Lewistown gazette. [volume] (Lewistown, Pa.) 1843-1944, 1857-11-12
mlSgRlllNlOUS.
THE OUTPOST.
A TALE OF FRONTIER LIFE.

the French, aided by the vast bodies O
the Huron and Iroquois Indians, had be
gun to make themselves very disagreeablt
neighbors to the British and American col
onists In northern Virginia, Ohio and the
northwest portion of New York State
the French by their encroachment ON the
frontier, and the Indians by their forays
and savage barbarity to all who were un-
fortunate enough to fall into their hands.
To put stop to those aggressive pro-
eeedings, numerous bodies, both regulars
and colonial militia, were dispatched to the
several points assailed; and among the rest,
Col. Henry Innes, with company of
thirty men, among whom were party of
some dozen Virginia riflemen, was ordered
to occupy small outpost, or log fort, which
at this period stood within few miles Of
the north fork of the Allegheny river
Having arrived safely at their quarters,
the little company set about righting up
the old post, to make it as comfortable as
circumstances would permit and this be-
ing done, and order once more restored,
sentries were placed at all the advance
points of the station, while the strictest
vigilance was both enjoined and exercised
by day and by night
Among the Virginia rifemen who had
volunteered into the company, was tall,
manly, fine looking young fellow, who
from his fatal and unerring skill as marks
man, had received the somewhat awe-in-
spring nom de plume of-Death But
with whatever justice this name had been
applied to him for his skill, his disposition
certainly entitled him to no such terror
spreading epithet. On the contrary, he
was the life of the company
His rich fund of mother-wit, large social
propensities, and constant good nature, rem
dered him a general fayorite with the men;
while the neyer-failing stock of game
which his skill enabled him to supply the
mess table of the officers with, not only
recommended him TO their good graces, but
caused many a little short coming of his
to be winked at and passed over in silence,
which, otherwise perhaps, he might not
have got over so easily.
The company had not been stationed at
the fort more than week, ere Death, in
one of his excursions for game, discovered
that at small farm house, some three miles
or so distant from the fort, there lived a
certain Miss Hester Stanhope, whose equal
in beauty and amiable qualities he had
never seen before And to render him
still more certain of the fact, he called the
day following, under cover of the pretence
of having left his powder-fask
Death was invited to come again, by
farmer Stanhope, who happened to be from
the same parish as the father of our hero;
and We need scarcely say that the invita-
ton was both eagerly and joyfully accepted,
and as often as circumstances would per-
NIT, complied with.
The second week after this occurrence
took place, was marked by two events,
which, though both affecting the welfare
of the little community at the fort, were
of widely different degrees in importance.
The first was that Death had either sud
denly lost all his skill as marksman, or
that the game had removed to safer and
more distant neighborhood, for the officers
larder had been found wanting in the items
of woodcocks, blackcocks, ptarmigan, &c,
for the week pastr-and the second and
most important of the two events, was,
that in regular succession, four sentlnels
had disappeared from the extreme left line,
without leaving the slightest trace to elu-
cidate the mystery of their disappearance
This last circumstance struck such dread
into the minds Of the rest Of the company,
that no one could be found willing to vol
unteer to take tile post-well knowing that
it would only be their death warrant to do
so and Col. Innes, not wishing wilfully to
sacrifice the lives of the men by compelling
them 10 go, enjoined double caution to the
remainder of the sentinels, and left the
fatal post unoccupied for a night or two.
Two or three accommodating parties had
been dispatched off round the neighbor-
hood in the hope of finding some clue to
the mystery or of obtaining some intelli-
gence of the enemy, but they had each OF
them returned as wise as they started, with