Adventure Magazine Cover — page 41: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

was Israel Putnam. And with whispered best wishes they watched him steal into the woods back of their hiding-place. Putnam had no plan thought out. His going was prompted solely by his desire to escape the tedium of doing nothing. The soldiers had bivouacked within easy pistol-shot and were laughing and shouting boisterously and calling for more brandy. No guards were considered _ necessary, for were they not in the water-lane controlled by France? Gliding through the ancient growth, Putnam advanced until their voices told him he was di- rectly abreast of them. He began stealing toward the shore when a new note struck his - ears, one that caused him to shrink back. It was the guttural voice of an Indian. He feared that his companions in their con- tempt for the regulars might indulge in some piece of carelessness which would attract the attention of the red men. Throwing himself flat, he wriggled down the slight slope until he found a peep-hole through the undergrowth. Six Indians—from the West if their beaver- skin blankets told anything—were fraternizing with -the soldiers. They were Ottawas from Michillimackinac, and they had been drinking at Ticonderoga, and they had left there in dis- gust and anger on being refused more liquor. The soldiers, delighted to play host to their savage allies and unable to perceive their guests were close to the homicidal pitch, kicked forth a keg and, slapping the Indians heartily on the back, invited them to drink. Their leader, whose face was hideously start- ling with its stripes of white and yellow and black, produced a tin cup from under his blanket and eagerly filled it and tossed it off. One of the soldiers, being something of a comedian, made much of this savage and swore that he belonged to the troupes de terre; for did he not wear the white and black with yellow facings?) The savage grunted under the man’s familiarity, but passed his dipper for more. Another Ottawa, his face painted white ex- cept for black areas around his eyes, snatched the dipper and filled it. The first drinker was inclined to resent this act, but was not yet sufficiently primed. The dipper passed rapidly, and Putnam per- ceived the devils glaring from the small black eyes, and pitied the soldiers for their ignorance. They were lighting a torch over a barrel of powder and were finding it great sport. As the ~ red men drank, the soldiers kept pace with them. Bes The liquor reacted differently on the two races. The Indians glared and grimaced as if suffering from convulsions, then gave voice to terrible cries, terminating them abruptly. A warrior would stand rigid for a minute, his eyes distended and fixed, suggesting a suppressed hysteria, then he would all but collapse, scream- The Bushfighters 31 ing like a fiend and striking the air. In another moment he would fall frantically to stabbing his knife into the ground and grunting in a bestial manner. The effect of repeated drams on the regu- lars was to incite them to ruder horseplay. They began to view their guests with contempt and to play pranks upon them. PUTNAM relaxed, as he no longer feared discovery. He began to believe 23 that one of the kettles of meat was to be his spoil. Suddenly two of the Indians disagreed as to who should next drink from the dipper, and began tearing at each other with their teeth like two wolves. The soldiers rubbed their eyes in amazement at the ferocious spectacle and en- deavored to pull the two apart. Instantly the owner of the dipper hurled his ax and brained a soldier. In the next second Indians and white men were fighting confusedly. The soldiers, while greatly outnumbering the savages, had left their guns in the boats, and began to make for them. Their lack of experience was quickly perceived by the Ottawas, who charged them recklessly. The two combatants ceased their struggle and turned to collecting white scalps. In rushing back to the boats the soldiers did not keep together, but each man went his own pace, thereby stringing out and weakening their retreat. The six Indians whooped after them, plying knife and ax. The camp-fire was de- serted. Putnam dashed from cover, caught up two huge kettles of boiling meat and carried them back into the woods.. Rogers stepped from cover and offered to carry one of the kettles. Putnam shook his head and dumped the meat out on the pine needles, briefly explaining: “They'll think they ate the meat while drunk. But they’d know they never ate the kettles. Get two men with blankets.” With that he ran back with the kettles and secured two more. ‘These were also emptied upon the ground and then returned to the en- campment. By this time the Indians were being clubbed into submission. ‘They attempted to escape to the woods, but the officer in charge of the regulars was determined that they should be taken to the fort for punishment, and forced them into the boats and placed a guard over them. Four of the soldiers had been murdered in addition to the one brained by the fire. The tragedy sobered the men, and when they hur- ried back to the camp to remove the body of their comrade and found the kettles over- turned, but with no trace of the meat, they did not tarry to inquire into the phenomenon. Hastily gathering up their belongings, they COMMICMOOOkKS (C@ 4 ys PND Fe j tae ee, ‘ Oey i 4! hb Aek ( OT Se Le Ten rt Ue Ore aA! be af i 4S weete Fy , he eee Ve OA Wahl wah ‘) se ‘ * t, ath rs igh eg a Ae ‘ub Vie Wied Pa sa ulatast - : 4 id ' : Ae Se ie ‘ obie? it bn te pe Ad os Wt 5} fe it $ is Lae yee «f a RUPE CTE! Sroiied Pe OW @ sare HON Ped 8 eran aA ed dette AOE NW Miia UW j e