Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1850-03-22


, they arranged that the slow whis le of the WIN
. Poor-wW, repeated five times, should be the sig
2 OF alarm. Night brought unusual stiffness, fc
5 there was scarcely breath of wind TO move th
; leaves or wave branch on the highest ire
tops and the clouds, at the rising of the moo
; at o'clock, entirely disappeared, and by tel
revealed the glossy surface ofthe Lake for mile
from the ambush Of Durkee. And now the frs
wave o! the water was visible, rejecting the
brightness Of the moon, while at the same in
slant she revealed the red enemy in advance
10 all appearance in vast numbers Not "A
word was spoken by Durkce, so determined
was he to arrive at some near estimate of thei
number. He thought them one thousand stronr
at this distance of his observatIon-and turn
ing with that comic preparation of his mouth, Sc
necessary to produce the watchword whistle.
the plalntive notes Of the Whp-poor-wiil were
given to the ready ear Of Putnam, and most dis
tinctly repeated five times.
Ihat puckcr on the mouth of Lieutenant
Durkec,' whispered Come ctcut provincial
was the bectun, and As for a poor IVhip.poOr-
,cW himself, he would be ch aated to death bv
it, 1t was rde, the counterfeit was Jerfect
and Put him2 If almost doubted whether
the bird it>elf had not Anticipated Durkee and
cxeclt the order. Convinced beyond doubt
that their course would be up the creek, Dur.
kee instantly followed his alarm whistle to the
barrcadc to join Putnam, and said ] think
they are near one thousand, or they have an
unusual number OF boats and canoes they eX-
tend n'ar one third Of a nile They are,
sald l'ut, and half turning, that his low tone
shonld be hearp, Boys, are you ready ? Then
add two more balls to your charge and let not
a whisper lie heard
The advance guard of the enemy, this mo-
ment but few yards this side Of the mouth of
the Bay, were closely followed bv the whole
fleet and all were now gliding so uosclcss that
the crack of a dry limb OF bush could be dis
tnctly heard. The moon. vt in its silvcry
brightness, undmned by even one fleccv cloud
lighted them on their mcandcrng way along
the Lake. until now, Suddenly, the pass so mar
rowcd in front of the little fortress that have
before mentioned, that the broad fu-leaved
branches of the immcn.e forest trees arched
and shaded it most darkIy. 1T looked too In
dian as one of them said afterwards. like the
entrance to deep cave OF death, and the ad-
vance, which were Indians hesitaled.
And now the brave Nolan, of the French
in command, was with the advance closely fol.
lowed by the main fleet in th. closest order.
aud himself past the parapet, when his atten-
ton was arrested by noise from the shore il
was from behind the parapc, and occasioned
by trtiing hit of gun against the wall OF
stone. All was silent-the advance checked
at the signal Of orc, the oars of the whole
were pointed upward from the water-thc In.
dian word, O,risl' repeated from one Indian
to another, and instantly nearly the whole mum
Der were drnsely grouped directly in front OF
the extended parapct in fearful suspense
Their death signal was the discharge of Put
mans gum and the first voey almost at the
same instant made terrible havoc. The French
and Indians wero terror and dpath-etriolon
Their canoes pierced by balie, their skippers
falling on one side, some fast sinking, and al
thrown into the greatest disorder, with the -.
wage wells of the surprise d foe vastly contrasted
with tie quiet Stiffness Of the night anl scenes
of preparation. The French rallied, but the
surviving Indians first shot By in their canoes
in various directions; but as the more brave
Frrnch maintained their position, they returned
and maintained it with their allies, until al
order was given to effect landing at what l.
now called the first bent Just a little south Of
the entrance of the bay. With the geography
Of this purkee could bnt be familiar; it wa.
nea? his pet ambush. and here with his detacu-
mont OF twelve, ere the party lad set foot on
shore, onr brave scout WAS vel posted, aud
adroi,ly trom view. The g. and wds low
and marsjy a: the spot, and Durkee very dryly
whispered. This is 20. exactly our hearth
and home boy. but it's been Jreltyso u ioIg.
ing the asst four nights, and mnI yc, we'll de-
frnl it, Charged with three balls in each
JIundrrbuss, the canoes now hudllng in pre-
parl,ion far landing, and closely approXima.
ting dcbtrkation, it need not be told that their
reception was a duplicate Of their surprise al
the gloomy pas.
The rcinrn fire Of the Indians and French
was Instantaneous, hut they were So confused,
lis effect vas entirely lost, and purkce's men,
on giving the first voiey. fell, 50 prostratng
themselves a. to he qrt' hidden from the keen
sight of tne inliln'. Ol ris ng again they
gave another voilcy, with A savage yell, which
they knew very well hpW to produce, and more
than "A dozen of them fell hcadong into the
Lake from this fire, and tie confusion and up
setting of their canoes. The remainder now
rctrHa'inr little distance, nromi cous fire was
continued and shots without orders exchanged
till Durkce saw them making way TO join the
main party.
With a desperation incredible, Molang had
meanwhile maintained nearly the same posi-
ton, although ne hrd sent detached parties at
various points to effect Il Ian ling One of
these parties WAS met by The scout Parsons, and
others arriving there Just as tie remosr, a tall
i
shore and himself landing. Five of them land
cd at the same moment; and their long forms
had scarcely been erect, when the foremost was
/ pierced by the bayouet OF Ihc giant scout Par.
sons, and the seven doing i!eIr work equally
sum nary, the five were driven at he Instant of
the shore into the imn nsely deep water. What
the bayonct had not entirely done for the five,
| the lake ccmp'ctcd and the uncrlinI aim of Par
soGs and his men, n,w directed TO those yet
| persI>ting in landing, told f,arfuIy. The In
dians returned the ire at the instant, and tn,
same moment renewed tleir attempt for the
shore, believing our men would employ the
present moment to RELOAD. The guns of bntI
parties discharged, now came work for the
Oayonet, tomahawk, and match Of phi-icd
strength. In position our scouts had every ad.
vantsge--the ready use of bayoneis, MT less
skilled in hurting the tomahawk, and on hlra
.frma. They at the peril Of unequal balance H.
their canoes, from confusion and cycemenI
'cc.iving hrusts and stunning blows, while our
/ In, hnlI fr, H. al