In the Days of Poor Richard

  CHAPTER XXI

  THE AMBUSH

  Mrs. Scott and her little son were made welcome in the home of JohnIrons. Jack and Solomon were immediately sent up the river and throughthe bush to help the force at Ti. In the middle and late days of July,they reported to runners the southward progress of the British. Theywere ahead of Herkimer's regiment of New York militia on August thirdwhen they discovered the ambush--a misfortune for which they were in noway responsible. Herkimer and his force had gone on without them torelieve Fort Schuyler. The two scouts had ridden post to join him.They were afoot half a mile or so ahead of the commander when Jackheard the call of the swamp robin. He hurried toward his friend.Solomon was in a thicket of tamaracks.

  "We got to git back quick," said the latter. "I see sign o' an ambush."

  They hurried to their command and warned the General. He halted andfaced his men about and began a retreat. Jack and Solomon hurried outahead of them some twenty rods apart. In five minutes Jack heardSolomon's call again. Thoroughly alarmed, he ran in the direction ofthe sound. In a moment he met Solomon. The face of the latter hadthat stern look which came only in a crisis. Deep furrows ran acrosshis brow. His hands were shut tight. There was an expression of angerin his eyes. He swallowed as Jack came near.

  "It's an ambush sure as hell's ahead," he whispered.

  As they were hurrying toward the regiment, he added:

  "We got to fight an' ag'in' big odds--British an' Injuns. Don't neverlet yerself be took alive, my son, lessen ye want to die as Scott did.But, mebbe, we kin bu'st the circle."

  In half a moment they met Herkimer.

  "Git ready to fight," said Solomon. "We're surrounded."

  The men were spread out in a half-circle and some hurried orders given,but before they could take a step forward the trap was sprung. "TheRed Devils of Brant" were rushing at them through the timber with yellsthat seemed to shake the tree-tops. The regiment fired and began toadvance. Some forty Indians had fallen as they fired. GeneralHerkimer and others were wounded by a volley from the savages.

  "Come on, men. Foller me an' use yer bayonets," Solomon shouted."We'll cut our way out."

  The Indians ahead had no time to load. Scores of them were runthrough. Others fled for their lives. But a red host was swarming upfrom behind and firing into the regiment. Many fell. Many made themistake of turning to fight back and were overwhelmed and killed orcaptured. A goodly number had cut their way through with Jack andSolomon and kept going, swapping cover as they went. Most of them werewounded in some degree. Jack's right shoulder had been torn by abullet. Solomon's left hand was broken and bleeding. The savages werealmost on their heels, not two hundred yards behind. The old scoutrallied his followers in a thicket at the top of a knoll with an opengrass meadow between them and their enemies. There they reloaded theirrifles and stood waiting.

  "Don't fire--not none o' ye--till I give the word. Jack, you take myrifle. I'm goin' to throw this 'ere bunch o' lightnin'."

  Solomon stepped out of the thicket and showed himself when the savagesentered the meadow. Then he limped up the trail as if he were badlyhurt, in the fashion of a hen partridge when one has come near herbrood. In a moment he had dodged behind cover and crept back into thethicket.

  There were about two hundred warriors who came running across the flattoward that point where Solomon had disappeared. They yelled likedemons and overran the little meadow with astonishing speed.

  "Now hold yer fire--hold yer fire till I give ye the word, er we'll allbe et up. Keep yer fingers off the triggers now."

  He sprang into the open. Astonished, the foremost runners halted whileothers crowded upon them. The "bunch of lightning" began its curvedflight as Solomon leaped behind a tree and shouted, "Fire!"

  "'Tain't too much to say that the cover flew off o' hell right thar atthe edge o' the Bloody Medder that minnit--you hear to me," he used totell his friends. "The air were full o' bu'sted Injun an' a barrel o'blood an' grease went down into the ground. A dozen er so that wasn'thurt run back ercrost the medder like the devil were chasin' 'em allwith a red-hot iron. I reckon it'll allus be called the Bloody Medder."

  In this retreat Jack had lost so much blood that he had to be carriedon a litter. Before night fell they met General Benedict Arnold and aconsiderable force. After a little rest the tireless Solomon went backinto the bush with Arnold and two regiments to find the woundedHerkimer, if possible, and others who might be in need of relief. Theymet a band of refugees coming in with the body of the General. Theyreported that the far bush was echoing with the shrieks of torturedcaptives.

  "Beats all what an amount o' sufferin' it takes to start a new nation,"Solomon used to say.

  Next day Arnold fought his way to the fort, and many of St. Leger'sRangers and their savage allies were slain or captured or broken intolittle bands and sent flying for their lives into the northern bush.So the siege of Fort Schuyler was raised.

  "I never see no better fightin' man than Arnold," Solomon used to say."I seen him fight in the middle bush an' on the Stillwater. Under firehe was a regular wolverine. Allus up ag'in' the hottest side o' hellan' sayin':

  "'Come on, boys. We kin't expec' to live forever.'

  "But Arnold were a sore head. Allus kickin' over the traces an'complainin' that he never got proper credit."