An Historical Account of the Settlements of Scotch Highlanders in America Part 34

The "Courant" added that unless these terms were conceded the island of Lewis would soon be an uninhabited waste. Notwithstanding the visit of lord Fortrose, emigration went on. The s.h.i.+p Neptune with one hundred and fifty emigrants from Lewis arrived in New York on August 23, 1773; and, according to the "Scots Magazine," between seven hundred and eight hundred emigrants sailed from Stornoway for America on June 23rd, of the same year.

The "Courant" for September 25, 1773, in a communication from Dornoch, states that on the 10th of that month there sailed from Dornoch Firth, the s.h.i.+p Nancy, with two hundred and fifty emigrants from Sutherlands.h.i.+re for New York. The freight exceeded 650 guineas. In the previous year a s.h.i.+p from Sutherlands.h.i.+re paid a freight of 650 guineas.

In October 1773, three vessels with seven hundred and seventy-five emigrants from Moray, Ross, Sutherland, and Caithness, sailed from Stromness for America.

The "Courant" for November 10, 1773, records that fifteen hundred people had left the county of Sutherland for America within the two preceding years. The pa.s.sage money cost 3 10s each, and it was computed that on an average every emigrant brought 4 with him. "This amounts to 7500, which exceeds a year's rent of the whole county."

The "Gentleman's Magazine" for June 30, 1775, states that "four vessels, containing about seven hundred emigrants, have sailed for America from Port Glasgow and Greenock, in the course of the present month, most of them from the north Highlands." The same journal for September 23rd, same year, says, "The s.h.i.+p Jupiter from Dunstaffnage Bay, with two hundred emigrants on board, chiefly from Argyles.h.i.+re, set sail for North Carolina. They declare the oppressions of their landlords are such that they can no longer submit to them."

The perils of the sea did not deter them. Tales of suffering must have been heard in the glens. Some idea of these sufferings and what the emigrants were sometimes called upon to endure may be inferred from the following:

"In December (1773), a brig from Dornock, in Scotland, arrived at New York, with about 200 pa.s.sengers, and lost about 100 on the pa.s.sage."[185]

NOTE D.

APPEAL TO THE HIGHLANDERS LATELY ARRIVED FROM SCOTLAND.

Williamsburgh, November 23, 1775.

"FRIENDS AND COUNTRYMEN:--A native of the same island, and on the same side of the Tweed with yourselves, begs, for a few moments, your serious attention. A regard for your happiness, and the security of your posterity, are the only motives that could have induced me to occupy your time by an epistolary exhortation. How far I may fall short of the object I have thus in view, becomes me not to surmise. The same claim, however, has he to praise (though, perhaps, never equally rewarded) who endeavors to do good, as he who has the happiness to effect his purpose.

I hope, therefore, no views of acquiring popular fame, no partial or circ.u.mstantial motives, will be attributed to me for this attempt. If this, however, should be the case, I have the consolation to know that I am not the first, of many thousands, who have been censured unjustly.

I have been lately told that our Provincial Congress have appointed a Committee to confer with you, respecting the differences which at present subsist between Great Britain and her American Colonies; that they wish to make you their friends, and treat with you for that purpose; to convince you, by facts and argumentation, that it is necessary that every inhabitant of this Colony should concur in such measures as may, through the aid of a superintending Providence, remove those evils under which this Continent is at present depressed.

The substance of the present contest, as far as my abilities serve me to comprehend it, is, simply, whether the Parliament of Great Britain shall have the liberty to take away your property without your consent. It seems clear and obvious to me that it is wrong and dangerous they should have such a power; and that if they are able to carry this into execution, no man in this Country has any property which he may safely call his own. Adding to the absurdity of a people's being taxed by a body of men at least three thousand miles distant, we need only observe that their views and sentiments are opposite to ours, their manners of living so different that nothing but confusion, injustice, and oppression could possibly attend it. If ever we are justly and righteously taxed, it must be by a set of men who, living amongst us, have an interest in the soil, and who are amenable to us for all their transactions.

It was not to become slaves you forsook your native sh.o.r.es. Nothing could have buoyed you up against the prepossessions of nature and of custom, but a desire to fly from tyranny and oppression. Here you found a Country with open arms ready to receive you; no persecuting landlord to torment you; none of your property exacted from you to support court favorites and dependants. Under these circ.u.mstances, your virtue and your interest were equally securities for the uprightness of your conduct; yet, independent of these motives, inducements are not wanting to attach you to the cause of liberty. No people are better qualified than you, to ascertain the value of freedom. They only can know its intrinsick worth who have had the misery of being deprived of it.

From the clemency of the English Nation you have little to expect; from the King and his Ministers still less. You and your forefathers have fatally experienced the malignant barbarity of a despotick court. You cannot have forgot the wanton acts of unparalleled cruelty committed during the reign of Charles II. Mercy and justice were then strangers to your land, and your countrymen found but in the dust a sanctuary from their distresses. The cries of age, and the concessions of youth, were uttered but to be disregarded; and equally with and without the formalities of law, were thousands of the innocent and deserving ushered to an untimely grave. The cruel and unmerited usage given to the Duke of Argyle, in that reign, cannot be justified or excused. No language can paint the horrors of this transaction; description falters on her way, and, lost in the labyrinth of sympathy and wo, is unable to perform the duties of her function. This unhappy n.o.bleman had always professed himself an advocate for the Government under which he lived, and a friend to the reigning monarch. Whenever he deviated from these principles, it must have been owing to the strong impulses of honor, and the regard he bore to the rights of his fellow-creatures. 'It were endless, as well as shocking, (says an elegant writer,) to enumerate all the instances of persecution, or, in other words, of absurd tyranny, which at this time prevailed in Scotland. Even women were thought proper objects on whom they might exercise their ferocious and wanton dispositions; and three of that s.e.x, for refusing to sign some test drawn up by tools of Administration, were devoted, without the solemnity of a trial, to a lingering and painful death.'

I wish, for the sake of humanity in general and the royal family in particular, that I could throw a veil over the conduct of the Duke of c.u.mberland after the last rebellion. The indiscriminate punishments which he held out equally to the innocent and the guilty, are facts of notoriety much to be lamented. The intention may possibly, in some measure, excuse, though nothing can justify the barbarity of the measure.

Let us, then, my countrymen, place our chief dependence on our virtue, and, by opposing the standard of despotism on its first appearance, secure ourselves against those acts in which a contrary conduct will undoubtedly plunge us. I will venture to say, that there is no American so unreasonable as even to wish you to take the field against your friends from the other side of the Atlantick. All they expect or desire from you is, to remain neutral, and to contribute your proportion of the expenses of the war. This will be sufficient testimony of your attachment to the cause they espouse. As you partic.i.p.ate of the blessings of the soil, it is but reasonable that you should bear a proportionate part of the disadvantages attending it.

To the virtuous and deserving among the Americans, nothing can be more disagreeable than national reflections; they are, and must be, in the eyes of every judicious man, odious and contemptible, and bespeak a narrowness of soul which the virtuous are strangers to. Let not, then, any disrespectful epithets which the vulgar and illiterate may throw out, prejudice you against them; and endeavor to observe this general rule, dictated at least by humanity, 'that he is a good man who is engaged in a good cause.'

Your enemies have said you are friends to absolute monarchy and despotism, and that you have offered yourselves as tools in the hands of Administration, to rivet the chains forging for your brethren in America. I hope and think my knowledge of you authorizes the a.s.sertion that you are friends to liberty, and the natural and avowed enemies of tyranny and usurpation. All of you, I doubt not, came into the Country with a determined resolution of finis.h.i.+ng here your days; nor dare I doubt but that, fired with the best and n.o.blest species of human emulation, you would wish to transmit to the rising generation that best of all patrimonies, the legacy of freedom.

Private views, and offers of immediate reward, can only operate on base and unmanly minds. That soul in which the love of liberty ever dwelt must reject, with honest indignation, every idea of preferment, founded on the ruins of a virtuous and deserving people. I would have you look up to the Const.i.tution of Britain as the best and surest safeguard to your liberties. Whenever an attempt is made to violate its fundamental principles, every effort becomes laudable which may tend to preserve its natural purity and perfection.

The warmest advocates for Administration have candor sufficient to admit that the people of Great Britain have no right to tax America. If they have not, for what are they contending? It will, perhaps, be answered, for the dignity of Government. Happy would it be for those who advance this doctrine to consider, that there is more real greatness and genuine magnanimity in acknowledging an error, than in persisting in it.

Miserable must that state be, whose rulers, rather than give up a little punctilio, would endanger the lives of thousands of its subjects in a quarrel, the injustice and impropriety of which is universally acknowledged. If the Americans wish for anything more than is set forth in the address of the last Congress to the King and people of Great Britain--if independence is their aim--by removing their real grievances, their artificial ones (if any they should avow) will soon appear, and with them will their cause be deserted by every friend to limited monarchy, and by every well-wisher to the interests of America.

I have endeavored, in this uncultivated home-spun essay, to avoid prolixity as much as possibly I could. I have aimed at no flowers of speech, no touches of rhetorick, which are too often made use of to amuse, and not to instruct or persuade the understanding. I have no views but your good, and the credit of the Country from whence you came.

In case Government should prevail, and be able to tax America without the least show of representation, it would be to me a painful reflection to think, that the children of the land to which I owe my existence, should have been the cause of plunging millions into perpetual bondage.

If we cannot be of service to the cause, let us not be an injury to it.

Let us view this Continent as a country marked out by the great G.o.d of nature as a receptacle for distress, and where the industrious and virtuous may range in the fields of freedom, happy under their own fig trees, freed from a swarm of petty tyrants, who disgrace countries the most polished and civilized, and who more particularly infest that region from whence you

Scotius America.n.u.s."[186]

NOTE E.

INGRAt.i.tUDE OF THE HIGHLANDERS.

"Brigadier-General Donald McDonald was in rebellion in the year 1745, against his lawful sovereign, and headed many of the same clan and name, who are now his followers. These emigrants, from the charity and benevolence of the a.s.sembly of North-Carolina, received large pecuniary contributions, and, to encourage them in making their settlements, were exempted from the payment of taxes for several years. It is a fact, that numbers of that ungrateful people, who have been lately in arms, when they arrived in Carolina, were without the necessaries of life--their pa.s.sage even paid by the charitable contributions of the inhabitants.

They have since, under every encouragement that the Province of North-Carolina could afford them, acquired fortunes very rapidly, and thus they requite their benefactor.--Virginia Gazette."[187]

NOTE F.

WERE THE HIGHLANDERS FAITHFUL TO THEIR OATH TAKEN BY THE AMERICANS?

General David Stewart, the faithful and admiring historian of the Highlanders, makes the following strange statements that need correction, especially in the view that the Highlander had a very high regard for his oath: After the battle of Guilford Court House "the British retired southward in the direction of Cross Creek, the Americans following close in the rear; but nothing of consequence occurred. Cross Creek, a settlement of emigrant Highlanders, had been remarkable for its loyalty from the commencement of the war, and they now offered to bring 1,500 men into the field, to be commanded by officers from the line, to find clothing and subsistence for themselves, and to perform all duties whether in front, flanks, or rear; and they required nothing but arms and ammunition. This very reasonable offer was not received, but a proposition was made to form them into what was called a provincial corps of the line. This was declined by the emigrant Highlanders, and after a negotiation of twelve days, they retired to their settlements, and the army marched for Wilmington, where they expected to find supplies, of which they now stood in great need.

There was among these settlers a gentleman of the name of Macneil, who had been an officer in the Seven Years' War. He joined the army with several followers, but soon took his leave, having been rather sharply reprimanded for his treatment of a republican family. He was a man of tall stature, and commanding aspect, and moved, when he walked among his followers, with all the dignity of a chieftain of old. Retaining his loyalty, although offended with the reprimand, he offered to surprise the republican garrison, the governor, and council, a.s.sembled at Willisborough. He had three hundred followers, one-half of them old country Highlanders, the other half born in America, and the off-spring of Highlanders. The enterprise was conducted with address, and the governor, council, and garrison, were secured without bloodshed, and immediately marched off for Wilmington, Macneil and his party travelling by night, and concealing themselves in swamps and woods by day. However, the country was alarmed, and a hostile force collected. He proceeded in zig-zag directions, for he had a perfect knowledge of the country, but without any provisions except what chance threw in his way. When he had advanced two-thirds of the route, he found the enemy occupying a pa.s.s which he must open by the sword, or perish in the swamps for want of food. At this time he had more prisoners to guard than followers. 'He did not secure his prisoners by putting them to death;' but, leaving them under a guard of half his force on whom he could least depend, he charged with the others sword in hand through the pa.s.s, and cleared it of the enemy, but was unfortunately killed from too great ardor in the pursuit. The enemy being dispersed, the party continued their march disconsolate for the loss of their leader; but their opponents again a.s.sembled in force, and the party were obliged to take refuge in the swamps, still retaining their prisoners. The British commander at Wilmington, hearing of Macneil's enterprise, marched out to his support, and kept firing cannon, in expectation the report would reach them in the swamps. The party heard the reports, and knowing that the Americans had no artillery, they ventured out of the swamps towards the quarter whence they heard the guns, and meeting with Major (afterwards Sir James) Craig, sent out to support them, they delivered over their prisoners half famished with hunger, and lodged them safely in Wilmington. Such partizans as these are invaluable in active warfare."[188]

Dr. James Browne, who follows Stewart very closely, gives[189] the first paragraph of the above quotation, but makes no reference to the exploit of Macneil. Keltie who copies almost literally from Dr. Browne, also gives[190] the first paragraph, but no reference to the second.

General Stewart gives no clue as to the source of his information. If the number of Highlanders reported to have offered their services under such favorable conditions was true, lord Cornwallis was not in a position to refuse. He had been and still was on a very fatiguing campaign. His army was not only worn down but was greatly decimated by the fatigues of a long and harra.s.sing march, and the results of two pitched battles. In his letter to Sir Henry Clinton,[191] already quoted, not a word of this splendid relief is intimated. From lord Cornwallis' statement he must have made scarcely a stop at Cross Creek, in his flight from Guilford Court House to Wilmington. He says that at Cross Creek "there was not four days' forage within twenty miles"; that he "determined to move immediately to Wilmington," and that "the Highlanders have not had so much time as the people of the upper country, to prove the sincerity of their friends.h.i.+p."[192] This would amount to positive proof that the Highlanders did not offer their services. The language of lord Cornwallis to lord George Germain, under date of Wilmington, North Carolina, April 18th, 1781, is even stronger: "The princ.i.p.al reasons for undertaking the Winter's Campaign were, the difficulty of a defensive War in South Carolina, & the hopes that our friends in North Carolina, who were said to be very numerous, would make good their promises of a.s.sembling & taking an Active part with us, in endeavouring to re-establish His Majesty's Government. Our experience has shown that their numbers are not so great as had been represented and that their friends.h.i.+p was only pa.s.sive; For we have received little a.s.sistance from them since our arrival in the province, and altho' I gave the _strongest & most pulick a.s.surances_ that after refitting & depositing our Sick and Wounded, I _should return to the upper Country_, not above two hundred have been prevailed upon to follow us either as Provincials or Militia." Colonel Tarleton, the princ.i.p.al officer under lord Cornwallis, observes: "Notwithstanding the cruel persecution the inhabitants of Cross creek had constantly endured for their partiality to the British, they yet retained great zeal for the interest of the royal army. All the flour and spirits in the neighborhood were collected and conveyed to camp, and the wounded officers and soldiers were supplied with many conveniences highly agreeable and refres.h.i.+ng to men in their situation. After some expresses were dispatched to lord Rawdon, to advertise him of the movements of the British and Americans, and some wagons were loaded with provisions, earl Cornwallis resumed his march for Wilmington."[193] Not a word is said of the proposed reinforcement by the Highlanders. Stedman, who was an officer under lord Cornwallis, and was with him in the expedition, says:[194] "Upon the arrival of the British commander at Cross Creek, he found himself disappointed in all his expectations: Provisions were scarce: Four days'

forage not to be procured within twenty miles; and the communication expected to be opened between Cross Creek and Wilmington, by means of the river, was found to be impracticable, the river itself being narrow, its banks high, and the inhabitants, on both sides, for a considerable distance, inveterately hostile. Nothing therefore now remained to be done but to proceed with the army to Wilmington, in the vicinity of which it arrived on the seventh of April. The settlers upon Cross Creek, although they had undergone a variety of persecutions in consequence of their previous unfortunate insurrections, still retained a warm attachment to their mother-country, and during the short stay of the army amongst them, all the provisions and spirits that could be collected within a convenient distance, were readily brought in, and the sick and wounded plentifully supplied with useful and comfortable refreshments." Again he says (page 348): "Lord Cornwallis was greatly disappointed in his expectations of being joined by the loyalists. Some of them indeed came within the lines, but they only remained a few days." Nothing however occurs concerning Highland enlistments or their desire so to engage with the army. General Samuel Graham, then an officer in Fraser's Highlanders, in his "Memoirs," though speaking of the march to Cross Creek, is silent about Highlanders offering their services. Nor is it at all likely, that, in the sorry plight the British army reached Cross Creek in, the Highlanders would unite, especially when the outlook was gloomy, and the Americans were pressing on the rear.

As to the exploit of Macneil, beyond all doubt, that is a confused statement of the capture of Governor Burke, at Hillsboro, by the notorious Colonel David Fanning. This was in September 1781. His report states, "We killed 15 of the rebels, and wounded 20; and took upwards of 200 prisoners; amongst them was the Governor, his Council, and part of the Continental Colonels, several captains and subalterns, and 71 continental soldiers out of a church." Colonel Fanning was a native of Wake County, North Carolina, and had no special connection with the Highlanders; but among his followers were some bearing Highland names.

The majority of his followers, who were little better than highway robbers, had gathered to his standard as the best representative of the king in North Carolina, after the defeat at Moore's Creek.

There is not and never has been a Willisborough in North Carolina. There is a Williamsboro in Granville county, but has never been the seat of government even for a few days. Hillsboro, practically, was the capital in 1781.

The nearest to an organization of Highlanders, after Moore's Creek, was Hamilton's Loyal North Carolina regiment; but this was made up of refugees from over all the state.

It is a fact, according to both history and tradition, that after the battle of Moore's Creek, the Highlanders as a race were quiet. The blow at Moore's Creek taught them a needed lesson, and as an organization gave no more trouble. Whatever numbers, afterwards entered the British service, must have been small, and of little consequence.

NOTE G.

MARVELLOUS ESCAPE OF CAPTAIN MCARTHUR.

The following narration I find in the "Celtic Magazine," vol. I.

1875-76, pp. 209-213 and 241-245. How much of it is true I am unable to discover. Undoubtedly the writer, in some parts, draws on his imagination. Unfortunately no particulars are given concerning either the previous or subsequent life of Captain McArthur. We are even deprived of the knowledge of his Christian name, and hence cannot identify him with the same individual mentioned in the text.

Upon the defeat of the Highlanders at Moore's Creek, "Captain McArthur of the Highland Regiment of Volunteers, was apprehended and committed to the county jail in the town of Cross-Creek. But the gallant officer determined to make a death grasp for effecting his escape, and happily for him the walls of his confinement were not of stone and mortar. In his lonely prison, awaiting his fate, and with horrid visions of death haunting him, he summons up his muscular strength and courage, and with incredible exertion he broke through the jail by night, and once more enjoyed the sweets of liberty. Having thus made his escape he soon found his way to the fair partner of his joys and sorrows. It needs hardly be said that her astonishment was only equalled by her raptures of joy.

She, in fact, became so overpowered with the unexpected sight that she was for the moment quite overcome, and unable to comply with the proposal of taking an immediate flight from the enemy's country. She soon, however, regains her sober senses, and is able to grasp the reality of the situation, and fully prepared with mental nerve and courage to face the scenes of hards.h.i.+p and fatigue which lay before them. The thought of flight was, indeed, a hazardous one. The journey to the sea board was far and dangerous; roads were miserably constructed, and these, for the most part, had to be avoided; unbroken forests, immense swamps, and muddy creeks were almost impa.s.sable barriers; human habitations were few and far between, and these few could scarcely be looked to as hospitable asylums; enemies would be on the lookout for the capture of the 'Old Tory,' for whose head a tempting reward had been offered; and withal, the care of a tender infant lay heavy upon the parental hearts, and tended to impede their flight. Having this sea of troubles looming before them, the imminent dangers besetting their path, you can estimate the heroism of a woman who was prepared to brave them all. But when you further bear in mind that she had been bred in the ease and delicate refinements of a lairdly circle at home, you can at once conceive the hards.h.i.+ps to be encountered vastly augmented, and the moral heroism necessary for such an undertaking to be almost incredible, finding its parallel only in the life of her famous countrywoman, the immortal 'Flora.' Still, life is dear, and a desperate attempt must be made to preserve it--she is ready for any proposal. So off they start at the dead hour of midnight, taking nothing but the scantiest supply of provisions, of which our heroine must be the bearer, while the hardy sire took his infant charge in his folded plaid over one shoulder, with the indispensable musket slung over the other. Thus equipped for the march, they trudge over the heavy sand, leaving the scattered town of Cross-Creek behind in the distance, and soon find themselves lost to all human vision in the midst of the dense forest. There is not a moment to lose; and onward they speed under cover of night for miles and miles, and for a time keeping the main road to the coast. Daylight at length lightened their path, and bright sunrays are pouring through the forest.

But that which had lightened the path of the weary fugitives had, at the same time, made wonderful disclosures behind. The morning light had revealed to the astonished gaze of the keeper of the prison the flight of his captive. The consternation among the officials is easily imagined. A detachment of cavalry was speedily dispatched in pursuit; a handsome reward was offered for the absconded rebel, and a most barbarous punishment was in reserve for him in the event of his being captured. With a knowledge of these facts, it will not be matter of surprise that the straits and perplexities of a released captive had already commenced. Who can fancy their terror when the noise of cavalry in the distance admonished them that the enemy was already in hot pursuit, and had taken the right scent. What could they do! Whither could they fly? They dart off the road in an instant and began a race.

But alas, of what use, for the tall pines of the forest could afford no shelter or concealment before the pursuers could reach the spot. In their extremity they change their course, running almost in the face of the foe. They rush into the under brush covert of a gum pond which crossed the road close by, and there, in terrible suspense, awaited their fate, up to the knees in water. In a few moments the equestrians, in full gallop, are within a gunshot of them. But on reaching the pond they slacken their speed, and all at once came to a dead halt! Had they already discovered their prey? In an instant their fears were relieved on this score. From their marshy lair they were able, imperfectly, to espy the foe, and they saw that the cause of halting was simply to water their panting steeds. They could also make out to hear the enemy's voice, and so far as they could gather, the subject was enough to inspire them with terror, for the escaped prisoner was evidently the exciting topic. Who could mistake the meaning of such detached phrases and epithets as these--'Daring fellow,' 'Scotch dog,' 'British slup,'

and 'Steel fix him.' And who can realize the internal emotion of him whom they immediately and unmistakably concerned? But the fates being propitious, the posse of cavalry resumed their course, first in a slow pace, and afterwards in a lively canter, until they were out of sight and out of hearing.

This hair-breadth escape admonished our hero that he must s.h.i.+ft his course and avoid the usual route of communication with the coast. The thought struck him, that he would direct his course towards the Cape Fear river, which lay some ten miles to the right; feeling confident, at the same time, that his knowledge of the water in early days could now be made available, if he could only find something in the shape of a boat. And, besides, he saw to his dismay that his fair partner in travel, however ardent in spirit, could not possibly hold out under the hards.h.i.+ps incident to the long journey at first meditated. For the Cape Fear river then they set off; and after a wearisome march, through swamp and marsh, brush and brier, to the great detriment of their scanty wardrobe and danger of life and limb, they reached the banks of that sluggish stream before the sun had set, foot sore and dispirited, exhausted and downcast. But what is their chance of a boat now? Alas, not even the tiniest craft could be seen. There is nothing for it but to camp in the open air all night and try to refresh their weary limbs and await to see what luck the following morn had in store. Fortunately for them the climate was warm, too much so indeed, as they had found, to their great discomfort, during the day that was now past. In their present homeless situation, however, it was rather opportune; and there was nothing to fear, unless from the effects of heavy dew, or the expected invasion of snakes and mosquitoes. But for these there was a counteracting remedy. The thick foliage of a stately tree afforded ample protection from dew, while a blazing fire, struck from the musket flint, defied the approach of any infesting vermin or crawling reptiles, and also answered the needed purpose of setting to rights their hosiery department which had suffered so much during the day. Here they are snug and cozy, under the arching canopy, which nature had provided, and prepared to do fair justice to the scanty viands and refreshments in their possession, before betaking themselves to their nocturnal slumbers which nature so much craved. But can we take leave of our pilgrims for the night without taking a glance at the innocent babe as it lay upon the folded plaid in blissful ignorance of the cares and anxieties which racked the parental breast. The very thought of its sweet face and throbbing little heart as it breathed in unconscious repose under the open canopy of heaven, was enough to entwine a thousand new chords of affection around the heart of its keepers, like the clasping ivy around the tree which gave them shelter, and to nerve them anew, for its sake, for the rough and perilous journey upon which they had entered. The fond mother imprints a kiss upon its cheek, and moistens it with tears of mingled joy and grief, and clasping it to her bosom is instantly absorbed in the sweet embrace of Morpheus. The hardy sire, it was agreed, would keep the first watch and take his rest in turn, the latter part of the night. He is now virtually alone, in deep and pensive meditation. He surveys with tender solicitude his precious charge, which was dearer to him than his own life, and for whose sake he would risk ten lives. He paces the sward during the night watches. He meditates his plans for the following day. He deliberates and schemes how he can take advantage of the flowing sheet of water before him, for the more easy conveyance of his precious belongings. The mode of travel hitherto adopted, he saw, to be simply impossible. The delay involved might be ruinous to his hopes. With these cogitations he sat down, without bringing any plan to maturity. He gazed at the burning embers as if in a reverie, and as he gazed he thought he had seen, either by actual vision or by the 'second sight,' in which he was a firm believer, the form of a canoe with a single sable steersman coming to his rescue. He felt tempted to communicate the vision to his sleeping partner; but, thinking it unkind to disturb her slumbers, he desists from his resolution, reclines on the ground, and without intending it, he falls fast asleep.

But imagine his astonishment and alarm when he came to consciousness, to find that he had slept for three full hours without interruption. He could hardly realize it, the interval seemed like an instant. However, all was well; his wife and babe were still enjoying unbroken rest, and no foe had discovered their retreat; and withal, the gladsome light of day is now breaking in around them and eclipsing the glare of the smouldering embers. Up starts our hero much refreshed and invigorated, and exulting in surprising buoyancy of spirit for running the race of the new day now ushering in. He withdraws a gunshot from the camp: and what does he descry in the grey dawn but, apparently, a small skiff with a single rower crossing the river towards them, but a short distance down the stream. The advancing light of day soon confirmed his hopes. He at once started in the direction of the skiff, having armed himself with his loaded musket, and resolved to get possession of it by fair means or by foul. A few minutes brought him to the spot, and to his great astonishment he found himself in the undisputed possession of the object of his wishes, a tiny little canoe drawn up on the beach. In connection with the night's vision he would have positively declared that there was something supernatural in the affair, but having marked the bare footprints of its late occupant on the muddy soil, and heard the rustling of leaves in the distance, calling attention to the woolly head of its owner getting out of sight through the bush, and making his way for a neighboring plantation. He could explain the event upon strict natural principles. The happy coincidence, however, filled him with emotions of joy, in so readily securing the means of an earlier and more expeditious transit. He retraces his steps and joins his little circle, and in joyous ecstacy relates to his sympathetic spouse, just aroused from her long slumbers, the tenor of his lucky adventure. There is now no time to lose. The crimson rays of the rising sun peering through a dense morning atmosphere and a dense forest, are reflected upon the surface of the stream to which they are about to commit their fortune, and admonish them to be off. They break their fast upon the remnants of the dry morsels with which they last appeased their hunger. This dispatched, they hasten to the beach, and speedily embark, seating themselves with the utmost caution in the narrow hull, which good luck and Sambo had placed at their disposal, and with less apprehension of danger from winds and waves than from the angry billows of human pa.s.sion. A push from the sh.o.r.e and the voyage is fairly and auspiciously begun, the good lady seated in the prow in charge of the tender object of her unremitting care, and giving it the shelter of her parasol from the advancing rays of the sun, and the skilful Palinurus himself squatted in the stern, with a small paddle in his hand, giving alternate strokes, first to the right and then to the left, and thus, with the aid of the slow current propelling his diminutive barque at the rate of about six knots an hour, and enjoying the simultaneous pleasure of 'paddling his own canoe.' Onward they glide, smoothly and pleasantly, over the unruffled water, the steersman taking occasional rests from his monotonous strokes, while having the satisfaction of noting some progress by the flow of the current. Thus, hours pa.s.sed away without the occurrence of anything worth noting, except the happy reflection that their memorable encampment was left several leagues in the distance. But lo! here is the first interruption to their navigation! About the hour of noon a mastless hull is seen in the distance. Their first impulse was fear, but this was soon dispelled on discovering it to be a flat or 'pole boat,' without sail or rigging, used for the conveyance of merchandise to the head of navigation, and propelled by long poles which the hardy craftsmen handled with great dexterity. It was, in fact, the steamer of the day, creating upon its arrival the same stir and bustle that is now caused by its more agreeable and efficient subst.i.tute, the 'Flora Macdonald.' The sight of this advancing craft, however, suggested the necessity of extreme caution, and of getting out of its way for a time. The Highland royalist felt greatly tempted to wait and hail the crew, whom he felt pretty sure to be his own friendly countrymen, and who, like their sires, in the case of prince Charlie, thirty years before, would scorn to betray their brother Celt, even for the gold of Carolina. Still, like the royal outlaw in his wanderings, he also deemed it more prudent to conceal his whereabouts even from his most confidential friends. He at once quits the river, and thus for a good while suspends his navigation. He takes special precaution to secure his little transport by drawing it a considerable distance from the water, a feat which required no great effort. The party stroll out of the way, and up the rising beach, watching for a time the tardy movement of the 'flat.' Tired of this they continue their slow ramble further into the interior, in hopes, at the same time, of making some accidental discovery by which to replenish their commissariat, which was quite empty, and made their steps faint and feeble, for it was now considerably past noon. As 'fortune favors the brave' they did succeed in making a discovery. They saw 'the opening' of a small plantation in the forest, an event which, in Carolina, is hailed with immense satisfaction by those who chance to lose their way in the woods, as suggestive of kindness and hospitality. Nothing short of such a treatment would be expected by our adventurers as a matter of course, if they could only afford to throw themselves upon the hospitality of settlers. In their situation, however, they must take their bearings with anxious circ.u.mspection, and weigh the consequences of the possibility of their falling into the hands of foes. But here, all of a sudden, their path is intercepted by the actual presence of a formidable foe. One of the pursuers? No, but one equally defiant. It is a huge serpent of the 'Whip snake' species, which never gives way, but always takes a bold and defiant stand. It took its stand about fifty yards ahead, ready for battle, its head, and about a yard of its length, in semi-erect posture, and displaying every sign of its proverbial enmity to Adam's race. It has no poison, but its mode of attack is still more horrible, by throwing itself with electric speed in coils around its antagonist, tight as the strongest cord, and las.h.i.+ng with a yard of its tail, till it puts its combatant to death. Knowing its nature, the a.s.sailed levels his piece, and in an instant leaves the a.s.sailant turning a thousand somersaults until its strength is spent, and, is at last, wriggling on the ground.