Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1904-03-04


near the new position taken up by
Beverley and his men. 1t was a fine
test of nerve when the lieutenants
eyes met those of the governor. Mel
Their man permitted the slightest change
of countenance to betray his feelings
In fact, Beverley's face was as rigid as
marble; he could not have changed It,
Father Beret was indeed present at
the church, as Hamilton had dreaded.
and the two duelists gave each other a
rapier-like eye thrust Neither spoke
however, and Clark Immediately de.
manded a settlement of the matter in
hand. He was brusque and imperious
to degree, apparently rather anxious
to repel every peaceful advance.
1t was laconic interview. crisp as
autumn ice and bitter as gall berries
Colonel Clark had no respect whatever
for Hamilton, to whom he had applied
the imperishable adjective hair buyer
general" On the other hand, Govern,
or Hamilton, who felt keenly the dis.
grace Of having to equalize himself Of
hcially and discuss terms Of surrender
with a rough backwoodsman, could not
conceal his contempt of Clark
The five men of history, Hamilton.
Helm. Hay, Clark and Bowman, were
not distinguished diplomats. They
went at their work rather after the
hammer and tongs fashion. Clark
bluntly demanded unconditional sur
render. Hamilton refused. They ar.
gued the matter. Helm put in his oar,
trying to soften the situation, as was
his custom on all occasions, and re-
ceived from Clark singing repri-
mand, with the reminder that he was
nothing but a prisoner on parole and
had no voice at all in settling the terms
! of surrender.
81 release him, sir" said Hamilton
"He is no longer prisoner. I am quite
willing to have Captain Helm join
freely in our conference"
And 1 refuse to permit his accept
ance of your favor" responded Clark
Captain Helm, you will return will
Mr. Hamilton to the fort and remain
his captive until 1 free you by force
Meantime hold your tongue"
Father Beret, suave looking and Qui
ct, occupied himself at the little altar
apparently altogether Indifferent tC
what was being said, but he lost not 6
word of the talk.
"Qul habet aures audiendi, audiat,'
he inwardly repeated, smiling blandly
"Gaudete in lila die, ct exultate!'
Hamilton rose to go; deep lines OF
worry creased his face. But when the
party had passed outside he suddenly
turned upon Clark and said:
"Why do you demand impossible
terms Of me?
II will tell you, sir" was the sterI
answer in a tone in which there wa:
no mercy or compromise. II would
rather have you refuse. l desire moth
ing 80 much as an excuse to wreak full
and bloody vengeance on every mar
in that fort who has engaged in The
business Of employing savages to scalI
brave, patriotic men and defenseles'
women and children. The cries Of thu
widows and the fatherless on our from
tiers require the blood of the Indiar
partisans at my hands. If you choose
to risk the massacre Of your garrison
to save those despicable redhandet
partisans, have your pleasure. Wha
you have done you know better thar
may be able to soften its nature. l ma.
take it into my head to send for SOM
of our bereaved women to witness m.
terrible work and see that it is wei
done If you insist upon the worst"
Major Hay, who was Hamilton's In
dian agent, now, with some difficult.
clearing his throat, spoke up.
pray, sir" said he, who is it tina
you call Indian partisansY
Sir" replied Clark. seeing that hi
words had gone solidly home, 81 TAX
Major Hay to be one of the principals
This seemed to strike Hay wit
deadly force. Clark's report says tina
he was pale and trembling, scarcel
able to stand" and that "Hamiltol
; blushed, and, observed was much al
: fected at his behavior" Doubtless
the doughty American commander ha
known more about the governors fee
ings just then he would have adde
that an awful fear, even greater tina
the Indian agents, did more than any
! thing else to longest the veins in hi
face.
. The parties separated without reacf
. ing an agreement, but the end ha
come. The terror in Hamilton's SOL
, was doubled by wild scene enacte
under the walls of his fort, a seen
which, having no proper place In thi
story, strong as its historical interes
unquestionably is, must be but on
=, lined. A party of Indians rcturnn
from a scalping expedition in Ike!
!. lucky and along the OHIO was cll
tured on the outskirts of the town b
some of Clark's men, who procrclr
to kill and scalp them withlA fH!l vir'
of the beleaguered garrison, aftt
= which their mangled bodies were fun
It It ENlML15yyf I T. 4 "