Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1862-02-06
THE OUTPOST.
A TALE OF TEE FRONTIER.

l76l, the french, aided by vast bodie
of the Huron and Iroquois Indians, hs,
begun to make themselves very disa
greeable neighbors to the British an,
American colonists in Northern Virgin
ia, Ohio, and the northwest portions o
New York Stste-the French by thei
encroachment on the frontier. and tn,
Indians by their numerous forsys, ant
barbarity to all who were unfortunst
enough to fall into their hands.
To put stop to these sggressiv,
proceedings, numerous bodies. both o
the REGULARS" and the colonial militia
were dispatched to the several points
assailed; and among the rest, a Col
Henry Innes, with company of thirty
men. among whom were party of some
dozen Virginia riHemen. was ordered
to occupy a small outpost, or long fort
which at this period stood within a few
miles from the north fork of the Alle-
ghany river.
Having arrived safely at their quar-.
ters, the little company set about right
ing up the old post to make it as com.
Portable as circumstances would per-
init; and this being done, and order
once more restored, sentries were
placed at all advanced points of the ma
ton. while the strictest vigilance was
both enjoined and exercised by day
and night.
Among the Virginia rifemen who
had volunteered into the company, was
a tall, manly, fine looking young fellow,
who from his fatal and unerring skill
as marksman, had received the some
what awe-inspiring nom de plume Of
Death. But with whatever justice
this name had been applied to him for
his skill, his disposition certainly enti-
tied him to no such terror-spreading
epithet. On the contrary, he was the
very life Of the company.
His rich fund of mother-wit, large
social propensities, and constant good
nature, rendering him a general favor
ite with the men; while the never-fail-
ing stock of game which his skill ena-
bled him to supply the messtable of the
officers with, not only recommended
him to their good graces, but caused
many little "short coming" Of his to
be winked at and be passed over in ST.
lence,. which otherwise perhaps, he
might not have got over so easily.
The company had notlbeen stationed
at the fort much more than week, ere
Death in one Of his excursions for
game, discovered that at small Iarm
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 himself still
more certain of the fact, he called the
day following. under cover Of the pre-
tence OF having left his powder flask.
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 invitation was both eagerly
and ioyfully accepted, and as often as
would admit complied
with.
The second week after this occur
renee took place was marked by two
events which, though both affecting the
welfare of the little community at the
fort, wsre OF widely different degrees in
The first was, that Death had either
suddenly lost all his skill as a marks
man, or that the game had removed to
a safer and more distant neighborhood,
for the officers larder had been found
sadly wanting in the items of wood
cocks. blackcocks, ptarmian, &c, for
The week past-and the second and
most important of the two events was,
that in regular succession, four sentinels
had disappeared from the extreme left
line, without leaving the slightest trace
to elucidate the mystery of their disap-
pearance.
The circumstance struck such dread
into the breast of the rest of the COM
pany, that none Of them could be found
willing to volunteer TO take post-well
knowing that it would be only signing
their own death warrant to do so; and
Col. Innes, not wishing to wilfully sac
rifce the lives of his men by compelling
them to go, enjoined double caution to
the remainder of the sentinels, and left
the fatal post unoccupied for night or
two.
Two or three reconnoitering parties
had been dispatched off round the
neighborhood in hopes of finding some
clue to the mystery, or Of obtaining
some intelligence of the enemy, but
they had each of them returned as
wise as they started, with no reward for
their trouble, save weary bones.
1t was on the third night of the de-
sertion of the post, that our hero,
Death, was returning to the fort, after
paying a visit to Stanhope's farm
The moon was up, but her light was
nearly all obscured by the dense mas
ses of clouds which at every minute
were driven by pretty stiff breeze
over her face; while the huge trees,
now all in full leaf, cresked and groaned,
and bent their tall forms to and fro, as
the heavy gusts rushed whistling in
among their branches.