University of Virginia Library

7. CHAPTER VII.

I cannot say I was quite satisfied with the manner of
Susquesus; nor, on the other hand, was I absolutely uneasy.
All might be well; and, if it were not, the power of
this man to injure us could not be very great. A new occurrence,
however, raised very unpleasant doubts of his
honesty. Jumper being out on a hunt, the Onondago was
sent across to Ravensnest the next trip, out of his turn; but,
instead of returning, as had been the practice of both, the
next day, we saw no more of him for near a fortnight. As
we talked over this sudden and unexpected disappearance,
we came to the conclusion, that, perceiving he was distrusted,
the fellow had deserted, and would be seen no more.
During his absence, we paid a visit to Ravensnest ourselves,
spending two or three happy days with the girls, whom we
found delighted with the wildness of their abode, and as
happy as innocence, health, and ceaseless interest in the
forest and its habits, could make them. Herman Mordaunt,
having fortified his house sufficiently, as he fancied, to remove
all danger of an assault, returned with us to Mooseridge,
and passed two or three days in walking over and
examining the quality of the land, together with the advantages
offered by the water-courses. As for Mr. Worden
and Jason, the former had gone to join the army, craving
the flesh-pots of a regimental mess, in preference to the
simple fare of the woods; while Jason had driven a hard
bargain with Herman Mordaunt for the possession of the
mill-seat; which had been the subject of frequent discussions
between the parties, and about which the pedagogue
had deemed it prudent to draw on the wisdom of Mother
Doortje. As the reader may have some curiosity to know
how such things were conducted in the colony, in the year
1758, I will recapitulate the terms of the bargain that was
finally agreed on, signed and sealed.

Herman Mordaunt expected no emolument to himself,
from Ravensnest, but looked forward solely to a provision
for posterity. In consequence of these views, he refused to
sell, but gave leases on such conditions as would induce
tenants to come into his terms, in a country in which land
was far plentier than men. For some reason, that never
was very clear to me, he was particularly anxious to secure
Jason Newcome, and no tolerable terms seemed extravagant
to effect his purpose. It is not surprising, therefore, that
our miller in perspective got much the best of the bargain,
as its conditions will show.

The lease was for three lives, and twenty-one years afterwards.
This would have been thought equal to a lease for
forty-two years, in that day, in Europe; but experience is
showing that it is, in truth, for a much longer period, in
America.[1] The first ten years, no rent at all was to be
paid. For the next ten, the land, five hundred acres, was
to pay sixpence currency an acre, the tenant having the
right to cut timber at pleasure. This was a great concession,
as the mill-lot contained much pine. For the remainder
of the lease, be it longer or shorter, a shilling an
acre, or about sixpense sterling, was to be paid for the land,
and forty pounds currency, or one hundred dollars a year,
for the mill-seat. The mills to be taken by the landlord, at
an appraisal `made by men', at the expiration of the lease;
the tenant to pay the taxes. The tenant had the privilege
of using all the materials for his dams, buildings, &c., he
could find on the land.

The policy of the owners of Mooseridge was different.
We intended to sell at low prices, at first, reserving for
leases hereafter, such farms as could not be immediately
disposed of, or for which the purchaser failed to pay. In
this manner it was thought we should sooner get returns for
our outlays, and sooner `build up a settlement,' as the
phrase goes. In America, the reader should know, everything
is `built.' The priest `builds up' a flock; the speculator,
a fortune; the lawyer, a reputation; and the landlord,
a settlement; sometimes, with sufficient accuracy in language,
he even builds a town.

Jason was a very happy man, the moment he got his
lease, signed and sealed, in his own possession. It made
him a sort of a land-holder on the spot, and one who had
nothing to pay for ten years to come. God forgive me, if I
do the man injustice; but, from the first, I had a suspicion
that Jason trusted to fortune to prevent any pay-day from
ever coming at all. As for Herman Mordaunt, he seemed
satisfied, for he fancied that he had got a man of some education
on his property, who might answer a good purpose
in civilizing, and in otherwise advancing the interests of his
estate.

Just as the rays of the rising sun streamed through the
crevices of our log tenement, and ere one of us three idlers
had risen from his pallet, I heard a moccasined foot moving
near me, in the nearly noiseless tread of an Indian. Springing
to my feet, I found myself face to face with the missing
Onondago!

“You here, Susquesus!” I exclaimed; “we supposed
you had abandoned us. What has brought you back?”

“Time to go, now,” answered the Indian, quietly.
“Yengeese and Canada warrior soon fight.”

“Is this true!—And do you, can you know it to be true!
Where have you been this fortnight past?”

“Been see—have see—know him just so. Come—call
young men; go on war-path.”

Here, then, was an explanation of the mystery of the
Onondago's absence! He had heard us speak of an intention
of moving with the troops, at the last moment, and he
had gone to reconnoitre, in order that we might have seasonable
notice when it would be necessary to quit the `Ridge,'
as we familiarly termed the Patent. I saw nothing treasonable
in this, but rather deemed it a sign of friendly interest
in our concerns; though it was certainly `running' much
farther than the Indian had been directed to proceed, and
`running' a little off the track. One might overlook such
an irregularity in a savage, however, more especially as I
began to weary of the monotony of our present manner of
living, and was not sorry to discover a plausible apology for
a change.

The reader may be certain, it was not long before I had
communicated the intelligence brought by the Trackless, to

my companions; who received it as young men would be
apt to listen to tidings so stirring. The Onondago was
summoned to our council, and he renewed his protestation
that it was time for us to be moving.

“No stop”— he answered, when questioned again on the
subject; “time go. Canoe ready—gun loaded—warrior
counted — chief woke up — council fire gone out. Time,
go.”

“Well then, Corny,” said Guert, rising and stretching
his fine frame like a lion roused from his lair, “here 's off.
We can go to Ravensnest to sleep, to-day; and, to-morrow
we will work our way out into the highway, and fall into
the line of march of the army. I shall have another opportunity
of seeing Mary Wallace, and of telling her how much
I love her. That will be so much gained, at all events.”

“No see squaw—no go to Nest!” said the Indian, with
energy. “War-path this way,” pointing in a direction that
might have varied a quarter of a circle from that to Herman
Mordaunt's settlement. “Bad for warrior to see squaw
when he dig up hatchet—only make woman of him. No;
go this way—path there — no here — scalp there—squaw
here.”

As the gestures of the Onondago were quite as significant
as his language, we had no difficulty in understanding him.
Guert continued his questions, however, while dressing, and
we all soon became convinced, by the words of the Indian,
broken and abrupt as they were, that Abercrombie was on
the point of embarking with his army on Lake George, and
that we must needs be active, if we intended to be present
at the contemplated operations in front of Ticonderoga.

Our decision was soon reached, and our preparations
made. By packing and shouldering his knapsack, and
arming himself, each man would be ready; though a short
delay grew out of the absence of Traverse and his chain-bearers.
We wrote a letter, however, explaining the reason
of our intended absence, promising to return as soon as the
operations in front of Ty should be terminated. This letter
we left with Pete, who was to remain as cook, though Jaap
bestirred himself, loaded his broad shoulders with certain
indispensables for our march, took his rifle, pack and horn,
and was ready to move as soon as any of us. All this the

fellow did, moreover, without orders; deeming it a part of
his duty to follow his young master, even if he followed
him to evil. No dog, indeed, could be truer, in this particular,
than Jaap or Jacob Satanstoe, for he had adopted the
name of the Neck as his patronymic; much as the nobles
of other regions style themselves after their lands.

When all was ready, and we were on the point of quitting
the hut, the question arose seriously, whether we were
to go by Ravensnest, or by the new route that the Onondago
had mentioned. Path there was not, in either direction;
but, we had land-marks, springs, and other known signs,
on the former; while of the latter we literally knew nothing.
Then Anneke and Mary Wallace, with their bright, blooming,
sunny faces—bright and happy whenever we appeared,
most certainly, of late—were in the former direction, and
even Dirck cried out `for Ravensnest.' But, on that route
the Onondago refused to stir one foot. He stood, resembling
a finger-post, pointing north-westerly with an immovable
obstinacy, that threatened to bring the order of our march
into some confusion.

“We know nothing of that route, Trackless,” Guert observed,
or rather replied, for the Indian's manner was so
expressive as to amount to a remark, “and we would rather
travel a road with which we are a little acquainted. Besides,
we wish to pay our parting compliments to the
ladies.”

“Squaw no good, now — war-path no go to squaw.
Huron—French warrior, here.”

“Ay, and they are there, too. We shall be on their heels
soon enough, by going to Ravensnest.”

“No soon 'nough—can't do him. Path long, time short.
Pale-face warrior in great hurry.”

“Pale-face warriors' friends are in a hurry, too—so you
will do well to follow us, as we do not intend to follow you.
Come, gentlemen, we will lead the Indian, as the Indian
does not seem disposed to lead us. After a mile or two he
will think it more honourable to go in advance; and, for
that distance, I believe, I can show you the way.”

“That road good for young men who don't want see
enemy!” said Susquesus, with ironical point.

“By St. Nicholas! Indian, what do you mean?” cried

Guert, turning short on his heels and moving swiftly towards
the Onondago, who did not wait for the menacing
blow, but wheeled in his tracks and led off, at a quick pace,
directly towards the north-west.

I do believe that Guert pursued, for the first minute, with
no other intention than that of laying his powerful arm on
the offender's shoulder; but I dropped in on his footsteps so
soon, Dirck following me, and Jaap Dirck, that we were all
moving off Indian file, or in the fashion of the woods, at the
rate of four miles in the hour, almost before we knew it.
An impulse of that angry nature is not over in a minute,
and, before either of us had sufficiently cooled to be entirely
reasonable, the whole party was fairly out of sight of the
hut. After that no one appeared to think of the necessity
or of the expediency of reverting to the original intention.
It was certainly indiscreet, thus to confide absolutely in the
good faith of a savage, or a semi-savage, at least, whom we
scarcely knew, and whom we had actually distrusted; but
we did it, and precisely in the manner and under the feelings
I have described. I know that we all thought of the indiscretion
of which we had been guilty, after the first mile;
but each was too proud to make the other acquainted with
his misgivings. I say all, but Jaap ought to be excepted,
for nothing in the shape of danger ever gave that negro any
concern, unless it was spooks. He was afraid of `spooks,'
but he did not fear man.

Susquesus manifested the same confidence in his knowledge
of the woods, while now leading the way, league after
league through the dark forest, as he had done when he took
us to the oak with the broken top. On this occasion, he
guided us more by the sun, and the course generally, than
by any acquaintance with objects that we passed; though,
three times that day did he point out to us particular things
that he had before seen, while traversing the woods in directions
that crossed, at angles more or less oblique, the line of
our present route. As for us, it was like a sailor's pointing
to a path on the trackless ocean. We had our pocket-compasses,
it is true, and understood well enough that a
north-west course would bring us out somewhere near the
foot of Lake George; but, I much doubt if we could have

made, by any means, as direct a line, by their aid, as we
did by that of the Indian.

On this subject we had a discussion among ourselves, I
well remember, when we halted to eat and rest, a little after
the turn of the day. For five hours had we walked with
great rapidity, much as the bird flies, so far as course was
concerned, never turning aside, unless it might be to avoid
some impassable obstacle; and our calculation was that we
had made quite twenty, of the forty miles we had to go over,
according to the Onondago's account of the probable length
of our journey. We had strung our sinews and hardened
our muscles in such a way as to place us above the influence
of common fatigue; yet, it must be confessed, the Indian
was much the freshest of the five, when we reached
the spring where we dined.

“An Indian does seem to have a nose much like that of
a hound,” said Guert, as our appetites began to be appeased;
“that must be admitted. Yet I think, Corny, a compass
would carry a man through the woods with more certainty
than any signs on the bark of trees, or looks at the sun.”

“A compass cannot err, of course; but it would be a
troublesome thing to be stopping every minute or two, to
look at your compass, which must have time to become
steady, you will remember, or it would become a guide that
is worse than none.”

“Every minute or two! Say once in an hour, or once
in half an hour, at most. I would engage to travel as
straight as the best Indian of them all, by looking at my
compass once in half an hour.”

Susquesus was seated near enough to us three to overhear
our conversation, and he understood English perfectly,
though he spoke it in the usual, clipped manner of an Indian.
I thought I could detect a covert gleam of contempt in his
dark countenance, at this boast of Guert's; but he made no
remark. We finished our meal, rested our legs, and, when
our watches told us it was one o'clock, we rose in a body
to resume our march. We were renewing the priming of
our rifles, a precaution each man took twice every day, to
prevent the effects of the damps of the woods, when the
Onondago quietly fell in behind Guert, patiently waiting the
leisure of the latter.

“We are all ready, Trackless,” cried the Albanian;
“give us the lead and the step, as before.”

“No” — answered the Indian. “Compass lead, now.
Susquesus no see any longer,—blind as young dog.”

“Oh! that is your game, is it! Well, let it be so. Now,
Corny, you shall learn the virtue there is in a compass.”

Hereupon Guert drew his compass from a pocket in his
hunting-shirt, placed it on a log, in order to get a perfectly
accurate start, and waited until the quivering needle had
become perfectly stationary. Then he made his observation,
and took a large hemlock, which stood at the distance
of some twenty rods, a great distance for a sight in the
forest, as his land-mark, gave a shout, caught up his compass,
and led off. We followed, of course, and soon reached
the tree. As Guert now fancied he was well entered on the
right course, he disdained to turn to renew his observation,
but called out for us to `come on;' as he had a new tree
for his guide, and that in the true direction. We may
have proceeded in this manner for half a mile, and I began
to think that Guert was about to triumph—for, to me, it did
really seem that our course was as straight as it had been
at any time that day. Guert now began to brag of had success,
talking to me, and at the Indian, who was between us,
over his shoulder.

“You see, Corny,” he said, “I am used to the bush,
after all, and have often been up among the Mohawks, and
on their hunts. The great point is to begin right; after
which you can have no great trouble. Make certain of the
first ten rods, and you can be at ease about the ten thousand
that are to follow. So it is with life, Corny, boy;
begin right, and a young man is pretty certain of coming
out right. I made a mistake at the start, and you see the
trouble it has given me. But, I was left an orphan, Littlepage,
at ten years of age; and the boy that has neither father
nor money, must be an uncommon boy not to kick himself
out of the traces before he is twenty. Well, Onondago,
what do you say to following the compass, now!”

“Best look at him—he tell,” answered Susquesus, our
whole line halting to let Guert comply.

“This d—d compass will never come round!” exclaimed
Guert, shaking the little instrument in order to help the

needle round to the point at which he wished to see it stand.
“These little devils are very apt to get out of order, Corny,
after all.”

“Try more—got three”—said the Indian, holding up the
number of fingers he mentioned, as was his wont, when
mentioning numbers of any sort.

On this hint Dirck and I drew out our compasses, and
the three were placed on a log, at the side of which we had
come to our halt. The result showed that the three `little
devils' agreed most accurately, and that we were marching
exactly south-east, instead of north-west! Guert looked, on
that occasion, very much as he did when he rose from the
snow, after the hand-sled had upset with us. There was no
resisting the truth; we had got turned completely round,
without knowing it. The fact that the sun was so near the
zenith, probably contributed to our mistake; but, any one
who has tried the experiment, will soon ascertain how easy
it is for him to lose his direction, beneath the obscurity and
amid the inequalities of a virgin forest. Guert gave it up,
like a man as he was, and the Indian again passed in front,
without the slightest manifestation of triumph or discontent.
It required nothing less than a thunderbolt to disturb the
composure of that Onondago!

From that moment our progress was as swift as it had
been previously to the halt; while our course was seemingly
as unerring as the flight of the pigeon. Susquesus did not
steer exactly north-west, as before, however, but he inclined
more northerly. At length, it was just as the sun approached
the summits of the western mountains, an opening
appeared in our front, beneath the arches of the woods, and
we knew that a lake was near us, and that we were on the
summit of high land, though at what precise elevation could
not yet be told. Our route had lain across hills, and through
valleys, and along small streams; though, as I afterwards
ascertained, the Hudson did not run far enough north to
intercept our march; or rather, by a sudden turn to the
west, it left our course clear. Had we inclined westwardly
ourselves, we might have almost done that which Col. Follock
had once laughingly recommended to my mother, in
order to avoid the dangers of the Powles Hook Ferry, gone
round the river.

A clearing now showed itself a little on our right; and
thither the Indian held his way. This clearing was not the
result of the labours of man, but was the fruit of one of those
forest accidents that sometimes let in the light of the sun
upon the mysteries of the woods. This clearing was on the
bald cap of a rocky mountain, where Indians had doubtless
often encamped; the vestiges of their fires proving that the
winds had been assisted by the sister element, in clearing
away the few stunted trees that had once grown in the
fissures of the rocks. As it was, there might have been an
open space of some two or three acres, that was now as
naked as if it had never known any vegetation more ambitious
than the bush of the whortleberry or the honeysuckle.
Delicious water was spouting from a higher ridge of the
rocks, that led away northerly, forming the summit of an
extensive range in that direction. At this spring Susquesus
stooped to drink; then he announced that our day's work
was done.

Until this announcement, I do not believe that one of us
all had taken the time to look about him, so earnest and
rapid had been our march. Now, however, each man threw
aside his pack, laid down his rifle, and, thus disencumbered,
we turned to gaze on one of the most surprisingly beautiful
scenes eye of mine had ever beheld.

From what I have read and heard, I am now fully aware,
that the grandest of our American scenery falls far behind
that which is to be found among the lakes and precipices of
the Alps, and along the almost miraculous coast of the Mediterranean;
and I shall not pretend that the view I now
beheld approached many, in magnificence, that are to be
met with in those magic regions. Nevertheless, it was both
grand and soft; and it had one element of vastness, in the
green mantle of its interminable woods, that is not often to
be met with in countries that have long submitted to the
sway of man. Such as it was, I shall endeavour to describe
it.

Beneath us, at the distance of near a thousand feet, lay a
lake of the most limpid and placid water, that was beautifully
diversified in shape, by means of bluffs, bays, and curvatures
of the shores, and which had an extent of near forty miles.
We were on its eastern margin, and about one-third of the

distance from its southern to its northern end. Countless
islands lay almost under our feet, rendering the mixture of
land and water, at that particular point, as various and fanciful
as the human imagination could desire. To the north,
the placid sheet extended a great distance, bounded by rocky
precipices, passing by a narrow gorge into a winder and
larger estuary beyond. To the south, the water lay expanded
to its oval termination, with here and there an
island to relieve the surface. In that direction only, were
any of the results of human industry to be traced. Everywhere
else, the gorges, the receding valleys, the long ranges
of hills, and the bald caps of granite, presented nothing to
the eye but the unwearying charms of nature. Far as the
eye could reach, mountain behind mountain, the earth was
covered with its green mantle of luxuriant leaves; such as
vegetation bestows on a virgin soil beneath a beneficent sun.
The rolling and variegated carpet of the earth resembled a
firmament reversed, with clouds composed of foliage.

At the southern termination of the lake, however, there
was an opening in the forest of considerable extent; and
one that had been so thoroughly made as to leave few or no
trees. From this point we were distant several miles, and
that distance necessarily rendered objects indistinct; though
we had little difficulty in perceiving the ruins of extensive
fortifications. A thousand white specks, we now ascertained
to be tents, for the works were all that remained of Fort
William Henry, and there lay encamped the army of Abercrombie;
much the largest force that had then ever collected
in America, under the colours of England. History has
since informed us that this army contained the formidable
number of sixteen thousand men. Hundreds of boats, large
batteaux, that were capable of carrying forty or fifty men,
were moving about in front of the encampment, and, remote
as we were, it was not impossible to discover the signs of
preparation, and of an early movement. The Indian had
not deceived us thus far, at least, but had shown himself an
intelligent judge of what was going on, as well as a faithful
guide.

We were to pass the night on the mountain. Our beds
were none of the best, as the reader may suppose, and our
cover slight; yet I do not remember to have opened my

eyes from the moment they were closed, until I awoke in the
morning. The fatigue of a forced march did that for us
which down cannot obtain for the voluptuary, and we all
slept as profoundly as children. Consciousness returned to
me, by means of a gentle shake of the shoulder, which proceeded
from Susquesus. On arising, I found the Indian
still near me, his countenance, for the first time since I had
known him, expressing something like an animated pleasure.
He had awoke none of the others, and he signed for me to
follow him, without arousing either of my companions.
Why I had been thus particularly selected for the scene that
succeeded, I cannot say, unless the Onondago's native sagacity
had taught him to distinguish between the educations
and feelings of us three young men. So it was, however,
and I left the rude shelter we had prepared for the night,
alone.

A glorious sight awaited me! The sun had just tipped
the mountain-tops with gold, while the lake and the valleys,
the hill-sides even, and the entire world beneath, still reposed
in shadow. It appeared to me like the awakening of created
things from the sleep of nature. For a moment or more, I
could only gaze on the wonderful picture presented by the
strong contrast between the golden hill-tops and their shadowed
sides—the promises of day and the vestiges of night.
But the Onondago was too much engrossed with his own
feelings, to suffer me long to disregard what he conceived
to be the principal point of interest. Directed by his finger
and eye, for he spoke not, I turned my look towards the
distant shore of William Henry, and at once perceived the
cause of his unusual excitement. As soon as the Indian
was certain that I saw the objects that attracted himself so
strongly, he exclaimed with a strong, guttural, emphatic
cadence—

“Good!”

Abercrombie's army was actually in motion! Sixteen
thousand men had embarked in boats, and were moving
towards the northern end of the lake, with imposing force,
and a most beautiful accuracy. The unruffled surface of
the lake was dotted with the flotilla, boats in hundreds
stretching across it in long, dark lines, moving on towards
their point of destination with the method and concert of an

army with its wings displayed. The last brigade of boats
had just left the shore when I first saw this striking spectacle,
and the whole picture lay spread before me at a single
glance. America had never before witnessed such a sight;
and it may be long before she will again witness such another.
For several minutes I stood entranced; nor did I
speak until the rays of the sun had penetrated the dusky
light that lay on the inferior world, as low as the bases of
the western mountains.

“What are we to do, Susquesus?” I then asked, feeling
how much right the Indian now might justly claim to govern
our movements.

“Eat breakfast, first” — the Onondago quietly replied;
“then go down mountain.”

“Neither of which will place us in the midst of that gallant
army, as it is our wish to be.”

“See, bye'm by. Injin know—no hurry, now. Hurry
come, when Frenchman shoot.”

I did not like this speech, nor the manner in which it was
uttered; but there were too many things to think of, just
then, to be long occupied by vague conjectures touching the
Onondago's evasive allusions. Guert and Dirck were called,
and made to share in the pleasure that such a sight could
not fail to communicate. Then it was I got the first notion
of what I should call the truly martial character of Ten
Eyck. His fine, manly figure appeared to me to enlarge,
his countenance actually became illuminated, and the expression
of his eye, usually so full of good-nature and fun,
seemed to change its character entirely, to one of sternness
and severity.

“This is a noble sight, Mr. Littlepage,” Guert remarked,
after gazing at the measured but quick movement of the
flotilla, for some time, in silence—“a truly noble sight, and
it is a reproach to us three for having lost so much time in
the woods, when we ought to have been there, ready to aid
in driving the French from the province.”

“We are not too late, my good friend, as the first blow
yet remains to be struck.”

“You say true, and I shall join that army, if I have to
swim to reach the boats. It will be no difficult thing for us
to swim from one of these islands to another, and the troops

must pass through the midst of them, in order to get into
the lower lake. Any reasonable man would stop to pick
us up.”

“No need,” said the Onondago, in his quiet way. “Eat
breakfast; then go. Got canoe—that 'nough.”

“A canoe! By St. Nicholas! Mr. Susquesus, I'll tell
you what it is—you shall never want a friend as long as
Guert Ten Eyck is living, and able to assist you. That
idea of the canoe is a most thoughtful one, and shows that
a reasoning man has had the care of us. We can now
join the troops, with the rifles in our hand, as becomes gentlemen
and volunteers.”

By this time Jaap was up, and looking at the scene, with
all his eyes. It is scarcely necessary to describe the effect
on a negro. He laughed in fits, shook his head like the
Chinese figure of a mandarin, rolled over on the rocks,
arose, shook himself like a dog that quits the water, laughed
again, and finally shouted. As we were all accustomed to
these displays of negro sensibility, they only excited a smile
among us, and not even that from Dirck. As for the Indian,
he took no more notice of these natural, but undignified
signs of pleasure, in Jaap, than if the latter had been a dog,
or any other unintellectual animal. Perhaps no weakness
would be so likely to excite his contempt, as to be a witness
of so complete an absence of self-command, as the untutored
negro manifested on this occasion.

As soon as our first curiosity and interest were a little
abated, we applied ourselves to the necessary duty of breaking
our fasts. The meal was soon despatched; and, to say
the truth, it was not of a quality to detain one long from anything
of interest. The moment we had finished, the whole
party left the cap of the mountain, following our guide as
usual.

The Onondago had purposely brought us to that lookout,
a spot known to him, in order that we might get the view
of its panorama. It was impossible to descend to the lake-shore
at that spot, however, and we were obliged to make a
détour of three or four miles, in order to reach a ravine, by
means of which, and not without difficulty either, that important
object was obtained. Here we found a bark canoe,

of a size sufficient to hold all five of us, and we embarked
without a moment's delay.

The wind had sprung up from the south, as the day advanced,
and the flotilla of boats was coming on, at a greatly
increased rate, as to speed. By the time we had threaded
our way through the islands, and reached the main channel,
if indeed any one passage could be so termed, among such a
variety, the leading boat of the army was within hail. The
Indian paddled, and, waving his hand in sign of amity, he
soon brought us alongside of the batteau. As we approached
it, however, I observed the fine, large form of the Viscount
Howe, standing erect in its bows, dressed in his Light Infantry
Forest Uniform, as if eager to be literally the foremost
man of a movement, in the success of which, the honour
of the British empire, itself, was felt to be concerned.