small degree to checking the onset of his opponents.

Yet gallant and stubborn as their defence was, it seemed as if there could be only one end to the struggle, for the Rangers were clearly outnumbered from the start, and had lost so many in killed, wounded, and taken prisoner that scarce two-thirds of them were left to continue the fight.

Evidently realizing this, their antagonists sought to induce them to submit by ingenious wiles, now cajoling them by saying that it was a pity so many brave men should have to be killed, promising that upon surrender they should be treated with the greatest kindness, and again threatening them with the most dreadful tortures at the hands of the Indians, and asserting that they expected every moment such reinforcements as would enable them to overwhelm the Rangers at one charge.

They even called upon Major Rogers by name to show his wisdom by giving up, assuring him of their high respect for him, and of their intention to deal kindly with him.

But the sagacious veteran was not to be misled by such shallow artifices, and he stoutly replied that he had no thought of surrender, nor would his Rangers yield so long as there were two of them left to stand together.