In the Days of Poor Richard

  2

  The Scotts' buildings had been burned by the Indians and their boatsdestroyed save one large canoe which had happened to be on the southshore of the river out of their reach. In this Jack and Solomon and"Mis' Scott" and the Little Cricket set out with loaded packs in themoon of the new leaf, to use a phrase of the Mohawks, for the city ofthe Great River. They had a carry at the Wolf Riff and some shorterones but in the main it was a smooth and delightful journey, betweenwooded shores, down the long winding lane of the Mohawk. Without fearof the Indians they were able to shoot deer and wild fowl and build afire on almost any part of the shore. Mrs. Scott insisted on her rightto do the cooking. Jack kept a diary of the trip, some pages of whichthe historian has read. From them we learn:

  "Mrs. Scott has bravely run the gauntlet of her sorrows. Now there isa new look in her face. She is a black eyed, dark haired, energetic,comely woman of forty with cheeks as red as a ripe strawberry. Solomoncalls her 'middle sized' but she seems to be large enough to fill hiseye. He shows her great deference and chooses his words withparticular care when he speaks to her. Of late he has taken tosinging. She and the boy seem to have stirred the depths in him andcurious things are coming up to the surface--songs and stories anddroll remarks and playful tricks and an unusual amount of laughter. Isuppose that it is the spirit of youth in him, stunned by his greatsorrow. Now touched by miraculous hands he is coming back to his oldself. There can be no doubt of this: the man is ten years younger thanwhen I first knew him even. The Little Cricket has laid hold of hisheart. Whig sits between the feet of Solomon in the stern during theday and insists upon sleeping with him at night.

  "One morning my old friend was laughing as we stood on the river bankwashing ourselves.

  "'What are you laughing at?' I asked.

  "'That got dum leetle skeezucks!' he answered. 'He were kickin' allnight like a mule fightin' a bumble bee. 'Twere a cold night an' Iheld him ag'in' me to keep the leetle cuss warm.'

  "'Hadn't you better let him sleep with his mother?' I asked.

  "'Wall, if it takes two to do his sleepin' mebbe I better be the onethat suffers. Ain't she a likely womern?'

  "Of course I agreed, for it was evident that she was likely, sometime,to make him an excellent wife and the thought of that made me happy."

  They had fared along down by the rude forts and villages travelingstealthily at night in tree shadows through "the Tory zone," as thevicinity of Fort Johnson was then called, camping, now and then, indeserted farm-houses or putting up at village inns. They arrived atAlbany in the morning of July fourth. Setting out from their last campan hour before daylight they had heard the booming of cannon atsunrise, Solomon stopped his paddle and listened.

  "By the hide an' horns o' the devil!" he exclaimed. "I wonder if theBritish have got down to Albany."

  They were alarmed until they hailed a man on the river road and learnedthat Albany was having a celebration.

  "What be they celebratin'?" Solomon asked.

  "The Declaration o' Independence," the citizen answered.

  "It's a good idee," said Solomon. "When we git thar this 'ere ol'rifle o' mine 'll do some talkin' if it has a chanst."

  Church bells were ringing as they neared the city. Its inhabitantswere assembled on the river-front. The Declaration was read and thenGeneral Schuyler made a brief address about the peril coming down fromthe north. He said that a large force under General Burgoyne was onLake Champlain and that the British were then holding a council withthe Six Nations on the shore of the lake above Crown Point.

  "At present we are unprepared to meet this great force but I supposethat help will come and that we shall not be dismayed. The modest manwho leads the British army from the north declares in his proclamationthat he is 'John Burgoyne, Esq., Lieutenant General of His Majesty'sforces in America, Colonel of the Queen's Regiment of Light Dragoons,Governor of Fort William in North Britain, one of the Commons inParliament and Commander of an Army and Fleet Employed on an Expeditionfrom Canada!' My friends, such is the pride that goeth before a fall.We are an humble, hard-working people. No man among us can boast of aname so lavishly adorned. Our names need only the simple but gloriousadornments of firmness, courage and devotion. With those, I verilybelieve, we shall have an Ally greater than any this world can offer.Let us all kneel where we stand while the Reverend Mr. Munro leads usin prayer to Almighty God for His help and guidance."

  It was an impressive hour and that day the same kind of talk was heardin many places. The church led the people. Pulpiteers of inspiredvision of which, those days, there were many, spoke with the tongues ofmen and of angels. A sublime faith in "The Great Ally" began to travelup and down the land.