The Pictorial Field-Book of the Revolution, Vol. 1 (of 2): or, Illustrations, by Pen And Pencil, of the History, Biography, Scenery, Relics, and Traditions of the War for IndependenceLossing, Benson John
History
The Pictorial Field-Book of the Revolution, Vol. 1 (of 2): or, Illustrations, by Pen And Pencil, of the History, Biography, Scenery, Relics, and Traditions of the War for Independence
Lossing, Benson John
United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783
We crossed the Hudson just above the rapids. A dam for milling purposes
spans the stream, causing a sluggish current and deeper water for more
than two miles above. Here was the scene of one of Putnam's daring
exploits. While a major in the English provincial army, nearly twenty
years before the Revolution, he was lying in-a bateau on the east side
of the river, and was suddenly surprised by a party of Indians. He could
not cross the river swiftly enough to escape the balls of their rifles,
and there was no alternative but to go down the foaming rapids. In an
instant his purpose was fixed, and, to the astonishment of the savages,
he steered directly down the current, amid whirling eddies and over
shelving rocks. In a few moments his vessel cleared the rush of waters,
and was gliding upon the smooth current below, far out of reach of the
weapons of the Indians. It was a feat they never dared attempt, and
superstition convinced them that he was so favored by the Great Spirit
that it would be an affront to Manitou to attempt to kill him with
powder and ball.
Other Indians of the tribe, however, soon afterward gave practical
evidence of their unbelief in such interposition.
There is not a vestige of Fort Miller left, and maize, and potatoes, and
pumpkin vines were flourishing where the rival forces of Sir William
Johnson and the Baron Dieskau alternately paraded. At the foot of the
hill, a few rods below where the fort stood, is a part of the trench and
bank of a redoubt, and this is all that remains even of the outworks of
the fortification.
An eighth of a mile westward is Bloody Run, a stream which comes leaping
in sparkling cascades from the hills, and affords fine trout fishing. It
derives its name from the fact that, while the English had possession of
the fort in 1759, a party of soldiers from the garrison went out to fish
at the place represented in the picture. The hills, now cultivated, were
then covered with dense forests, and afforded the Indians excellent
ambush. A troop of savages, lying near, sprang silently from their
covert upon the fishers, and bore off nine reeking scalps before those
who escaped could reach the fort and give the alarm.
This clear mountain stream enters the Hudson a little above Fort Miller,
where the river makes a sudden curve, and where, before the erection of
the dam at the rapids, it was quite shallow, and usually fordable. This
was the crossing-place for the armies; and there are still to be seen
some of the logs and stones upon the shore which formed a part of the
old "King's Road" leading to the fording-place. They are now sub-
* This view is taken from the site of the fort, looking northward. The
fort was in the town of Northumberland. It was built of logs and earth,
and was never a post of great importance
Canal Voyage to Fort Edward.--Scene on Board.--Fort Edward.--National
Debt of England.
095
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