How Canada Was Won: A Tale of Wolfe and Quebec

"They'll come streamin' up this ridge like hounds," growled Jim. "This air the place to stop 'em. You place the boys, my lad."

Very rapidly and coolly Steve told the trappers off to their posts, cautioning them that there was not to be a sound till he fired his musket. Then he himself took cover close to the edge of the track and waited. Presently two slim figures appeared down below, flitting between the trees, and the trappers left behind as scouts began to climb the ridge.

"A hundred of the varmint full on the trail," whispered one as he lay down beside Steve. "We watched 'em till half an hour ago, and then me and Stubbs come along at a dog trot. They'll be in sight in less than no time. Reckon they'll spot the rest of our party. They air right up there on the high ground beyond, and yer can sight 'em ploddin' along beside the ponies."

"Hist! That air one of the skunks."

Jim, who happened to be next to Steve, lifted a warning finger and then pointed below. A painted redskin, hideous in his feathered war-gear, slipped like a shadow from the trees and stood in the open, staring up over the ridge to the high land beyond. They saw him turn and call softly, and then, one by one, some hundred of his comrades flitted up to his side and stood staring at the white fugitives beyond. Some danced with joy and brandished their tomahawks, while one of their number turned and addressed them.

"My children, these pale faces are ours," he said. "Within the hour their scalps shall hang at our belts. Climb the rise and enter the trees. Do not make a sound till they are enclosed by us. Then rush upon them and slay."

He pointed to the ridge, and, leaping forward, led the way up the steep ascent. And as the whole party followed, their eyes fixed upon their leader or upon the summit of the rise, some twenty ponderous muskets went to as many stout shoulders, and sights were levelled upon the redskin demons clambering up the track. Steve rested his muzzle in the fork of a dwarfed tree and aligned the sights on the feathered chief who led the party. And there he waited, his cheek well down on the stock, his eye glued to the sights, and his finger pressing ever so gently on the trigger. He was as steady as the fork in which his weapon rested, for Steve was a hardened fighter by now, and he knew that the lives of all the women and children depended on the coolness and courage of himself and his comrades. He allowed nothing to frighten him, and where many would have pulled the trigger out of sheer excitement and inability to put up with the suspense any longer, he crouched there waiting, waiting.

"About thirty yards I make it," he said to himself at last. "I'll give him another two seconds. That will get the others up a little closer. We want our bullets to strike more than one of the ruffians."

Suddenly there was a loud report, a spurt of flame lit up the shadow in which he lay, while the leader of the Indians threw his hands into the air, howled in the most diabolical manner, and then fell backwards, to go sliding and bumping down the track till a fallen tree arrested further progress. A second later a volley came from the surrounding bushes, from behind rocks and boulders, while a storm of bullets plunged into the very centre of the huddled enemy. When the smoke blew away, Steve and his friends looked down upon an almost deserted track, cleared of Indians save for the bodies which lay prone on the hill-side or which rolled and slid down towards the bottom. Here and there in amongst the bushes on either hand the crash of a bough told that the enemy was there, but those sounds lasted only a few seconds, and presently figures flitted in amongst the trees down below.

"Them critters won't come to a stop till they've reached the river," laughed Jim, his face lighting up with joy. "Reckon they'll run till they've come back to that 'ere Jules Lapon of theirs. Steve, reckon you've jest saved us."

He stepped over to the young trapper and gripped him by the hand. "It war your idea agin what brought us through," he said, "and it air you as'll lead us out of this country. Boys, you've heard tell of our trip up to Albany, and of how young Steve got on to the idea of them boats and reeds. Waal, this here notion of an ambush air his. Ain't he fit ter lead us?"

There was a shout of approval.

"He air all that," shouted Pete. "Hawk has made his name, and air real keen and 'cute. Reckon I don't want no better leader, no more do any of the others."

"Then, cap'n, you'll take on the command as before," said Jim easily. "We air out of the muss with them 'ere beggars. What air we to do now?"

"Push on as fast as we are able," was our hero's answer, when he had recovered from his embarrassment. "We will march with scouts out behind and in front and on either side. I am hoping to reach the mountains in four days."

The party pressed on after those in advance, and in due time came up with them. And thus, taking the utmost precaution against attack from the Indians, they marched through the forest in the direction of the Alleghany mountains. Now and again they came upon an open space, where the blackened logs spoke of a settlement which had been fired. And often enough there were signs of the struggle which had taken place. The bodies of murdered colonists lay among the grass, while such relics of the former inhabitants as a tiny shoe, a rag doll, or a wooden horse, caught the eyes of the men of the party and caused them to grind their teeth and clench their fists. Men swore into their beards, and in low tones vowed that they would repay the authors of these massacres.

And so in time they came to the mountains, climbed the long and weary foot hills, and at length struggled to the top, still surrounded by the ever-present forest.

"We ain't far from white folks, cap'n," said Jim as the party began to descend the far slopes. "Pete reports as he's dropped on fresh fires, where the embers air quite warm; and there's been a hul lot of men about stampin' the ground with hard-soled boots."

"Reckon there's men up there," suddenly exclaimed one of the trappers, pointing to a high peak distinguishable above the forest trees. "They've been watchin' us, and the sooner we let 'em know who we air the better it'll be. They might be shootin' into us."

Steve at once sent off a couple of the backwoodsmen to speak to the strangers, and in a little while his messengers came back with four trappers similar to themselves. They were hardy-looking men, bearded and bronzed, and dressed in the customary hunting shirt and leggings.

"Reckon you air lucky folk," said one, addressing Steve. "There's been few come through safely since the French set them Injuns on. Have yer had a muss with 'em?"

"We beat them back at the range," answered our hero. "We set a trap for them, and they walked into it. That's the last we saw of them. But we have passed many a ruined and burnt-out settlement."

"Ay, there's many of 'em, more's the shame. Ef we up here get news of the comin' of the Injuns, why, we goes down and does what we can. But it ain't often like that. They come down upon the settlements like a hawk, and every one's wiped out. There ain't many settlements left. They say as all the backwoods huts air fired and men scalped, and that the bigger settlements just near the Alleghany range have also been fired. Then some of the varmint have been over the range, and they've wiped out big farms and hul villages. It makes a man swear to hear it all, and to know that we can do nothing to prevent the murders. But what can you expect when George has only a thousand men, same as us, to look after four hundred miles of frontier? Why, there's Injuns out all along the line from Western New York State right away down to North Carolina."

Steve and his friends were indeed amazed at this statement. They knew that an Indian war had been raging along the frontiers of the thirteen States, but having been so cut off in the forests, little news had come to their ears. They had learned that various expeditions had been sent against the French and their allies, and that these had for the most part been defeated or had failed to effect their object. They knew too that massacres had taken place here and there. But this was indeed news. It was terrible to learn that all along this frontier, extending over some four hundred miles, farms and settlements had been exterminated, that bands of Indians had ravaged the possessions of the colonists, and had even carried their war over the Alleghanies, wiping out the huts of the pioneers, which may be called the first line of defences, then firing the settlements which were not so far advanced, and which formed a second line, and finally, throwing themselves upon a third and final line, that formed by the more prosperous and more settled villagers on the eastern slopes of the Alleghanies.

"But how have they been allowed to do all this?" demanded Steve, indignantly. "Surely there are men in the colonies! Why, if this sort of thing is allowed, the Indians will reach the coast, and will massacre at Charlestown and other places."

He swung round on his companion, his face flushed and his eyes flashing with indignation. Then he suddenly observed that a fifth stranger, dressed as a hunter like the rest, but with something about him which attracted more than usual attention, had joined the group, slipping up to it unheard and unseen from the forest. He was tall and lithe, some twenty-four years of age, and his keen blue eyes fixed themselves on Steve's figure.

"Excuse me," he said, speaking with the voice of a man who had been brought up in a town, "excuse me, sir, but what you say is hardly likely to occur now. A year ago it seemed more than possible. But perhaps you have not heard. At last the English Government is tired of this massacre and this bullying. War has been declared, and troops are coming to help us. You may ask why the colonies have not done more. Pooh! They call a blush of shame to the cheek of every honest and patriotic colonist. While the shrieks of these unhappy settlers ring almost in their ears and almost within hearing of the coast towns, these comfortable stay-at-home planters and traders and country gentlemen sit in their council rooms and squabble. They set aside all thought of assisting their hapless brothers and sisters, while they heckle their unfortunate governors. But I must apologise again. You must understand that I feel the position bitterly, for I have had a hand in these troubles since the very commencement. Allow me to introduce myself. I am George Washington, colonel commanding the irregulars who have been given the task of defending four hundred miles of frontier."

So this young and determined-looking man was George Washington, of whom every trapper and hunter had heard. Steve regarded him with open admiration, and then, stepping up to him, shook hands eagerly.

"It is a lucky day for us, then, Colonel," he said. "I am Steve Mainwaring."

"Cap'n Steve, known as the Hawk amongst the Injuns," burst in Jim, stretching out a big brown paw to grip that of the colonel. "Cap'n Steve, Colonel, and as sharp and 'cute a fighter as ever I see. How'dy?"

"I am glad to meet you, gentlemen," said the young colonial officer. "You will come to our camp, where we will endeavour to make you comfortable."

He took Steve by the arm and led the way through the forest. And very soon the fugitives were in the middle of the hutted encampment where George Washington and his men had their quarters. Huts were allotted to the various families, while the colonel took Steve to his own log house.

"Come with me, Steve," he said with a friendly smile. "I am rather lonely, and it will be nice to have a companion to chat with. Besides, I want to hear all about the backwoods and the troubles you have had with the French and the Indians."

He led the way to an unpretentious hut, and very soon Steve was stretched on a rough wooden form, staring at the embers and chatting quietly with George Washington, even then a hero, and destined to become one of the greatest of American citizens.

Chapter VIII

A Question of Territory

"Never before has this fine country seen such troubles," said Colonel George Washington, as he sat puffing at his pipe and looking across the wooden flooring of his hut at Steve's long and active figure. "You have had fighting, you tell me. You will see more. We are only just entering upon the struggle. Tell me, Steve, what do you propose to do?"

That was a question which our hero found some difficulty in answering. But at length he rolled over on the form and sat up to look at his host.

"What do you advise?" he asked. "I have a letter here which I wish to deliver at Charlestown, and I should like to find out what has happened to my father. After that I shall join some band of scouts, and fight the French and their Indians. I suppose they mean to drive us all out of the country, and take it for themselves?"

There was an emphatic nod in answer to his question, and then for a while the two sat staring at the fire, each busy with his thoughts.

For who could doubt that the total extermination of the British colonists was intended? The French were rapidly pushing south and east, and in front of them ran a swarm of their Indians, massacring and slaying, and steadily pushing back the British settlers. To understand the position of affairs, and the facts which had led up to the moment when Steve and his friends arrived at the camp where George Washington and his small army had settled themselves on the Alleghany Mountains, it would be well for the reader to study a map of North America, and trace for himself the possessions held by the French and the English. For it must be remembered that these two nations, each jealous of the other, and often at war with each other, had sent their settlers and pioneers to this huge continent of North America. To describe how the first of those settlers landed, how they fought their way from the coast and conquered the forests, would be to enter upon a subject which would need abundant space and more attention than can be given here. But the history of those days is filled to repletion with tales of gallant deeds, of perseverance against great suffering and difficulty, and of final and glorious success. It will be sufficient perhaps if we say, when dealing with the British colonies, that Quakers and Puritans, together with others from England and Wales, also Scotchmen and Irishmen, found their way to the eastern shores of North America, and having dealt with the Indians, finally founded states, thirteen in number, stretching from New England in the north to infant Georgia in the south.

Let the reader glance down the eastern coast of the map, and he will trace these thirteen States without difficulty, and will notice that, while each has easy access to the sea, where the coast naturally limits further extension in that direction, to the west there is a huge sweep of country running right across to the Pacific coast, but broken here and there by mountain and river and vast inland lakes. Then let him take those States in their order from the north, and ascertain what reason there was why each one should not extend to the west till her people flooded the whole continent.

It may be admitted at once that abundance of time was one of the main requirements for bringing about such a state of affairs, for colonies do not grow in a day, and putting aside all natural barriers, and those erected by the hostility of the old inhabitants, whom the colonists will in course of time drive from their own country, many, many years must pass before the tide of immigrants flows across the land. For those who come first naturally select suitable places nearest the coast, while those who come later settle within reach of their friends, exchanging commodities with them. Later arrivals are forced farther and farther away, till in time the settlements are found miles and miles from the coast. Look at North America to-day. She has added many states to those thirteen which existed in the days when Steve sat in the log hut with George Washington. Her people have overflowed the country, they have pushed the Red Indian back steadily, and to-day they swarm in almost every part. The virgin forest of that day, the haunt of the buffalo and the hunting grounds of the Indian, now resound to the clang of the hammer, to the crash of the train, and to the hum and roar of a thriving population. Thousands come to the land every year to swell the throng, and paucity of population is no longer a source of anxious thought for the governments of the various States.

But it was in the year 1756. All told, the colonists of those thirteen States did not exceed a million and a half, while each one of the States may be said to have been of the size of England. It will be realised at once that it was all that such a population could do to colonise the neighbourhood of the coast, and that if the western border was to extend, thousands must come out to the country. As a matter of fact, however, few though the colonists were, their farms extended a considerable distance from the coast, and save in the towns, where they lived close together, the settlers were separated by wide intervals. They placed their huts for the most part in the fertile valleys, clinging to the rivers, thus having at hand the means of getting their corn and produce to the coast. And slowly, as the land was taken up, settlers took their farms farther and farther away, till some barrier arrested further progress. Such a barrier existed, and a glance at the map will show the position of the Alleghany Mountains, extending from Pennsylvania down to Georgia. It was not, of course, an obstacle which could not be surmounted, but it was for all that an obstacle which turned the would-be farmer back, for the simple reason that, with such a range stretching between him and the coast, there was no possibility of his getting his produce to market. Moreover, on the far side of that range Indians inhabited the forests, and they were an enemy to be reckoned with and feared.

Thus it happened that from Pennsylvania south to Georgia there was every inducement to the young colonies to be satisfied with what land they already possessed, while to the north, where the natural barrier of the Alleghany Mountains did not exist, there were other barriers, none the less formidable, which held the State of New York and those of New England in check. Stretching between them and the unknown west lay the country inhabited by the Iroquois, consisting of six nations of Indians who had banded themselves together for purposes of offence and defence, and who were friendly to our colonists. To think of snatching their hunting lands from them, was to think of a relentless and fearful war, which might damage the prosperity of the colonies. Farther north there ran the huge river St. Lawrence, with the French and their so-called Christian Indians for ever ready to sweep over the frontier.

It will be realized then, that there was reason why the young States should not extend, but in dealing with them, one must not forget the host of trappers and hunters belonging to each State, who, like the Indians, steadily and surely pushed on away from the settlers. For where there were villages there was little game, and it was upon the latter that they depended for a livelihood. And so it happened that, while the colonies proper came to an end at the slopes of the Alleghany mountains, the trappers clambered over the range, and descended into the country beyond. And in course of time, when their numbers had increased and they had driven the Indians back after many a battle, they too formed settlements, adventurous farmers joined them, cleared the forest, and lived the dual life of farmer and trapper. Then the restless spirit of the hunters took them on again, till the forests west of the mountains harboured many and many a gallant trapper, till their solitary log huts were seen in the valley of the Ohio, on the banks of the Monongahela, the Alleghany, and the Kenawha.

Those were the men who knew that Indians still existed, who hunted the bison and the bear, and fought the bloodthirsty native of the forests in his own manner and with bitter determination. It was these hardy fellows, men of Tom Mainwaring's stamp, trappers such as Jim and Mac and Pete, who carried old England's banner into new lands, and who were the very first to come in contact with the French and their Indians. Their occupation of this valley of the Ohio won claims for England which France could not deny and which we could not repudiate, and though up to this date the various States had for the most part stood aside, apathetically watching while these honest and brave pioneers were driven back, their huts fired and their people massacred, yet the time was now come when they and the Government in England were to recall the fact that this valley of the Ohio was ours by right of conquest, that it had been won by the toil and blood of the trappers.

There remains but one other point to explain with regard to the colonies. It may be asked why these million and a half souls looked on so calmly while the unfortunate pioneers and trappers were hunted and massacred, why they sat at home while the Indians swarmed to the western slopes of the Alleghanies and over the crest, slaughtering and destroying the settlements? It must be a matter for marvel that they remained for the most part inert and unshaken, even while the third line of defences was ravaged, and the bloody war brought to their very farms and mansions.

There were many reasons for this state of affairs, and it may be said of the Southern States that it was so long now since their fathers and their grandfathers had driven the redskins over the Alleghany Mountains that they had forgotten that the Indians existed. There were no longer raids in their direction, and no fear of massacre. Then again, those who managed the affairs of the scattered population of these various States were more than inclined to sink patriotism and all thought of their fellow-States in acrimonious discussions amongst themselves, in petty squabbles over some matter which was of the smallest actual importance, and in for ever harassing their governor. They fought amongst themselves, squabbled with their neighbours as to boundary lines, and wrangled while their countrymen were being massacred, and even their own security threatened.

In the north it was entirely different. The States of New York and New England had French and French Indians on their borders, and they had never forgotten the bitterness of former wars, nor did the ever-present fear of an incursion help to dull their memories. We shall see that it was to these Northern States in particular that we are indebted for men and money, and for the initiative which first roused the States to a sense of their duty, and the home Government to the need for a leader and active opposition to the aims of France.