The Minute Boys of the Mohawk Valley | Page 8

what might happen, for
he plunged into the gloom of the forest like a man who walks among
friends, and Jacob followed carelessly, all his thoughts on the possible
whereabouts of the prisoner he was so eager to see.
Apparently I was the only member of the party who gave heed to his
steps, and so timid had I become through looking into the future for
danger, that it was only with difficulty I repressed a cry of alarm when
Sergeant Corney came to a sudden halt, as if he had stumbled upon an
enemy.
Jacob, wrapped in his own gloomy thoughts, halted without showing
signs of curiosity or surprise; but I pressed forward eagerly until
standing close behind the old soldier, and then I understood full well
why he had stopped.
Not thirty paces from where we remained hidden in the thicket, it was
possible to see the gleam of a camp-fire, and to hear the faint hum of
voices, as if a large party was near at hand.
After vainly trying to peer through the foliage, Sergeant Corney moved
cautiously forward two or three paces, and, as a matter of course, I
followed close at his heels, far enough to see the reflection of four or
five other fires, as if those around them had no fear of being
discovered.
"They must be Britishers!" I whispered, and Sergeant Corney gripped
my hand as if to say that he was of the same idea.
It was our duty, however, to know exactly who it was encamped so
near Brant's village, and, after telling Jacob in a whisper of what we
had seen, the old soldier made his way swiftly through the thicket, my
comrade and I copying his every movement.

Then, when I had decided that we were dangerously near a large force
of the king's soldiers who had come to join Thayendanega in his
murderous work, Sergeant Corney called out in a loud tone:
"In the camp! Here come friends who were like to have run over you!"
In a twinkling the command was aroused, and before I had fully
gathered my wits, which had been scattered by the old soldier's hail, I
found myself in the midst of a large body of men, many of whom I had
seen in my uncle's home at Cherry Valley.
And now, that I may not dwell too long on a commonplace story when
I have so much of adventure to relate, let me say that we had stumbled
on upwards of three hundred men belonging to the patriot army, who,
under command of General Herkimer, were bent on paying a friendly
visit to the Indian village.
As we soon learned, General Herkimer, having been intimately
acquainted with Brant, hoped by an interview to persuade the sachem
to join the patriots, or at least to remain neutral, and to such end had
invited the chief to meet him at Unadilla for a powwow. At the same
time that General Herkimer had set out to find Brant, Colonel Van
Schaick, with one hundred and fifty men, went to Cherry Valley, even
as poor Lieutenant Wormwood had announced, and the remainder of
the American force in the vicinity was encamped at the proposed
rendezvous lest the treacherous chief accept the invitation simply in
order to work mischief.
"We'll march with this company," Sergeant Corney said, in a tone of
satisfaction, "an' it will be possible to have a look at the village without
runnin' too many chances of losin' our hair."
And thus it seemed to me that all our troubles were over, for I doubted
not but that General Herkimer could induce the savages to give up their
prisoner, and we would soon be on our way home with Peter Sitz as a
companion; but, instead, we were just at the beginning of our
difficulties.

Chapter II.
The Powwow

When we had learned all that our acquaintances among the command
could tell us, Jacob insisted that Sergeant Corney see General Herkimer
without delay, in order to learn if that officer would so far interest
himself in the fate of Peter Sitz as to make inquiries of Thayendanega
regarding him, in case the opportunity offered.
At first the old soldier was not inclined to ask for an interview with the
commander, claiming that his own rank was not sufficiently high to
warrant his making such a request; but those of the force who were
listening to our conversation insisted that the general was not a stickler
for rank, and would receive a private soldier with as much
consideration as the commander of a brigade.
Therefore it was that, after being alternately urged and entreated for
half an hour, Sergeant Corney agreed to do as Jacob desired, and
straightway set about seeking the leader, which