Year: 1870

There was in my company, in the Con.
nocticut regiment that served in during
the Revolution, Il soldier by the name OF
Patterson. lie was young man, and his
father and grandfather before him had
served in Putnam's Rangers against the
French and Indians. His grandfather was,
Of course, too old 10 take the field in the
Revolution, and his father was laid up with
rheumatism, or something of that kind
so Rufus, my comrade, had to sustain the
honor Of the family in this war-and well
he did it.


Three Or four times during our cam
paigns, when we happened to see Gen.
Putnam riding by the camp, or on the
march, Rufus would say to me-


stephen, the first good chance l get,
I'm going TO speak TO the General, and ask
him If he remembers my father and grand
father in the old war twenty years ago.


knew what he particularly had in his
min it was an adventure that the Gener-
al, then Captain Putnam, had with the In
dians, in company with these men, father
and son. l had often heard Rufus tell it,
as they told it to him. 1t seemed that Put
na m was out scouting in the woods with
only half Il dozen men, these two with the
others, when they were ambushed by a
much larger party of Indians. Tho first
volley disabled three men the Pattersons
escaped by flight, but Putnam for some
reason was taken prisoner with the wound
ed men. The savages Immediately pro-
ceedcd to their horrible work of torture.
Lying on the ground, unarmed, bound
and helpless, Putnam saw his unfortunate
comrades taken one by one from his side,
stripped, bound to tree and tortured with
n devilish ingenuity, the details of which
are too shocking TO repeat. When death
had mercifully relieved the last of them
from his torments, Putnam was himself
tied TO the tree, and the Indians began their
caperings about him, branLishing their
knives and tomahawks in his face, and
shouting their eXultation. The captive
was iortifying his soul for tho horrors OF
and had abandoned all hope of earthly sal
walton, when it reached him in most un-
expected manner. Tho reports of two ri
llcs were heard close TO tho ring of dancing
Indians, and two of them fell dead Two
others were wounded by the same balls
and the savages, panic-struck at the sud
denness of the attack, and probably think
ing that II large rescuing party was at hand,
took to flight and disappeared.


The rescuers, however, wero only the
two Pattersons, who, finding that they had
effected their own escape by their flectness
concluded that they could not leave their
Captain and comrades in tho hands of the
Indians without some attempt to deliver
them. With daring characteristic of the
scout, they made their way in the darkness
to shelter within Il few feet of the tree So
lcctcd for the sacrifice, reaching the place
just as Putnam was dragged up. The bold
ness and desperation Of their attack insur-
ed its success. A few strokes of the knife
released the captive, and The three hasten
ell with all speed from the scene of their
peril. After proceeding n few miles through
the forest, Putnam told his companions
that he had been without sleep for thirty
hours, and that, us a long and difficult
flight lay before them to the nearest place
Of safety, he proposed to take just five min
utes rest.


"Only five minutes mind - he said,
giving to the elder Patterson his silver
clsed watch. "Wo can spare that much
time, and the sleep will do me wonderful
good"


lie lay down on the ground and instant
ly fell into II sound slumbor, while his
humble companions watched over him. So
sound aud refreshing was his sleep that
they hesitatcd to wake him as he had en-
joined and full fifteen minutes had passed
before they aroused him. lie sprang up
and looked at tho tilnepioce and discover
ing what time had passed, he iicw into a
rage, and roprimauded the men who had
just saved his life in the severest terms,
not without II few round oaths, for yontur-
ing to disobey his orders. They received
it, on their part, without anger, as they
perfectly knew the man, and understood
that he was generous friend rs well as a
Jealous disciplinarian. From this point
the escape of the trio 20 the nearest settle
mont was prosecuted without further re-
markablo peril.


Rufus Patterson frequently told me that