Iowa capitol reporter. [volume] (Iowa City, Iowa) 1841-1855, 1851-09-17

her family to an estate owned by him
at Fort Edward. Mr.. McCrea, who
was a widowcr, died, and Jane went
to live with her brother near Fort
Edward, where the intimacy of for
mer years with Mrs. Mcneil and her
daughter was renewed, and Jane
spent much Of her time at Mrs. Nc
Neils house. Near her brothers liv-
ed a family named Jones, consisting
of a widow and six sons, and between
Jenny and David Jones a gay young
man, feeling of friendship budded
and repined intorecip' ,allove. When
the war broke out the Joneses took
the royal side Of the question, and
David and his brother Jonathan went
to Canada in the autum of l776.-
They raised a company of about six
ty men, under pretext ofre-inforcing
the American garrison at Ticonder-
oga, but they went further down the
lake and joined the British garrison
at Cr,w Point. When Burgoyne
collected his force at st. Johns, al
the foot of lake Champlain, David
and Jonathan Jones were among
them. Jonathan was made Captain
and David a Lieutenant in the diyis
ion under General Fraser, and at tn.
time in question they were with thu
British army near Sandy Hill. Thus
far all accounts nearly agree.
The brother of Jenny was Wing
and prepared to move to Albany
but Mrs. Mcneil, who was a cousin
of General Fraser, (killed at Still.
water) was a staunch loyalist, and
intended to remain at Fort Edward
When the British were near, jenny
was at Mrs. McNeips and fingered
there even afterrepeated solicitations
from her brother to return to his house
five miles further down the river, to
be ready to flee when necessity
should compel. A faint hope that
she might meet her lover, doubtless,
was the secret of her tarryiny. AT
last her brother sent peremtory or
der for herto join him, and she prom
ised to go down in a large bateau
which was expected to leave with
several families on the following day
Early the next morning a black
servant boy belonging to Mrs. McNiel
espied some Indians stealthily ap-
preaching the house, and giving the
alarm to the inmates, he fed to the
fort, about eighty rods distant. Mrs
McNeirs daughter the young friend
ofJerny, and mother of my informant
was with some friends in Argyle, and
the family consisted Of only the wild
ow and Jenny, two small children
and black female servant. As
usual at that time, the kitchen stood
a few feet from the house; and when
the alarm was given the black wo-
man snatched up the children, fled
to the kitchen, retreated through a
trap door to the cellar. Mrs. Mcneil
and Jenny followed, but the forme,
being aged and very corpulent, and
the latter young and agile, Jenny
reached the trap door first. Before
Mrs. Mcneil could fully descend, the
Indians were in the house, and a
powerful savage seized her by the
hair and dragged her up. Another
went into the cellar and brought out
Jenny, but the black face of the ne
gro woman was not seen in the dark,
and she and the children remained
unframed.
With the two women the savages
started off, on the road to Sandy Hill
for Burgoyne $ camp; and when they
came to the foot Of the ascent on
which the pine tree stands, where the
road forked, they caught two horses
that were grazing, and attempted to
place their prisoners upon them -
Mrs. Mcneil was too heavy to be
lifted on the horse easily, and as she
signified by her signs that she could
not ride, two Indians took her by the
arms and hurried her up the hill, while
the others, with Jenny on the horse,
went along the road running west of
the tree.
The negro boy who ran to the fort,
gave the alarm, and small detach-
ment was Immediately sent out to
effect rescue. They fired several
volleys at the Indians, but the sava-
ges escaped unframed. Mrs. Mcneil
said the Indians, who were hurryino
her up the hill, seemed to watch the
flash of the guns, and several times
they threw her upon her face, at the
same time falling down themselves,
and she distinctly heard the balls
whistle above them. When they got
above the second hill from the village
the firing ceased; they then stopped,
stripped her of all her garments ex-
cept her chemise, and in that plight
led herinto the British camp. There
she met her kinsman, General Fraser.
and reproached him bitterly for send
ing his "sce u ,drel Indians after her.
He denied all knowledge of her being
away from New Y ork, and took every
pains to make her comfortable. She
was so large that not a woman in
camp had a gown big enough for
her, so Fraser lent her his camp coat
for garment, and pocket-hand-
kerchief as a substitute for her stolen
cap.
Very soon after Mrs. Mcneil was
taken into the British camp, two par
ties OF Indians arrived with scalps.
She at once recognised the glossy
hair OF Jenny,* and though shudder-
iny with horror boldly charged the