Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1890-02-22
CAPTAIN LEES ESCAPE.
A Tale OF the Revolutionary War By E
ward ENerett Hale.

A Tale OF the Revolutionary War By I'D
ward Everett Hale.
Those of you who had grandfathers
or great grandfathers who were taken
prisoners OF war when they were
cruising in American privateers have
heard. do not doubt, OF the prison OF
Forton in England. Ii was In this
prison that the American prisoners
taken at sea were kept And very
hard time they had OF II until Frank
lin was at last able to arrange that
they should be exchanged for prison
ers taken by Jones and others from
English ships
One Of the prisoners In Forton. who
remained there eighteen months or
more. was Captain Lee. OF Marble
head. The privateers OF Salem. Mar
blehead and Beverly were the terror
of all Englishmen who sailed upon the
seas; but in some adventure. which
need not tell here. Captain Lee, OF Mar
blehead. was overmatched. and so had
been carried into England with his
crew and was imprisoned at Forton
Exchanges were not then easy, for the
English Government had not Mt first
decided on li.i course about exchange.
One day. after poor Captain Lee had
fingered there more than year and
a half. he was called TO the door and
told that gentleman wished to see
him This gentleman proved to be a
man OF military air. who took Captain
Lee into corner and pressed into his
hand. privately "a purse. which proved
to contain sevonty-fve guineas. With
equal privacy he said TO him that with
part OF tho money he must buy. be
fore night from some OF the attend
ants. the dress of one OF tho prison
workmen. and that, when the relic
came around. he must be in al
out-of-the-way place, where h
could fall in with the relief IL
the twilight and pass outside thu
prison proper unobserved. But !,
go out Of the whole enclosure" SAT-
his friend ''you will need to know tn
countersign." And so he whispere,
to him the countersign OF the day
Captain Lee asked who II was TO whom
ne was indebted. but the strange
would not tell him.
All fell out just as this good fair
had said. Some loafer among tn
workmen was not proof to the temptu
tion of a few bright guineas. and a
night came on Captain Lee clothe
himself in the suit of clothes which h
had bought. lie fell in with the relic
and no one observed him. He came {
one and another sentinel who cha
lenged him. and he approached an
[ gave the count rsignw He passed ou
> into the dark town. and there he wa
puzzled about the street. when he m,
: again his friend Of the morning. Tn
, gentleman congratulated him on h
liberty. put him into carriage whic
| was in waiting and sent him 10 a so
: port. whence he could take passas
I for France.
o The whole experience was as gre
y wonder to Captain Lee as II Il
stranger had been AN angel sent fro
Heaven a. in certain sense he wa
q Heaven is very apt to send as Its me
y sengers the persons who have be-
moved by kindness done to them.
;, II proved afterwards that the mys,
a rious stranger was no less pers,
than General Burgoyne. He also hi
been prisoner OF war. While he "
at Cambridge. in Massachusetts.
had been under the immediate char
| OF Colonel Lee. who was Captain Lee
brother. When Burgoyne was e
changed he had promise Colonel I.c
for whose kindness to him he W
~ grateful. that he would render Al
. service in his power to the prisoner
!, Forton. Colonel Lee had intrust
a To him seventy-iiye guineas which
!. had delivered to Captain Lee, and
was he who had whispered the val
able countersign to him. Sunny Hou