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 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 
 
 Chap-p.?.!/ Copyright No.. 
 
 
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THE 
 
 LIFE AND ADVENTURES 
 
 -OF- 
 
 NAT FOSTER, 
 
 TRAPPER AND HUNTER OF THE 
 ADIRONDACKS, 
 
 BY- 
 
 A, L. BYRON-CURTISS. 
 
 w 
 
 
 UTICA, N. Y.: 
 Press of Thomas J. Griffiths. 131 Genesee Street, 
 
 1897. 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year i8g7,by 
 
 A. L. BYRON-CURTISS, 
 in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 In writing this book, I have not catered to the 
 novel reader or sensational book worm. A 
 ''plot" could have been introduced, and, weav- 
 ing it into the fabric of the whole, the work 
 could have been easily changed from the histor- 
 ical to the romantic, and a good novel made; 
 so I have been told by a few of my friends, who 
 have done me the kindness to examine the 
 MSS., or have submitted to the ordeal of having 
 some of it read to them. But it is in no sense 
 a work of fiction. It is a faithful account of the 
 life and adventures of a character familiar to 
 sportsmen and others who' frequent the Adiron- 
 dacks. It has been my endeavor to collect and 
 put in form the numerous stories and anecdotes 
 told by one of the pioneers of New^ York State; 
 though in my desire to vindicate the qualities of 
 Nat Foster, I have given considerable not 
 actually identified with his adventures, but 
 having a bearing on his life. 
 
 The hardy race of men who followed the chase 
 for a livelihood in the wilds of Northern New 
 York, has passed away. With the men has gone 
 the knowledge of many of their exciting ad- 
 ventures. It is not too late, however, to gather 
 
4 Preface. 
 
 from old residents and descendants, many of 
 the experiences connected with their profes- 
 sion. This is what I have endeavored to do in 
 this book; taking pains, as the reader will see, 
 to gather only such notes of Foster's life as the 
 trustworthy sources assured me of their 
 genuineness. The assumption that Foster is 
 the hero of Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales I 
 think is well founded. I believe the reader 
 will agree with me, that the character of Nat 
 Foster as portrayed by the facts here present- 
 ed, and the character of Natty Bumfo of 
 Cooper, are wonderfully similar; which, taken 
 with the unbiased opinions of men of Foster's 
 time, are weighty arguments in favor of the idea 
 advanced. 1 am sure my labors will be appre- 
 ciated by those interested. And as Jerome K. 
 Jerome observed in his "Idle Thoughts of an 
 Idle Fellow," that "some of my relations having 
 promised to buy the book, if it ever came out;" 
 so I would say that many persons interested in 
 the Adirondacks, having expressed a desire to 
 own the book "if it ever came out," I feel justi- 
 fied in inflicting it on the public. I would in 
 conclusion express my thanks to those who 
 have in any way contributed to the material 
 that makes up the book. 
 
 Rome, N. )'., April, i8gj. The AutJwr. 
 
CONTENTS, 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Nat Foster's Parentage. — Emigration to Hinsdale, 
 N. H. — Character of the Town. — Wild animals. — Boun- 
 ties for their slaughter. — Indians. — Their Depredations. 
 — Tories suspected of Exciting them. — Birth of Nat. — 
 The Elder Foster's Patriotism.— Nat Attends a Patri- 
 otic Meeting. — His Childish Expression. — "Lish and 
 Me'll Stay Home and Shoot Injuns." 
 CHAPTER n. 
 
 Mr. Foster Leaves for War. — Fights in Battles of 
 Lexington and Bunker Hill. - Is Offered a Captain's 
 Commission. — Declines it. — Origin of "Go to Halifax." 
 — Washington Admires Foster — Various Services. — Is 
 Again Offered a Commission.- Is Ordered to Saratoga. 
 — Excursion Through Mohawk Valley. — Rescue of the 
 Failing Family. — Service at Battle of Saratoga. — De- 
 spatched to Lake George. — Meets Failing. — Mr. Foster's 
 Expression of Hatred of Indians 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Valley Forge. — Mr Foster's Cheerfulness.: — Makes 
 Shoes From Horse Hide. — Soup Made From Scraps. — 
 Massacre in Wyoming Valley. — Winter Quarters 1779- 
 80. — Rations, a Pint of Corn.— Foraging Expeditions. — 
 An Old Tory Encountered. — His Stores and a Horse 
 Taken. —Foster Goes to Maj. Lee's Tent to Present 
 Horse. — Lee asks him to join the Legion — Foster's 
 Answer. — Meets Sergeant John Champ. — Plan to Capture 
 Arnold. — Champ and Foster's Part in Plan. — Champ's 
 Pretended Desertion. — The Legion, with Mr. Foster in 
 Command, Start in Pursuit. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Legion Sights Champ. — Foster Throws the 
 Legion off from his Track. — The Attempt to head him 
 off. — He Escapes. — Swims to British Gunboats. — Legion 
 Returns to Camp.— Foster Remains. — Receives a Note 
 from Champ. — He Enlists in Arnold's Regiment. — Mes- 
 sages to Foster. — Plans for Capturing Arnold Matured. 
 — Fail at Last Moment. — Champ not Suspected of Be- 
 ing a Spy. — Accompanies Arnold's Regiment to Vir- 
 ginia. — Returns to American Lines. — Affecting Meeting 
 of Champ and Foster. — Lee's Welcome. 
 
6 Contents. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Life at the Foster Home During the War. — Mrs.. 
 Foster's Arduous Duties. — The Boys Hunt. — They Buy 
 a Rifle, — Better Success. — Work up Winter's Wood. — 
 Chopping Wood in Winter. — Device for Keeping Their 
 Feet Warm. — Indians give Trotible. — Nat Resents it. — 
 Is Seized, but Dehvered. — Nat's Nocturnal Encounter 
 With a Bear. — Capture of an Eagle. -The Romance in 
 Nat's Life Begins at this Time. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Mr. Foster's Long Absence — Hardships Endured by 
 Himself and by his Family. — He Decides to Return 
 Home. — Mrs. Foster Spinning.— A Knock. — A Stranger. 
 — Her Husband. ^Greetings of the Children. — Nat's- 
 " Hurrah for Father" — Suggestions of Moving to Mo- 
 hawk Valley.— Boys Hail it With Delight.— Mr. Foster's. 
 Instructions as to ''Injuns." 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Preparations for Emigrating to New York State — 
 The Start. — Progress of the Journey. — Hudson River 
 Reached. — A Raft Built to Cross. — Indians Seen.^-A 
 Watch Kept During Night.— Nat's Plucky Defense.— 
 Spills the Blood of an Indian for first Time. — The 
 Journey Continued. — They Settle at Johnstown. — Log 
 Cabin Homes. — Capture of Zilphah by Indians. — Pursuit 
 and Rescue. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Nat at Twenty-one, — A Trip to Piesco Lake. — Res- 
 cues a Child from Indians — Forms Acquaintance of 
 Stoner. — Participating in Sports on Fourth of July. — 
 His Dress. — Leatherstocking. — Wins all the Races — 
 Throws the Champion Wrestler. — Rescues the Sweet- 
 heart of his Youth. — Departs Upon Discovering her 
 Identity.— Her Father's Offer of Reward.— Nat's 
 Answer. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Nat Marries.— Settles at Salisbury.— Game Abundant. 
 — Great Success in Plunting. — His Industry and Liber- 
 ality.— Bounties Cause a Misunderstanding. — Rifles Car- 
 ried by Nat. — His Expertness in Loading and Firing. 
 —Contest With Soldier.— His Accoutrements for Hunt- 
 ing. — Mode of Locating Directions.— His Rescue of Two 
 Girls From a Panther. —Used by Cooper. 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Remarkable Stories Told of Foster.— Author's Rule 
 
Contents. 7 
 
 in giving those Related. — Animals Trapped and Hunted. 
 — A Variety of Adventures. — Story of Bagging Two 
 Wolves, five Panthers and a Deer in an Hour. — Only 
 time he was Caught Nappmg — Never Outwitted by 
 Indians. — Adventures on the Sacondaga River. — Story 
 of his Dog Watch. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Foster's Extensive Trips. — Struggles with a Deer. — 
 Neighbor Shooting a Bear. — Traps used by Foster. — 
 Takes a Wolf for a Pet. — Fondness for Pets, and for 
 Children. — Visited by his Nephews. — His efforts to En- 
 tertain them. — Teaches them to Shoot — His manner of 
 telling Indian Stories. — A "Lucky Shot." — Indian Hess. 
 — Foster not Influenced by Sentiment. — Benchley's Ac- 
 count of Foster. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 The Hunter's Life Threatened by Wolves. — His first 
 visit to Fulton Chain. — Stories of Valuable Ores. — Foster 
 Prepares for a Season's Trapping along the Chain. — His 
 Stump Camp. — Indians Steal from his Traps. — En- 
 deavors to Encounter them. — Prepares a Snug Camp for 
 Them. — "Frightens" Them Aw^ay. — Condition of the 
 Adirondacks Permitted This. — A few 5^ears Labor, and a 
 Change. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Mighty changes wrought at Foster's Favorite Section 
 of the Wilderness. — C. E. Snyder's paper on Brown's 
 Tract. — Speculation in Land. — ^Land Acquired by 
 Brown. — Attempts to Develop it. — Brown Dies. — His 
 Son-in-law, Herreshoff, attempts it. — His Tragic End. — 
 His Settlements fell into Decay. — Foster purchases an 
 Assignment of the Lease. — Intends to Spend the Re- 
 mamder of his life on the Tract. — An Indian, however, 
 Intrudes upon his Retreat. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Foster Advanced in Years, when he Settled at Old 
 Forge. — Presence of the Indian Drid a Source of An- 
 noyance. — Other Settlers on the Tract. — Benchley's 
 Description of the Old Hunter at this time. — Drid 
 Threatens his Life. — Endeavors to get out a Peace War- 
 rant for him.— A Fishing Party Visits the Tract— Stop 
 with Foster. — He agrees to go with them up the Lakes. 
 — Quarrels with Indian.— Goes to Point. — Shoots Indian 
 as Party Come up the River.— Goes out with Witnesses 
 next day.— Arrest, Indictment, Trial, and Acquitted.— 
 Goes to Pennsylvania.— Returns to Ava, N. Y.— His 
 Peacful Death. 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Page. 
 A Modern Log Camp of the Adirondacks... Frontispiece 
 
 ^ A Canvas Camp of the Adirondacks Titlepage, 
 
 Elisha and Nat 14 
 
 , Mr. Foster and his Party... 22 
 
 •^ Piser, the Old Tory 36 
 
 ■ Working in the Field 66 
 
 ' Mrs. Foster Spinning.... 97 
 
 ^ A Country Auction no 
 
 / A Log Cabin Home _. 123 
 
 '' The Indian Camp 142 
 
 Nat at Twenty-one _ 1 50 
 
 J Hunter's Brush Camp ..172 
 
 / An Adirondack Indian. 181 
 
 / Bear in Apple Tree 201 
 
 "f Indians Deceived... 23S 
 
 ^ Old Herreshoff House 24S 
 
 "^ Death of the Indian Drid 257 
 

CHAPTER I. 
 
 NATHANIEL Foster, the hero of this book, 
 was of New England stock. His father, 
 whose name was Nathaniel, was born in Rhode 
 Island, and some time after the close of the 
 French and Indian war, married, and with his 
 young wife, emigrated to Hinsdale, New Hamp- 
 shire. At the time of his settlement at Hins- 
 dale, it w^as in the strictest sense a pioneer town, 
 situated near the mouth of the Ashuelat River, 
 and hard by the Connecticut. 
 
 Its territory, except the few acres cleared by 
 the settlers, was covered by virgin forests. Al- 
 most all the inhabitants lived in the most primi- 
 tive manner possible to civilized people. Log 
 houses on squatters' farms formed the bulk of 
 the little hamlet. A few sheep and cows, a 
 yoke of oxen, and possibly a horse, was owned 
 by those settlers who had been a few years at 
 the place. Upon a few acres of land cleared by 
 earnest toil, was raised Indian corn and Irish 
 potatoes. These formed the staple articles of 
 their vegetable diet. The woods, abounding 
 with game, supplied them with meat. 
 
lo Life and Adventures of 
 
 Mr. Foster, having selected a favorable site 
 for his new house some two miles from the set- 
 tlement proper, proceeded first to erect his log 
 house, and then attacked the forest. In a couple 
 of years he had a number of acres cleared, and 
 under cultivation. The second year of his set- 
 tlement, the birth of a son gladdened the hearts 
 of the young couple. Elisha, the oldest of the 
 family, and next to Nathaniel, being born in 
 1764. 
 
 Moose and deer were plentiful, while the 
 gray wolf and the panther made the nights 
 hideous by their howls and screams. Black 
 bears were numerous. Mr. Foster, being a 
 crack shot, kept his larder well supplied v/ith 
 wild meats, while the pelts of the fur-bearing 
 animals took the place of ordinary bedding and 
 blankets. For being tanned with the hair on 
 they furnished warm robes for protection from 
 the icy cold of the New England winters. The 
 meat of the deer, moose and black bear Vv^as 
 corned, smoked, and dried. A great deal of the 
 wild game of the woods was of course a source 
 of annoyance to the settlers, in their attempts to 
 raise domestic animals. Often after a settler 
 had, by several seasons' patient breeding, ob- 
 tained quite a flock of sheep, or a number of 
 cows; or from one sow had obtained a promis- 
 
Nat Foster. ii 
 
 iiig litter of shoats, his plans and calculations 
 were upset by some nocturnal visitor from the 
 woods, gaining access to the sheep fold or pig- 
 sty, and slaughtering one or more of the ani- 
 mals, before the owner could become aware of 
 what was going on, and rising from his bed, go 
 forth, gun in hand, to drive the intruder away. 
 
 Even in the daytime some wild animals at- 
 tacked the domestic ones, if they wandered far 
 into the woods. The pigs were never permitted 
 to go into the woods in the fall to root for 
 acorns, without being accompanied by a man 
 with a gun, to shoot any bear which might Aish 
 to change its diet from wild berries to fresh 
 pork. 
 
 The New England Colonies early began offer- 
 ing bounties for the slaughter of these wild 
 animals, and the pine-tree shilling was a welcome 
 reward to the struggling frontiersmen, in their 
 contest with the wild beasts of the wilderness 
 they were trying to subdue. 
 
 The wild animals were not so great a source 
 of danger to the settlers' flocks of domestic 
 ones, however, as the Indians, the latter really 
 being their greatest enemies in this resf-ect. 
 There were still roving bands of these abori- 
 gines, not yet inclined tO' succumb to the ad- 
 vancements of the pale-face. These would ap- 
 
12 
 
 Life and Adventures of 
 
 proach the settlements to steal, sometimes even 
 bold enough at that late day, to sack and burn 
 the dwellings, and murder and scalp the in- 
 mates. Just before the outbreak of the war of 
 the Revolution, a small hamlet a few miles from 
 Hinsdale was destro3'ed in this way. 
 
 As the colonial spirit of independence in- 
 creased, these depredations on the part of the 
 Indians grew more frequ.ent and bold. But one 
 noticeable feature connected with all Indian 
 raids was, that it was always the patriot families 
 whose stock was stolen, while the Tories' prop- 
 erty would remain undisturbed; so that they 
 were soon suspected of exciting the Indians to 
 their nefarious business by gifts of rum and 
 tobacco. 
 
 Conspicuous among the Tory families at 
 Hinsdale at this time was one by the name of 
 Wilson. William Wilson was a prominent man 
 in the village, which by this time had gotten to 
 be quite a town. He held a lucrative position 
 for those days, under the service of the Crown, 
 and was the stamp-agent under the famous 
 Stamp Act. Hence he was a marked loyalist. 
 He lived very comfortably in the only frame 
 dwelling in the hamlet, kept a couple of ser- 
 vants, and sent his only child, a daughter, to 
 school in Boston. He had a great many doings 
 
Nat Foster. 13 
 
 with the Indians under the guise of a trader, 
 and was thoroughly suspected by the patriots 
 of being one of the chief ones who encouraged 
 the Indians in phuidering and steahng from the 
 patriotic settlers on the frontier. So numerous 
 and bold had the Indians become, that Mr. fos- 
 ter, in less than a year, had all of his cows 
 stolen, and a flock of thirty sheep reduced to 
 six. One day, during his absence from home, 
 their only remaining pig, a sow, was stolen. 
 
 Upon his discovery and report of the loss, his 
 Tory neighbors offered as explanation that a 
 wild animal had taken it; but he scouted this 
 idea, and declared that it was mighty funny that 
 a panther or wolf would steal a pig from its 
 sty in broad daylight. "No," said he, "it was 
 none of a our four legged varmits that done it. 
 I reckon it was them two legged ones you're a 
 settin' on us." 
 
 The suffering patriots could not shoot their 
 Torv neghbors, but it is needless to say that 
 they dealt with the Indians in the same manner 
 as they dealt with wild animals that stole from 
 their Mocks. They shot them. 
 
 Under such circumstances, and at such times 
 as these, was Nathaniel Foster, Jr., born, on 
 the 30th day of Ji^ne, 1766, nine years prior to 
 the outbreak of the war for Independence. And 
 
14 Life and Adventures of 
 
 as we read of the liardy days of his boyhood, and 
 the struggle of his family for existence, inten- 
 sified by the depredations of Indians, his own 
 young life environed by influences of the woods, 
 we do not wonder at his remarkable career as 
 a hunter and trapper, and the hardiness he dis- 
 played in following that pursuit. Nor can we 
 wonder at the indifference he sometimes dis- 
 played in making away with such Indians as 
 were unfortunate enough to imagine that they 
 could cross him in the following of his chosen 
 calling in the Adirondack Mountains. 
 
 The elder Nathaniel, being an ardent patriot, 
 was a leader in holding meetings in the town- 
 ship, in the interest of liberty. When Nathaniel,. 
 Jr., was scarcely seven }'ears old, he and his 
 brother Elisha asked their father to take them 
 to one of these meetings. At first he de- 
 murred, but finally yielded to their importuni- 
 ties, and took them along with him; with con- 
 siderable grumbling, however, saying they 
 would only be "under foot and in his way." At 
 this meeting, Mr. Foster made a rousing 
 speech, following the popular and usual strain 
 of the time of "give me liberty, or give me 
 death." In closing he exclaimed impressively, 
 "1 am ready now to go and fight the Crown." 
 Young Nat, who with his brother occupied a 
 

 
 'Nat * * * with his brother occupied a back seat. 
 
N'at Foster. 15 
 
 back seat, had listened with open mouth (and 
 ears) to his father's flow of patriotic and revolu- 
 tionary expressions, and seemed to have caught 
 the spirit of the occasion; for as his father ut- 
 tered the alcove words, he piped up from his 
 seat in the corner, in a shriU but defiant Uttle 
 voice, "Yes, dad, you go, and Lish and me'll 
 stay home and shoot Injuns." This childish 
 expression of patriotism and defiance of the 
 Crown was greeted with exclamations of de- 
 light from the hardy pioneers present. Nat 
 was brought from his seat in the corner, greet- 
 ed with three hearty cheers from their lurty 
 lung.-, and the meeting dispersed. 
 
 Less than tw'O years passed ere his father did 
 go to "fight the Crown," andElisha and Nat 
 were left at home to "shoot Injuns." But 
 not to shoot Indians only; but also tO' partici- 
 pate in, and share the hardships and privations 
 which the patriotic families of those times were 
 called upon to endure, while the heads of the 
 families were away "fighting the Crown," and 
 gaining for us that priceless heritage of liberty, 
 which we all enjoy, but do not appreciate one 
 half or one quarter as much as we should. 
 
CHAPTER 11. 
 
 eARLY in 1775, Mr. Foster began to make 
 preparations for going to war. The idea 
 that war might possibly be averted seemed never 
 to have been entertained by him. The words of 
 Patrick Henry had so enthused the people 
 throughout the land, that the men would swfng 
 their hats and exclaim, "Give me liberty or give 
 me death." On the first day of February Mr. 
 Foster gathered his family about him, and gave 
 each an afifectionate farewell, and blessing; for 
 he was a pious man. He then shouldered his 
 musket and started on foot for Pioston. The 
 family then consisted of Mrs. Foster and six 
 vigorous, growing children. Elisha, the oldest, 
 was eleven years old; Nathaniel, our hero, was 
 nine; Zilpha, a girl of seven summers; destined 
 in after years to play the most conspicuous 
 part in an exciting adventure. The next young- 
 est child was a daughter Ann, aged five. The 
 next, a boy of three, bearing the ponderous 
 name of Solomon; the youngest child was a 
 cooing babe named Sylby, scarcely a year old. 
 Mrs. Foster and these six children did not see 
 
Nat Foster. 17 
 
 Mr. Foster again until the close of the war, (.ver 
 seven years and ten months after he took iiis 
 departure on that frosty February morning. 
 
 All their earthly possessions at this time con- 
 sisted of some ten acres of cleared land, one 
 cow, a few sheep, two pigs, and a few fowls. 
 And their struggle with poverty and actual 
 want during the absence of the husband and 
 father, was truly a gallant one. But let us 
 leave them for a little, and follow the fortunes 
 and experiences of the head of the family. The 
 elder Foster's career in the war has such an im- 
 portant and indisputable bearing and relation to 
 the subsequent career of his family, particularly 
 that of his son Nat, that we will devote this and 
 the next tw^o chapters to an account of some of 
 his adventures and experiences in the war. 
 Journeying on foot he reached Concord the 
 last of the month. As he plainly saw, the war 
 was soon to break out; so he remained in the 
 vicinity, exhorting and encouraging the minute 
 men in their preparations for taking the field. 
 In a couple of months after his arrival in Con- 
 cord, he had the satisfaction of participating in 
 the battle of Lexington, and firing his first shot 
 at the Crown, as represented in the British 
 troops that invaded Concord. He was in the 
 thickest of the fight, and with other patriots, 
 
1 8 Life and Ad-T'cnturcs of 
 
 poured his deadly fire from behind stone fences 
 and trees, into the ranks of the royal troops as 
 they retreated towards Boston. He received' 
 two bullet holes in his clothes, and exultingly 
 exclaimed as he discovered them, "I'll be able 
 to fight a good many years if the red-coats only 
 shoot cloth." 
 
 He immediately repaired to Boston, and 
 presenting himself to Col. Prescott, was as- 
 signed by that officer to a prominent place 
 among the patriot troops then throwing up in- 
 trenchments oil Bunker Hill. His braverv, 
 skill and enthusiasm at this battle, made him 
 ever afterwards a favorite with the officers and 
 men of the American Army who knew or heard 
 of his conduct on the heights of Boston. He 
 did much by his own coolness and presence of 
 mind to further the efforts of Col. Prescott, 
 who, it will be remembered, preserved order, 
 and kept up the courage of the raw American 
 soldiers by his own calmness and courage. 
 When the ammunition gave out, and the British 
 commenced to pour over the breast-works, 
 Foster was the first to club his gun, and shout- 
 ing "Give it to them, boys," commenced to club 
 the red coated soldiers right and left. As we 
 know, all the soldiers "clubbed" their muskets, 
 and endeavored to resist efifectuallv the on- 
 
Nat Foster. 19 
 
 coming British ; but it was a hopeless task. Fos- 
 ter and the few remaining with him fled down a 
 desperately steep place on the hill, and thus es- 
 caped through the dust and smoke of the battle. 
 Foster was promptly offered a captain's commis- 
 sion in the Continental Army, as a reward for 
 his conspicuously gallant conduct at this battle; 
 but he declined the honor and responsibility. 
 
 Washington having been appointed in charge 
 of the army of the East, commenced to fortify 
 the heights around Boston, and Gen. Howe 
 moved the Royal troops in the vicinity to a 
 greater distance from the toiling Yankees. His 
 treatment at their hands at Bunker Hill seemed 
 to have taught him a lesson, so that he now- 
 appeared to have some little respect for the 
 despised American pioneers. This movement 
 on the part of the enemy was of course a sub- 
 ject of conversation among the American 
 soldiers, and Foster in one of his characteristic 
 expressions said, "Let 'em go: Let 'em go to 
 Halifax," a settlement in Canada. This expres- 
 sion was taken up by the rest of the soldiers. 
 It passed from mouth to mouth. Washington 
 laughed as he heard of the apt way it was ex- 
 pressed. It soon ])ecame a by-word in the 
 army, and is now^ common property, "Go' to 
 Halifax." 
 
20 Life and Adz'cnturcs of 
 
 Foster seems to have been in the army under 
 Gen. Putnam. At all events, he accompanied 
 the American army to New York, and, at the 
 head of forty picked men, harassed the Britons 
 from behind the rocks at Harlem Heights, 
 effectually protecting Washington's retreat to 
 White Plains. Several of the enemies' bullets 
 passed through his clothing again; and one 
 grazed his left side, cutting the skin so that it 
 bled profusely, and he was obliged to go to a 
 surgeon. That officer put on his spectacles, and 
 gravely examining it, remarked, "My good man, 
 if it had gone a little closer it would have killed 
 you." "Yes, yes," said Foster, in his indifferent 
 manner, "and if it had only gone a little farther 
 off it wouldn't have touched me." During 
 Washington's retreat through New Jersey, Fos- 
 ter was one of his trusted men. For his en- 
 thusiasm, endurance and courage, he had no 
 superior. Washington remarked that the en- 
 thusiasm and devotion to the cause, of such men 
 as Foster, gave him courage to continue the 
 struggle against such great odds. And on one 
 occasion he was heard to say that with ten thou- 
 sand such men as Foster he could drive every 
 British soldier from the American shores in 
 short order. Foster was one of the picked men 
 who preceded the army to the Delaware River, 
 
Nat Foster. 21 
 
 and got boats in readiness to pass over. On the 
 23rd of December, 1776, Washington was seen 
 on his knees asking divine aid and guidance for 
 the then almost hopeless cause of his country. 
 On the same day he called a council of officers 
 to consider the feasibility of attacking the Hes- 
 sians encamped at Trenton. But few advised it, 
 when Foster came forward, and offered the 
 efficient aid of his "picked forty," and it was de- 
 cided to undertake it. Foster returned to his 
 companions, and telling them of the acceptance 
 of their services, exclaimed, "Boys we'll have a 
 Christmas dinner off from Trenton, or die in the 
 attempt to get it." History tells us of Col. 
 Rohl's surrender, the capture of a thousand 
 Hessians, and the safe retreat of Washington and 
 his army across the Delaware again. The battle 
 of Trenton and its results roused the colonies 
 from despondency. Foster, for his bravery and 
 efficient services on this occasion was again 
 offered a captain's commission. But he again 
 declined the honor, and this time in words which 
 effectually prevented the office being tendered 
 him again; he said to the orderly who brought 
 the message to him, "No, I came to fight the 
 common enemy of our country, and I can do 
 that better with a gun than with a sword; I'll 
 stick to my gun." 
 
2 2 Life and Adventures of 
 
 The following spring he was ordered with his 
 "picked forty" up the Hudson to assist Gen. 
 Gates. To him they rendered good service at 
 the battle of Saratoga. Occupying a brow of a 
 hill, they contributed materially to the success 
 of the battle by their rapid and accurate firing. 
 As the royal army retreated they were able from 
 their position to pour a destructive fire into the 
 ranks of the enemy. Every shot counted. Fos- 
 ter's exhortation to his men as they took their 
 position on the hill was, "Now bo}'s, don't waste 
 a shot. Bring- down a red coat every time you 
 fire." We all know^ the results of that battle. 
 Gen. Burgoyne surrendered, and the Americans 
 marched into his camp to the tune of "Yankee 
 Doodle." It was at this battle that Arnold won 
 laurels he ought to have worn; and if he had, 
 his subsequent act of treason might not have oc- 
 curred. 
 
 Before participating in the battle of Saratoga, 
 however, Foster and his forty *'dare devils." as 
 they had come to be called, took a journey up 
 the Mohawk ^^alley. They participated in the 
 battle of Oriskany, having joined Gen. Herki- 
 mer's minute men at Fort Dayton. They then 
 started leisurely back to Saratoga, when they 
 met the detachment headed by Arnold sent for 
 the relief of Fort Stanwix. They joined them, 
 
Their ascent of a slight eminence. 
 
Nat Foster. 23 
 
 and returned back over the ground they had 
 twice gone over, past the bloody field of Oris- 
 kany, and on to Fort Stanwix. Then they 
 started on down the valley again. It appears 
 that they traveled by themselves rather than 
 with the regular troops. It was during his 
 journeys up and down the Mohawk Valley at 
 this time, that Foster saw so much of the dia- 
 bolical acts of the Indians in slaying and scalp- 
 ing the defenseless settlers, at the instigation of 
 tl}e British, and which caused him on his 
 return home, to instill into the minds of his sons 
 such a hatred of the race. 
 
 While he and his party w^ere returning down 
 the valley from Fort Stanwix, as they came 
 where Canajoharie now stands, then almost a 
 wilderness, their ascent of a slight eminence 
 brought to their view on the north an immense 
 smoke rising from the tree-tops. Said Foster, 
 'T guess some of the red devils are putting in 
 their hellish work." Sure enough, as they pro- 
 ceeded, they came in sight of a log cabin in 
 flames, and an immense crowd of Indians 
 around it. The little band of forty immediately 
 prepared for a rush upon them. They crept 
 cautiously forward under the cover of trees and 
 bushes, until they could see plainly some two 
 score of savages dancing about the cabin. They 
 
24 
 
 Life and Adi'cnturcs of 
 
 knew by their actions that there were people in 
 the dwelhng, and they were waiting for them to 
 come out from the blazing building, when they 
 intended to set upon them, and slay and scalp 
 them. 
 
 "Attend to your priming, boys," said Foster, 
 ''We'll show the red cusses that the Yankees 
 arn't all napping." He gave the word to fire, 
 and instantly twelve Indians lay upon the 
 ground in tneir death throes, and several were 
 wounded. The Indians, though taken by sur- 
 prise, rallied for resistance, and made for trees, 
 from behind which they always fired. But be- 
 fore half a dozen of them could reach the shelter 
 of tree trunks, Foster's men fired another volley 
 into them. It was effectual. All signs of a re- 
 sistance disappeared with the Indians' disap- 
 pearance in the woods. The brave little band 
 of soldiers now rushed forward to the house, 
 which was burning furiously. The door and 
 windows they found barricaded. It was but the 
 work of a moment to smash in the door with a 
 small log which lay handy, and the inmates were 
 dragged from the doomed cabin none too soon. 
 They were a Mrs. Failing and her three small 
 children. They had all been overcome by the 
 smoke and heat, and were insensible when re- 
 moved from the burning house, the mother 
 
Nat Foster. 25 
 
 having been quite badly burned. Water 
 brought from a neighboring spring in the hats 
 of some of the men, and dashed in their faces, 
 soon brought them to their senses. When they 
 reahzed deHverance, their gratitude was beyond 
 expression. The husband and father of the 
 family was away fighting for liberty. Had this 
 little band of patriots been but a few moments 
 later in their arrival on the scene, his family 
 would have been burned alive. The mother and 
 children were taken to the nearest settlement, 
 and placed among friends; Foster and his party 
 remaining there for several days, fearing that 
 the Indians might seek revenge by attacking 
 the settlement. Word finally being brought 
 them that a battle was likely to be fought very 
 soon at Saratoga, they took leave of the settle- 
 ment and the family they had saved, and push- 
 ing on, poined tUe American army, rendering 
 the efficient service from their position on the 
 hill, as mentioned above. 
 
 After Burgoyne's surrender it was feared that 
 an attack would be made by the large number 
 of Indians that the British had assembled, and 
 a force of soldiers most familiar w4th the Indian 
 mode of warfare, was dispatched in the direc- 
 tion of Lake George, to disperse a horde of the 
 savages reported to be there. Foster and his 
 3 
 
2 6 Life and Adventures of 
 
 forty were chosen, together with about thirty 
 regular soldiers. Towards nightfall they sur- 
 prised and dispersed a camp of about sevent}'- 
 five Indians, as they were engaged in cooking 
 their supper. The encounter was not at all a 
 serious one, for the Indians at the approach of 
 the detachment, stopped only to let drive a 
 shower of bullets and arrows; and then turned 
 and fled, leaving in the camp a quantity of guns, 
 bows and arrows. As their fires were burning, 
 the soldiers tarried at the camp long enough to 
 cook rations for themselves, and rest a little be- 
 fore returning to the army. Foster and his men 
 quickly made the acquaintance of their new 
 companions who had been detailed to accom.- 
 pany them on the scout; and while seated 
 around a fire eating their food, he gave their 
 new friends some account of the experience of 
 himself and his men up the valley. He related 
 one after another of their adventures until he 
 came to the incident of the burning house, and 
 the rescue of the inmates. As he proceeded 
 with the narration, one of the soldiers seated on 
 a log opposite Foster, sprang to his feet, and 
 seizing Foster in his arms, commenced to weep 
 like a child. "That was my home, and those 
 were my children," said he, ''how can I ever pa>' 
 you for such a humane act?" "Pay me," said 
 
Nat Foster. 27 
 
 Foster, "I would be worse than a heathen if I 
 would not risk my own life, to save the lives of 
 a man's wife and children from such a fate. 
 But hold," he exclaimed, as Failing, who had 
 regained his composure, was about to resume 
 his seat on the log, "hold," repeated Foster, 
 "Swear to me, swear, that you will kill every red 
 devil you get a chance to." And with bared 
 head and uplifted hand. Failing swore to 
 prosecute a war of extermination against the 
 red man. 
 
 Foster now became very excited, and ve- 
 hemently declared his hatred of the race. Ad- 
 dressing the group of men before him he ex- 
 claimed, "Boys, Fve seen enough of their 
 fiendishness in our excursions up the valley, to 
 make me and my children forever their en- 
 emies." He then related how he had seen the 
 soldiers scalped at Oriskany. How in one place 
 they had come to a devasted home, with the 
 women and children strewn about scalped and 
 bearing witness to the use of the tomahawk. 
 The worst and most repulsive sight of all was 
 the body of a pregnant woman ripped open, and 
 the infant mutilated. "That is what Fve seen," 
 said he, "during the last few weeks, and can a 
 man with a Christian heart allow such hounds 
 of hell to go unpunished? No! The sight of 
 
28 Life and Adventures of 
 
 a red skin kindles a fire in me I can't control, 
 and which I don't want to either." In such a 
 strain he continued talking for some time. His 
 expressions of hatred of the British for exciting 
 the Indians to hostility, was nearly as pro- 
 nounced. Said he, "They are more to be des- 
 pised than the Indians themselves. We'll lick 
 the British, and then we can fight the Injuns, 
 and when we are dead, our children will do the 
 fighting for us." He declared he would teach 
 his children to fear God, but not the face of clay. 
 "Especially," he said, "the copper face of an 
 Injun." Again can we see the reason his son 
 Nat placed ,a low value on the life of any mem- 
 ber of this unfortunate race with whom he came 
 in contact, while threading his way among the 
 forests of the Adirondacks. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE American army now went into winter 
 quarters at Valley Forge, where the patriots 
 bravely endured untold sufferings. It has been 
 said of this particular winter that "These were 
 the times which tried men's souls." The Patriot 
 army was a mere handful of men compared to 
 the British. The men were ragged and dis- 
 heartened; many were barefooted. What 
 American of the present generation is there, 
 who has not seen from childhood illustrations 
 of the pathetic scenes of Valley Forge? The 
 members of the army had received no pay, and 
 poor and scanty fare was their portion. The 
 soldiers were inspired by a love for their country 
 indeed. 
 
 During this trying winter, Mr. Foster was 
 the life and soul of his section of the camp. He 
 was never idle or despondent. No doubt his 
 being always busy at some kind of employment, 
 was the secret of his cheerfulness. He was al- 
 ways ready for a joke or a word of cheer. The 
 horses of the army were being killed for food. 
 He immediately set about and procured the 
 
30 Life and Adventures of 
 
 hides for the purpose of making shoes for the 
 soldiers. He tanned them in a rude manner; 
 and with the assistance of some of his fellow- 
 soldiers, he made a passable moccasin, very ac- 
 ceptable to the barefooted men. It was while 
 engaged in this occupation of cutting up hides 
 and making shoes, that Washington, passing 
 through the camp one day, and observing his 
 industry and cheerful manner, uttered the re- 
 mark referred to^ before; viz.: '*If I had ten 
 thousand such men, I would drive every British 
 soldier from the American shores in short or- 
 der." One day provisions failed to be issued at 
 all. Some stores had been expected, but were 
 delayed many miles distant, the wagons being 
 stuck fast in the mud The soldiers were dis- 
 posed to grumble and swear at the state of 
 afifairs. 
 
 "Well, well boys," exclaimed the ever-cheerful 
 Foster, ''we musn't starve, and we shan't. Hun- 
 ger will drive a man through a stone wall, but 
 we are not as bad ofif as that yet. I've got 
 some scraps of horse hide left over from 
 making shoes, and I guess it will make a soup 
 for about ten or a dozen." The soup was made, 
 and with a little ''johnny cake" left over from the 
 day before, Foster and his mess ate it wAxh. a 
 relish. 
 
Nat Foster. 31 
 
 "There boys, ' said he, as the meal was fin- 
 ished, ''that's pleasanter than marching twenty- 
 five miles over a frozen road, especially if you've 
 got a sore toe, to kick the frozen lumps with." 
 
 This memorable winter, full of trials and 
 sufiferings, finally passed away; and preparations 
 were begun for an active campaign. After the 
 battle of Monmouth, the army was busy pre- 
 paring for the capture of Stony Point. Hearing 
 of the massacre at Wyoming Valley, a detach- 
 ment of four hundred men were sent to the 
 scene. Foster and his "forty," now reduced to 
 less than thirty, were among the first to arrive. 
 The sight they saw of slaughtered men and 
 mutilated women, before they reached the fort, 
 sickened them. But what they saw when they 
 got to the fort, destroyed their feelings of qualm- 
 ishness, and roused their indignation and 
 wrath. The fort had been the refuge for the 
 inhabitants of the valley: and thus crowded with 
 human beings it had been fired by the savage 
 foe. The fire, though not destroying the 
 stockade, had brought death to women and 
 children. The soldiers of the garrison, aided by 
 the men from among the refugees, had evident- 
 ly fought both the fire and the enemy to the 
 very last man. Dead men, shot, scalped, and 
 tomahawked, were found evervwhere, both out- 
 
32 
 
 Life and Adventures of 
 
 side and inside the fort, out not one was alive 
 to tell of the gallant resistance they must have 
 made. 
 
 But the most awful sight of all, was the 
 charred bodies of the women and children, lying 
 in a heap of ashes and smoldering timbers in 
 the center of the fort. They had evidently 
 taken refuge in the soldiers' barracks; and as the 
 men were shot down and killed, were left de- 
 fenceless to be literally roasted alive. The bodies 
 lay heaped together like so many logs, and were 
 burned be}^oiid recognition. Mr. Foster never 
 forgot this scene. Ever afterwards, even in his 
 old age, if he referred to it, it was with bitter, 
 wrathy and denunciatory language. 
 
 The winter c[uarters of 1779-80 were at Mor- 
 ristown, N. J. The soldiers fared better than at 
 Valley Forge, as they were better clothed, but 
 provisions were scarce. A pint of corn was often 
 the daily allowance per man; each mess put this 
 together, and pounding it up in a stone mortar, 
 they made a passable johnny cake. Occasion- 
 ally a little meat would be issued, more often 
 than not the flesh oi the horse. Towards spring 
 potatoes were issued, being procured from the 
 interior. These baked in hot ashes were a wel- 
 come addition to the bill of fare. It was during 
 one of Mr. Foster's excursions to the northern 
 
Nat Foster. 33 
 
 part of New Jersey in search of supplies at tliis 
 time, that he captured a horse which afterwards 
 played an important part in connection with the 
 pretended desertion of Sergeant John Champ, 
 in an attempt to carry out the plans of Wash- 
 ington and Lee for the capture of Arnold, after 
 his treason. In one of their journeys in search 
 of food, Foster and his men made their way to 
 the home oi an old Tory named Piser. This 
 man was known to smuggle provisions through 
 the country to the Loyalists in New York City 
 and Philadelphia, where they were sold tr, the. 
 British. Foster had heard of this man, anci so 
 this day, pushed on up the State until he ar- 
 rived at his house. Leaving his companions in 
 the yard, he boldly went to the front door of 
 the spacious mansion, and demanded of the old 
 darky who' answered his knock, to see the master. 
 ''Deed sah," said the darky, eyeing: the un- 
 kempt and ragged patriot before him, "I reckon 
 he don't see such as you." 
 
 "He don't eh?" answered Foster, ''Well, you 
 tell him to see me or FU see him, and mighty 
 quick, too." 
 
 Piser having heard the parley at the door, 
 now came forward and mildly asked Foster what 
 he wanted. 
 
34 
 
 Life and Adventures of 
 
 "To buy some provisions for the Continental 
 army," was Foster's brief answer. 
 
 "I haven't any provisions," answered Piser,. 
 *'and besides," he continued, faUing into the 
 whining tone characteristic of miserly men, 'Tf 
 I had any you couldn't pay me for them." 
 
 "Couldn't pay you for 'em," said Foster, "FU 
 give you Continental money for 'em, and any 
 patriot will take that. 
 
 But still Piser asserted that ho had no stores 
 about his place. 
 
 ''Now see here," said Foster, growing impa- 
 tient, "you've got plenty of provisions on hand, 
 and you know it. And if you don't trot 'em out,, 
 me and my men '11 take 'em away." But still he 
 declared he had none. 
 
 "You can look and see, you can look and see,, 
 but you will find nothing," said the old Tory. 
 
 "Yes, we'll look and see, and we'll find some,, 
 too," answered Foster, confidently. 
 
 He returned to his waiting companions and 
 they began a search of the barns, smoke house, 
 and other out-buildings. But as Piser had told 
 them, they found nothing. But there was an 
 old block house a short distance from the other 
 buildings, which had not been searched. It 
 stood on a slight elevation of ground, and ap- 
 parently was unused. After giving up the search 
 
Nat Foster. 
 
 35 
 
 in the barns, Foster proposed investigating this 
 building. At this Piser, who had followed them 
 about the place, assured them, in the most cour- 
 teous tones, and voluminous language, that that 
 was wholly unnecessary. The block house, he 
 told them, had been built in the days when at- 
 tacks from Indians were frequent, but had been 
 unused for a number of years. There was noth- 
 ing in it, he assured them. It was empty and 
 locked. In fact, he told them, it had been pad- 
 locked so many years that the fastenings had be- 
 come rusted, and only the other day he had 
 tried the key to it but it would not work, and 
 he had let it go. 
 
 "Oh, I assure you, sir," said he, addressing 
 Foster, "there is not the slightest necessity of 
 searching the block house." 
 
 ''Oh, no, I don't suppose there is a bit o' use," 
 said Foster, at the same time slyly winking to 
 his companions. "Howsoever we might just 
 as well, though;" he added, "I'd kinder like to 
 see how the old thing looks inside." 
 
 Accordingly he led the way to the old weather 
 beaten building and without troubling the owner 
 for the key to the lock, which did not look so 
 very rusty after all, they broke open the door 
 with the butts of tneir muskets, when lo and 
 behold, they found it filled with stores. There 
 
3^ Life and Adventures of 
 
 were eight dressed hogs, evidently ready for 
 shipment; and a large quantity of corn and 
 potatoes already sacked, also ready for ship- 
 ment. And in one corner, safely stalled, was an 
 elegant black horse as the men had ever seen. 
 The old Tory had prepared to convey the pro- 
 visions to the river that very night, and with the 
 cargo he was intending to send the black 
 charger to Gen. Clinton of the British army. 
 
 Further parlev was unnecessary. The men 
 returned to the barns in search of something in 
 w^hich to carry some of the stores away with 
 them. They found two old carts, such as were 
 then in use on many of the old colonial farms; 
 the two wheels made from solid sections of wood 
 sawed from a log, were placed at the center of 
 a spacious box. The axle was hard maple. A 
 rough pole or tongue made of a limb of a tree, 
 extended from the forward end of the box to 
 which the oxen were yoked. Although rude, 
 these carts were very serviceable, and with pa- 
 tient but sure pulling oxen, large loads could be 
 drawn on them. There was but one pair of 
 oxen about the place. These the men yoked 
 and hitched to one cart, and trailing the other 
 behind, returned to the block house where they 
 loaded both with as much of the corn and pota- 
 toes as could be piled on. Then placing four 
 
■ The old Tory was wild with rage.' 
 
Nat Foster. 37 
 
 pigs on each load, "just to bind the loads/' as 
 Foster explained to Piser, they were prepared to 
 return to camp. 
 
 The old Tory was wild with rage as he saw 
 them removing his stuff and preparing to make 
 off with it. He cursed them and the wdiole Con- 
 tinental army, from Washington down. He 
 cursed the spirit of independence which brought 
 on the war, and he cursed those who were fight- 
 ing to gain that independence. 
 
 After Foster had stood it long enough he 
 told the old man to "shut up," or he would make 
 short work of him. And when a half a dozen of 
 his comrades cocked their guns and pointed 
 them at him, the warning was apparently too 
 realistic, and he held his tongue, and remained 
 as quiet as a Iamb. When they were ready to 
 start, Foster turned to Piser and asked him if 
 he would take Continental currency for his stuff. 
 
 "No," shouted Piser, his rage bursting out 
 
 again, "ril take none of your d d currency; 
 
 it's no better than your d d government, 
 
 which will be out of existence in a short time." 
 
 "I reckon you'd think different if the light 
 was a shinin' through your old carcass," said 
 l^O'Ster. You're sO' pizenly mean I orter make 
 it shine through ye right now. It would sarve 
 you right. But seein' you're so mighty pat- 
 
38 Life and Adventures of 
 
 riotic," he continued, assuming a sarcastic air, 
 ''I guess I'll let you go and take that black hoss 
 instead." '']td&(\\3\\,'' said he, addressing one 
 •of his party, "bring out the hoss." The noble 
 steed was led out, amid the frantic protests of 
 Piser, who swore vengeance upon them for this 
 last act of taking the valuable horse. But no 
 attention was paid to him. Putting their shoul- 
 ders to the trailing cart and speaking a ''gee up" 
 to the oxen they were off. 
 
 It was the last they ever saw of the old Tory. 
 He watched them go, driving his sleek oxen and 
 leading his magnificent horse, bearing with 
 them provisions that were to bring a square 
 meal to many a hungry soldier fighting for the 
 cause of Freedom. But no such thoughts filled 
 his mind. Only the loss of his property and the 
 disappointment of not receiving a few pounds 
 of English money for it, was what occupied his 
 small soul. Cursing and shaking his fist at them 
 until they were out of sight, he returned to his 
 house to brood over his ill luck, and growl at 
 the spirit of liberty and freedom God had plant- 
 ed in the hearts of his fellow man, if not in his. 
 
 The arrival in camp of Foster and his men 
 with such a bountiful supply of provisions, was 
 hailed with delight. Although it was dark, fires 
 were started, or those already burning made to 
 
Nat Foster. 
 
 39 
 
 blaze brightly. Potatoes were distributed, and 
 a coiiple of the hogs cut up at once and passed 
 around. All went to sleep that night with a 
 full stomach, and a taste of fresh pork in tneir 
 mouths. 
 
 The handsome horse Foster brought into 
 camp was at once a center of attraction. He was 
 led up to one of the fires and examined and ad- 
 mired. Foster explained and pointed out his 
 good points. He declared that it was the sound- 
 est, fleetest, easiest riding and most gentle 
 "boss" ever raised in the Colonies. How he had 
 discovered all this during the short time the 
 horse had been in his possession, would be hard 
 to explain. But it is to be presumed that he felt 
 obliged to impress upon his fellow soldiers the 
 superiority of this particular horse which he had 
 captured from a detestable old Tor}^ 
 
 ''Why, boys," said he, addressing a fresh 
 group of admirers, ''its jest like riding in a rock- 
 ing chair, a riding him bareback; what must it 
 be when he has got a saddle on?" When asked 
 what he was going to do with the horse, he 
 said, "Why give him to the major, of course," 
 meaning Major Lee. So, after he had him- 
 self partaken of a hearty meal of potatoes and 
 pork, the former baked in hot ashes, and the 
 latter toasted at the end of a ramrod, he made 
 
40 Life and Adrciitiircs of 
 
 his way to the major's tent. Presenting himself 
 to that officer, he told him in a brief manner of 
 the clay's experiences, and ended by telling MaJ. 
 Lee that he had brought the horse expressly for 
 him. Without waiting for thanks he turned to 
 go, when the major stopped him and said: 
 
 "My good man, don't you want to join the 
 Legion?" — ,a body of men immediately connected 
 with Major Lee. 
 
 ''I'll do anything that will serve my country 
 to the best advantage," was Foster's simple 
 reply. 
 
 "Then you are just the man I want," answered 
 Major Lee, quickly, struck with the answer Fos- 
 ter gave. "You may come to my tent to-mor- 
 row night at eight o'clock and bring the horse 
 with you," and added, "he may be of great 
 service to us at once." 
 
 Foster made respectful answer, replying that 
 he would be on hand at the appointed hour, 
 and withdrew. The next night at the hour ap- 
 pointed by Major Lee, Foster repaired to the 
 major's tent, leading his black horse. He had 
 carefully groomed the animal, and had procured 
 an old bridle and saddle for it; for he felt sure 
 that Major Lee was going to assign him a duty 
 which v.'ould demand his own use of the horse 
 that night. Such proved to be the case. 
 
Nat Foster. 41 
 
 Arriviiig at officers' headquarters, he tied the 
 horse to a saph'ng, and approached the sentinel. 
 As the guard chahenged him, a tall man with 
 his face concealed by a cloak wrapped about his 
 shoulders, spoke to the sentry, and Foster was 
 allowed to pass. The stranger then beckoning 
 to Foster, led the way intO' the officer's tent, 
 where he threw off his cloak and revealed him- 
 self in the garb of a common soldier with ser- 
 geant's chevrons on his sleeves. The two men 
 gazed at each other in mutual admiration. Both 
 were types of perfect men, six feet tall and 
 straight as arrows. It was the first meeting of 
 Foster and Sergeant John Champ, though 
 each had heard of the deeds of bravery and 
 daring, and of the valor, of the other. Major 
 Lee, at this moment, entered the apartment, and 
 saluting him, the two stalwart patriots were 
 seated. Major Lee then made known the plans 
 of himself and Washington for the capture of 
 Arnold, the traitor. We are all familiar with 
 the details of Arnold's treason, who, to satisfy 
 his feelings of revenge for not receiving proper 
 rewards for his brave service at the battle of 
 Saratoga, would have betrayed his country for 
 a few thousand pounds of English money. Ver- 
 bose and complete accounts of it are found in 
 the various histories of the United .'states, 
 4 
 
42 Life and Adventures of 
 
 though, as usual, little justice is done to the fallen 
 one, or for that matter, to any of the unsuc- 
 cessful intriguers connected with the despicable 
 plot. But it is not my place now to discuss the 
 character or motives of Arnold, but to follow 
 the adventures of the father of Nat Foster, in 
 connection with the plans of Washington and 
 Lee, for the capture of the traitor; and as I have 
 not seen any detailed accounts of them in any 
 of the histories of the United States, I will give 
 them as they were told to me by a great-grand- 
 son of the elder Foster. The plans were to have 
 a trusted soldier desert to the British, and going 
 to New York City, there lay plans for the cap- 
 ture of Arnold and his return to the American 
 lines. Sergeant John Champ was the man se- 
 lected for this hazardous task; and it was to 
 arrange for the initial step that the conference 
 was now being held in Major Lee's tent. 
 Champ had been previously made aware of the 
 desperate work assigned to him, but Foster was 
 still ignorant of any of it. 
 
 Seating himself, Major Lee addressed both of 
 the men before him thus: "My brave men, you 
 have an important duty to perform. The plans 
 of Washington and myself must be carried out, 
 if possible. Since the treason of Arnold we 
 hardly know whom to trust, either among the 
 
Nat Foster. 43 
 
 officers or the men, but I feel safe in calling you 
 two men to assist us in bringing the traitor to 
 justice, and if this is accomplished Andre may 
 be saved. Arnold must be captured at his quar- 
 ters in New York. John Champ is to turn 
 traitor, desert his friends and join the British .at 
 their gun-boats down by the harbor. The time 
 of his desertion is to be this evening at mid- 
 night. He is to have, if possible, an hour and a 
 half the start, before he is pursued by men who 
 will think his desertion is sincere. And you, 
 Foster," he continued, ''are to head the Legion 
 and start after him. You must remember that 
 they will all think he is a deserter, that he is fol- 
 lowing the steps of Arnold, and the utmost cau- 
 tion must be taken by you to keep the men so 
 far behind him that pistol ball w^ill not reach 
 him. Starting from here Champ wall ride to 
 where the British ships are anchored, where he 
 will dismount and swim out to them. The 
 chase you will give will be observed by the Brit- 
 ish, and Champ will be welcomed by them as a 
 hero. He can then lay his plans for the captur- 
 ing of Arnold." 
 
 After the plans had been deliberated and 
 talked over, until each of the gallant men per- 
 fectly understood the part he was to play, they 
 prepared to retire. Champ again wrapped him- 
 
44 
 
 Life and Adventures of 
 
 self in the cloak and passing the guard un- 
 recognized, made his way through the darkness 
 to his quarters. Foster also returned to iiis 
 comrades, leaving the horse with Lee's servant 
 to give color to the idea it had been presented 
 and accepted. 
 
 As midnight approached, Cliamp took stealthy 
 leave of his sleeping companions, and made 
 his ^^■ay to a nearby thicket, where a little sorrel 
 marc was tied, already saddled and bridled. Un- 
 fastening her he led her forth, mounted and 
 started. The inside guards were passed in 
 safety. Then starting his steed into a gallop, he 
 rode rapidly towards the outposts. On the cor- 
 ner of a projecting rock stood a sentinel. As 
 the horseman approached, there rang out on 
 the clear night air the challenge: ''Halt! — Who 
 comes there?" The aproaching horseman made 
 no reply. Again the challenge was repeated, 
 and again no reply. Still again the guard chal- 
 lenged, but on came the deserter, and crack 
 went the guard's rifle as the brave sergeant 
 passed by; a button was torn from his coat, so 
 close did the sentinel fire. But still he dashed 
 on and in another instant, ere the guard had 
 time to reload his flint-lock, he had disappeared 
 in the darkness. 
 
 The faithful picket immediately called for the 
 
Nat Foster. 45 
 
 corporal of the guard, and reported the affair 
 to him, telHng him, that from the man's actions 
 and his daring conduct, he beheved that it was 
 no less a person than Sergeant Champ, and that 
 he beheved he was deserting to the British. The 
 corporal immediately reported to the officer of 
 the day what the picket had told him, and that 
 officer hastened to Lee's tent with pale face and 
 bated breath. Lee had lain down. Answering 
 his servant's summons, he arose and met the 
 captain. 
 
 "Major," exclaimed the excited captain, for- 
 getting in his excitement to salute, "a soldier 
 has passed the pickets and gone to the enemy." 
 
 Lee first reminded the captain of his breach 
 of etiquette, and then told him that the thing- 
 he reported must be a mistake. "There can not 
 be," he said, "another Arnold among my men; 
 impossible, sir." 
 
 "Yes it is, sir," answered the captain, "Ser- 
 geant Champ, the bravest man among us, has 
 passed the lines on a horse and deserted to the 
 enemy." "I don't believe it," answered Major 
 Lee, "there must be a mistake somewhere. Go 
 back and investigate it, and don't disturb me, 
 for I wish to sleep." But the persistent captain 
 was not to be put off. i say. Major," he said, 
 getting excited and impatient, "we are sure it 
 
46 Life and Adventures of 
 
 was Sergeant Champ. He was on a horse, and 
 going towards Paulus Hook. He paid no at- 
 tention to the challenges of the picket, but 
 seemed determined to pass." But again Major 
 Lee said there must be some mistake. "I don't 
 believe Champ would desert," said he, "leave 
 me, for I want to get some rest and sleep after 
 my hard ride of yesterday." And with this in- 
 junction Lee turned to go to his apartments. 
 But the faithful captain would not be put off by 
 even this; and so, after considerable delay, Lee 
 gave orders to call the Legion together, and 
 sent an orderly for Foster. The Legion assem- 
 bled and Foster, putting in his appearance, Lee 
 summoned him before the troopers. He told 
 him that he, knowing the roads, was to lead the 
 Legion in pursuit and gave him the black horse 
 to ride, saying it was a good horse and Foster 
 having captured and presented it to him, might 
 have the honor of riding him first. When they 
 were all ready to start, Lee shook his head 
 doubtingly and again declared that he did not 
 believe that it was possible that Champ could 
 have deserted. Detaining the Legion again, he 
 dispatched a messenger to Champ's quarters 
 under pretense of making sure that he had really 
 left the camp. While the messenger was gone 
 Lee called Foster into his tent, and again went 
 
Nat Foster. 47 
 
 o\'er with him the part he was to play in the 
 ruse. Foster was to detain the troopers on the 
 road as much as possible without causing sus- 
 picion. "Champ must not be overtaken," said 
 Lee, "ride as near to him as is expedient, but 
 for God's sake, and for the cause of our coun- 
 try, don't overtake him." Foster assured Lee 
 that he would do his utmost to make the affair 
 appear as it was intended that it should; while 
 at the same time he would protect the life of 
 Champ. They returned to the waiting men, 
 who were in their saddles, anxious to be off. 
 The orderly had returned, and now reported to 
 Major Lee that Champ was missing from his 
 place, and had undoubtedly deserted. Lee 
 seemed satisfied at this report and convinced 
 that Champ had deserted, he now seemed 
 anxious that he be captured. He appeared so 
 anxious that he detained the Legion another 
 twenty minutes, giving further directions and 
 suggestions as to the probable route taken by 
 the deserter, and the course the Legion was to 
 follow^ in pursuit of him. 
 
 At last all was ready, and at a few minutes 
 past one o'clock, as long as he could well de- 
 tain them, Lee saw the dragoons gallop ofif in 
 hot haste after the supposed traitor. He re- 
 turned to his couch and laid down, but not to 
 
48 Life and Adventures of 
 
 sleep. His bravery and coolness on the battle- 
 field could not be equaled, but the suspense he 
 was now in was of a different nature. One of his 
 bravest men was being pursued by his own 
 comrades. They in their ignorance believing 
 him to be a traitor, when in reality, no truer 
 heart ever beat for the cause of American liberty. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 BUT what of Champ and his pursuers? The 
 former was mounted on a horse selected by 
 Major Lee himself for its fleetness and endur- 
 ance. But it was a little too light for a long and 
 hard ride. He galloped easily along through 
 the darkness, while behind him, but an hour's 
 time between them, thundered the Legion in 
 hot pursuit. They had gone through a number 
 of small hamlets during the darkness, and as 
 day dawned they were l>ut a few miles north of 
 the village of Bergen. As they came to the top 
 of the hill they sighted Champ but three-fourths 
 of a mile down the road, urging his little mare 
 to the top of her speed. They set up a shout 
 as they caught sight of him and clattered down 
 the hill, feeling sure of capturing him at once, 
 l)ut he reached the top of an opposite hill and 
 disappeared over the brow with all the speed 
 imaginable. 
 
 On dashed the Legion, Foster on his black 
 charger in the lead. They quickly covered the 
 mile of road and reaching the top of the hill 
 again saw Champ, rapidly approaching the vil- 
 
50 Life and Adventures of 
 
 lage. Foster, by reason of his repeated excur- 
 sions about the State, was famiUar with the 
 roads. He knew that if Champ could pass safely 
 through the village, and cross a bridge at the 
 outskirts, with but five minutes ahead of the 
 Legion, he could successfully reach the' shore 
 opposite where the ships were probably an- 
 chored. He would then be safe from the in- 
 furiated members of the Legion, who were now 
 spurring their horses to their utmost efforts, 
 and were angrily declaring that they would 
 shoot the traitor when they came within range 
 of him, if he would not stop at their commands. 
 "This," said Foster in after years, when re- 
 lating the tale to his family, ''was the most try- 
 ing experience of my life. My companions, be- 
 lieving that Champ was .a traitor, were intent 
 on either capturing or shooting him. How to 
 prevent it, and give him the necessary start from 
 the bridge, was what now occupied my mind 
 with the liveliest kind of speculations and plans." 
 As he rapidly revolved different schemes in his 
 mind, he recollected that a short distance ahead 
 a road branched off from the main one and con- 
 nected with another, that joined the main road 
 just below the bridge. By taking this they 
 would go around the village while Champ would 
 have a straight course through the town. He 
 
Nat Foster. 51 
 
 instantly resolved to throw his party tempo- 
 rarily off the track oy taking this side road. 
 
 Accordingly as they came to it Foster reigned 
 his black charger, which all the while had kept 
 in the lead, into this side road; and the whole 
 party followed. Not until they had gone quite 
 a distance did any of the party discover the mis- 
 take. They halted and Foster, parleying with 
 them as long as possible, finally persuaded them 
 that it was the best plan to keep to the road 
 they were on; and by doing so they might suc- 
 ceed in heading Champ off at the bridge. To 
 this they finally agreed and started off again, 
 eager to reach the bridge .and capture the flee- 
 ing traitor. They came nearer capturing him 
 than Foster had intended they should. As they 
 neared the main road again below the village 
 they caught sight of Champ riding furiously to- 
 wards the bridge. The men of the Legion urged 
 their steeds to their utmost; but lost sight of 
 him as a hill hid the main road trom them. 
 Again they sighted him, and he was very near 
 the bridge. With shouts of anger and yells to 
 halt, they plunged their spurs into their horses' 
 flanks, and made a final dash to head him off. 
 Again a friendly hill hid him from their view, 
 and from their pistols too, for they were pre- 
 paring to fire. A moment later the clatter of 
 
52 
 
 Life and Adventures of 
 
 his horse's hoofs on the bridge told them of his 
 successful escape. With yells of enraged dis- 
 appointment they dashed around the foot of the 
 hill and on to the main road only to see Champ 
 dashing" away beyond the range of their pistols. 
 They were now in sight of the harbor, and of the 
 ships anchored a few rods from the shore. There 
 was yet a possibility of overhauling him before 
 he reached the shore, and they dashed on. 
 
 This finale of the chase was as successfully 
 deceptive to the British on board the man of 
 war, who were now watching the chase, as if 
 every member of the pursuing party were aware 
 of its true character. Foster, on his powerful 
 black horse, led them furiously on, while Champ 
 urged his nearly exhausted steed to a fearful 
 gallop. Pistols were discharged at the fleeing 
 sergeant, with hoarse shouts from the pur- 
 suers for him to halt or die. 
 
 On board the ships, the gunwales were lined 
 with officers, while the British tars swarmed like 
 rats up the rigging to observe the exciting chase. 
 They soon perceived that the man on the sorrel 
 horse was making for the ships, and that the 
 party headed by the large man on the hand- 
 some black horse were eager to prevent it. So 
 they cheered the fleeing man lustily, while the 
 pursuers shouted back defiance and wrath. 
 
Nat Foster. 53 
 
 Riding to the shore opposite the ships, Champ 
 dismounted, hastily pulled off his heavy riding 
 boots, and taking his sword in his teeth and his 
 pistol in his hand, plunged into the river and 
 struck out boldly for the ships. Even then, the 
 members of the Legion thought to prevent his 
 supposed desertion by his death. Riding up to 
 the bank, they discharged their pistols at him 
 as he swam. Fortunately for hmi, those hardy 
 men did not have their muskets with them, for 
 if they had he certainly would have been riddled 
 with bullets. As it was, the water was splashed 
 up all around him as the bullets struck its sur- 
 face. But the men, not being used to pistols, 
 fired very inaccurately, or otherwise the plucky 
 sergeant would certainly have been killed. Fos- 
 ter, of course, fired wide of the mark. The Brit- 
 ish on the ships sent up a mighty shout of ap- 
 proval as Champ plunged into the river and 
 struck out for the vessels. And when his pur- 
 suers began to fire at him, some of the ofBcers 
 hastily manned a gun to drive them back and 
 protect the swimmer. One shot from the can- 
 non sent them in haste from the bank to a safer 
 place. There, wath disappointment and chagrin, 
 they watched until Champ reached the side of 
 the nearest ship; a rope was thrown him and 
 he was drawn on board, amidst the cheers of 
 
54 Life and Adventures of 
 
 the officers and crews. Then they turned about 
 and rode their well-nigh exhausted steeds to the 
 village, where they stopped for a few hours' 
 rest before the return to the army. The men 
 of the Legion uttered many bitter expressions 
 of surprise and denunciation at Champ's un- 
 expected desertion. So good, so brave and ap- 
 parently so true a man they never expected 
 would be guilty of such detestable conduct as 
 deserting to the enemy; yet he had, and they 
 branded him a fit subject for the gibbet. And 
 all agreed if ever he was captured, that that 
 fate awaited him. 
 
 The magnificent black horse which had car- 
 ried Foster at the very forefront of the party 
 during the long and furious chase, had become 
 slightly lamed by an injury to the frog of one 
 oi his forward feet; and under the pretense of 
 giving the horse a longer rest, Foster remained 
 in the village while the Legion returned to 
 camp. What Foster really wanted was an op- 
 portunity to go down to the harbor that night 
 and look for a message Champ had agreed to 
 throw overboard at flood tide, if he could do so 
 unobserved. When night came on Foster made 
 his way to the shore opposite the ships. The 
 moon was just rising and cast its pale beams on 
 the rippling waves, as the tide forced them up 
 
Nat Foster. 55 
 
 the sloping bank. The ships, silent and majes- 
 tic, rode at anchor at the same places they oc- 
 cupied in the morning. Foster walked down to 
 the bank and seating himself, waited patiently 
 for an hour, watching intently the water and 
 waves along the shore. 
 
 Soon after he took his position on the shore 
 he had heard a splash in the water as if some- 
 thing had been dropped overboard. But he had 
 almost given up anything coming of it when he 
 espied dancing on the little waves a few yards 
 out a bit of firewood. Something of this kind 
 was what he had been watcUmg for, and he 
 hastened to get it with the aid of a long pole. 
 As he expected there was fastened to it a note 
 addressed to Major Lee, in the handwriting of 
 Champ. Placing the note in his bosom, he 
 mounted his trusty horse and galloped away 
 through the night to the camp of Major Lee. 
 He willingly submitted to arrest by the sentinel 
 on the outposts, and when brought before the 
 officer of the day, he was sent at once to Major 
 Lee, according to previous instructions from 
 headquarters. He then delivered the note from 
 Champ, and waited in silence while Lee eagerly 
 read it. ''So far, so good," remarked Lee, as he 
 finished its contents. 
 
 Champ had been received by the British as 
 
56 Life and Adventures of 
 
 a hero. In his note he said he had been the Hon 
 of the ship that day. During the few hours he 
 had been aboard, he had learned that Arnold 
 was to be put in command of a regiment of Loy- 
 alists, which was being raised in New York 
 City, and that he was sojourning there now. 
 Champ had decided to enlist in this regiment in 
 order to further his plans for capturing the trai- 
 tor. The ship's commander had promised to 
 put him ashore next day, with a note of 
 recommendation to Arnold. This would aid 
 him in getting into the conf!d«'nce of the traitor, 
 and bring him in personal contact with the very 
 man he wished to lay his hands on. He closed 
 his note with the request that Foster be allowe-l 
 on the following night to go to a certain spot 
 on the North river, about where Hoboken is now- 
 situated. There he would endeavor to com- 
 municate with him again. 
 
 ''Now, my good man," said Lee, as he fin- 
 ished telling Foster of what the note contained, 
 "all depends on his actions during the next few 
 days. This man Andre, who was captured with 
 Arnold's papers in his boots, may be saved, if 
 Champ is successful in capturing Arnold. I 
 will now give you a pass which will take you 
 through the lines at any hour of the day or 
 night." Receiving the pass, Foster withdrew 
 
Nat Foster. 57 
 
 and went to^ his own quarters, where, after satis- 
 fying his hunger, he gave himself up to rest and 
 skimber until mid-day. Then he arose and 
 prepared to go to Hoboken. 
 
 Mounting the black horse, which had recov- 
 ered from his lameness, he rode to the outposts, 
 and showing his pass, started off down the high- 
 way for Hoboken. His ride was far different 
 from the furious one he had taken less than 
 forty-eight hours before. Then he galloped 
 madly at the head of a party of angry men, 
 plunging through the darkness, all but himself 
 intent on capturing or shooting the traitor. 
 Champ. Now he allowed his steed to canter 
 easily along, observing with pleasing mood the 
 beauties of the scenery presented by the sur- 
 rounding country, which was just beginning to 
 be tinged with the beauties of the autumal sea- 
 son. As he passed by the place where Champ 
 had dismounted the day before and made his 
 escape to the ships, he observed that they had 
 weighed anchor and were gone. This pleased 
 him. They had undoubtedly landed Champ and 
 anchored farther out in the harbor. And on 
 reaching the place Champ had told him to wait, 
 what was his surprise to find the man-of-war 
 securely riding at anchor, only a few rods from 
 the very bluff Champ had designated as the 
 meeting place. 
 5 
 
^8 Life and Adventures of 
 
 What to do he did not know. But conclud- 
 ing to hold his position according to directions, 
 he concealed his horse in a clump of trees and 
 bushes, and as darkness settled over the river 
 seated himself under the shadow of a huge rock 
 and waited. 
 
 The nearness of the man-of-war made him 
 fear that Champ would not dare to row to that 
 point. Yet he hoped that as the darkness came 
 on, he might. The ships were so near that he 
 was obliged to exercise caution in concealing 
 himself from any possible observers on the 
 decks; while he couicl easily hear the voices of 
 the sailors as they told their stories and sang 
 their songs on the forward decks. He had 
 watched and waited scarcely an hour, however, 
 when he saw by the dim rays of the rising moon, 
 a row boat propelled by a single oarsman, com- 
 ing towards the blulTf. The occupant was evi- 
 dently a fisherman, for he was clad in a tar hat 
 and oil coat. Several small nets suspended from 
 poles, together with some fishing rods, hung 
 over the bow of the skifT. The rower guided 
 his boat under the very shadows of the frown- 
 ing men-of-war, and coming to within a few 
 rods of the blufif on which Foster was seated, 
 dropped anchor and commenced to fish. And 
 to an ordinarv observer he did fish. But al- 
 
A^fl^ Foster. 59 
 
 though he cast industriously, he hooked nothing. 
 Foster from his seat by the rock, sooii discov- 
 ered that the fisherman was evidently trying to 
 cast his line on the shore instead of in the water; 
 and what was more peculiar, there seemed to be 
 an unusual kind of bait on the hook. Champ 
 (for it was he) had disguised himself and his 
 actions so well that even Foster had failed to 
 recognize him. Surmising now^ that it \vas 
 Champ, Foster gave a slight cough, which was 
 instantly answered by the occupant of the boat. 
 
 ''Hist, cast a little farther," muttered Foster, 
 under his breath. 
 
 Champ heard him and casting a little farther, 
 landed, almost at Foster's feet, a small packet of 
 paper fastened to the end of his line. Detach- 
 ing it and casting the line into the water, Foster 
 stole away in the darkness, leaving Champ to 
 confirm the deception he was practicing upon 
 the British in the ships, by really fishing for half 
 an hour before returning to the New York 
 shore. 
 
 Long before a streak of day had appeared, 
 Foster had delivered the note to Lee. It stated 
 that Champ had seen Arnold and presented the 
 note from the naval commander. Arnold seemed 
 pleased to meet him, and had promised to give 
 him an important position in his regiment, when 
 
6o Life and Adventures of 
 
 they went south. After registering, Champ had 
 been given his Hberty; and he had improved it 
 by finding the whereabouts of Arnold's lodgings. 
 They were situated on the bank of the North 
 river, and by interviewing an old darky servant 
 of the place, he had learned that in the cool of 
 the evening before he had retired for the night,. 
 Arnold was in the habit of walking in the gar- 
 den of the place, which went down to the water's. 
 edge. Champ immediately conceived the idea 
 of seizing Arnold some dark night as he was 
 thus taking his evening promenade, and bund- 
 ling him into a boat, convey him to a party 
 waiting across the river. 
 
 All of these facts and plans Champ transmit- 
 ted in his note to Lee. This was the first of 
 several notes Champ sent to his commander by 
 Foster, all of them cast ashore on a fish line and 
 under the very nose of British gunboats. They 
 would be most interesting and valuable now, if 
 they had been preserved and could be given 
 verbatim, but as far as we know they were not 
 saved and we have only the traditions in the 
 Foster family to depend on for their contents. 
 Foster was on hand at the bluff the next night, 
 and for several nights afterwards. Each time^ 
 under the guise of a fisherman, Champ rowed 
 across the river under the prows of the men-of- 
 
Nat Foster. 6r 
 
 war, and cast his communication to the waiting 
 Foster. 
 
 Finally Champ gave the information that his 
 plans were nearly matured, and asked that a 
 posse be in waiting the next night, to receive 
 the traitor he was now sure of capturing. 
 
 His plans as outlined in his various notes to 
 Lee, are most interesting; and, if the traditions 
 concerning them have beeen correctly preserved 
 by the Fosters, are valuable additions to our 
 histories of the war of the Revolution. They 
 are to the effect that Champ made the acquaint- 
 ance of a lady admirer of Major Andre, a sweet- 
 heart in fact. To her Champ made known his 
 real character and his mission to capture and re- 
 turn to the American lines the traitor Arnold; 
 telling her that if this was accomplished, he 
 whom she admired and loved might be saved 
 from the death of a spy. She, of course, in- 
 stantly consented to aid him with all of her 
 powTr, and soon enlisted in her services her 
 colored male servant and a white man who was 
 secretly a patriot. 
 
 Their plans were well laid, and on the night 
 on which Champ had asked Lee to send a posse 
 with Foster to Hoboken, they were to seize and 
 gag Arnold as he took his usual walk in his 
 garden, and hustling him into a skif¥, were to 
 
62 Life and Adventures of 
 
 row him across the river to the American army. 
 Acting upon the request of Champ, Lee selected 
 five trusted men, swore them to secrecy, and 
 then revealed to them the plan, and sent them 
 with Foster to the position designated by 
 Champ, which was about a quarter of a mile 
 north of the bluff he had been occupying for 
 the past few nights. 
 
 All night long this little party watched up and 
 down the river at Hoboken. The men-of-war 
 had changed their positions, and anchored a 
 mile away, lower down the harbor, so they were 
 no longer to be feared. Yet the brave sergeant 
 and his coveted prize did not appear. What 
 could keep him? Had his plans failed? Had he 
 been unsuccessful in his endeavors to capture 
 Arnold? These and other like questions Foster 
 and his companions asked each other the whole 
 night long, as they patroled the shore and 
 watched the river in the darkness. As day be- 
 gan to dawn they were forced to abandon all 
 hope and concluded that Champ, in his attempt 
 to seize the traitor, had been resisted and killed. 
 Disappointed and disheartened, Foster and his 
 companions returned to their camp. 
 
 What was the matter? That very day on 
 which Champ had completed his well laid plans, 
 and was waiting only for the night to carry 
 
Nat Foster. 6-^ 
 
 them out, Arnold had been ordered to prepare 
 to go with his regiment of Loyahsts tO' Virginia, 
 and so did not go to his lodgings that night, 
 but remained at the quarters of his regiment. 
 Champ having enlisted in the same regiment, 
 was obliged to remain at the barracks too; so 
 that he could not even row out on his nightly 
 fishing excursion and apprise the waiting and 
 expectant party of the failure of his plans. 
 
 Had the order for Arnold's movement south 
 been delayed but twenty-four hours, the traitor, 
 in all probability, would have been captured, 
 and he, instead of Andre, would have been 
 hung, and that portion of our country's history 
 changed completely. 
 
 During the time Champ was in the British 
 lines it was not believed that he was suspected 
 of acting the part of a spy by either the British 
 or by his former comrades in the American 
 army. They both believed him sincere. He 
 was obliged to accompany Arnold's regiment 
 to Virginia, but at the very first opportunity de- 
 serted and made his way to Major Lee's corps, 
 which was then in the vicinity. 
 
 As he entered the lines he was greeted with 
 jeers and hisses, and finally was arrested and 
 marched off to headquarters. Foster was ' 
 standing in front of Lee's tent as Champ was 
 
64 Life and Adrcntiircs of 
 
 brought in. "My God," he exclaimed, as he 
 caught sight of Champ between the guards, "I 
 thought you lost or dead. 
 
 It was an affecting scene. The two stalwart 
 men embracing each other with tears in their 
 eyes; and as they stood there clasping each 
 other's hands, they heard a noise at the tent door 
 behind them. Turning they saw Major Lee ap- 
 proaching; again they saluted him together as 
 they had done many months before. After ac- 
 knowledging the graceful courtesy, Lee ad- 
 vanced and grasping Champ by both hands, 
 welcomed him with tears streaming down his 
 face. Not until this spectacle afforded them, 
 did the guards and others standing about (many 
 of whom figured in the exciting pursuit of 
 Champ) suspect the true character and import 
 of his desertion on that memorable night. Now 
 they realized that it was some secret work that 
 he had gone to do, and many a coat sleeve was 
 drawn across the eyes as the hardy men recol- 
 lected their angry chase and denunciatory ex- 
 pressions of opinion of him afterwards. They 
 now crowded about the brave sergeant with 
 greetings and apologies, extended in their rough 
 but thoroughly sincere manner. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 LET us now return to that humble home in 
 Hindsdale, New Hampshire, and see what 
 was going on there while the husband and 
 father was passing through the exciting scenes 
 and incidents of the war, and enduring the pri- 
 vations and destitutions of the seven years' 
 struggle for liberty. They lacked but little of 
 being as hard at home and among the mem- 
 bers of that patriotic family, as were the ex- 
 periences of the loved one who was absent. 
 
 It will be remembered that Mr. Foster left for 
 the seat of war on the first of February. Fie 
 had seen to it that they were well supplied with 
 food and fuel, enough to last them until spring. 
 He had worked up a huge pile of wood, and 
 corded it near the cabin, while corned and cured 
 meat, such as pork, venison, and bear meat, 
 enough for the winter, had been provided in the 
 fall, so they lived fairly well. As the spring ap- 
 proached, Mrs. Foster began preparations to till 
 the soil as best she could in the absence of her 
 husband. 
 
66 Life and Adventures of 
 
 There were but few men in the whole town- 
 ship. The majority of them being away to war. 
 All of the Tories, with the exception of the Wil- 
 son family, had removed to Boston. The few 
 men that were left, however, generously gave 
 such aid as they could to the families of the 
 absent patriots. All but Wilson; he was still 
 bitter against the cause of the Colonies: And 
 "Billy" Wilson (as the people of the township 
 called him) was anything but beloved by them. 
 A kind neighbor of Mrs. Foster plowed her 
 land. And with her own hands she planted the 
 seeds. Corn and flax were sown, and potatoes 
 planted. The older children worked with a will, 
 and with the aid of their half-grown strength, 
 she looked after the crops faithfully during the 
 summer, harvesting them in good shape in the 
 fall. 
 
 Elisha and Nat trapped and hunted inces- 
 santly. But their great drawback was the need 
 of a good gun to shoot with. Their father owned 
 two guns, but had taken the best one with him. 
 The remaining one the boys would carry into 
 the woods, and although unable to shoot with- 
 out a rest, they would often be successful in 
 bagging small game. The gun being a smooth 
 bore, could not bring down any of the larger 
 game they often had the opportunity of shoot- 
 
A' at Foster. 61 
 
 ing. This, as can be readily imagined, was a 
 great irritation to the boys, particularly when 
 they would see a noble moose or deeer stalking 
 serenely by them beyond the reach of their 
 buckshot. 
 
 When, at length, they encountered a panther 
 in a tall sycamore tree, and failed to bring it 
 down with repeated shots from their smooth 
 bore, their indignation knew no bounds. They 
 immediately went to the tow-n store, two miles 
 away, and, manlike, contracted w^ith the pro- 
 prietor of the store for a rifle, to be paid for from 
 the pelts and skins of such animals as they 
 might shoot or trap. The boys obtained their 
 precious gun by the middle of the summer, and 
 then the deer, moose and other large game be- 
 gan to sufifer. Even though they had not the 
 strength of manhood, their marksmanship was 
 accurate. Young Nat, who was but nine years 
 old, was even a better shot than Elisha, who was 
 two years his senior. And though he could not 
 fire either gun without the recoil knocking him 
 over, still he never failed to bring down his 
 game. They soon had enough wild meat corned 
 and cured to last them through the approach- 
 ing winter. And this, with the successful har- 
 vesting of the crops, put all fears of a lack of 
 food from Mrs. Foster's mind. But what s^ave 
 
68 Life and Adventures of 
 
 her the greatest anxiety, was the question of 
 clothing for her children. Their large flock of 
 sheep had been sadly depleted by the depreda- 
 tions of the Indians before Mr. Foster went 
 away; and the wool from the three or four re- 
 maining ones would not furnish enough mate- 
 rial for socks for the family, to say nothing of 
 shirts, trowsers and jackets for the boys, and 
 dresses and petticoats for the girls. Her only 
 resource was to rough linen, made from the 
 flax she had grown. This she had cultivated 
 with great care, and safely harvested it. So 
 working it up from the rough, by the laborious 
 -process of pounding, carding, spinning, and 
 weaving, she made passable clothing for her 
 brood of little ones. 
 
 As the autumn came, the boys turned their 
 attention to the working up of a supply of win- 
 ter's wood. They would go into the woods and 
 chop down immense trees, and hitching their 
 ox team to the logs, drag them to the cabin, 
 where Mrs. Foster, herself, would aid them in 
 splitting and chopping them into sections of the 
 proper size for burning in their one fire place. 
 But although they prepared an immense amoimt 
 of wood, before the winter was half gone, their 
 supply was exhausted. Then the boys, in the 
 midst of the cold and stormv weather, would 
 
Nat Foster. 69. 
 
 work from day to day at wood chopping. In 
 this occupation they resorted to a device for 
 keeping their feet warm, which was both unique 
 and original, and also shows their unprotected 
 condition. They had no socks to protect their 
 feet from the cold, only rude moccasins made 
 by themselves from deerskin. So in order to 
 keep their feet warm, and permit them to work 
 at their wood chopping, without losing time to 
 go beside the fire to get warm, they split a 
 beech log into sections, five or six inches in 
 thickness. Then hewing them down smooth 
 with an ax, they would place them by the fire 
 and heat them as much as possible without 
 igniting them. To the choppers' yard one of 
 the boys would then run out with one of the 
 heated blocks and placing it on the chips, the 
 one chopping would stand upon it while he 
 worked. As it became cold, it would be re- 
 placed with one fresh from the fireplace. In 
 this manner the boys worked on day after day, 
 until gentle spring came again, and released 
 them from their struggle with the cold. It is 
 needless to say that after this experience the 
 boys always laid in wood enough to last through 
 the entire winter. 
 
 As each season came and went the children 
 increased in size and strength, doing each year 
 
70 Life and Adventures of 
 
 a greater amount of work for the common wel- 
 fare of the family. 1 iie boys early attained their 
 growth. Iheir muscles were knit into sinews 
 of iron by tlieir sturdy labor in field and wood, 
 and by the time Elisha and Nat were fourteen 
 or fifteen years of age, they easily did the work 
 of men. 
 
 Many and varied were the experiences and 
 adventures of these boys. Together they were 
 the ''head of the famuy in the matter of work- 
 ing the farm and otherwise providing for the 
 Avants of all. 
 
 It was one summer day during the second 
 year of their father's absence that they had their 
 first and last serious difficulty with Indians. 
 Previously they had been frequently visited by 
 wandering red men, who would apply for some- 
 thing to eat, always helping themselves, if what 
 was oiTered them was not satisfactory. They 
 often carried away with them a considerable 
 quantity of the family's supply of provisions, 
 and there being no men around they were never 
 resisted. They often compelled the boys to turn 
 their grindstone for them to sharpen their knives 
 and tomahawks, occasionally amusing them- 
 selves by threatening to tomahawk and scalp 
 them. They would take hold of one of the 
 children, and encircling its head with the back 
 
Nat Foster. 71 
 
 of a knife (after the manner of scalping) would 
 show the trembling children how the thing was 
 done. 
 
 On the occasion mentionea, a party of ten In- 
 dians came to the cabin and demanded venison 
 and "fire water." The latter they did not have, 
 but of the former, Mrs. Foster gave them a 
 large piece she had already cooked for the 
 household. They did not seem at all disposed 
 to hurry away, but made themselves at home, 
 making a meal of the haunch of venison and 
 some corn bread Mrs. Foster had in the house. 
 Elisha and Nat viewed these proceedings with 
 ill-concealed contempt, and when they dis- 
 patched Nat to a spring to fill their jug with 
 water, he went only out of sight of the cabin and 
 filled it from a stagnant frog pond. While he 
 was absent the Indians began to ransack the 
 cabin for the barrels of venison they knew must 
 be about, but also collecting whatever met their 
 fancy. Elisha, whose indignation now kiiew no 
 bounds, met Nat on his return and informed 
 him of the Indians' doings. He, of course, be- 
 came as mad as Elisha, and together they hur- 
 ried to the cabin, determined to do something 
 to stop the lawless proceedings. Going to the 
 chief they commenced their angry protests. He 
 paid no attention to their vehement language, 
 
72 ' Life and Adventures of 
 
 however, but reaching out his hand, took the 
 jug of water Nat had brought and placing it to 
 his mouth, proceeded to take a long and deep 
 draught. One gurgle of the foul water down his 
 throat roused his wrath. Setting the jug down, 
 he uttered a command in his own dialect to the 
 others, and they seized Nat, bound him, 
 dragged him from the cabin, and fastened him 
 to a tree. Then brandishmg their tomahawks, 
 they danced about the fettered youth, who re- 
 mained as stolid as one of their own chiefs in a 
 war council. 
 
 But consternation filled the rest of the family. 
 With a scream of terror, Mrs. Foster threw her- 
 self on her knees before the chief and besought 
 him to spare her boy. He, still thinking of the 
 undiscovered venison, told her he would re- 
 lease the boy for a gooci supply of that article. 
 "Take it," said Mrs. Foster, "take everything, 
 only spare my boy." She led the w^ay to an 
 outer cellar behind the cabin where the venison 
 was concealed, and allowed them to help them- 
 selves. After doing so and nearly emptying a 
 whole barrel in the process, they gathered up 
 the clothing and blankets of skin they had col- 
 lected and took their departure, leaving Nat 
 still tied to the tree. He was released from his 
 position by Elisha, and together the angry and 
 
Nat Foster. 73 
 
 incautious lads would Iiave set out after the In- 
 dians with their guns if not restrained by their 
 mother. Nat was so angered that he declared 
 an Indian would never lay hands on him again 
 and live ; a threat wliich he fully verified in after 
 life. 
 
 When chided by his mother for bringing stag- 
 nant water instead of fresh spring water to the 
 Indians, and reminded by her of the nearly fatal 
 results of his doing so, he declared that he did 
 not care, that "frog water was good enough for 
 the Injun whelps." 
 
 During the same summer, after this trouble 
 with the Indians, the boys had a serious en- 
 counter with an old female panther. It hap- 
 pened in this wise. A bear was seen to cross 
 the clearing surrounding the cabin one morn- 
 ing and disappear in the woods. They imme- 
 diately abandoned the work they were engaged 
 in, got their guns and started in pursuit. As 
 the bear had a considerable start in the woods, 
 they were obliged to follow him by trail. Fol- 
 lowing it quite a distance they observed, as they 
 supposed, that the bear had suddenly changed 
 its course, and started ofT at right angles to his 
 former one. They immediately started in the 
 new direction, with eager expectation of over- 
 taking bruin. Thev went out a little ways be- 
 
74 l-ifc and Adventures of 
 
 fore they did start up game; not the bear, but 
 instead, an ugly old female panther, with two 
 kittens under her maternal care. The kittens 
 were not over two days old, and evidently had 
 only just got their eyes open, and were out for 
 their first promenade. The old panther sprang 
 into a hemlock tree as the boys approached her 
 lair, and lashing the boughs with her tail, pre- 
 pared to spring upon them. A hasty, very 
 hasty council of war was held by the )'oung 
 hunters. Elisha, who carried the old smooth 
 bore, told Nat to fire first, while he would re- 
 serve his charge of buckshot for a contest at 
 close range if it became necessary. 
 
 Nat accordingly took careful aim, using the 
 side of a tree for a rest, and fired. The rifle, as 
 usual, kicked him over, but a scream of pain 
 from the panther told him that his bullet had 
 reached its mark. Screeching with pain and 
 fury, the panther scrambled to the very top of 
 the tree and turned to spring, but fell to the 
 ground. The boys shouted with joy, supposing 
 she was dead. But not so — up she jumped the 
 moment she struck the ground, and with long 
 leaps made towards tUe boys. Elisha now aimed 
 his smooth l^ore across the shoulders of Nat, who 
 knelt down to afiford his brother this rest, and 
 fired into the very face of the panther, as he 
 
Nat Foster. 75 
 
 was scarcely twelve feet away. The peppery 
 buckshot was effectual. With another leap she 
 fell dead at their very feet. It was a narrow- 
 escape for the boys, but they were as cool and 
 indifferent as mature men. Nat said he did not 
 know which was worse, to shoot panthers or 
 iight Injuns." 
 
 After skinning the panther, they looked 
 around for the young ones and found them 
 under the shelter of a huge rock, and mewing 
 piteously for their mother. The boys took them 
 home and kept them for some time; but as they 
 grew larger and more playful, they also became 
 more troublesome, so they were killed and the 
 bounties for them obtained from the town. This 
 bounty obtained for the slaughter of bears, 
 wolves and panthers, though very small during 
 the war, was about the only source of cash rev- 
 enue the lads had, and the few shillings they 
 obtained from the town in this wa}' enabled 
 them to keep going with tolerable fairness. 
 
 One night Nat started after the cows rather 
 late, and being in a great hurry, did not stop to 
 get a gun, as he usually did on going into the 
 woods. The Fosters nad no pasture fenced in. 
 The land about the cabin whereon the crops 
 were grown, was surrounded by a stone and log- 
 fence, and the herd was allowed to roam at will. 
 
76 Life and Adventures of 
 
 This evening they had wandered an unusual 
 distance into- the woods, and it was dusk before 
 Nat located them by the tinkle of the bell on 
 the leader. He rounded them up at once and 
 started them off home at a brisk walk. They 
 seemed somewliat frightened and loath to pro- 
 ceed, which immediately aroused Nat's suspicion 
 that a wolf or panther had driven them into the 
 woods, and was probably now lurking about. 
 They had proceeded but a little ways on the 
 homeward path ere his suspicions were con- 
 firmed by a monstrous panther, with its usual 
 scream, springing from a tree, directly for the 
 cow leading. He missed her, however, and dis- 
 appeared in the brush. The frightened cows 
 now started on a run, their terror increased by 
 Nat's hallooing and shouting for somebody to 
 bring a gun. The family heard him, and Elisha 
 started, staggering under the weight of both 
 the smooth bore and rifle. He met Nat at the 
 bars in the fence, and Mrs. Foster and the girls 
 taking charge of the cows, the boys returned to 
 the woods and commenced to hunt for the pan- 
 ther. But although they went a long distance 
 into the woods and were beyond the cow path, 
 not a sign of a panther did they see. Giving it 
 up at last, they turned their steps homeward. 
 Darkness had now fallen upon them, and they 
 
Nat Foster. jy 
 
 had only the moon to hgliten their path. As 
 they approached the bars again, Nat espied what 
 looked very much hke a rock or boulder moving 
 among the stones scattered about the fence and 
 bars. "Hist," said he, "there's the painter," at 
 the same time raising his rifle and firing. With 
 one of its blood-curding screeches the panther 
 bounded to the top of the wall. There it stood 
 but an instant, crouching upon the stones, an- 
 grily lashing its yellow sides with its tail, its 
 agile form dimly outlined by the feeble rays of 
 the moon, showing the devil's own look in its 
 eyes. Elisha was a lad of deliberate action, and 
 probably if Nat had waited for him to shoot, 
 one or both of them would have been seriously 
 injured by the now furious animal. But Nat 
 was not of the slow moving kind, but quick as 
 a flash, as his conduct now showed; springing 
 to his feet, for the rifle had kicked him over, as 
 usual, he snatched the smooth bore from his 
 brother's hands and sent its charge of buckshot 
 between the glaring eyes of the panther, and 
 with another scream and a mighty leap into the 
 air, it fell dead. 
 
 It had evidently followed the fleeing cows and 
 shouting boy to the edge of the forest, and there 
 hirked about, only kept from attacking the cows 
 by the women's voices, as tney got them into 
 
78 Life and Adventures of 
 
 their proper enclosure and prepared to milk 
 them. The boys, not expecting to find it so 
 near the cabin, had passed it as they went into 
 the woods. And only Nat's eagle eye detected 
 it on their return from the search in the woods. 
 
 One night the family was awakened by the 
 violent squealing of the pigs, which for greater 
 safety were kept in a sty near the cabin. Nat, 
 without stopping for the ceremony of dressing, 
 seized the rifle and made his way out into the 
 night. There was a bright moon, and he in- 
 stantly discovered an immense black bear mak- 
 ing off with one of me half grown pigs in his 
 embrace, the latter piercing the clear night air 
 wath its lusty squeals. How to shoot the bear 
 without killing the pig at the same time was 
 Nat's first thought. But as the bear was rapidly 
 escaping, he dismissed this from his mind and 
 started in pursuit, the tails of his tow shirt flying 
 in the gentle breeze. Coming to within what he 
 would call a "healthy distance," he fired. With 
 a groan the bear fell in a heap, the pig under- 
 neath, and the sudden cessation of its agonized 
 squeals told him that if he had not shot it, its 
 life had certainly been crushed out by the weight 
 of the bear. 
 
 Bruin proved to be wounded in the shoulder. 
 Rising on its hind legs it immediately showed 
 
A^at Foster. 79 
 
 fight. At this Nat, having" no ammunition with 
 him, shouted to the members of the family to 
 bring himi the powder horn and bullet pouch. 
 The deliberate Elisha had stopped to don his 
 trowsers and load the smooth bore. He now 
 appeared with that favorite fowling piece in his 
 hands, accompanied by little Solomon carrying 
 the powder and balls. 
 
 A grotesque scene met their eyes, and con- 
 vulsions of laughter seized tliem. Elisha, with 
 his characteristic manner, sat down on a log, 
 and commenced to hug himself as a paroxysm 
 of laughter laid hold of ..im, while Solomon 
 shouted to the family to "come quick and see 
 Nat and the bear dance." There was the bear, 
 reared on its hind legs, bending over the body 
 of poor pig, growling fiercely and pawing the 
 air with its one good fore paw, endeavoring to 
 land a blow at Nat; the latter was dancing about 
 him, his bare legs flashing in the moonlight, 
 giving the bear an occasional blow on the head 
 with the butt of the rifle, or a poke in the ribs 
 with the end of the barrel. The rear tail of his 
 shirt was trailing on the ground behind him, 
 fastened to the garment proper by a single shred, 
 it having been nearly torn off by the bear's land- 
 ing a blow on his rear as he careened around 
 its crouching body. This kind of sport did not 
 
8o Life and Adventures of 
 
 suit Nat; neither did the amusement he was 
 affording his brothers, on account of his posi- 
 tion and appearance soothe him. But he did not 
 cease an instant to engage the ])ear's attention. 
 He continued to parry with him as industriously 
 as ever, while he shouted to Elisha to let the bear 
 have the charge in his gun. 
 
 "Shoot 'em, 'Lish, shoot 'em, I tell you," said 
 he. "Stop your laughin' and shoot 'em," he ex- 
 claimed, growing more excited as he dodged a 
 blow aimed at him by the bear and gave the 
 brute .a savage poke in the side with the gun, 
 which nearly pushed the animal over. 
 
 "Lo-lo-look out for you legs, Nat," ex- 
 claimed Elisha, "he'll claw em." And he went 
 off into another fit of laughter, without appar- 
 ently having heard Nat's appeal to him to shoot. 
 
 "Nat, if you doii't look out, he'll tear your 
 best shirt offen you," said little Solomon, as he 
 danced about at a safe distance from the dancing- 
 bear and hopping youth. 
 
 "You shet up and gimme that powder," re- 
 torted Nat, now thoroughly disgusted with the 
 conduct of his brothers. 
 
 "Well, come and get it then," said Solomon, 
 holding it out at arm's length, cautiously keep- 
 ing at a safe distance from the contesting bear 
 and boy, "I aint going to give him a chance to 
 tear mv shirt." 
 
Nat Foster. 8i 
 
 Nat seized the proffered liorn, poured a 
 ■charge into the gun, and, forgetting in his ex- 
 citement to put in a ball, fired point blank into 
 the bear's face. 
 
 "O-O-Oh!" shouted Elisha, "tha-tha-that 
 only scorched his eyebrows,'' and he went off 
 into another fit of laughter. 
 
 It was true that the charge of pow^der had 
 scorched the bear's eyebrows; but it did more. 
 It burned his nose, blinded his eyes, and greatly 
 increased his fury. Dropping on his three legs 
 (the fourth had been shattered by Nat's first 
 shot) he limped blindly, but with wonderful 
 rapidity towards the seated Elisha, who was 
 again hugging himself and swaying his body 
 back and forth, Nat's powder charge having 
 tickled him so. But a shout of warning from 
 Nat and his little brother, brought him to his 
 senses. Ceasing nis laughter, he looked up, 
 and gazed almost directly in the wide open jaws 
 of the enraged bear, as it was making towards 
 him. Then for the first time, he realized that 
 the struggle that had afforded them so much 
 amusement, was of a really serious nature, and 
 rousing himself to action, he seized the ever 
 ready smooth bore, which until now had rested 
 at his feet, and gallantly met the charge of the 
 on-coming bear. It was already almost upon 
 
82 Life and Adventures of 
 
 him. Without putting the gun to his shoulder^ 
 he thrust the muzzle into the bear's mouth and 
 fired the contents of the gun down its throat. 
 With a growl, a snort and a wheeze from his 
 lacerated windpipe, the poor beast gave up the 
 gallant fight it had been maintaining, and laid 
 down and died. 
 
 Although the family could ill-afiford to lose 
 the pig, yet they estimated that they got more 
 meat from the bear's carcass, (which was a large 
 one), than they would have gotten from the 
 pig had they been enabled to fatten it. So bar- 
 ing the damage of Nat's tow shirt, the night's 
 adventure was a clear gain. 
 
 The boys once caught an eagle in a trap set 
 for wolves. The trap was fastened to a drag or 
 small log, in order to allow a wolf caught in it 
 to pull himself about a little. Often a wolf 
 caught in a trap securely fastened to a tree or a 
 log he could not move, would deliberately chew 
 his foot off and thus make his escape. In order 
 to avoid this, the boys always set their wolf traps 
 fastened to a small billet of wood, which would 
 admit of the animal's slow progress through the- 
 woods after being caught. They were always 
 able to track and overtake him by means of the 
 trail made by the drag. 
 
 The eagle caught was a large and powerful. 
 
Nat Foster. 83 
 
 one, and would rise into the air the length of 
 the chain fastened to the trap, even lifting from 
 the ground one end of the small log to which 
 it was fastened; but the weight was too great 
 to admit of his flying away. 
 
 Nat was the one to discover the bird in the 
 trap, and he immediately rushed into a close 
 contest, intent on subduing and taking the eagle 
 alive. He as quickly retreated, however, and it 
 would be supposed .a sadder and wiser boy. The 
 eagle, with its one free foot, its beak and wings, 
 gave him such a clawing, pecking and beating 
 that, when he presented himself at the cabin to 
 report the eagle in the trap, and secure assist- 
 ance in capturing it, the family hardly knew 
 him. His tow shirt had fared worse than in his 
 memorable encounter with the bear. It was, 
 in fact, nearly torn from his body. His trow- 
 sers were a sight to behold; while blood 
 streamed from his nose, and from numerous 
 cuts and scratches on his face and shoulders. 
 He staunched the flow of blood at the wash 
 basin, while he related to the family his encoun- 
 ter with the eagle. 
 
 Meanwhile Elisha bustled about, procuring 
 ropes, an ax, and the trusty smooth bore, in 
 case they found it necessary to shoot the bird. 
 Nat, having stopped the flow of blood, washed 
 
84 Life and Adi'enturcs of 
 
 his face, pinned up his clothes with what was 
 his ever ready fasteners, thorns, started with his 
 brother to secure the bird. Having- arrived, 
 they decided after discussing the situation, that 
 the free leg of the eagle must be first captured 
 and bound to the one in the trap. Nat accord- 
 ingly formed a slip noose in one of the ropes, 
 and again rushed in on tlie powerful bird. One 
 would naturally think that his former treatment 
 from it would have taught him a lesson. But 
 it apparently had made no impression on his 
 mind, though it had on his body. For a few 
 moments he and the eagle were hopelessly 
 mixed. Feathers filled the air; clothes were 
 ripped afresh; the thorn pins flew in every 
 direction, w-hile the eagle screamed with rage 
 and fury, and Nat yelled lustily, probably more 
 from the same cause than from the hurts he was 
 getting. At last he laid a firm hold on the free 
 leg of the bird, but in the struggle he had 
 dropped the rope. However, he would net let 
 go, not he. He continued his tussle until he 
 landed the bird on its back; then he shouted to 
 Elisha to get a forked stick and pin its head to 
 the ground. Elisha seized the ax and plunged 
 into the brush to cut the desired article, but as 
 usual in cases of excitement and hurry, he could 
 not readily find a stick with the proper crotch. 
 
Nat Foster. 85 
 
 Meanwhile, Nat had unwarily released with one 
 hand his grasp and reached out to get the rope 
 lying near. Whereupon the eagle renewed its 
 struggles. Again they fought, the l^ird some- 
 times on top, terribly beating the lad with its 
 wings; the next instant Nat on top endeavoring 
 to throw the bird down. But again he mastered 
 it, and Elisha at last appearing with the stick, 
 succeeded in fastening its head to the ground 
 by placing the forks of the stick across its neck, 
 thus effectively shutting off its wind. Then it 
 was an easy matter to bind its legs, and a cord 
 around its throat kept up tne "shutting off" pro- 
 cess on its windpipe ; thus the bird was conveyed 
 home and laid at the cabin door, admired by the 
 whole family. The boys constructed a cage of 
 poles and kept the bird captive the rest of the 
 sunnuer. Its leg, broken by the trap, soon 
 healed and it grew quite tame, and would cackle 
 and scream in the morning for its breakfast of 
 fresh meat, which the boys, by their hunting, 
 always had in abundance. They named the pet 
 "Old Put" in memory of Gen. Putnam, with 
 whose fame they were familiar. 
 
 Old Put w^as, of course, a great favorite with 
 the whole family, but he soon became a trouble- 
 some one. He proved very destructive to their 
 hens and chickens. The cunning: bird would 
 
S6 Life and Adventures of 
 
 stand near the bars of his cage, his broken leg 
 drawn up under his bod}^ his eyes drooping and 
 nearly closed, and to all appearances sound 
 asleep. But let an unwary chick come within 
 range of his beak, — quick as a flash he would 
 thrust his head through the bars, seize the un- 
 fortunate fowl by the neck, and drawing it into 
 his enclosure, quickly dispatch it. So Old Put 
 was finally given his libert}-. The boys 
 particularly disliked to part with him, for they 
 had fought to hard for his capture to let him 
 go without regrets. But when the door of his 
 cage was opened, he gladly availed himself of 
 the opportunity to take his flight, and they 
 Avatched him as he sailed away towards the 
 mountains, finally becoming to them but a tiny 
 speck against the blue sky. 
 
 But the liberation of Old Put was not the 
 last seen of him, however; one day early in the 
 following spring, they observed an immense 
 eagle hovering about their clearing, and soon 
 discovered by his crooked leg it was Old Put. 
 They were all delighted, and the boys rejoiced; 
 but when he carried ofif a number of their barn 
 3^ard fowds and two of tneir spring lambs, they 
 were forced to pocket their sentiment and shoot 
 him. Thus was the interesting career of Old 
 Put brought to a melancholy and untimely end. 
 
Nat Foster. 87 
 
 Every person has a romance in his Hfe, and 
 Nat's had its beginning during this period of 
 his Hfe, though it did not cuhiiinate until he had 
 attained man's estate. 
 
 We have spoken of "Billy Wilson," as the 
 plain towns people called their aristocratic and 
 Tory townsman; we have also spoken of the 
 daughter of Mr. Wilson, whom he sent to Bos- 
 ton to school. She was his only child, and the 
 pride of his heart. During the periods she was 
 at home, she in some way made the acquaint- 
 ance of Nat, and formed a deep attachment for 
 him. She was a year or two his senior; but as 
 he was a strong and healthy lad, he became her 
 constant companion and protector in her ram- 
 bles and strolls in the woods and fields for ber- 
 ries, acorns and nuts. He could climb the 
 highest trees and go out on the most dangerous 
 branches to shake down the nuts for her. While 
 he knew the best berry patches and the choicest 
 places to gather wild grapes and mandrakes. 
 Little Mary was with Nat so much that her 
 father became quite attached to the lad, and 
 probably if his father had not been a patriot, 
 would have made more of the boy. One time, 
 after Mary had spent the winter and spring at 
 school in Boston, she returned home with her 
 mind filled with plans of berrying, nutting and 
 
88 Life and Adventures of 
 
 rambling with Nat Foster. As soon as she ar- 
 rived home, her first inquiry was in regard to 
 Nat; and the next morning she put on a sun- 
 bonnet, took a spUnt basket on her arm, and 
 called to see Mrs. Foster, incidently to see if 
 Nat could go berrying with her. Nat was glad 
 to see her, of course, and it was readily arranged 
 that he might accompany her to where there 
 were some luscious blackberries, he had dis- 
 covered only the day before. 
 
 Taking the rifle, Nat started away with Mary 
 at his side. She was full of news of her school 
 life in Boston; and she entertained him with her 
 stories and accounts of her life in Boston, until 
 they had nearly covered the distance to the berry 
 patch. Finally she began to question him in re- 
 gard to his own school life, and was shot ked 
 and horrified to find that Nat could not even 
 read. There were no sci.ools maintained in the 
 township, and the truth was, the children were 
 growing up in ignorance. Little ]\Iary had 
 never discovered this defect in her admired 
 friend. Summer after summer he had been 
 playmate and companion, winning her respect 
 and admiration by his feats of daring and skill, 
 but she had never thought of Nat's mental ac- 
 complishments. For an instant she was shocked 
 and grieved at this monstrous gap between her 
 
Nat Foster. 89 
 
 and her chosen friend. Then a bright idea struck 
 her active brain. 
 
 "Why Nat," said she, "why don't you go to 
 Boston to school?" 
 
 "Go to Boston to school!" exclaimed Nat; 
 "why how is a fellow going to get the money to 
 pay?" 
 
 "Oh, I have it," answered Mary, "I'll ask my 
 father to pay for you. He will, I know, for he 
 likes you, and thinks you will make a nice man." 
 
 Just then they rounded a bend in the path 
 which brought them 'to the berry patch. But 
 it also brought them face to face W'ith an old 
 she bear, with two cubs following. They were 
 lumbering along the path directly towards the 
 children. Mary screamed at the sight and clung 
 to her boy protector. 
 
 Said Nat: "Mary, you run and I will stay and 
 fight them ofif." But still she clung to her pro- 
 tector, and began to cr\'. Meanwhile the old 
 bear had continued towards them, until she w^as 
 but a few feet away. Having her cubs with her 
 she undoubtedly acted more fierce than she 
 would otherwise have done. She now^ sat upon 
 her haunches and began to growl fiercely, so 
 that even Nat began to be afraid. He kept his 
 eye fastened on the bear, however, while he 
 backed away, pushing his girl companion along 
 7 
 
go Life and Adventures of 
 
 behind him, tclhng her aU the while to run. 
 Finally she did flee, and with all the swiftness her 
 young strength permitted. Then Nat began to 
 back off more rapidly, when the old bear 
 dropped on all fours again, and ambled towards 
 him. M^hen she again drew near him she sat 
 upon her haunches again. Nat redoubled his 
 efforts to back away, when again the bear 
 dropped upon all fours and trotted nearer, then 
 she sat up again. This sort of game was kept 
 up quite a distance down the path, Nat being 
 restrained from shooting by the fact that he had 
 no ammunition with him, save the charge in 
 his gun. 
 
 Finally in his backing off process, Nat struck 
 his foot against a root, and came near falling in 
 a heap. In saving himself, he took his eyes off 
 the bear, and as he struggled about to regain 
 his footing, she made a rush for him. He took 
 aim as well as he could (for he knew this was 
 his only chance) and fired, and then turned and 
 ran as he never ran before; in fact, it would have 
 been a hard matter for the bear, if she was so 
 disposed, to overtake him. 
 
 Nat soon overtook his little friend, who was 
 nearly dead from fright and hard running. He 
 soothed her as best he could, and then accom- 
 panied her home. When they arrived, Mary in- 
 
Nat Foster. 91 
 
 -sisted that he go in, and she told her father of 
 his gallant conduct. Mr. Wilson listened and 
 when she had finished said: 
 
 ''Well, I always knew the lad was a brave 
 one, but then his father is a rebel, and I have no 
 use for such people. But see here, my lad," 
 he continued, turning to Nat, "if you will prom- 
 ise me to become a Loyalist I will send you to 
 Boston to school, and make a gentleman of 
 you." 
 
 Schooling was what Nat wanted, and here 
 was the very opportunity that he and Mary had 
 been talking about. But the insinuation thrown 
 upon his father, together with the proposition 
 of his turning Loyalist roused his indignation. 
 
 "What, "said he, "I a Loyalist, and my father 
 fighting for freedom? No! not for all the learn- 
 ing there is in Boston! If my dad is a rebel, 
 then I'm one too." Ana with his face burning 
 with wrath and indignation he stalked out of the 
 house, without even stopping to bid Mary good 
 bye. He went home and told his mother of his 
 adventure, and his subsecjuent treatment at the 
 hands of Mr. Wilson. 
 
 ''Natty," said the good woman, ''you have 
 done right, and God will reward you for your 
 good deeds, even if our fellow-men will not." 
 And with this sentiment, and his mother's kind 
 words, Nat was entirelv satisfied. 
 
92 Life and Adventures of 
 
 The next morning he and Ehsha went to the 
 berry patch and found the bear dead. Nat's 
 one shot had done its work. They also found 
 the half grown cubs of the dead bear contentedly 
 eating berries in the neighboring berry patch. 
 Securing these they spent the remainder of the 
 day getting the pelts and carcasses home, and 
 trying out the fat of the cubs. 
 
 Nat had no opportunity to see his little friend 
 Mary again. For her father would not permit 
 it; and in the fall they moved to Boston, so that 
 little Mary Wilson was soon forgotten, until an 
 incident in his after life served to bring her 
 memory to him again, together with her Tory 
 father's unkindness. But this will be given in 
 its proper place. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 IN 1782, the war being- about over, Mr. Fos- 
 ter decided to return to his home and fire- 
 side. I stop and lay down my pen as I attempt 
 to describe that return to his home, and the 
 reunion with his family. 
 
 Seven years and ten months he had been 
 absent, fighting for the freedom of that country 
 he loved as his own life. During those years he 
 had received no word from or about his family. 
 Whether they were living or dead he knew not. 
 What success or failure they had had in keeping 
 together, and securing a living, he had no idea, 
 sa,ve that if his faithful spouse w^as living, she 
 was doing all possible to keep the family to- 
 gether. He knew his children must be grown 
 beyond his recognition. But of the condition 
 of each and all he was entirely ignorant. 
 
 During the long period he had been in the 
 Continental army he had not slept in a bed or 
 eaten a meal decently cooked. He stood the 
 strain well. His huge frame and iron constitu- 
 tion seemed proof against the severe hardships 
 he had been called uj^n to endure. But still it 
 
94 Life and Adventures of 
 
 told on him towards the last. His form became 
 bent, and his face furrowed. Early in 1782 he 
 contracted a severe cold, which brought on in- 
 flanmiation of the eyes, and he was obliged to 
 go to one of the army surgeons* for treatment. 
 At regular intervals attacks of ague also racked 
 his gigantic frame. His friends and the surgeon 
 attending him tried to persuade him to give up 
 and go- home. But no, he would not leave the 
 army until England was whipped and his coun- 
 try free. So he continued in the field, suffering 
 from sore eyes, and his body shaken wdth ague 
 fits, until steps were taken to form the treaty of 
 peace; then he consented to give up, and im- 
 mediately set his face homeward. 
 
 The same state of ignorance and suspense was 
 endured by his family during his protracted ab- 
 sence. As we have seen, they met, fairly and 
 successfully, the trials of their situation. For- 
 tune smiled on Mrs. Foster and gave the child- 
 ren healthy bodies and willing hands to work 
 and endure for the common interest. 
 
 Providence was remarkably Kmd to them in 
 bestowing success upon their cultivation of the 
 soil and pursuit of the chase. The all seeing 
 and all powerful One had preserved and pro- 
 tected them. But year after year came and 
 went, and no word was received from the ab- 
 
Nat Foster. 95 
 
 sent husband and father. The children fre- 
 quently spoke of him, ana Nat and Elisha often 
 expressed the wish that "Father might see the 
 excellent shot," or the "big game" brought 
 home. 
 
 As time wore away, Mrs. Foster's face be- 
 came more grave, and even sad. The children, 
 sometimes noting it, asked the cause, but the 
 noble woman seldom saddened their young 
 hearts by telling them the real cause. Occa- 
 sionally, however, she could not conceal her 
 emotions. One day w^hen Nat found her weep- 
 ing, he guessed for the first time that she, fear- 
 ing never to see his father again, had given him 
 up as lost; and he, too, became tnoughtful and 
 sad for a time. But, boy-like, his exuberancy 
 of spirits soon made him cheerful and lively 
 again. 
 
 His mother, as we can well imagine, was an 
 untiring worker. She managed tneir little farm 
 so well that in a few seasons it was in a superior 
 state of cultivation for those times. The stock 
 was increased; the three or four sheep they had 
 when Mr. Foster went away had multiplied tO' a 
 large flock. A half a dozen of milch cows and 
 a yoke of oxen, which the boys had raised and 
 broken from calves, w^ere among their posses- 
 sions. When we think of the work that was 
 
96 Life and Adventures of 
 
 done then by hand in the home, which is now 
 performed by machinery in mills and factories, 
 we wonder that the good woman was able to 
 keep up at all, with the countless demands upon 
 her. But her hands were willing and her in- 
 genuity a resourceful one; and she worked on, 
 constantly and bravely. 
 
 Let us glance at some of her presumably 
 numerous duties. In the summer she had the 
 crops to look after, the cows to attend, with the 
 working up of their products. Under her direc- 
 tion the wild and domestic meats must be 
 corned and cured for winter's use. In the fall 
 she must superintend the harvesting of the 
 crops; the cutting, rotting, pounding and work- 
 ing up of the flax, from which a large part of 
 their supply of cloth was obtained. This task of 
 properly securing the flax was no small one. It 
 was first pulled and allowed to remain in the 
 fields until the outer shell or bark had rotted 
 away, then it was gathered and beaten up with 
 a "pounder." The inner texture was then ob- 
 tained for the work of the hetchel, card, spinning 
 wheel and loom. Those familiar with the old- 
 fashioned Herrick's Almanac, or who have been 
 curious enough to examine the cuts that ap- 
 pear in that old free medical work, must have 
 noticed a picture illustrating the process of 
 pounding and working up of flax. 
 
^> 
 
Nat Foster. 97 
 
 The carding of this beaten flax, together with 
 the wool sheared from their sheep in the spring, 
 must have occupied her attention well on into 
 the winter. Then she would set her spinning 
 wheel to running, and spend the winter in spin- 
 ning and weaving. 
 
 It was while engaged in this occupation of 
 spinning- one day in November that her 
 thoughts reverted to her absent husband. She 
 was alone in the cabin. Zilpha, now a healthy 
 and vigorous girl of fourteen, was working some 
 fall butter in a little cabin by the spring. The 
 boys had built it for a "milk house," but nowa- 
 days it would be dignihed with the name of 
 ■''creamery." The three younger children were 
 in the woods gathering nuts. 
 
 There had been some very pleasant Indian 
 summer days, which had greatly cheered this 
 faithful woman. But this day the weather was 
 of that bleak, autumnal character, which pre- 
 vails most frequently during the month of No- 
 vember. The wind roared and howled through 
 the tree tops, and moaned and sighed in its 
 careerings down the chimney. Fitful gusts set 
 the ashes in the fireplace flying through the 
 air; and handfuls of dead leaves beat against 
 the panes of the little window of the cabin, 
 which incessantly rattled and shook in its case- 
 ment. 
 
9^ Life and Adventures of 
 
 Her state of mind was in keeping with the- 
 moaning and sighing wind and the melancholy- 
 droning of her spinning wheel. She felt mourn- 
 ful and disconsolate. But two months more 
 would come and go, ere eight years would have 
 passed since she had seen her husband. Mvid 
 in her mind now was the scene of his parting, 
 as he kissed her and the children good-bye and. 
 started, gun in hand, for Boston, to fight for 
 freedom. She had heard months ago of the 
 surrender of Cornwallis, and of the probable 
 speedy termination of the war. Already, she hai' 
 heard, the patriots were returning to their homes 
 and hearth-stones. But would her husband re- 
 turn to her? Nay; she dare not hope that. 
 Tears came to her eyes, but she resolutely 
 dashed them away, and set her wheel to revolv- 
 ing more rapidly than ever. Soon came a knock.. 
 She stopped her wheel and going to the door, 
 opened it. There stood before her a blear-eyed' 
 man, his clothing in rags, his long hair matted 
 and snarled, his face unshaven, and his body 
 painfully bowed. He lifted his watery eyes to« 
 her with a longing and beseeching look in them ; 
 but he spoke no word. She, supposing him to 
 be a poor wayfarer, said, "Come in, my good 
 man, and warm yourself, and 1 will give you a. 
 1)ite to eat." She moved aside and he stepped: 
 
Nat Foster. 
 
 99 
 
 into the cabin. Straightening himself with an 
 effort, he spoke for the first time: 
 
 "Lydia," said he, ""don't you know me?" 
 
 She hahed, she hesitated an instant, and then 
 wdth a heaving breast and tears welHng to her 
 eyes, she clasped her husband to^ her bosom. 
 Together they wept like children. His body 
 was weak from sickness, and, fatigued by his, 
 long journey, gave way under the excitement 
 and strain. He would have fallen had not his 
 W'ife supported him, and guiding him to a chair 
 seated herself, taking him on her lap, as she 
 would one of her children. It was many momen+s 
 before either could speak. And then Mrs. Fos- 
 ter could only cry out between her sobs of joy,. 
 "Oh, Nathaniel, Nathaniel, my husband, my 
 husband." 
 
 "Lydia," said Mr. Foster at last, rousing him- 
 self, our country is free. Where are the 
 children." 
 
 The mention of the children reminded Mrs- 
 Foster that there were others tO' share her joy. 
 Going to the door, she took down the dinner 
 horn, and blew a loud and long blast from its 
 metallic throat. Its summons at that unusual 
 hour, was heeded at once by those within its 
 sound, and caused them to hasten homeward,, 
 with all the speed possible. 
 
loo Life and Adventures of 
 
 The first to arrive was Zilpha. She was a 
 beautiful girl, already developing into woman- 
 hood. She came running in great haste, carry- 
 ing the wooden butter ladle she had been using, 
 and which, in her hurry, she had forgotten to 
 leave. 
 
 "Your father has come," was the simple an- 
 nouncement of her mother, as she met her at 
 the door. With a cry of joy the girl sprang to 
 the door, and then hesitated, gazing timidly at 
 the ragged, unkempt man seated by the fire. 
 There she stood bare-headed, her dark hair 
 falling in ringlets about her shoulders, mantled 
 with a simple dress of "homespun," her black 
 eyes flashing, and her cheeks flushed from her 
 run from the milk house, a most beautiful and 
 Avelcome picture to her father. 
 
 "Come, my daughter, come," said Mr. Fos- 
 ter, holding out his hands to^ her. She hesitated 
 no longer, but throwing the butter ladle upon 
 the floor, sprang into the embracing arms of her 
 poor father, and covered his w^eather-beaten face 
 with her sweet kisses. 
 
 The children now came trooping in with their 
 bags and baskets of nuts. They too, approached 
 their father slyly. All but Sybil. She only 
 stopped to ask, "Is that my pa you told me 
 about?" and upon being told by her mother 
 
Nat Foster. loi 
 
 that it was her "pa," she exclaimed, "Then I 
 will go and kiss him," and running tO' him, she 
 threw her chubby arms about his neck and 
 again rejoiced his heart by her caresses. 
 
 The boys soon arrived, bearing between them,^ 
 slung to a pole, a yearling deer they had shot. 
 The strapping young fellows were more noisy 
 and boisterous in their greetings of their 
 father than were the other children. Nat par- 
 ticularly was very demonstrative: "Hurrah for 
 father," he shouted, as he tossed up his hat, and 
 rushed into the cabin. "Hurrah, father," he 
 shouted as he grasped his parent's hand. "Did 
 you whip the Crown? he exclaimed, as he 
 recollected the avowed object of his father's 
 leaving home and which now seemed so^ many, 
 many years ago. "Yes, yes, my lad," answered 
 Mr. Foster, "we've fought the Crown, and beat 
 him, too. Our country is now free, thank God." 
 
 The sight of his family grouped about him, 
 with little Sybil on his knee, again moved Mr. 
 Foster toi tears of joy. Here they all were, safe 
 and sound, well and healthy after his long ab- 
 sence from home. 
 
 The two oldest boys were strapping big fel- 
 lows for their ages. Elisha was eighteen, and 
 Nathaniel, though but sixteen, was fully as 
 large as his elder brother. Zilpha was fourteen. 
 
I02 Life and Adventures of 
 
 The next, Ann, was twelve. Solomon no longer 
 considered himself little at the age of ten, 
 though Sybil was content to be the baby of the 
 family at eight. 
 
 Mr. Foster had gone unflinchingly through 
 the dangers and hardships of war; he had par- 
 ticipated in bloody battles, and seen with in- 
 difference loathsome acts of savagery. But 
 these noble sons and daughters, standing be- 
 fore him, with their faithful mother, quite un- 
 nerved him, and he shed tears of gratitude and 
 joy. 
 
 Regaining somewhat his composure, he 
 blessed them all, as he had blessed them years 
 before. The sense of strangeness which the 
 children first felt towards their father soon wore 
 away, and the boys began to tell him of their ad- 
 ventures and experiences in hunting and trap- 
 ping, in working and managing the farm, in 
 trading and bartering. He listened with keen 
 relish and appreciation. Rousing himself, he 
 went out and inspected the deer they had 
 brought in; and then looked over tne farm and 
 stock, expressing great surprise and pleasure 
 at the good and orderly appearance of every- 
 thing. Returning to the house, they found the 
 evening meal prepared, and with grateful hearts 
 they gathered around the board, and bowed 
 
Nat Foster. 103 
 
 their heads as Mr. J:^oster — as the head of the 
 household — invoked God's blessing on the meal. 
 It was truly a happy family gathered around tlie 
 table that night. 
 
 Supper being over, Mr. Foster again took 
 Sybil on his knee and listened to the l)oys as they 
 continued the accounts of their life during his 
 absence. When pressed to tell his own ex- 
 periences, he shook his head, and said: 
 
 "Not to-night, boys. Our country is free and 
 you ought to be satisfied with that." 
 
 Not for weeks would Mr. Foster give his 
 family any particular account of his years of 
 wandering and fighting. He seemed so satis- 
 fied and thankful for his return home, and the 
 finding of his family safe and sound, that he 
 did not appear to care about mentioning any of 
 his own experiences, but seemed contented and 
 satisfied in listening to accounts of theirs, par- 
 ticularly those of the boys. He laughed long and 
 loud as Solomon described Nat's nocturnal en- 
 counter with the bear, and the damage done to 
 his tow shirt. He nodded his head approvingly 
 when they told him of the capture, liberation, 
 and subsequent shooting of Old Put. But he 
 erew^ wrathv when thev told him of the Indians' 
 treatment of Nat in tying him to a tree. He at 
 once fell to giving the boys some instruction and 
 
104 Life and Adventures of 
 
 advice on Indian hateing and Indian shooting. 
 Advice and instruction they did not need to 
 have impressed upon them so very much by 
 reason of their own encounters and experiences 
 with the savage men. 
 
 Under the benign influence of his home and 
 its comforts, Mr. Foster rapidly regained, to a 
 considerable degree, his former health, though 
 it was not possible that it be fully restored after 
 the long and severe strain on his constitution. 
 He was afterwards always afflicted with rheu- 
 matism; and his eyes troubled him, until finally 
 he became totally blind, from the ertects of the 
 inflammation in tUem while in the army. Within 
 a few weeks after his return, however, he was 
 sufficiently restored to walk about the town, 
 bearing himself with pardonable pride, con- 
 scious, as he was, of his long and faithful service 
 in fighting for the freedom of the Colonies. 
 
 About this time he began to talk more freely 
 of his experiences and adventures while away 
 to war. And in this connection there was one 
 thing which seemed of particular interest to 
 him ; that was the Mohawk Valley, and the sur- 
 rounding country of hills and mountains cov- 
 ered with dense forest. The time of his cam- 
 paign in New York State was when the country 
 was to be seen at its best. The noble hills and 
 
Nat Foster. 105 
 
 broad valleys were luxuriant with their mantles 
 of green. The Dutch settlements gave com- 
 plete testimony of the fertility of the river mead- 
 ows, while the forests of the adjacent hills and 
 mountains abounded with game, which the pat- 
 riot troops constantly bagged for food. 
 
 Mr. Foster so frequently spoke of the superi- 
 ority of New York State to New Hampshire, 
 that Nat surprised him one day, as he was 
 drawing comparisons between the mountains of 
 New York and of their own, by exclaiming, 
 "Say father, let's go there and live." Mr. Fos- 
 ter looked at his swarthy son to see if he was 
 in earnest, and being assured, he told the impul- 
 sive lad to be content where he was. That a 
 bird in the hand was far better than two in the 
 bush, and such like advice. Yet the suggestion 
 of his son left its impression on his mind. Yes, 
 why not go? Why not go west, as New York 
 was then called? His family, which had been so 
 mercifully preserved to him, were now at the 
 time of vigorous youth, and demanded a better 
 place for maturing than Hinsdale afforded. His 
 farm, which they had kept up, was small, and 
 the game, according to the boys' own testimony, 
 was already beginning to disappear. Yes, why 
 
 not go? 
 8 
 
io6 Life and Adventures of 
 
 He broached the subject to the family, and 
 the idea was hailed with delight by the boys. 
 Only Mrs. Foster, with the characteristics of her 
 sex, was loath to leave the old place. But the 
 matter being fully discussed as the winter ad- 
 vanced, it was definitely settled that they should 
 go in the spring. After all, iXat's suggestion 
 prevailed. We shall see, as we follow his life, 
 what an important bearing it had on his 
 career. 
 
 And so now, after years of fighting and war- 
 ring, the old patriot was to see a new home. 
 As in the prime of life he had left Rhode Island 
 and sought a home in New Hampshire, for that 
 family that was to be born to him; so now, in 
 his older years, he was to seek a more congenial 
 place for the family to develope in, which would 
 admit of their expansion. Already he felt the 
 weight of years. His constitution, once as of 
 iron, was now broken and shattered; and added 
 to this was threatened blindness. 
 
 And here I would pause and relate a touching- 
 incident connected with the darkness of his last 
 days, at the risk of being censured for inter- 
 polating. It Happened many years after his 
 emigration to New York State, (1826), when he 
 was spending the quiet of his extreme old age 
 witn his son, Nat, at the latter's home in Salis- 
 
Nat Foster. 107 
 
 bury, Herkimer county, N. Y. A reunion of 
 the Fosters was being held at Nat's home, and 
 among the guests was a lad of seven years, a 
 great-grandson of Mr. Foster. 
 
 The old man, in the weakness of his age, was 
 lying on a bed in a room adjoining that in 
 which the company were assembled. He heard 
 them speaking of this boy in very flattering- 
 terms. They all regarded him as a child of 
 great promise. Hearing them speak so much of 
 the boy, he requested that he be brought to him. 
 So, agreeably to his request, the lad was brought 
 in to his bedside. The old man proceeded to 
 give him such acivice, in regard to his duty to 
 his God, his country and his fellow-man, as he, 
 by reason of his ripe age and matured experi- 
 ence, was so well fitted to give. And then rising 
 to a sitting posture, he stretched out his hands 
 and laid them upon the boy's head, and raising 
 his sightless eyes to heaven, like Jacob of old, 
 gave the lad his patriarchal blessing. 
 
 It was a touching episode, and one which 
 moved all of the witnesses as they were grouped 
 around tlie blind and aged patriarch, and the 
 fair young child. It left its lasting impression 
 upon the heart of the lad. He still lives (1897) at 
 an advanced age in one of the northern towns 
 of Fulton Countv, N. Y. His life has been a ful- 
 
io8 Life and Adventures of 
 
 tillnient of the prophecies his relatives made of 
 him that day, and impressed and emphasized by 
 his grandsire's advice and blessing. And his own 
 testimony is to the effect that that advice and 
 blessing did much to mold and fashion his life 
 into the one of virtue, honesty and devotion to 
 God, which has characterized it. 
 
 The above incident will also suffice as a refu- 
 tation of the story that is sometimes heard in 
 the woods in connection with the life of Nat Fos- 
 ter, the son. It is to the effect that his father,, 
 mother, brother, and sisters were all massacred 
 at one time by the Indians. The elder Foster 
 died peacefully at the home of Nat, soon after 
 the above incident. 
 
 The children were all eager to go into the 
 new country. Nat was particularly anxious to 
 go; for the advantages he was sure it would af- 
 ford him and Elisha for hunting and trapping. 
 
 "Are there any Injuns there dad?" he inno- 
 cently asked his father one day, as they were 
 talking over the plans of moving in the spring. 
 
 "Injuns!" exclaimed his father, starting up, 
 'Tnjuns, did you say? Yes, lots of 'em. And 
 you'll have need to look out lad, if you go to 
 hunting and trapping in the mountains north of 
 the vallev. The red devils will steal vou blind,, 
 
A^a^ Foster. 109 
 
 and then kill you in the bargain." And he con- 
 tinued giving- his young son more advice and 
 information about Indians and Indian fighting. 
 
 "I'll tell what, my lad," he said, "make shoot- 
 ing the red devils your life's work. But even 
 then," he continued, "you can't repay 'em for 
 half the hellish w^ork I've seen 'em do right in 
 that valley since I've been away. Never excite 
 a quarrel v ith any of 'em," he went on, "or with 
 any one, for that matter. Be kind and as j^eace- 
 ful as you can, for that's what our Maker in- 
 tended us to be. But," he added, with a grim 
 snapping of his jaws, "it's different with them 
 cussed Iniuns. You can't be peaceable with 'em 
 nohow." 
 
 Of all the experiences or accounts of his ad- 
 ventures he would give concerning his life in the 
 war, he was most liberal with the accounts of 
 Indian savagery, and Indian treachery, as he 
 bad seen it developed under the fostering care 
 of British influence. And as he had often said 
 he would during the war, he now taught his 
 children to hate the unfortunate race. 
 
CHAPTER VIL 
 
 eARLY in the spring the Fosters began 
 preparations for emigrating to New York 
 State. Their possessions were rednced as much 
 as possible, to facilitate traveHng, which in those 
 primitive times, was no small undertaking. 
 
 Their goods, together with their stock was 
 sold at public auction, which was a great event 
 for the town then, as it is still in many of our 
 rural hamlets. All of the farming tools and im- 
 plements, save a few liand tools, were also dis- 
 posed of at auction. But as in those days more 
 than one plow was seldom found on a single 
 farm, and the harrowing was done with brush, 
 the hay and grain harvested with ''arm strong" 
 mowers and reapers (scythe and cradles), there 
 were not many implements to sell. Still the auc- 
 tion was a lively afifair. Elisha and Nat were the 
 envy of the other boys of the town, as they be- 
 held them with their father bustling about the 
 place, getting things ready, and leading up the 
 stock for ^he bawling auctioneer to show his wit 
 and exercise his lungs over. All of the guns, 
 traps and snares that the boys had accumulated 
 
Nat Foster. 1 1 1 
 
 were retained. For they did not propose to go 
 into the new country unprepared for following 
 the chase, even though they might be handi- 
 capped for farming. 
 
 Mrs, Foster, woman-like, had planned and ar- 
 ranged to take along enough of her household 
 goods to load two or three carts, but her pro- 
 ceedings were vetoed by the men; and her stock, 
 too, was reduced materially by placing such 
 things as were not absolutely necessary, under 
 the auctioneer's hammer; and although she de- 
 murred at first, she afterwards expressed her- 
 self as satisfied, when she found they had spared 
 her tools for spinning and working u]) flax and 
 wool. 
 
 At last the final day arrived. Yoking the oxen 
 (which had been retained) to the lumbering two- 
 wheeled cart, they loaded their few possessions, 
 found seats for the women and children, tied 
 their one remaining cow to the rear end of the 
 box and were ready. 
 
 To Nat had been assigned the honor of acting 
 as driver of the ox team at the start. Proudly 
 flourishing his whip, he gave the command to 
 "gee up;" the patient, slow-moving oxen leaned 
 forward in their yokes, stepped deliberately ofif, 
 and the journey to the Mohawk Valley and Ad- 
 irondack Mountains was be2:un. 
 
112 Life and Adventures of 
 
 Probably Mrs. Foster alone, of all the family, 
 felt, with any keenness, the pangs of regret at 
 leaving the familiar place of such long and ten- 
 der associations. If the rest experienced any 
 emotions, they did not pause in their eagerness 
 of anticipation, to entertain them. But to the 
 mother it had been a home of many tender ex- 
 periences; and stirring events, too, which left 
 their impression on her retentive heart. There 
 at the home they were leaving, all of her chil- 
 dren had been born and reared, amid the sturdy 
 struggles of a pioneer life, intensified by the 
 heavy cloud of war which had hung particularly 
 heavy over her home. Hence it was that with a 
 sigh and genuine pang of silent distress, she 
 turned in her seat in the cart, and took a last, 
 lingering arid farewell look at the dear old 
 "home" on that l^right spring morn. 
 
 The children felt no uneasiness, nor experi- 
 enced any regrets at leaving the familiar sur- 
 roundings. To them the move was a novelty 
 which contained enough of the romantic to ren- 
 der starting the all-absorbing feature of their 
 young lives at that particular moment. They 
 had no very serious thoughts or concerns for the 
 future; while the past did not, as yet, present the 
 tender ana sentimental features it would in after 
 years. 
 
Nat Foster. 113 
 
 Mr. Foster was indifferent. He had roamed 
 about too much during the last few years of his 
 hfe to be moved to any feehngs of emotion at 
 clianging his place of abode. 
 
 So it was that the mother alone of all the party 
 possessed iJiose serious thoughts and reveries, 
 which come from such an event as was now hap- 
 pening. But her sigh of regret escaped unno- 
 ticed; and soon the joyful laughter of the chil- 
 dren and the jovial conversation of the older 
 boys and Mr. Foster cheered her naturally happy 
 soul. 
 
 They journeyed by easy stages, camping by 
 the roadside at night; a comfortable shelter of 
 skins was rigged over the box of the cart for the 
 women and children to repose under, while 
 Elisha, Nat and Mr. Foster slept in fur robes 
 on the groimd imder the shelter of the cart. 
 The cow, which from its position behind the 
 cart, necessarily followed with patience the slow 
 moving vehicle day after day, supplied them 
 Avith milk to accompany their simple repasts of 
 corn bread, boiled venison or bear meat and 
 roasted potatoes; all prepared by the camp fire. 
 
 Their route, necessarily, lay through a par- 
 tially wild and at best but sparsely settled coun- 
 try. At night, their sleep was often disturbed 
 by the howling wolf, or screaming panther, or 
 
114 1-i'fc and Adventures of 
 
 by the worrying cattle, tugging at their fasten- 
 ings, as their keen senses detected danger. When 
 the danger was considered very great, one of 
 the older boys or Mr. Foster would keep watch. 
 The latter often spoke of Indians, and expressed 
 surprise that the "red devils," as he called them, 
 had not put in an appearance. But most of the 
 Indians, at the close of the war of the Revolution,, 
 had withdrawn from New England and New 
 York to Canada, and only an occasional band of 
 hunters were to be seen. Nothing was seen of 
 them by the Foster family until they reached the 
 Hudson river 
 
 They arrived at that noble stream just north 
 of where tlie \illage of Lansingburg is now sit- 
 uated. All other streams they had encountered 
 they were able to ford. But to cross here at that 
 time, they were obliged to make a raft and ferry 
 themselves and their possessions across. The 
 ccnstniction of this raft consumed several days. 
 And as they \\ere engaged in falling timber for 
 the making of it, they observed that they were 
 being watched by some persons on the opposite 
 shore. \N\\o it was they could not imagine. 
 There were no settlers who would care about 
 their cutting trees, and the noble red man, if 
 it was he, aid not care for the timber. But that 
 the watchers were Indians, and that they were 
 
Nat Foster. 1 1 5. 
 
 watching him and his sons with no good inten- 
 tions, Mr. Foster felt certain. 
 
 At last they were ready to trust themselves 
 to their rudely constructed raft, and cross to the 
 "land of promise," which, if not actually "flow- 
 ing with milk and honey," was at least rich in 
 the npportui ities it \\ould afiford the family to 
 deve'iCpe, each in the direction of his individual 
 tastes and likings. 
 
 They began early in the day to put their ef- 
 fects on the raft, but it was a slow and tedious 
 task. The cart had been taken apart and carried 
 on in sections, for when they attempted to wheel 
 it on, it had stuck fast in the soft mud of the 
 shore. Then followed the work of getting the 
 cattle onto the floating crib; all was duly ac- 
 complished, however, and late in the afternoon 
 they launched out upon the stream, which, at 
 that time of the year, was high and turbulent. 
 After two h<:urs hard work in fighting the swift 
 current, which carried them a mile down the 
 stream, they at last brought their crazy craft 
 safely to the opposite shore and moored it close 
 to the I ank, in a little bay. By that time the 
 sun was nearly down. 
 
 As they swung their raft in by the shore, and 
 here making it fast to near-by trees, Mr. Fos- 
 ter's Cjuick eye detected an Indian watching their 
 
ii6 Life and Adi'cnfiircs of 
 
 moA^ements from behind a distant tree. It took 
 him but a moment to discover two more skulk- 
 ing warriors behind different trees, watching 
 them intently; and his suspicions of the last two 
 days were confirmed. He said nothing to the 
 rest, however, about the presence of the Indians, 
 but hurried the work of landing. Everything 
 was transferred to the shore, the cart set up, 
 the camp made and supper cooked before dark. 
 Then having gathered his family together, he 
 told them of the Indians he had seen, and ap- 
 prised them of his fears of an attack from them 
 that night. It was decided that the boys and 
 Mr. Foster sliould take turns in keeping watch, 
 so that all would be guarded against surprise. 
 Commending them all to the protection of Al- 
 mighty God, the father told them to go to sleep, 
 while he kept watch until midnight, as he calcu- 
 lated that, if an attack was to be made, it would 
 be before that hour. 
 
 He kept his weary and lonely vigil until long 
 after midnight, and then, having heard nothing, 
 he concluded that the real danger was past, and 
 turned the watch over to the boys. 
 
 With yawns and expressions of disgust at 
 being roused from their sound slumbers, Nat 
 and Elisha got up and took their father's place; 
 while he crept into the w^arm place they had 
 
Nat Foster. 1 1 7 
 
 vacated. Tlie air was chilly, and the night as 
 black as i.ik. Seeking one of the cart wheels, 
 the boys spread a wolf robe on the ground, and 
 seating themselves upon it, with their backs 
 supported by the upright wheel, prepared to 
 watch the rxight out. 
 
 As we might have suspected, Elisha had the 
 old smoth bore by his side, and .\at, with char- 
 acteristic caution, sat with his rifle across his 
 knees, his keen eyes gazing into the darkness 
 and his quick ear strained to catch the least sus- 
 picious soimd. 
 
 Their teeth soon commenced to chatter from 
 the cold, and Elisha declared that he must be 
 allowed to roll himself in the wolf robe on which 
 they were seated, or he would certainly freeze 
 to death. So Nat obligingly arose and paced 
 up and down the camp, while the easy-going 
 Elisha wrapped himself in the wolf robe, and, 
 naturally enough, was soon sound asleep. 
 
 But no thought of giving away to sleep en- 
 tered the mind of Nat. Grasping with firmer 
 grip the st^ick of his rifle, he paced his little beat 
 with careful step, like an old soldier on guard. 
 It was a trying place for a lad of sixteen, even 
 if he had i3''en brought up in the pioneer life. 
 No sound broke the oppressive stillness. Not 
 even a cricket's chirrup or an owd's hoot dis- 
 
ii8 Life and Adroitiu'es of 
 
 turbed the silence that prevailed. It would have 
 been a rehef to hear a wolf howl, or even a pan- 
 ther scream. For an hour Nat thus kept pacing 
 his beat, stiauiing every nerve to catch any 
 possible sign of an approaching foe. 
 
 Suddenly the stillness was broken by the sharp 
 soimd of a snapping twig. He stopped as sud- 
 denly, and remained as motionless as if frozen 
 to the ground; but not from fear or fright. For 
 full three minutes he w^aited and listened with 
 all his powers, but not another sound did he 
 hear, all was as still as before. Yet he knew 
 that the twdg was broken by some .approaching 
 man or beast; wdiich he could not tell. 
 
 Finally he detected a very sligjjt rustling m 
 the bushes a few yards from the camp. He 
 recognized at once the movements of a man or 
 men approaching wdth great caution through the 
 imderbrush. Without stopping to rouse his 
 father or brother, he raised his r'fle and fired 
 into the bushes, in the direction from whence 
 the sound came; and springing to the side of the 
 slumbering Elisha, he snatched up the smooth 
 bore and sent its contents into the bushes before 
 that drowsy youth was fairly awake. 
 
 Instantly all was commotion m the little 
 camp. The cattle snorted and struggled at their 
 fastenings, w^hile the women cried cMit in alarm. 
 
Nat Foster. 1 1 9 
 
 and little Sybil, in the distress of being thus 
 rudely awakened, and also fear of the darkness, 
 commenced to cry. Elisha sat up, and mildly 
 asked in a hoarse whisper wha: was the inatter. 
 Mr. Foster sprang to the side of his brave son, 
 and asked if it was "Injuns." In a brief and 
 hurried whisper, Nat explained to his father 
 what he had heard in the bushes, and together, 
 with cocked rifles, they waited for more mani- 
 festations of the lurking foe. But farther than a 
 great trampling and a snapping and cracking of 
 the twigs and bushes, immediately ?iier Nat fired 
 his charges, they heard nothing. Whether the 
 foe was still concealed in the underbrush, only 
 waiting for them to relax their vigilance before 
 advancing, or whether he was killed, or had re- 
 treated, they were unable to even guess. 
 
 The remainder of the night w^as spent with 
 the combined watchings of Mr. Foster and Nat, 
 and even Elisha, who had been somewhat fright- 
 ened and thoroughly awakened by his brother's 
 rapid shots, now found no difficulty in keeping 
 awake. The few remaining hours of the night 
 passed without incident. And '-.s the gray dawn 
 began to manifest itself, they breathed easier, 
 waiting until broad daylight, however, l^efore 
 they ventured to stir about or rouse the rest of 
 the family. Upon going a few yards into the 
 
I20 Life and Adventures of 
 
 bushes, they found them trampled and broken. 
 Along the trail, which had evidently been made 
 by their nocturnal visitors in tlieir retreat, there 
 was a stream of blood, deeply dyeing the leaves 
 and bushes, as far as they followed it. It gave 
 unmistakable evidence that at )eabt one of the 
 party, if not more, had been shot and borne 
 away by companions. One or buth of Nat's 
 shots had told. He had drawn his first blood 
 from an Indian, if indeed he had not killed the 
 warrior, for the blood-bespattered leaves and 
 gory trail told plainly that it was tlie life blood 
 of the wounded savage that was being shed. 
 
 '1 reckon, Nat," said Mr. Foster, as he ex- 
 amined the bloody trail, "that you made the dav- 
 light shine through one or two oi the red devils." 
 
 "But how could tnat be, dad: said the skep- 
 tical Elisha, "Nat shot 'em in the dark." 
 
 "Humph," said Mr. Foster, contemptuously 
 "the daylight is a shinen througli 'em by this 
 time anyhow, if that gore speaks for anything. 
 I don't think this is a very healthy place for us 
 to be a sojoiirning in so very long either," he 
 continued, "the critters might come back and 
 get revenge oil us. We'd better be gettin' out." 
 
 So a hasty breakfast was cooked and eaten 
 and the cattle brought from their browsing in 
 the woods before they had halt finished their 
 
Nat Foster. 
 
 121 
 
 morning's feed. And before the sun had begun 
 to cHmb the heavens, they left the place. 
 
 In crossing the Hucison, the Fosters had fin- 
 ished the hardest part of their journey. They 
 were now entering the famous valley in which 
 they intended to settle. Mr. Foster had deter- 
 mined upon no particular place iur their loca- 
 tion, but as they journeyed on towards the val- 
 ley they received wonderful accounts from the 
 settlers along their route, of the village of Johns- 
 town, which had been settled before the war by 
 Sir William Johnson. As Mr. Foster had also 
 heard something of it while in these parts early 
 in the war, he resolved to settle m that locality. 
 Although it was not in the valley where he had 
 at first intended to locate, he decided that Johns- 
 town and its vicinity, being advantageous for 
 hunting and fishing, as well as farming, would 
 be better than the valley. So turning their 
 course to the northwest, they puslied on until 
 they came to the famous fish house l^uilt by Sir 
 William, and here they decided to settle. 
 
 Again Mr. Foster erected a little -^abin of logs, 
 for his new home, although it was not destined 
 to serve as long as the one he had built so many 
 years before in New Hampshire. Having the 
 sturdy strength ol his two oldest sons to assist 
 9 
 
12 2 Life and Adventures of 
 
 him this time, and that of his neiciihors as well, 
 the cabin was built in a much shorter time. 
 
 A wonderfully fraternal spirit prevailed among 
 the settlers of those early times, and it was par- 
 ticularly predominant aoout Johnstown. Sir 
 William himself set the exanij)le in its early 
 days, when he founded the town, and the settlers 
 imbibed the spirit. So that whenever a new 
 family came to those parts to build a home, a 
 *'bee" was always inaugurated and a "log roll- 
 ing" was had and a good serviceable cabin was 
 built in a few days. With some further details, 
 in the way of closing the cnmivs between the logs, 
 the construction of a fireplace and chimney, and 
 the hanging of the door, the house was all 
 ready for occupancy. In rare cases, I have 
 heard of such little matters as huild'ng a chim- 
 ney and hanging a door being omitied entirely, 
 smoke escaping through a hole in the roof and 
 a deer's hide or other skin, covering the opening 
 in the wall, which answered for a door. Of 
 course these are exceptional instances, and set- 
 tlers who were obliged to forego such necessary 
 things as chimneys and doors must have been 
 in very straitened circumstances. The new 
 cabin of the Fosters, I am told, was comfort- 
 ably finished, with one room on the ground, and 
 a sleeping place above, under the roof. It also 
 had a chimney and door. 
 
Such log cabins * * * were the houses of most of our forefathers. 
 
Nat Foster. 123 
 
 Such log cabins, with their two simple apart- 
 ments, were the homes of most of our forefathers. 
 In such humble homes many of the present 
 Americans' immediate ancestors weie born and 
 reared. The families were neariy always large, 
 many including members who liave become 
 prominent in our country's history. 
 
 The Fosters had lived in their new home less 
 than two months ere destruction came to it from 
 the hand of the savage Indian, together with the 
 capture of Zilpha. It happened one afternoon 
 when all the family, excepting Zilpha and Nat, 
 were away to a bee being held for tlie benefit of 
 another new family just arrived in the neigh- 
 borhood. The Indians probably knowing this, 
 undoubtedly laid their plans accordingly, and 
 raided the Foster dwelling when they ex- 
 pected tO' find no one but women or children 
 about. Early in the afternoon Zilpha was en- 
 gaged in washing the dishes after the noonday 
 meal of herself and brother. Her work was on 
 a bench under the shade of a tree just outside 
 the cabin. Nat was inside engaged in cleaning 
 some traps. 
 
 After lurking about in the bushes at the edge 
 of the woods and seeing no one about but the 
 girl, the Indians stealthily made their way to- 
 wards the cabin, and coming up behind the un- 
 
124 ^^^^ ^^^d Adventures of 
 
 suspecting maiden, who was Miihely humming 
 a httle air, they seized and gagged her before 
 she could make a single outcry of alarm. The 
 sudden cessation of her singing, however, at- 
 tracted Nat's attention, and peering out of the 
 cabin door, he was horrified to see his sister in 
 the clutches of the red men. It took the lad but 
 an instant tO' take in the situation. His first im- 
 pulse was to rush out, or open fire from the 
 cabin, and attempt to slay singlt handed all of 
 his sister's captors. And no doubt, if here had 
 been a rifle in the cabin, he would have rashly 
 undertaken it. But the only fire-arm there w^as 
 the old smoth bore, and even that old piece, 
 though it had often done him and his brother 
 good service in emergencies, ^vould not do to 
 wipe out the ten or more Indians in the party. 
 Here, Nat's quick perception of an awkward 
 situation and the very best mode of action, which 
 he ever afterwards manifested, vvas shown. The 
 party was too strong for him to hope in any way 
 to overcome single-handed. His only hope was 
 in remaining undiscovered and, watching his 
 chance, escape and warn the settler<i at the bee. 
 All this flashed through his mind In an instant, 
 and as he saw the Indians turn and come to- 
 wards the cabin, he put it in action. At his feet 
 was a trap door leading into a simple hole, dug 
 under the cabin floor to serve as a cellar. 
 
Nat Foster. 125 
 
 Lifting the door, he dropped into the hole 
 and noiselessly closed it after him, just as the 
 Indian in the lead stepped upon the threshhold. 
 Then followed a half hour of agony and sus- 
 pense. The Indians ransacked the cabin and 
 searched even the loft, talking constantly in their 
 own language. Every moment he feared they 
 would notice the trap door and, investigating 
 the hole underneath, discover Inm. But it es- 
 caped their observation. 
 
 The pleadings of his sister, as they ungagged 
 her, beseeching them to let her go, nearly drove 
 him frantic, and he could hardly restrain himself 
 from leaping forth from his hiding place and 
 throwing himself upon the Indians in a wild 
 attempt to deliver her. But he restrained him- 
 self and remained silent. He hardly dared to 
 breathe as the Indians trampled over his head 
 and paused at the trap door as if to lift it. At 
 last they departed, taking the weeping girl with 
 them. Nat cautiously lifted the door a trifle 
 and looked out. The coast was clear, and he 
 crawled up, very weak and shaky from his 
 cramped position and restrained excitement. As 
 he expected, he found that the Indians had fired 
 the cabin before taking their departure, having 
 started the fire in the loft, under the roof. It 
 was a roaring furnace before he dared leave. 
 
126 Life and Adventures of 
 
 He watched the Indians as they crossed the 
 clearing and made for the woods. At last they 
 disappeared in the foliage, an(l then, with a 
 bound, he was out of the doomed cabin and 
 speeding away like a deer to wain the settlers. 
 He ran with terrific speed the wnole of the two 
 miles, and was so- winded when he arrived that 
 he could hardly speak. But he managed to gasp 
 out — "Indians," "Cabin afire," and "Zilpha." The 
 settlers instantly guessed the whole affair and 
 the men began hastily to prepare for pursuit. 
 As but few of the men had brought their guns 
 (danger from the Indians being regarded as 
 over) some little time was consumed in sending 
 fleet boys to the various homes alter these very 
 necessary weapons. 
 
 Mr. Foster and Elisha had brouglit their rifles, 
 thinking they might have an opportunity to 
 shoot some game, and the old man could hardly 
 be restrained from starting off alone in pursuit 
 of the Indians. 
 
 In a quarter of an hour's time ail were ready. 
 Nat had sufficiently recovered his wind to head 
 the party, and borrowing a gun started off again 
 on a dog trot, which he kept up, setting the pace 
 for the party until they arrived at the site of the 
 Foster home. Nothing was left of the cabin but 
 a smouldering heap of ashes. As they came in 
 sight of it, young Nat's passions rose. 
 
Nat Foster. 127 
 
 ''Here," he exclaimed, "is my life's work, 
 ril hate the red devils worse'n dad, and I'll shoot 
 'em every chance I git." 
 
 This passionate expression arose from the 
 thought of his beautiful sister in the possession 
 of the dusky red men. Although during his life 
 he shot many Indians, yet he never seemed to 
 harbor a particularly bitter feeling against them, 
 nor made shooting them his life's work. No 
 doubt this and other experiences, together with 
 his father's instructions upon the subject, made 
 him quite undervalue the life of an American 
 Indian, and caused him to shoot them without 
 hesitation, whenever they threatened his life or 
 trespassed upon his rights. But for a ferocious 
 and blood-thirsty character, we w'll have to look 
 elsewhere; for, as I will endeavor to show in fol- 
 lowing his life, he was possessed of a naturally 
 kind disposition. He was liberal, even to the 
 Indians, against whom he was now^ swearing 
 eternal vengeance. 
 
 The pursuing party paused but a moment at 
 the site of the devastated home, and then Nat 
 led the way tO' the place where the Indians had 
 entered the woods. He took the lead himself, 
 and assumed the responsibility of detecting and 
 following their trail. At that early age the lad 
 had already gained a reputation for keenness in 
 
128 Life and Adventures of 
 
 following trails of deer, moose and other game. 
 And now, as he set out for the first time on a 
 genuine Indian's trail, his hunter's instinct was 
 quickened by love for his sister, and hatred for 
 her dusky captors. So there was nothing strange 
 in his taking the lead over older and more ex- 
 perienced men in the party, and unhesitatingly 
 and unerringly following the faint and half blind 
 trail, over hills, across streams and through 
 marshes. The Indians had taken pains to cover 
 their trail as much as possible. i)ut they could 
 not coinceal it from the eagle eve of that lad 
 whose instinct was sharpened by affection, and 
 whose heart throbbed with a brother's love, 
 while it also beat with hatred for their cowardly, 
 detestable conduct. 
 
 All the afternoon they followed the trail over 
 the hills and through glens. At first rhey thought 
 the Indians were carrying Zilpha, for no imprint 
 of a shoe could be found on the trail. But after 
 they had gone several miles, and had come to a 
 little stream where they stopped to drink, one 
 of the party found her shoes concealed in the 
 ledge of a rock. Then they knew that the 
 brutal savages were compelling her to w^alk with 
 unprotected feet in order that she might not 
 leave any mark of her leather shoes. Their be- 
 lief in this theorv was confirmed, as some miles 
 
Nat Vaster. 129 
 
 farther on, they found blood stains plainly made 
 by footprints, on some rocks tlie Indians had 
 gone over. They undoubtedly came from the 
 bruised and bleeding feet of the fair Zilpha. 
 Twice they found pieces of the hoiiH-^spun dress 
 she wore clinging to the bushes. 
 
 As the afternoon advanced, they (observed that 
 the trail was growing fresher, and they had good 
 hopes of overtaking and surprising the Indians. 
 Nat finally proposed that they stop c.nd let him 
 climb a tree to see if he could discover any signs 
 of their camp fire. To this proposition they all 
 agreed, and pausing, they watched Nat as he 
 made his way to a little knoll in which stood a 
 tall birch tree. He ascended as readily, if not 
 as rapidly .as a squirrel. 
 
 His position at the top commanded a fine view 
 of the surrounding country. To the south lay 
 the uneven land over which they had come, 
 and to the north was a gentle vnlley, through 
 which there evidently flowed a small creek. Be- 
 yond the valley stretched the broken and hazy 
 mountains, the refuge of the Indians. The trees 
 of the forest presented, in every direction, an 
 unbroken bank of green foliage. I'rom the cen- 
 ter of the valley, less than two miles away, Nat 
 observed a thin circle of smoke ascending from 
 the tree tops, evidently coming from a very small 
 
130 Life and Adventures of 
 
 fire. It was so faint that an unpracticed eye 
 would not have noticed it. It undoubtedly 
 marked the location of the Indians' camp, who 
 were evidently preparing their supper from a 
 very small fire, in order to make as little smoke 
 as possible. 
 
 Sliding down from his perch, Nat reported 
 his observations and his opinion, to which they 
 all agreed. The best mode of advancing upon 
 the Indians was then discussed. It was thought 
 that the Indians, fearing pursuit, would not stop 
 long at their present location, but would push 
 on as soon as they had eaten their supper in 
 order to reach the mountains. So it was decided 
 to advance at once to within a quaiter of a mile 
 of their camp and then send scouts forward to 
 reconnoiter. If they saw that liie Indians were 
 making no preparations for remai}jmg during 
 the night, they would attack them at once. But 
 if, on the contrary, there was evicl-.-nce of their 
 remaining, they would wait until it was dark and 
 the Indians asleep, when the chauv^^s of success 
 would be greater. 
 
 They accordingly went carefully forward until 
 they came to what they judged was a quarter of 
 a mile from the creek where the Indians' camp 
 must be, then they stopped and Nat and his. 
 father went forward to look over the ground. 
 
Nat Foster. 131 
 
 They came up, in the under'brusli, to the very 
 edge of the bubbhng brook, with the Indians' 
 camp directly opposite them, on the other bank. 
 The warriors were seated on the ground before 
 a tiny fire of sticks, eating some broiled venison 
 and parched corn. Zilpha was bound to a tree 
 a short distance away, but where the Indians 
 could watch her. 
 
 Father and son embraced each Other as they 
 beheld the girl still alive, though she was in a 
 pitiable condition. Her hair was disheveled, and 
 her dress in tatters, while her stockings had been 
 completely worn out and torn off by the rocks 
 and bushes. Her feet were cut and bleeding. 
 
 How to get Zilpha out of the ciutches of these 
 fiends was the question. If they v/ere to sur- 
 prise them without success, the first thing her 
 captors would do would be to kill her. Strategy 
 alone would be successful. 
 
 The Indians were making no pr'^parations for 
 the night, evidently intending to start on their 
 journey again as soon as they had finished their 
 meal. So what was to be done must be done 
 quickly. Here it was that the experience Mr. 
 Foster had had in the war came to his aid. 
 
 The Indians' fire was in an opening in the 
 woods and brush, a few yards from the bank of 
 the creek flowing from west to east. The In- 
 
132 Life and Adventures of 
 
 dians themselves were seated in a semi-circle 
 around the fire, facing the stream, their backs to 
 the north. Zilpha was Doimd to a tree by the 
 bank of the stream at their left. Tlie old soldier 
 immediately resolved to send a detachment of 
 his party around to the west of the camp and 
 have them come up and fire up^)n the Indians 
 from the northwest, and on their rear. At the 
 first volley the Indians, not disabled, would im- 
 mediately seize their rirles and turn to open fire 
 on the attacking party, taus giving the party on 
 the south an opportunity to sally forth, discharge 
 their pieces, and recover the giil. An exceed- 
 ingly good bit of generalship on a small scale. 
 Mr. Foster repeated these plans to Nat and then 
 dispatched his boy to the waiting ones. He 
 gave Nat the responsibility of fading the flank- 
 ing party, while he was to send Elisha with the 
 others to him. 
 
 Nat hastened away and the old man was left 
 alone. Only for a few moments, however, as he 
 was quickly joined by the men Nat had sent 
 him. Together they waited in silence, communi- 
 cating only by signs or whispers, ready to spring 
 from their hiding place as soon as Nat's party 
 engaged the Indians' attention from the rear. 
 In a short time Mr. Foster's eye, r iiough dimmed, 
 caught the gleam of the polishe..! barrel of a rifle 
 
Nat Foster. 133 
 
 in the hands of one of the flanking party in the 
 bushes away to the rear of the unsuspecting In- 
 dians. The latter, by this time, had finished 
 eating and were already beginning to tighten up 
 their belts preparatory to resuming their journey. 
 
 Signalling tO' his companions, Mr. Foster 
 cocked his rifle and all prepared to spring from 
 their covert. Suddenly a sheet of flame shot out 
 from the bushes behind the seated Indians, and 
 the reports of six rifles rang upon the air. Four 
 of the Indians never rose from the ground. 
 Those who were left alive spring to their feet 
 with rifles poised; but before they could fire, 
 Mr. Foster and his men were •")ut of the thicket 
 with a yell, discharging their pieces at the In- 
 dians as they rushed towards the bound and now 
 struggling girl. This volley left but five of the 
 Indians alive, and as Nat and his party rushed 
 into view with a whoop and a yell, they turned 
 and ran into the brush. 
 
 Tne father and brothers rushed simultaneously 
 towards Zilpha. Mr. Foster w ,s so overjoyed 
 that he could only fall on his daughter's neck 
 and weep. But Nat quickly cut the thongs which 
 bound her, and tenderly kissing her, said : "You 
 see, sis, I didn't sneak into that hole for nothing, 
 did I?" 
 
 Night was coming on and the party must 
 
134 ^^^^ ciJ^d Adventures of 
 
 make haste back to the settlements. Gathering 
 up the rifles and implements of the dead Indians, 
 they started. They had brouo^ht the shoes of 
 the captive, and, after bathing- her feet, she put 
 them on and stood the long tran.ip to the settle- 
 ment very well. They reached ii long after 
 dark, but found all the settlers waiting anxiously 
 for them; and great was the rejoicing at the re- 
 turn of the fair Zilpha, who, for her grace of 
 manners and beauty of countei-ance, was already 
 a favorite in the settlement. 
 
 The Foster home was soon rebuilt, and as be- 
 fore, on the edge of the forests. Not even this 
 serious occurrence could scare the hardy old 
 soldier or his brave family away. They were 
 never again molested by the Indians, but their 
 days spent in peace and prosperity. 
 
 The only other melancholy feature of this raid 
 by the Indians was the destruction of the very 
 famous old smooth bore rifle. Elisha particu- 
 larly mourned its loss; to him it had been a 
 constant companion, and for whom it had fre- 
 quently done invaluable service in delivering 
 him from great personal danger at the last ex- 
 tremity. The old fowling piece, as I have men- 
 tioned, was the only firearm in the cabin at the 
 time the Indians made their raid, and they had 
 either overlooked it, or did not consider it worth 
 
Nat Foster. 
 
 135 
 
 carrying away. Only its warped and twisted 
 barrel was found in the ashes of the home. Thus 
 lamentably ended the career of the famous old 
 gun, which had figured so conspicuously in the 
 early history of the boys. 
 
 The residence of the Foster iamiiy at Johns- 
 town marked the development of the boys and 
 girls into men and women, and the addition of 
 four children to the household. The following 
 children were born after the fan^ly settled at 
 Johnstown, or more properly the Fish House. 
 Elihu in 1784, Polly in 1788, Lydia in 1791, and 
 Shubal in 1795. The last named son afterwards 
 figured in several adventures with his brother 
 Nat. Zilpha's hand was won by a gallant swain 
 of the neighborhood, and Elisha's heart was 
 smitten by a fair daughter of the settlement. Her 
 he married. 
 
 This "stepping off" of his brother made Nat 
 feel rather blue at first. But as their hunting 
 and trapping excursions were ir; be continued 
 as before, he expressed himself as satisfied. 
 
 Thus was Nat matured under the sturdy dis- 
 cipline, yet free life of a hunter and trapper. He 
 seldom allowed a month to go by without taking 
 his gun and dog and going for a tramp of two 
 or three days in the wilderness in pursuit of 
 game. Farming was always irksome to him, 
 
136 Lite and Adventures of 
 
 though he never neglected to help his father 
 with the farm work, particularly during seed 
 time and harvest. He never neglected his own 
 farm when he came to possess one. But as soon 
 as fall and winter approached he would bring 
 forth his traps and snares, and rubbing off the 
 coat of tallow that had been put on in the spring 
 to keep them from rusting, he laid out and car- 
 ried on his work for the winter. l\'JaD3^ and varied 
 were his experiences during the years spent 
 under the paternal roof at Johnstown. 
 
 But realizing that I must omit many details of 
 his interesting life, let me pass on to the time 
 when he reached man's estate. 
 
CHAPTER VIIL 
 
 NAT was a large muscular fellow when he 
 attained his majority. He possessed the 
 peculiarity of having double or molar teeth all 
 around his jaws; and being double jointed, with 
 other peculiarities, which gave him great 
 strength. His early life had been, as we have 
 seen, one of hardships, with frequent encounters 
 with ferocious wild animals and a number of 
 encounters with the still wild Indian. All of 
 this, coupled with the entire absence of educa- 
 tion, (which it was impossible for him to get 
 when a lad) made him adapted to a life of daring 
 adventure and exciting exploits that would test 
 the nerve and muscle of a man. 
 
 He once said of himself that when he was 
 twenty-one he was ready to measure his strength 
 with any man, no matter what color, "whether 
 vv'hite, black or red." He had inherited his 
 father's huge frame; this, with his vigorous toil 
 in the fields, extensive tramps in the woods w4ien 
 growing, together with the muscular peculiarity 
 noted, made him at this time the possessor of 
 
138 Life and Adventures of 
 
 unusual strength and endurance, and endowed 
 him with dauntless courage, almost bordering 
 on recklessness. Foster has given an interesting 
 account of an adventure which occurred in his 
 twenty-first year and has been preserved by the 
 family tradition, and which I will give in pre- 
 sumably his own words. 
 
 "It was in the month of August," he was wont 
 to say, ''and work on father s farm being slack, 
 and I twenty-one, thought it time to begin to 
 think of striking out for myself. So I went on a 
 tramp north, deep in the woods, for the purpose 
 of selecting a route for hunting and trapping 
 in the fall and winter. I filled my pack basket 
 with provisions and with my rifle and my faith- 
 ful bitch dog Rose by my side, who could scent 
 .any kind of a varmit a mile away, I started off. 
 I soon found I could kill and secure all the game 
 I wished, but it wasn't late enough in the season 
 for prime fur. I tramped into the great wilder- 
 ness as far as Piesco Lake, where I proposed to 
 make my camp for the fall and winter's hunt. 
 After constructing a log camp on the shore of 
 the lake, which took me a couple of days, I 
 started back for home on the morning of the 
 third day, intending to reach there by the follow- 
 ing night. I tramped leisurely along in the fore- 
 noon, stopping to note favorable streams and 
 
Nat Foster. 139 
 
 places to locate my traps during the coming sea- 
 son. I stopped for a considerable of a spell at 
 Sacandaga river and its vicinity, and it was the 
 middle of the afternoon before I thought of 
 starting ofT homeward in real earnest. Finally 
 I started of¥, walking merrily along, congratu- 
 lating myself on the pleasantness of the trip. 
 No Indians to bother me and lots of game, 
 though not prime. I only killed one deer and 
 that was to get its saddle, to add fresh meat to 
 my lardei 
 
 "As I was thus engaged in these pleasant 
 reveries, my dog suddenly commenced to growl, 
 while every hair on her back pointed straight 
 towards her head. I asked her if there was any 
 game around and she only growled the more. 
 Then I asked her if it was Injuns, and she came 
 close up to me and looked up to my face as 
 much as to say yes. So I sat down on a log 
 among some bushes and listened. I couldn't see 
 or hear a thing, yet I knew from my dog's ac- 
 tion that some kind of varmints was around, 
 and from her actions I suspected it was Injuns. 
 I waited and listened, I guess, fifteen minutes 
 before I heard anything. Then I heard the 
 footsteps of someone approaching. My faith- 
 ful dog at my command ceased growling, but 
 crowded close to me, all the while on nettles, 
 and shaking from excitement. 
 
140 Life and Adventures of 
 
 "I was situated on the top of a small knoll, 
 just above the river. The noise of the approach- 
 ing footsteps came along the bank of the river 
 from the west on the same side I was on. In a 
 few minutes I saw three Indians coming up the 
 bank of the river. But I kept perfectly still, 
 and thought I would let the red devils pass. I 
 quickly noted that there was only one gun in 
 the party and I could easily have cleaned out 
 the three of them by first picking ofif the one 
 that carried the gun. But I thought if they be- 
 haved themselves I would not molest them, 
 though I ached to crack 'em, for I had particu- 
 larly" hated the race ever sence they captured 
 Zilpha. But I didn't know as these particular 
 three had ever done me or my folks any harm, 
 so I let them alone. They passed by the foot 
 of the knoll where me and my dog were con- 
 cealed, and proceeding on down the stream a few 
 rods, they commenced to build a fire and make a 
 camp. After watching them a little while I com- 
 menced to think of slipping off, when to my 
 surprise, I saw two more of the red devils com- 
 ing down the river bank. They walked in In- 
 dian file, and as they passed me, I was dum- 
 founded to see a white child apparently eight or 
 nine years old, walking between them. It was 
 tired out, and as it lagged, the Indian behind 
 
Nat Foster. 141 
 
 it would strike it with the handle of his hatchet. 
 I couldn't tell at first whether it was a boy or 
 girl, with its clothes torn off, but from its long 
 hair I calculated it was a little girl. 
 
 "You can imagine my feelings. I instantly 
 thought of my sister whom I had assisted in res- 
 cuing from the Indians five years before. And 
 here was some one else's sister, of far more ten- 
 der years than was mine, at the mercy of these 
 savage brutes. I immediately determined to get 
 the girl out of their clutches or die in the at- 
 tempt. I noted that the red devil in the lead car- 
 ried a gun. My first impulse was to shoot him 
 on the spot. But I instantly recollected that the 
 one in the rear would sink his tomahawk into 
 the head of the child the moment I fired, so I 
 kept still. Tney came up to the camp and the 
 child, although nearly helpless from fatigue, 
 w^as bound to a tree. Then all five of the red 
 skins went on building their camp, cutting 
 boughs and gathering firewood. As it grew dark 
 their fire was replenished, and as it burned up 
 it lighted up the whole of the camp. I saw the 
 villains very plainly as they lounged on their 
 boughs eating their venison, giving a few mor- 
 sels to the child, but making no offers to release 
 the poor thing from her strained position. 
 
142 Life and Adventures of 
 
 ''All the while I was setting my wits to work 
 how to get the child. I knew very well that I 
 had an all night's job on my hands. But to get 
 possession of the captive, I resolved to do or 
 die. I w'as thirty miles from home, from any 
 settlement, in fact; and nothing around me but 
 wild beasts and this band of red savages. 
 
 "The first thing I did after it got quite dark, 
 was to carry my pack basket about a mile down 
 the trail towards home. There I left it and my 
 dog to guard it and returned to my former posi- 
 tion on the hill. This took me probably half an 
 hour. When I got back I saw by the light of the 
 fire that the Injuns had rolled themselves in their 
 blankets. I waited for an hour, until the fire 
 had burnt very low and I judged the Injuns 
 were asleep. Then I commenced to work up 
 towards their camp, using the utmost caution, 
 for an Injun always sleeps with one eye open. 
 But in spite of my care, when I had got up close 
 tO' their camp, and was settling down to take 
 further observations, a stick I had unwittingly 
 placed my foot on snapped with a loud report. 
 In an instant all five of them Injuns were on 
 their feet and yelling as only their kind of the 
 human race can, as they give their whoup 
 of surprise or alarm. But I was not the only 
 creature prowling about their camp, and taking 
 
Nat Foster. 143 
 
 observations, for the whoop of the red devils, 
 as they sprang to their feet and seized their 
 guns and hatchets, startled a huge panther that 
 was in a tree right over their heads. He, too, 
 it seems, had been sneaking up to the camp, 
 only he had been more successful than I had 
 been in approaching without disturbing the 
 slumbering savages. As the Injuns yelled the 
 beast gave an aw^ful scream and sprang into the 
 bushes on the opposite side of the camp to me, 
 and all five of the red skins rushed pell niell 
 into the bushes after him, supposing he was the 
 one that had disturbed them. This mistake was 
 my opportunity. As they plunged into the 
 darkness, I rushed forward and quickly cutting 
 the thongs which bound the little girl, took her 
 into my arms and told her not to cry and I 
 would take her back to her folks, and hurried 
 away. Providence had been kind and provided 
 a way which was very wonderful to me, to get 
 the child without any struggle with her captors. 
 With these thoughts in my mind I carried her 
 to my basket and dog, sooner than any Injun 
 could have gone without any load to carry. I 
 set the child down by the basket and listened, 
 but could hear nothing. But still I knew this 
 was a race for life. I knew the red devils would 
 return to their camp in a very few moments 
 
144 -^^^^ ^^^ Adventures of 
 
 after leaving it, for if they did not shoot the pan- 
 ther right away they would let it go. I had 
 heard no gun, so I knew that by this time they 
 had returned and found their captive gone. 
 Probably they were already on my trail. 
 
 ''My pack basket was a good-sized one and I 
 decided to carry the child in that. Throwing 
 out everything but my blanket, I arranged that 
 in the shape of a seat. Then I put the child in 
 the basket and strapped it on my back and tell- 
 ing the poor thing to stop crying, (for she was 
 weeping in a quiet sort of way), and go to sleep, 
 if she could, I started off for civilization, picking 
 my way as best I could and covering up my 
 trail as much as possible. How soon the red 
 devils would be upon me I did not know, but I 
 relied on my dog to tell me. By daylight I 
 judged I had covered some six or eight miles. 
 I entered a gap or small valley between tv/o 
 hills as the sun commenced to rise. I began to 
 think by this time that a few moments rest and 
 a bite of breakfast would give me strength, for 
 the Injuns had cheated me out of my supper 
 the night before. So I concluded to go up one 
 of those little ravines, washed out by water rush- 
 ing down a hill in the spring, for I could conceal 
 my trail better on the pebbles and stones. So I 
 made my way up one of the gorges about twenty 
 
Nat Foster. 145 
 
 rods and set down my basket and helped the girl 
 from her cramped position. I had only reserved 
 a piece of bread and a bit of cold venison from 
 the provisions I threw away, and about half a 
 pint of rum in a pocket flask. Dividing the 
 meat between the dog and the child, I munched 
 the bread and drank some of the spirits and felt 
 much refreshed. 
 
 "As we ate our breakfast I questioned the 
 girl, and found that her name was Mary French 
 and that she was ten years old, but she was small 
 for her age. Her home, she said, was near 
 Johnstown. And that she with several children 
 had gone into the woods the day before to 
 gather blackberries, and while she was sep- 
 arated from the others the Indians had suddenly 
 appeared and carried her off before she could 
 give any alarm. This accounted for the leisurely 
 manner the Indians had journeyed. For the 
 little one being secretly captured, her people 
 w^ould think her lost, and so would not be so apt 
 to discover their trail and follow them. 
 
 ''As I was thinking of starting on again, my 
 dog commenced to growl and tremble with ex- 
 citement. I knew that the red devils were at last 
 on my track and very near me. I knew, too, if 
 there was going to be a fight, my position was 
 a good one. But I decided to keep still and let 
 
146 Life and Adventures of 
 
 them pass if they would, for with the child on 
 niv hands, I did not want to commence a fieht 
 five to one. And, too, I knew that the child's 
 people must soon be on the Indians' trail, if 
 they were any kind ol hunters at all, and must 
 be that way before long. 
 
 "Soon two of the Injuns went past on a dog- 
 trot. One had a gun and the other his knife 
 and hatchet. I let them, pass for I very well 
 knew that if I commenced the fight they would 
 soon know that I was alone, and if I didn't suc- 
 ceed in wiping them all out at once, they would 
 lay by and wait for me to give up, if it took them 
 a week. In a few minutes the other three hove 
 in sight, going at the same pace as the others. 
 They were looking at the ground, trying to fol- 
 low my trail, but it was a hard one to follow. 
 They did not discover it leading into the gulch 
 where I was, but passed on. I don't know how 
 far they went, but in a few moments they came 
 back, looking for my trail. They finally found 
 it at the foot of the hill, and started up the gorge 
 where I was. I concluded that now was the 
 time for action. The little one commenced to 
 cry at the sight of the dreadful fiends coming 
 up the ravine, but I hushed her up and told her 
 to keep still, and I would send them back ta 
 Canada, which I did, as you shall see. 
 
Nat Foster. 147 
 
 "The red skins, intent on studying my foot- 
 prints among the loose pebbles, were half way 
 up the gulch before I made a move. They were 
 in single file, the first one carrying the gun. 
 Now I cocked my rifle and thought I would see 
 what a shot would do in the way of 'scaring' 
 them ofif. I fired, and the leader dropped his 
 firearm. The other two stood still a minute to 
 locate my position, I suppose, and I quickly 
 loaded and fired again. With that the red devil 
 last in the line turned and ran for all he was 
 worth towards Piesco Lake ; and I hastily loaded 
 and fired again in his direction, just to help him 
 along; but I did not follow him. Like enough 
 he got there; and maybe they all got back to 
 Canada, but I know they did not come any far- 
 ther up the gorge. We kept quiet for a while,, 
 the child, the dog and myself, but finally we 
 heard a gun fired not more than a quarter of a 
 mile away. Soon another and still another shot 
 was fired, and then I immediately began to pre- 
 pare to fire return shots, for three shots were the 
 signals in those days, when people were looking 
 for lost children. I fired my three shots and they 
 were answered at once. Then I was sure that 
 some of little Mary's friends were in the vicinity. 
 So putting her in my basket again, I started ofif, 
 and after more shots and some hallooing wc got 
 
148 Life and Adventures of 
 
 together. Little Mary's father was in the party 
 and their meeting was a joyful one." 
 
 In some such a manner as this Nat w^as wont 
 to narrate his adventures in after years to his 
 grand-children, one of which he w^as particularly 
 fond of, and when the lad was six or seven years 
 old, and he an old man, he w^ould amuse the 
 child for hours by telling him adventures like 
 the above. And by reason of this custom of his, 
 I am enabled to give so many details of his life, 
 they being preserved in the memory of his 
 grand-children. 
 
 In spite of this serious brush with the Indians 
 in the then great wilderness about the Sacan- 
 daga River, I am told that the young hunter 
 went on his contemplated hunting and trapping 
 excursion to Piesco Lake the following fall, and 
 spent a most profitable season, the first of many 
 subsequent ones, hunting and trapping for busi- 
 ness and pleasure. It was in his twenty-first 
 year that young Nat first met Nicholas Stoner, 
 another famous hunter and trapper of Northern 
 New^ York. Stoner was a few years older than 
 Nat, but the young man's straight and sturdy 
 frame, together wath his being partial for hunt- 
 ing, and his manly ways, won at once the ad- 
 miration and lasting friendship of Stoner. From 
 their first meeting they were w'arm friends, and 
 
Nat Foster. 149 
 
 often companioned together in tramps and 
 hunts, and other occasions, as the following in- 
 cident will show. It was the year after Nat's 
 skirmish with the Indians, just narrated, that he 
 consented to pay a visit with Stoner to a 
 village on the Sacandaga River, to par- 
 ticipate in some sports and games to be held 
 there on "Independence Day," as the Fourth of 
 July was always called in those days. 
 
 Stoner had so much confidence in the superior 
 strength and ability of his new friend that he 
 was sure he would easily carry of¥ all the honors 
 of the day. Young Foster and his companion 
 reached St. Johnsville in the early part of the 
 forenoon of the day of sports, for Independence 
 Day was distinctively a day of sports, as it was 
 never allowed to pass without games of foot 
 racing, jumping and wrestling being on the pro- 
 gramme. Nat's appearance with Stoner, who 
 was well known in the village, created no little 
 surprise and interest. The young man, straight 
 as an arrow .and over six feet tall, was dressed 
 in a striking costume gotten up by Stoner for the 
 occasion. He wore a heavy hunting shirt, laced 
 with thongs of deerskin. His tnighs were cov- 
 ered with a pair of buckskin breeches, supported 
 at the waist by a wide belt of leather, while a 
 pair of leggings and moccasins of buckskin^ 
 
150 Life and Adventures of 
 
 neatly worked and beaded, covered his feet and 
 legs. This costume was completed by a cocked 
 hat of the times. He was at once the most con- 
 spicuous figure of the assembled crowds. The 
 sports were opened with a free-for-all foot race 
 of forty rods; the best six in the race were to 
 run two more heats, and the prize given to the 
 winner in the last heat or run. Nat took his 
 place with the motley crowd that prepared to run 
 the first time. But following the private advice 
 of his friend, he only kept up with the leaders, 
 and apparently was no better than the ordinary 
 when the dash was finished. And in the second 
 run, he only came out a foot ahead of the others. 
 But it was in the third heat that he was to show 
 himself as one of extraordinary speed, though 
 he was already exciting great interest, and many 
 inquiries were made as to who this strange young 
 man, clad in buckskin, was. Stoner would not 
 give his name to any of his friends, and Nat him- 
 self, in obedience to Stoner's instructions, would 
 tell no one. He would only say that his name 
 was Leatherstocking, and that he came from a 
 long distance through the woods. A very sig- 
 nificant fact which I will show later. 
 
 An old gentleman of the village approached 
 him and respectfully asked him his name and 
 where from, but Nat gave him only an evasive 
 
Nat Foster. 151 
 
 answer, though something in the old man's ap- 
 pearance and manner attracted his attention, and 
 he thought he had seen him before. But as Nat 
 had never been in the village before, he con- 
 cluded it was only a fancy, and forgot all about 
 it, particularly as the third and last call for the 
 foot race was now being announced. The six 
 contestants c^uickly placed themselves in line. 
 There was no ''fixing up" in those days or strip- 
 ping and rubbing down if sprinters, for they ran 
 in their ordinary clothes, discarding their coat 
 and hat. Stoner, knowing well how this last run 
 would terminate, resolved to prepare an even 
 greater surprise for the assembly than would be 
 afiforded by Nat's mere winning the race. So he 
 found a long pole and going to the end of the 
 race course, he took up his position there and 
 placed one end of the pole on his own shoulder, 
 while he got another man to support it at the 
 other end, thus making a hurdle five feet in 
 height. When the word was given to start Nat 
 gave a bound which placed his competitors in 
 the rear, and distancing them all, he dashed over 
 the course and cleared the pole with a mighty 
 leap, before the other runners had gone over 
 half the course. Naturally the young stranger 
 was loudly cheered as he returned to the start- 
 ing place accompanied by Stoner, and he was 
 
152 Life and Adventures of 
 
 immediately led away to receive the prize, which 
 w^as a beaded cap made by the young ladies of 
 the village. It was presented to him by a hand- 
 some young woman, who modestly but pleas- 
 antly asked the victor his name. Nat received 
 the cap with a graceful bow, but as before, de- 
 clined to give his name, merely answering that 
 he came from a long distance through the woods. 
 
 But for all he gave such a quiet answer, his 
 mind was turbulent and confused, for he was 
 certain he had seen the young woman's face be- 
 fore, but where or when he could not imagine; 
 but concealing his confusion as much as possi- 
 ble, he turned and walked away with Stoner. 
 
 Nat was not able to hide his excitement from 
 his friend, however, who thought he had been 
 smitten by the fair face of the girl, for he inmie- 
 diately began to tease him by telling him how 
 the girl was smitten too. 
 
 "Do you really think she knew me?" asked 
 Nat very innocently. 
 
 ''Know you," said Stoner, "how could she 
 know you, when you've been in the woods all 
 your life; why she is a daughter of that old fel- 
 low that spoke to you after the second heat,*' he 
 continued, all unconscious of the excitement his 
 announcement was stirring up in the heart of 
 his friend. 
 
Nat Poster. 153 
 
 But Nat kept his excitement and his own 
 thoughts to himself, and turned the conversation 
 to other subjects. There were a number of other 
 sports to take place, but he no longer had a de- 
 sire to participate in them, for he could only 
 think of the fair face of the girl whose hands had 
 placed the cap on his head. He took it off re- 
 peatedly to examine it, and wondered as he 
 looked at the marvelous needlework, how much 
 of it had been done by her own fingers. In the 
 afternoon the wTestling matches were to take 
 place. There were many calls for the young 
 stranger who wore the leather leggins, and 
 there was a loud hurrah as Nat appeared in the 
 crowd. But still he did not wish to take part 
 in any of the matches, but said he would rather 
 look on. There were two or three bouts be- 
 tween some of the younger lads of the village, 
 and then a big burly fellow, known in the village 
 for his prowess, stepped into the ring and chal- 
 lenged any one in the assembly to engage with 
 him, but no one responded, for the challenger 
 was too well known in the village as a wrestler. 
 He repeated his challenge, and as no one re- 
 sponded, this feature of the day's sports promised 
 to be very tame; until some one suggested that 
 the stranger take hold. But Nat shook his head 
 decisively as the fellow in the ring bawled out: 
 "Yes, bring on the bully and I will meet him." 
 
154 J-if^ CL^d Adventures of 
 
 This taunt was too much for Nat, and with his 
 cheeks burning with indignation and his eyes 
 flashing, he stepped forward and asked the con- 
 ditions of the match. "Collar and elbow, best 
 two in three, you fool," blurted out his antag- 
 onist, who was plainly spoiling for a fray. Nat 
 paid noi attention to^ this sally, but pausing at 
 the edge of the ring, spoke up in a clear voice 
 and said: "Gentlemen, there will be no hard- 
 ness on my part if this man throws me, and if I 
 am lucky enough to throw him he must bear no 
 ill-will towards me, on no other terms will I 
 enter the ring." The eager crowd quickly 
 answered an agreement to this with shouts of 
 "Go on, go on." Nat tightened his belt and 
 handed his prize cap, which he was still wearing, 
 to Stoner, who whispered to his friend to be 
 sure and preserve the honor of the cap ; and with 
 a ctieery "never fear," Nat stepped into the ring. 
 The man our hero was to meet was about thirty 
 years old; he was six feet and two inches in 
 height, in fact, a perfect giant to behold. Nat 
 in spite of his own height, looked small beside 
 him. To all appearances the old wrestler had the 
 advantage, as he himself probably firmly be- 
 lieved. But Nat was as spry as a cat, and his 
 double joints gave him the strength of tw^o men; 
 but all this was unknown to his antagonist, who 
 
Nat Foster. 155 
 
 was regarded as the best wrestler in all the coun- 
 try. He had no idea that this strange lad, who 
 came from no one knew where, would be any- 
 thing but a plaything in his hands. But he was 
 soon to be undeceived. 
 
 The first remark made by "Sandy," as the fel- 
 low was called, w^as, "Young man, what is your 
 weight?" 
 
 "One hundred and eighty pounds, sir," an- 
 swered Nat, respectfully, "and now, sir," he 
 continued, "you will please to give me your 
 avoirdupois." 
 
 "Two hundred and sixteen pounds," promptly 
 answered Sandy. "And wdiy do you ask," he 
 continued, eyeing Nat curiously. 
 
 "Oh, I just thought I would know how much 
 I've got to lift, that's all," was Nat's cool reply. 
 
 "Young man," said Sandy, "you wont lift that 
 weight to-day ; the proof of the pudding is in the 
 eating; come on." 
 
 "So you sa3^" retorted Nat, as he approached 
 his opponent. 
 
 The sport began; step by step they ap- 
 proached each other and finally got down to real 
 work, when Nat put his foot at his antagonist's 
 knee and Sandy gave a trip and twitch calculated 
 to throw Nat: But he was prepared for this; 
 
156 Life and Adventures of 
 
 the trip did not reach, and Nat landed Sandy- 
 flat on his back. 
 
 The hurrah that went up from the crowd was 
 deafening. 
 
 "Sandy is down, Sandy is down," was the cry. 
 The two hundred and sixteen pounds had been 
 Hfted very easily. In a few moments order was 
 restored, and Sandy, anxious to redeem him- 
 self, shouted, "Come on, boy, come on, 1 will 
 shovv you that mistakes wall happen to the best 
 of men." 
 
 They now engaged in the second match. Nat 
 did not wait for any false moves this time, but 
 showed his great and superior strength by step- 
 ping on Sandy's toe and lifting him from the 
 ground, when he threw him on his back again. 
 
 By this time Sandy was in a rage. And not 
 satisfied with the result, wanted to try again. 
 But Nat said: "No; twice is enough, for its the 
 best two in three, you know, and I've had that."" 
 But still Sandy insisted; but Nat declared it 
 would not be according to the terms, for it 
 would then be "three out of three." 
 
 "Oh, don't be so sure, my lad," retorted 
 Sandy, "just come on and I will show you I was 
 only fooling." 
 
 *'No," 'answered Nat, "you would not be sat- 
 isfied, an\'how." 
 
Nat Foster. 157 
 
 Then Sandy wanted to fight. But at this Nat 
 told him he would probably come out second 
 best as he had already done. With that Sandy 
 called Nat a coward, and such other hard names, 
 that it required his best efforts to keep cool. 
 
 At last Sandy said if Nat would take only one 
 "back hold" with him he would be satisfied. 
 Now this was Nat's favorite hold, so he imme- 
 diately told Sandy that if that would satisfy him, 
 he would consent. In less than a minute the 
 two contestants were together. Sandy, no doubt, 
 thought he was the strongest of the two, and if 
 he had gotten Nat down he probably intended to 
 punish him to his satisfaction before the crowd 
 interfered. But such was not the case, for Nat's 
 peculiar build enabled him to settle the affair 
 very quicklv. He approached Sandy, gave "fond 
 embrace" for about a quarter of a minute, and 
 then let go, when Sandy fell to the ground in a 
 heap, bleeding from the nose. 
 
 This settled the wrestling. Nat was at once 
 the hero of the day, and the crowd, cheering 
 loudly, were preparing to carry him triumphantly 
 to the tavern, when a great commotion was ob- 
 served in another crowd of the villagers on the 
 river bank, and the cry reached them of "a man 
 and woman in the water." Hearing this, Nat 
 sprang from the shoulders of the men and ran as 
 only he could, to the river. There he saw a boat 
 
158 Life and Adventures of 
 
 bottom side up, and two persons, a man and a 
 woman, struggling in the water. The man was 
 just able to keep his head above the surface and 
 struggle weakly towards the bank, while the 
 woman was being swept away by the current. 
 She sank as he was looking, and as she ap- 
 IDeared again, Nat recognized the face of the 
 young woman who had excited his interest in 
 the morning; and as she sank for the third time, 
 he plunged into the stream and reached her, 
 only by diving and groping for her on the muddy 
 bottom of the river. He made his way to the 
 bank with the girl in his arms, and tenderly as- 
 sisted in carrying her to a house. He knew 
 who she was now. From two little telltale moles 
 on her neck he was convinced that it was none 
 other than Mary Wilson, the friend and sweet- 
 heart of his childhood; and the old gentleman 
 who had spoken to him in the morning, who 
 had been rescued by' others from the river, was 
 her father, who had on one occasion so ill- 
 treated him when he was a lad. As soon as he 
 learned that their name was Wilson, thus know- 
 ing that his convictions were true, he started 
 for home, in spite of the protestations of his 
 friend Stoner. 
 
 As soon as i\Ir. Wilson recovered from his 
 ducking he sent for the stranger and hero of 
 
Nat Foster. 159 
 
 the day to reward him for his crowning act of 
 gallantry and bravery, but of course, he was no- 
 where to be found. 
 
 Months afterward, he learned who Nat was, 
 and sent a message to him, telling him he re- 
 membered with regret his treatment of him at 
 one time in his boyhood, and offering him any 
 reward he might ask for the service he had ren- 
 dered him in saving his only daughter. It is 
 said Nat sent back word that he was welcome 
 to the service he had rendered, but that the 
 treatment he had received at his hands could 
 never be forgotten. 
 
 Foster was once asked later in his life why he 
 did not claim the girl as a reward, and he said 
 he could not marry the daughter of a Tory. 
 But no doubt the truth was that, with his natural 
 wisdom and discernment of the fitness of things, 
 he recognized the wide difference between him 
 and Mary Wilson, in education and culture, 
 which was not so marked when they were chil- 
 dren together. At all events he did not appear 
 to possess any lasting sentimental thoughts for 
 her who was the companion of his childhood, 
 and in a couple of years after this incident mar- 
 ried another woman, who for fifty years was his 
 faithful helpmeet. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 T the age of twenty-three or four (his exact 
 '®1 age we are unable to ascertain) Nat followed 
 the example of his brother Elisha and "commit- 
 ted matrimony." The young w^onian he selected 
 for his partner in life was Jemima Streeter, 
 daughter of one Amos Streeter. Jeptha R. 
 Simms, in a short sketch of the life of our hero 
 in his book, ''Trappers of New York," copy- 
 righted in 1850, makes the statement that Miss 
 Jemima was a New Hampshire lass; but we are 
 authoritatively informed by descendants of Fos- 
 ter, that she w^as a New York girl, and that she 
 came from St. LawTence county, her father 
 being a justice of that county. The details of 
 Nat's courtship and marriage are very meager, 
 so meager in fact, that I have none at all. But 
 as this event in its generalities is the same in the 
 life of any man, be he prince or pauper, we can 
 well aflford to pass over this feature of his life 
 and meet him again as he is settled on his own 
 farm at Salisbury, Herkimer county. New York. 
 In person he was, as I have mentioned, about 
 
Nat Foster. i6i 
 
 six feet tall, erect and strongly built, possessing 
 a muscular frame that seemed well adapted for 
 enduring the fatigues of the chase. His features 
 were commanding, though not handsome. His 
 eyes were blue and had a merry twinkle. Long 
 before his face would relax into a smile, his ex- 
 pressive eyes would tell of the approaching man- 
 ifestation of pleasure. This pleasant peculiarity 
 he retained all through his life. 
 
 The country around his new home at Salis- 
 bury was mostly a wilderness and alive with 
 game. Indeed, one of the chief reasons, we may 
 believe, for his leaving the associations of his 
 relation, and with his young wife seeking a new 
 home farther in the wilderness, was that he 
 might follow with greater success his favorite 
 avocation, hunting and trapping. 
 
 From the time he settled at Salisbury, until 
 the tragedy at the Old Forge in his old age, he 
 followed the fortunes of a hunter with marked 
 success. In justice to him I must state that all 
 through his long career he never neglected his 
 farm at Salisbury. In a few years after his set- 
 tlement there he possessed a farm of one hun- 
 dred and fifty acres, which received his careful 
 attention. He grew annually good-sized crops 
 of grain. Wheat, buckwheat, rye and oats being 
 among the cereals he raised. He would always 
 
1 62 Life and Adventures of 
 
 sell his surplus grain at a reasonable figure, pay- 
 ing no attention to the market prices for these 
 commodities, though always posted on the mar- 
 ketable value of furs and pelts. Very often, I 
 am told, when the prices of grain were high, and 
 the winters severe, he would load a sleigh with 
 bags of grain, and going about the surrounding 
 country, give a couple of bags to every poor 
 family whose home he passed, and in the spring 
 any one could get seeding from him for nothing,, 
 if he had it to spare. 
 
 For a long time he conducted an "ashery" for 
 the making of potash in connection with his 
 farming, employing men to collect the ashes and 
 do the work for him. Wood being the only fuel 
 of the time, wood ashes were plentiful and easily 
 obtained. From them was made the potash re- 
 ferred to. The ashes were put in leaches, simply 
 old barrels or boxes with troughs underneath; 
 water was then filtered through them which, 
 after soaking through the ashes, ran from the 
 troughs a stong lye. The lye thus obtained was 
 then boiled down and poured into pot shaped 
 moulds, from whence the name pot-ash was ob- 
 tained. These crystals were then shipped to 
 Albany, where the material was manufactured 
 into pearl ash and soda ash. He also had a large 
 fish pond on his farm where he kept trout that 
 
Nat Foster. 163 
 
 he might always be able to give his friends a 
 treat when they visited him by serving fresh 
 trout at some meal. 
 
 I mention these various facts connected 
 with his farm to show that he was an industrious, 
 benevolent citizen, and in no sense a shiftless, 
 indolent hunter and trapper. His excursions 
 into the woods every autumn and w^intcr for 
 hunting and trapping were matters of business 
 fully as much as pleasure for him. For thirty 
 years he thus lived at Salisbury, leading the life 
 of a hunter, trapper and farmer. He raised a 
 large family of children, for whom he provided 
 carefully and conscientiously. 
 
 When he settled at Salisbury he could neither 
 read nor write. But some time after his settle- 
 ment there, one of the storekeepers of the village 
 taught him tO' write his name, and from this 
 accomplishment he branched out into arithmetic 
 and reading, mastering the rudiments of both, 
 with the help of the storekeeper and his wife. 
 
 In a year or two after he settled at Salisbury, 
 his father and brother Elisha moved from the 
 east and settled with their families in the same 
 town, so that Nat took up his hunting again 
 with Elisha, though it does not appear that they 
 companioned in this pursuit as much as before; 
 but his youngest brothers, Elihu and ShubaeU 
 
t64 Life and Adventures of 
 
 very frequently accompanied him in his hunt- 
 ing- and trapping excursions deep into the 
 forests. 
 
 At the time Nat emigrated to Herkimer 
 county, game was so abundant that with his 
 fondness for the sport, together with the induce- 
 ments offered for hunting by the bounties paid 
 for wolves, black bears and panthers, his pursuit 
 of game was a source of great profit. He began 
 his pioneer residence in the winter and by spring 
 he had taken enough fur, mostly beaver, I am 
 told, to purchase a cow and many articles neces- 
 sary to housekeeping and farming. He after- 
 wards obtained yearly large quantities of valu- 
 able fur, such as beaver, otter, martin, fisher and 
 muskrat. It was nothing for him to have sev- 
 eral hundred traps set in a single season during 
 the years when he was in his prime and the 
 game abundant. He of course, employed men 
 to assist him in such stupendous work, paying 
 them good wages, and having a fair margin 
 left for his own profit. Deers, bears, wolves and 
 panthers were so numerous about Salisbury for 
 years after he made his home on the borders of 
 the woods, that he slaughtered them in great 
 numbers. It is believed to be justly said that 
 he killed more of these animals collectively than 
 any other white man in the State, having slain 
 
Nat Foster. 165 
 
 no less than seventy-five deer in one season and 
 ninety-six bears in three seasons. Wolves he 
 killed and trapped in large numbers. One sea- 
 son, when the bounty on them was high, he had 
 two lines of wolf traps extending from Salis- 
 bury into the very heart of the Adirondacks; 
 some say it extended clear through the wilder- 
 ness to the St. Lawrence river. This is not im- 
 probable, considering his general extensive 
 operations, and the fact that some of the ad- 
 ventures he had, which we will note, occurred 
 in the county of St. Lawrence. 
 
 The avails of his hunting and trapping 
 amounted one season, when a liberal bounty was 
 paid on wolves, bears and panthers, and he had 
 taken an unusual number of furs of other ani- 
 mals, to twelve hundred dollars, which he had in 
 gold in the spring after he had closed up all of 
 his sales and accounts. This was a vast sum 
 for those days. 
 
 The bounties paid for the destruction of wild 
 animals often made the town taxes something 
 of a burden. One year a quite wealthy farmer 
 took a stand at the town meeting against paying 
 so large a bounty as was then paid, and suc- 
 ceeded in securing a large reduction in the 
 prices paid by the officers for bears' tails, wolves' 
 heads and panthers' ears. At this all the hunt- 
 
1 66 Life and Adventures of 
 
 ers of the township turned their attention to other 
 game and purposely let the wolves and panthers 
 alone. In a year's time they had greatly in- 
 creased, the wolves particularly coming from the 
 interior of the wilderness in great numbers at- 
 tracted tO' the settlements by the toothsome, and 
 now more easily obtained sheep. Foster had told 
 his wealthy neighbor that he would be sorry for 
 the manner in which he had worked and voted 
 at the town meeting. And after the animals had 
 had time to increase, he was not surprised one 
 day to be told a most pitiful story by the same 
 farmer, of the injuries and loss he had sustained 
 the night before by wolves, which had gotten 
 into his sheep fold and destroyed more property 
 than his tax had amounted to when the bounty 
 for wolf scalps was the highest. But the farmer 
 found he was "barking up the wrong tree" when 
 he told his tale to Foster, for after listening to 
 him a moment he interrupted him by saying, 
 "Well, I don't know as I can pity you." If you 
 are not willing to pay me for protecting your 
 sheep, you must buy traps and take care of them 
 yourself." The penurious farmer saw the point; 
 and it is needless to say was ready to vote a more 
 liberal bounty than ever at the next town 
 meeting. 
 
 The winter that the bounty was off the wild 
 
Nat Foster. i6y 
 
 animals of a destructive nature, Foster turned 
 his attention entirely to the killing of deer and 
 moose, disposing of many of their carcasses in 
 the eastern market. There may be seen now in 
 Albany, New York and Philadelphia museums, 
 mounted specimens of noble deer and moose 
 killed by this famous hunter. He at one time 
 had a captive moose on his farm at Salisbury, 
 keeping it stalled in his barn. 
 
 Foster for a time carried a rifle called a 
 ''double shooter," made after a pattern designed 
 by a gunsmith of the village, named Willis 
 Avery, whose descendants still live in the village. 
 The guns were made with single barrels, but 
 \\'ith two locks, one above the other, and far 
 enough apart to admit of two charges, the upper 
 charge of powder resting against the lower bul- 
 let. The locks were made for percussion pills, 
 and when the pick was down which crushed the 
 pill at the upper lock, there was no danger to be 
 apprehended in firing the other charge. In prac- 
 tical use, howver, it was found that the vents 
 would become plugged with a few firings, and 
 they would have to be patiently picked open with 
 a pin. So that the guns, which were really very 
 ingenious, and would have answered admirably 
 if percussion caps had been known, never came 
 into general use. The rifle which Foster used 
 
1 68 Life and Adventures of 
 
 most of his life would carry two balls as well as 
 one. It was made expressly for him by Mr. 
 Avery, and was light at the muzzle and heavy at 
 the breech. This, Foster explained, was for the 
 purpose of shooting game on the move. When 
 he w^ished to make game doubly sure he would 
 load with two bullets. It was in this manner 
 he loaded it when he shot the Indian at the Old 
 Forge. 
 
 He was remarkably expert at loading and 
 firing his rifle. Particularly so if it was neces- 
 sary to make several shots in hot haste and at 
 short range. He was frequently known upon a 
 wager to commence with his rifle unloaded and 
 fire it oflf six times in one minute. This seems 
 almost incredible, but nevertheless it is true. 
 And we better understand it wdien we are told 
 how he carried his bullets and loaded and fired 
 on such occasions. He would place three well 
 pared balls between the fingers of each hand; 
 then from a powder horn provided with a 
 charger, he would pour in the powder, drop in 
 a ball which would just roll down the barrel 
 without a patch, strike the butt of the gun with 
 his hand, which primed it, and the next instant 
 the bullet was speeding to- its mark. Of course, 
 this could be done only in firing at short range. 
 To make long shots, it was necessary to patch 
 
Nat Foster. 169 
 
 the balls and drive them home with a ramrod. 
 A flint-lock rifle, of course, was used. His large 
 bony hand aided him in retaining bullets be- 
 tween his fingers, and as he began early to thus 
 carry them, they formed for themselves cavities, 
 the tissue of his fingers forming itself into almost 
 the exact shape of a bullet mould, which nearly 
 concealed the lead between his fingers. He was 
 able to manipulate his gun, handle his knife or 
 an ax without removing them. An ordinary 
 observer, even in shaking hands with him, would 
 not have noticed the strange jewelry he wore. 
 
 '*A regiment of such riflemen as Foster firing 
 at close range," says Simms in his book, "would 
 soon decide the fate of a battle." Which was 
 quite true for those days. 
 
 In the second American war with Great Brit- 
 ain, the following incident is related of Foster 
 by his youngest brother, Shubael: "A company 
 of riflemen from South Carolina, commanded by 
 Captain Forsyth, passed through the town of 
 Salisbury, near Diamond Hill, two miles north 
 of Salisbury Corners. The troops were on their 
 way from the Mohawk Valley to the military 
 lines between New York and Canada. They en- 
 camped at Manheim over one day for the pur- 
 pose of washing their clothes. The celebrity of 
 Foster as a rapid shooter and accurate marks- 
 
170 Life and Adventures of 
 
 man came to the ears of Captain Forsyth, and he 
 sent for Foster and questioned mm in regard to 
 his abihty to fulfill all the extraordinary stories 
 told by his friends about him. Foster did not 
 have much tO' say, merely telnng the captain that 
 he would wager that he could "put more balls 
 into the bigness of a man in the space of one 
 minute than any one in his command.'' Now, 
 Captain Forsyth had in his company a most ex- 
 pert and rapid rifleman named Robinson, and so 
 he inmiediately took Foster at his word and 
 arranged to have him pitted against his crack 
 marksman. The terms of the wager were agreed 
 upon and the manner of the test settled. They 
 were to shoot six times at targets ten rods away, 
 each beginning with unloaded rifle at the same 
 time. They took their places, with the company 
 drawn up in line to witness, as they supposed the 
 defeat of the lank and uncouth trapper. Foster 
 had his six well pared rifle balls between his 
 fingers, which were unobserved. 
 
 "The signal was given and they began. Fos- 
 ter made things hum for a minute, while he 
 poured the powder from his horn into the gun, 
 mysteriously spread his fingers over the muzzle 
 of his rifle, knocked the butt gently on the palm 
 of his hand, and blazed away at his target, 
 always putting a l^all there, though where it 
 
Nat Foster. 171 
 
 came from none could imagine. He put the 
 sixth ball in his target, having made a little cir- 
 cle of six holes in the piece of bark, while Robin- 
 son was still fumbling in his bullet pouch for his 
 fourth bullet. A murmur of applause ran 
 through the ranks, and Foster was at once a lion 
 in the camp. Captain Forsyth was greatly sur- 
 prised at finding so skillful and rapid a marks- 
 man on the frontier of New York, and anxious 
 to secure his service, he offered him thirty dol- 
 lars a month to join his company with the com- 
 plimentary assurance that he might eat at his table. 
 But as the war was regarded as nearly over, and 
 Foster in common with many men of the in- 
 terior, did not approve of the war anyway, he 
 declined the offer." 
 
 Foster was sometimes accompanied by an- 
 other hunter in his excursions into the woods. 
 Occasionally he would devote a season to the 
 business in partnership with another, at the end 
 dividing the spoils or the proceeds of their sale. 
 Stoner, who was a warm friend of Foster's from 
 the time of his gallant conduct at St. Johnsville 
 on the Fourth of July, sometimes visited him at 
 Salisbury and accompanied him on his hunts. 
 But more often than not he threaded the track- 
 less forests alone. 
 
 His accoutrements for a long journey, like 
 
172 Life and Adventures of 
 
 going to the Fulton Chain or the most northern 
 lakes, were quite numerous. Slung from his 
 left shoulder and hanging at his right side would 
 be a large powder horn and bullet pouch of suf- 
 ficient dimensions to warrant a lengthy hunt. A 
 belt encircled his waist, through which was thrust 
 a sheathed knife with keen edge, and an ax or 
 hatchet. When on jaunts for trapping, a bundle 
 of small steel traps would also be suspended from 
 his right shoulder. To his back was strapped 
 his pack basket, containing his blanket, perhaps 
 some more traps, a tin teapot, and sheet-iron 
 frying pan, a supply of tea, salt, Indian meal, 
 and in the early part of the trip some bread. 
 
 When tramping through the forests he could 
 make his camp in thirty minutes, with the snow 
 even a foot deep. He would set up two 
 crotched sticks, stretch a pole across them, and 
 others from this to the ground, then covering the 
 whole with hemlock boughs, and closing the 
 sides with the same and strewing a liberal sup- 
 ply of twigs on the ground or snow, as the case 
 might be, a good shelter was provided for his 
 night's repose. According to the expression of 
 an old guide, whom I interviewed, and 
 whO' remembers Foster, the roof of such a hut 
 properly thatched with hemlock boughs to the 
 depth of six or eight inches, "would shed all the 
 water that ever fell in Noah's flood." 
 
'A good Shelter * * * for his night's repose. 
 
Nat Foster. 173 
 
 It might not be as water-tight as that, but I 
 have no doubt that it would shed all the water 
 that fell in the hardest kind of a thunder shower. 
 Building a hug-e fire before the open front of 
 the shanty, Foster would spread his blanket on 
 the fragrant boughs, and rolling himself therein, 
 would sleep soundly until morning, or until 
 awakened by the howl or bark of wild animals. 
 
 He never carried a compass with him in the 
 woods, yet he was never lost, being always able 
 to readily locate the directions by observing the 
 tops of some near-by hemlock tree. He main- 
 tained that the small tapering top of these trees 
 always grew with a slight bending towards the 
 east, caused by the western winds; so he had 
 only to look to the top of one of these trees of 
 the forest and then go confidently on his way. 
 If one of these trees was not in view, as some- 
 times might happen, then he studied the bark of 
 any tree ; even the drifting of the snow in winter 
 afforded him means of guidance. 
 
 As he grew older and his reputation as a 
 hunter and trapper increased, his kind and genial 
 manner, which he coupled with all of his ex- 
 ploits, won for him the title of "Uncle Nat." 
 And by this name he was called by people far 
 and near, by those who knew him personally 
 
174 -^^^^ (^^d Adventures of 
 
 and by those who knew him by reputation only. 
 His fame for shooting was increased in his 
 younger days by his once dehvering two girls 
 from the attack of a panther. They were out in 
 the woods in the vicinity of Salisbury, gathering 
 flowers. Accompanying them was a large New- 
 foundland dog, named Towser. As they were 
 strolling along, with Towser ahead, they saw 
 what they supposed was another dog of a dif- 
 ferent kind, come out of the brush and com- 
 mence to play and gambol with Towser. He, 
 however, w^as not sO' inclined to play as was the 
 strange dog, but instead commenced to growl 
 and show his teeth and finally ended the sport 
 by seizing the stranger by the throat and shaking 
 the life out of him. 
 
 The girls watched the struggle with interest, 
 and when Towser threw the vanquished animal 
 from him they clapped their hands in applause. 
 But their pleasure was soon turned to fear, for 
 Towser had scarcely turned to trot back to the 
 girls to be petted by them for his success, when 
 another of the same kind of brutes, only much 
 larger, sprang from the brush and attacked the 
 dog. It was an uneven struggle, and though 
 poor Towser made a gallant fight, he soon began 
 to weaken. The oldest girl now divined the true 
 nature of the animal their dog was struggling 
 
Nat Foster. 175 
 
 with. It was a fierce and ugly panther, and it 
 was her young one Towser had slain. This she 
 did not dare to tell her companion for fear she 
 would scream and, perhaps, faint, leaving them 
 both entirely at the mercy of the wild beast. 
 
 In silence they watched the battle between 
 their faithful canine friend and the huge yellow 
 cat. Towser fought fearlessly and gave the pan- 
 ther a hard tussle before he was vanquished. At 
 last the panther gained the mastery, and securing 
 a hold on the dog's throat, dealt with him as its 
 own kitten had been dealt with but a moment 
 before. Then crouching over the body of the 
 poor dog, it fastened its devilish eyes on the now 
 terrified girls. By this time the youngest girl 
 had also guessed the true nature of the animal 
 that was struggling with their dog. And as she 
 saw the struggle between them cease, and Towser 
 dead, with the panther preparing to spring on 
 them, she uttered a scream and fell fainting into 
 the arms of her companion. 
 
 This brave girl who had witnessed the strug- 
 gle with so much fortitude, now gave herself and 
 her fainting friend up as lost. Supporting her 
 prostrate companion, she uowea her head and 
 waited the spring of the awful beast. But the 
 scream the fainting girl had uttered was their 
 salvation. Foster was in the vicinitv, gun in 
 
176 Life and Adventures of 
 
 hand, and hearing the agonized cry, hastened 
 towards the spot from whence it came. He 
 came in sight of the startHng tableau of the hud- 
 dhng girls and crouching panther just as the 
 latter was about to spring. Quick as a flash he 
 raised his rifle, and observing that the head of 
 the oldest girl covered the sight of the rifle, he 
 uttered a warning ''hist" and gently told her to 
 lower her head. The girl heard and heeded. 
 She suffered her head to sink upon her breast, 
 and the next instant Foster's rifle spoke their 
 deliverance. He had put the ball squarely be- 
 tween the panther's eyes and it dropped dead 
 upon the body of the dog it had slain. , 
 
 No doubt my readers will recognize this story. 
 Where have you seen it? In Cooper's Leather- 
 stocking Tales. This incident in the life of Fos- 
 ter, it appears, tne famous novelist has woven 
 into the fabric of his thrilling adventures of 
 Leatherstocking. But I believe this is the only 
 incident in Foster's life that can be discovered 
 in Cooper's works. In a foot note in the book 
 "The Deerslayer," this incident is credited to 
 Otsego county. But Foster's family say that it 
 occurred in Herkimer county, and near Salis- 
 bury. Simms in his book calls Foster ''the mod- 
 ern Teatherstocking." He seemed ignorant of 
 the fact that in a sense he was the Leatherstock- 
 
Nat Foster. 177 
 
 ing of Cooper. And indeed, I have every reason 
 to believe that Foster was the identical character 
 used by Cooper in his "Leatherstocking Tales." 
 One of his descendants made this assertion to 
 me, which I was at first inclined to discredit. 
 But from the similarity of the two characters, I 
 unintentionally obtained in gathering the facts of 
 Foster's life, I became convinced that Nat Fos- 
 ter is Cooper's "Natty Bumfo." I am not alone 
 in this opinion. The late Judge Hurlbut, who 
 defended Foster at his trial for killing the Indian 
 at the Old Forge, and who had known Foster for 
 years, was of this opinion. His sou, Gansevort 
 de W. Hurlbut of Albany, N. Y., is also of the 
 same opinion, based upon statements of his 
 father, and his own comparison of the two char- 
 acters. In a letter tO' me bearing on this subject, 
 Mr. Hurlbut says: ''James Fennimore Cooper 
 having known Foster in his lifetime (at an early 
 age) it seems not improbable that he took Fos- 
 ter as the original of his famous scout and 
 trapper, commonly called 'Leatherstocking,' or 
 in other words, that 'Nat Foster' and 'Natty 
 Bumfo' were identical. Observe the similarity 
 in description, of manners, habits and person. 
 Dread of the law, and consequent outward com- 
 formity; their laughing in an exactly similar 
 n^.anner, without noise; mouth the same; the style 
 
178 Life and Adventures of 
 
 of rifle carried by both; both leaving the state ;^ 
 * ■'' * '•'' and through it all, you find points 
 of similarity, hardly the work of chance. After 
 the comparison of the Leatherstocking in the 
 'Pioneers,' and the 'Deerslayer' with the charac- 
 ter of Foster as described by Simms, and there 
 is additional ground for the assertion that they 
 are the same persons; or rather, that Cooper's 
 hero was none other than Nat Foster." This 
 is the statement of a man who knows whereof 
 he speaks. If my work amounts to nothing 
 more, I will be satisfied, if it develops into a bio- 
 graphy of the man who afforded the inspiration 
 to Cooper to write those thrilling and fascinating 
 "Leatherstocking Tales," which have delighted 
 and entertained so many of us from our youtli,. 
 even until now. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 1WILL now devote a couple of chapters to the 
 relating of stories and anecdotes of Foster's 
 life while hunting in the Adirondacks, as they 
 have been preserved in the memory of his own 
 family. 
 
 Countless stories of his life and adventures 
 may be had at any time without the asking from 
 the mouths of old guides and residents of the 
 region. Many of them are marvelous; some of 
 them are stupid and very thin on their face. 
 It was always my practice to take them with 
 "a grain of salt and an ounce of consideration." 
 When I set out to write a history of Foster's 
 life, it w^as my determination, which I have ad- 
 hered to, to produce only such stories as were 
 authenticated by a member of some branch of 
 his family; but I must confess that even some of 
 these authenticated and thus reliable stories 
 staggered me by their startling, and at first 
 sight, unreasonable statement. So the reader 
 must not be incredulous at the sometimes sud- 
 den surprises and unexpected results of Fos- 
 
i8o Life and Adventures of 
 
 ter's experiences, as perhaps you may already 
 have been. For it was over half a century ago 
 that Foster hunted and trapped, when the Ad- 
 irondacks were fairly teeming with all i<inds of 
 game common to that region in its original and 
 natural state. The wilderness was really and 
 truly a "forest primeval." Foster was among 
 the first of the white men who invested it for 
 the pecuniary gain its wealth of animal life af- 
 forded. The dusky Indian, it is true, had hunted 
 and trapped there for centuries, but apparently 
 had made no impression on the multitudinousand 
 varied kinds of animals that abounded. They 
 were many, and nearly all were valuable in one 
 way or another to a hunter like Foster, who fol- 
 lowed the fortunes of the chase for nearly half 
 of every year, as an honest and agreeable means 
 of contributing to his support. 
 
 There were the small animals like the martin 
 and fisher, together with the fox, that were 
 caught with traps and dead-falls anywhere in the 
 woods. Then there were the otter, beaver and 
 muskrat, caught with steel traps along streams 
 and around lakes and ponds. These animals were 
 valuable because of their fur. The larger ani- 
 mals were desired either because of the bounty 
 paid by the towns and the State for their de- 
 struction, or because of the value of their car- 
 
'Another creature * * * that often made things lively for our hero. 
 
Nat Foster. i8i 
 
 casses for food. It was with the larger game, 
 like the deer, moose, bear, panther and wolf, 
 which were as plentiful as tne smaller game, that 
 Foster had his most exciting and interesting ex- 
 periences. And it was about such adventures as 
 I have stated, that I was the most surprised and 
 doubtful. Yet, upon second thought, we can see 
 it was nothing strange when these animals cut up 
 the most wonderful freaks with him when he 
 trespassed into their lairs in pursuit of them. 
 
 In this connection I say nothing about an- 
 other creature that would not justly come under 
 the head of the quadruped, but which neverthe- 
 less often made things lively for our hero as he 
 was threading the forests after game with four 
 legs. I leave the reader to discover its species. 
 It often fi'gures in his most exciting exploits in 
 the Adirondacks, as it already has in one or two 
 of his adventures as a lad and as a young man. 
 
 One time as he was hunting in Herkimer 
 county, following up the banks of Spruce creek, 
 he came upon twO' noble bucks browsing upon the 
 tender shoots of bushes that overhung the banks 
 of the creek. He readily shot one of them, but 
 the other bounded of¥ into the brush. Deter- 
 mined to secure it, he dragged the carcass of the 
 one he had, out of the water onto the bank and 
 then followed the trail of the other deer in hopes 
 
1 82 Life and Adventures of 
 
 of starting it again; after going a mile without 
 success, he abandoned the attempt, and returned 
 to secure the one he had shot. Imagine his sur- 
 prise upon gaining the bank of the creek again 
 to find the deer gone. It took him but a mo- 
 ment, however, to ascertain its whereabouts. It 
 had been dragged into the bushes and carefuUy 
 covered with dead leaves. His practiced eye told 
 him at once that it was the work of some wild 
 animal, probably a panther. He resolved at 
 once to fool the beast, and secure its own head 
 in the bargain. Quickly removing the carcass 
 of the deer, he replaced it with pieces of an old 
 rotten log, then having made everything about 
 the heap as nearly as possible as it was before, 
 he concealed himself in a clump of bushes near 
 by and waited to see what the results would be. 
 
 In a short time his patience was rewarded by 
 beholding an old she panther with two young 
 ones approaching; coming to within a few rods 
 of the pile of leaves, she halted the young ones 
 and advancing cat-like, to within twenty feet of 
 the pile, gave a spring, landing squarely on the 
 pile of leaves and commenced to scatter them in 
 all directions. In a moment she had uncovered, 
 not the toothsome carcass of a sleek deer, but 
 an old rotten and decayed log. 
 
 "She was the most disappointed and aston- 
 
Nat Foster. 183 
 
 ished animal I ever saw," said Foster in relating 
 the adventure. ''She stood still and looked first 
 about her, and then at the log. She would sniff 
 the air and then the billet of w^ood she stood on, 
 and the poor kittens a few rods away, were all 
 the time looking on, in wonderment, I suppose, 
 at their mothers strange actions. Suddenly she 
 seemed to discover me, for she screamed as they 
 always do, and crouched down to spring in my 
 direction. I thought now it was about time to 
 begin action, and so gave her a charge between 
 the eyes; she never even moved from the log, 
 but dropped dead where she crouched. I then 
 easily got the kittens and think I did a pretty 
 good afternoon's work, getting a deer and the 
 three panther heads, which brought me a good 
 bounty." 
 
 Foster's stories of unexpected good luck, and 
 of "lucky shots," wdiereby he would secure a 
 large and varied amount of game, are remark- 
 able. One of them relates to the bagging inside 
 of a couple of hours, of two wolves, five pan- 
 thers and one deer. This wonderful achieve- 
 ment was accomplished when he was tramping 
 through the woods near Panther Lake. 
 
 As he was making his solitary way through 
 the forests, his course was arrested by a deer 
 coming through the brush pursued by a wolf, 
 
184 Life and Adventures of 
 
 or perhaps by a whole pack. He aUowed the 
 deer to cross the trail without firing, but waited 
 with cocked rifle for the appearance of its pur- 
 snrers. He was obliged to wait but a few mo- 
 ments when a couple of huge wolves, their 
 tongues hanging out, their breasts and shoulders 
 flecked with foam, came crashing into view. The 
 foremost brute no sooner leaped into sight than 
 a bullet from the Nimrod's rifle stopped its 
 course forever, and it was but an instant more 
 ere the other was similarly dealt with. 
 
 Here was luck. The scalps of the two wolves 
 were worth sixty dollars. With a "humph" of 
 satisfaction, Foster carefully reloaded his rifle 
 with a patched ball and setting it within easy 
 reach, commenced to skin the wolves. As he 
 was busily engaged in this occupation his quick 
 ear detected the approach of wild animals, and 
 looking up, he saw not five rods from him a 
 female panther and two half-grown ones. They 
 had been attracted to the spot by the smell of 
 fresh meat. It was but the work of an instant to 
 snatch his rifle and send a ball through the old 
 one's head; then he quickly dispatched the two 
 young ones. 
 
 He now had more game to skin, and so he set 
 to work to finish the wolves. Being an experi- 
 enced hunter he did not relax his vigilance in 
 
Nat Foster. 185 
 
 the least, for he knew that when the mother pan- 
 ther was aroiuid there was hkely to be in the 
 vicinity her mate with a part of the family,, so 
 setting- his rifle within his reach he busied him- 
 self with the work of skinning the animals, imtil, 
 as he expected, he heard another cracking in the 
 bushes, and looking up, he beheia, what he after- 
 wards declared to be the biggest panther he ever 
 saw in his life. It was followed closely by an- 
 other half-grown one, like the two he had already 
 shot. They were both making towards him on a 
 trot, with their necks stretched out and heads 
 erect, presenting excellent si.ots. In fact, both 
 opportunities for shooting being sO' good, he 
 was in doubt as he picked up his rifle again 
 which to shoot first ; but as he raised his gun tiie 
 sight covered the young one, and he let drive at 
 it, dropping it in its very tracks. The old one 
 gave an aw^ful scream and sprang onto the in- 
 clined trunk of a half prostrate tree that was but 
 a few feet away. As it ran up the trunk of the 
 tree it presented a line shot, and Foster, who 
 with his usual rapidity of loading, had c^uickly 
 dropped into his gun a charge of powder and a 
 ball from between his fingers, now gave him a 
 charge; to his astonishment the beast kept on 
 his course up the tree. At first he thought he 
 had missed him, yet wondered how that could 
 ^3 
 
i86 Life and Adventures of 
 
 be, as his rifle never made a miss. Before he 
 had time to fire again, the panther had run to 
 the end of the tree and dropped of! onto the 
 ground, where it lay motionless, in fact dead. 
 An examination showed the hunter that he had 
 shot it, as he had intended, through the head, 
 and only muscular action could have carried it 
 to the end of the tree. 
 
 Foster now surveyed the field of battle and 
 counted up the spoils. He had two dead wolves, 
 and five panther carcasses, as a result of the 
 deer chase. He now bethought himself of the 
 deer, and recollecting that he needed fresh and 
 edible meat at his camp, he resolved to possess 
 himself of the deer. He knew if it had been run 
 far by the wolves, before he rid it of those 
 troublesome enemies, it wouia be resting some- 
 where on the shore of the lake. Accordingly he 
 set out on the trail the fleeing deer had made, 
 and as he had expected, the deer was lying in the 
 bushes on the lake shore. It started up on his 
 approach, to flee away. Putting away the thought 
 of pity, which prompted him to spare the timid 
 creature when it crossed his trail, he brought it 
 down with a charge from his rifle. 
 
 He dressed the deer, and then returned to the 
 scene of action and finished taking the hides from 
 the panthers and wolves. By the time he had 
 
Nat Foster. 187 
 
 gotten all of the spoils to his camp that night 
 he was both hungry and tired. He started a 
 fire and soon had some choice cuts from the 
 deer roasting on a spit, and as he ate the savory 
 meat seasoned with a pinch of salt, he had no 
 regrets for the fate of the poor deer that had 
 brought him such good luck that day. 
 
 Foster himself said that in all of his trapping 
 and hunting experiences he was frightened but 
 once, and that was one time when he came 
 across two yoimg bear cubs in the woods. They 
 were a lively pair, and when the hunter discov- 
 ered them, were crawling about on some logs, 
 eating red raspberries from bushes that over- 
 hung the logs. Foster decided not to molest 
 them for the time being, but wait for their 
 parent to put in her appearance. So he seated 
 himself on a convenient log under the shade of 
 a friendly tree, for the day was sultry, and be- 
 fore he knew it, dropped ofif into a doze. While 
 thus drowsing the old bear he was to watch for 
 appeared on the scene, and espying the nodding 
 hunter she ambled towards him, and coming up 
 tO' the end of the log on which Foster was seated, 
 she placed her immense forepaws on it and ut- 
 tered a fearful growl, at the same time giving the 
 log a shake which nearly precipitated the hunter 
 to the ofround. It is said that dreams are in- 
 
1 88 Life and Adventures of 
 
 stantaneous impressions of the mind. Whether 
 it was a dream or not, Foster thought for a 
 moment that the bear was on his back, and in 
 his consternation and fear he leaped, he said, at 
 least a dozen feet before he discovered that the 
 bear was not on his back but many feet away 
 from him. Becoming thoroughly awakened, he 
 ceased his inglorious flight and, turning, sent 
 a ball from his trusty rifle through her heart. 
 
 It is believed that this was the only time he 
 was ever caught really "napping" by either man 
 or beast. According to his own statement it is. 
 And certain it is that the wily Indian who or- 
 dinarily was so shrewd, was often outwitted by 
 this keen and sharp pale-face, and was never 
 caught napping by them. 
 
 It is related of him that he was once attacked 
 in the forests by an Indian intent oil killing him. 
 They both took refuge behind trees, and from 
 their respective positions kept up a fusilade all 
 the afternoon without either gaining the advan- 
 tage. As it became dusk, the shrewd old hunter 
 removed his coon skin cap and his coat, and ar- 
 ranging his rifle with them so that it looked like 
 a figure of a man, he cautiously pushed the efiBgy 
 out from behind the beech tree which sheltered 
 him. The cap and coat had not been in the 
 view of the savage a quarter of a minute before 
 
Nat Uoster. 189 
 
 lie shot at it, supposing in the dusk of the even- 
 ing that he had put a baU into the body of his 
 antagonist. To' complete the deception, Foster 
 gave a death-like groan and caused the cap and 
 coat to sway back and forth a moment and then 
 to fall slowly to the ground. The Indian, now- 
 supposing that he had surely brought down his 
 man, gave a whoop of triumph, rushed forward 
 from his tree, knife in hand, to scalp the fallen 
 foe. This was what Foster wanted. The poor 
 Indian had not proceeded a rod from his tree 
 before the crack of the hunter's rifle undeceived 
 him, if undeceived he could be, for a bullet had 
 pierced his brain. 
 
 Another time as Foster was traveling through 
 the wilderness in the vicinity of Indian river, liis 
 dog Watch, manifested some uneasiness. Like 
 his mother Rose, who was long since dead, 
 Watch could scent either four-legged or two- 
 legged game at a good distance. On this occa- 
 sion he scented game, but of which kind his 
 master was not sure. From the dog's actions, 
 and from the fact that he was laden with furs, he 
 suspected it was an Indian intent on killing him 
 and taking his pack. 
 
 Coming to a little hill he made a detour 
 around it and came up again on his own trail 
 and found it was as he suspected. From tracks 
 
ipo Life and Adventures of 
 
 m the light snow he saw that he was being fol- 
 lowed by an Indian, for in addition to his own 
 tracks there were those of another with the tell- 
 tale "turn in" impression made by an Indian 
 foot. He waited for nothing more. Calling his 
 old coon-skin cap into use again, he placed it 
 on an old log that crossed his trail, so that the 
 top was just visible to one approaching, thus 
 presenting the appearance that the owner and 
 wearer was concealed behind the log. Then 
 with his do'g he crouched behind a hemlock and 
 w'aited for the Indian's approach opposite. 
 
 In a little while he saw the Indian making his 
 way along, studying the trail. He had followed 
 Foster's trail around the hill and now^ came upon 
 the old trail again. He seemed a little puzzled 
 as he now came to the three tracks in the snow, 
 and stopped and looked cautiously around. His 
 eyes finally rested upon the fur cap appearing 
 just above the top of the log; supposing it to be 
 on the head of the owner he raised his rifle, 
 took deliberate aim and fired. Simultaneously 
 with the discharge of his own rifle, however, an- 
 other one sent forth its small thunder, and the 
 merciless Indian fell back as if kicked dead by 
 his own gun. 
 
 The Sacandaga river was the scene of several 
 of Foster's encounters with the Indians. As we 
 
Nat Foster. 191 
 
 have seen, when he was only twenty-one he had 
 such a serious brush with them on this river 
 that he "frightened" them away. But his victory 
 on that occasion did not prevent many of their 
 fellows from bothering him afterwards. 
 
 One time he was operating along the west 
 branch of the river, having traps set in the 
 woods for mink and fisher, and along the banks 
 of the stream for otter and muskrat. He also 
 had a number of traps set around the Trout 
 lakes, where he was having wonderfully good 
 success in taking fisher and otter, together with 
 a beaver or two every night from the colonies 
 that were at the outlets of the lakes. Finally his 
 success here ceased, and every morning his traps 
 would be empty, but with every evidence of hav- 
 ing done service during the night. So he de" 
 termined to watch for the intruders and settle 
 with the thieves. 
 
 There was a foot bridge across the river about 
 thirty rods below where the outlet of the lakes 
 emptied into the river. It was nothing but the 
 trunk of an old tree, but it had fallen in such a 
 convenient position across the river as to be 
 appropriated as a foot bridge. Foster always 
 crossed upon this in going to attend to his traps 
 at the lakes, and he presumed those who were 
 stealing from his traps there, would also. So 
 
192 Life and Adventures of 
 
 making his way to the river one morning, before 
 the break of day, he concealed himself behind 
 the upturned roots of the prostrate "monarch 
 of the forest," which were on the side of the 
 river towards the lakes. From this position he 
 could wait and watch for the ones who would be 
 coming to inspect his traps along the outlet 
 stream at the lakes. 
 
 Before it \vas fairly light he saw two figures 
 coming stealing .along towards the log across the 
 river. Said Foster, in relating the adventure, "I 
 watched 'em as they came towards the bridge 
 and felt sure the\' were the ones who had been 
 stealing from my traps. They were Injuns any- 
 how, I was sure of that, lliey came onto the 
 bridge over the flowing stream and I raised my 
 rifle and covered 'em with the sight, and thought 
 — how easy it w^ould be to shoot both on 'em at 
 once. But as I was thinking thus they both had 
 got to the middle of the log, where they ap- 
 peared to get dizzy, for they both fell into the 
 stream below. And," he concluded with a sig- 
 nificant shake of his head, "they didn't bother 
 my traps after tliat." 
 
 When trapping in this section of the country 
 after the Upper Mill was built, w^iich was situ- 
 ated about two miles from the place wiiere the 
 above tragedy occurred, Foster would make his 
 
Nat Foster. 193 
 
 headquarters with the operators of the sawmih, 
 as it was far better than camping in the woods. 
 The mill pond also contained otters and musk- 
 rats to be trapped and snared. 
 
 Foster's reputation as an Indian slayer was 
 well understood by both white men and red men 
 who lived in the woods. The former took it as 
 a matter of coursej and from the old trapper's 
 reluctance to talk aoout these events of his life 
 they seldom mentioned them when in his pres- 
 ence. The Indians, on the contrary, and as we 
 might expect, resented this thinning out of their 
 race by "Ole Nat Foster," as they called him. 
 Many were the Indians who set out on his track 
 to shoot him only tO' be shot themselves. 
 
 One morning as Foster was standing by the 
 mill in question, engaged in conversation with a 
 group of mill hands, a ferocious looking Indian 
 came into the clearing and approached the men. 
 He was clad in the regulation hunting dress of 
 an Indian, which was scarcely a dress at all, for 
 it consisted of only a pair of short buckskin 
 breeches, which did not cover the loins, a pair of 
 leggings and moccasins. A belt encircled his 
 waist, supporting the breeches, and carrying a 
 knife and hatchet. At his side hung a powder 
 horn and bullet pouch. A very dirty blanket 
 was chawn about his bare shoulders. The only 
 
194 i-if^ CL^d Adventures of 
 
 attractive thing about the dusky warrior was a 
 bright new rifle he carried. 
 
 Coming to the group of men he addressed 
 them in a most haughty manner, as if desirous. 
 of impressing them with the fact that he was 
 especially bedecked and armed for the warpath. 
 The first thing he said was to inquire if "Ole 
 Nat Foster" was about. The men were a little 
 amused but made no answer, looking to Foster 
 to reply. 
 
 Foster gave a significant wink to his com- 
 panions and told the dusky stranger that he was 
 not, but had already gone to look after his traps. 
 
 "Where be his traps," asked the Indian, a 
 gleam of anticipation coming into his eye. 
 
 "Wal," said Foster, "his line o' traps begin 
 over thar, by the end of the pond. But say," 
 he added as the Indian turned to go, "that's a 
 fine gun you've got thar, let's have a look at it." 
 
 It was indeed a fine-looking firearm and an 
 Indian owner would naturally be anxious to 
 show it. But he shook his head, and turning 
 again to go, said, "No, me go and snoot ole Fos- 
 ter first, then I come back and show you gun." 
 
 "But can you shoot," asked Foster, "old Fos- 
 ter is a dead shot, and you want to look out." 
 
 "Oh, me good shot, me not afraid," answered 
 the Indian, confidentlv. 
 
Nat Foster. i95 
 
 "Oh, pshaw," said Foster, 'Til bet I can beat 
 you, let's have a try." 
 
 "You good shot?" asked the Indian, as he 
 eyed the old trapper curiously. 
 
 "Well, just try and see who is the best," an- 
 swered Foster. 
 
 At this the Indian appeared inclined to try; 
 but recollecting- himself, he shook his head and 
 repeated that he must first go and shoot old Fos- 
 ter, when he would return and try his hand with 
 the stranger. At last, however, Foster and his 
 companions prevailed upon the Indian to shoot 
 with Foster and exhibit his superior skill and 
 his rifle, of both of which he seemed very vain. 
 
 A proper distance was at once paced off and 
 a target set up, and the Indian took his place 
 for the first shot, never suspecting that his rival 
 v.-as the very man he was so desirous of shooting. 
 He made his shot showing fair skill as a marks- 
 man. 
 
 "Now," said Foster, as he took the rifle from 
 the Indian, "you go and plug up the hole you 
 made, so there won't be no mistake by my possi- 
 bly shooting in the same place." 
 
 Without the least suspicion the Indian started 
 for the target. It was but the work of an in- 
 stant for Foster to load the rifle and the next 
 instant, before he ever reached it, the Indian was 
 
196 Life and Adventures of 
 
 bored between the shoulders with a ball from his 
 own rifle. AVhen the Hamilton county officials 
 investigated the matter, the affair was reported 
 as "accidental." Foster being unused to the gun 
 had handled it in such a way that it was dis- 
 charged, and of course the Indian received the 
 charge. This seemed to satisfy the authorities, 
 and Foster was never brought before a court for 
 the deed. 
 
 An interesting story is told in Simms' book 
 of the dog Watch, mentioned in this chapter. 
 The animal figured in many of Foster's exploits 
 during the first few years of his master's resi- 
 dence in Salisbury. The dog was dammed by 
 the bitch Rose, which was with him on his trip 
 to Piesco Lake the time he captured little Mary 
 French from the Indians, and "sent her captors 
 back to Canada," as he expressed it. 
 
 Watch was as fond of hunting as was his mas- 
 ter, and often went on a hunt for himself. "One 
 day the bay of this sagacious animal," says 
 Simms, "called the owner to a retired spot in 
 the forest, where he discovered Watch holding 
 a moose 1)y the nose, keeping his own body be- 
 tween the forelegs of his adversary to avoid the 
 heavy blows aimed at. him with the antlers of 
 the enraged animal, which formidable weapons 
 weighed nearly thirty pounds. 
 
Nat Foster, 197 
 
 "Upon coming to the spot Foster sent a bul- 
 let into the head of the moose, which in its death 
 struggle dashed the dog off with terrific force, 
 throwing the brave dog against the trunk of a 
 tree. The print of the dog's teeth remained upon 
 the nose of the moose, but he himself appeared 
 to be dead. Foster took off his coat and spread- 
 ing it on ihe ground, laid his canine friend upoii 
 it. About this time a partner in the hunt arrived 
 upon the scene and they prepared to dress the 
 moose. 
 
 "With a heavy heart Foster began to whet his 
 knife, when his comrade noticed a twitching of 
 the muscles about the dog's neck, and he tried 
 to cheer Foster by telling him the dog would 
 recover. The old hunter shook his head doubt- 
 ingly and set about the task of getting the 
 moose ready to hang up and skin. As his mas- 
 ter was engaged in this occupation. Watch raised 
 his head slowly from the ground; at this Foster 
 at once left off his work and began to caress him. 
 Watch returned his attention gratefully, until 
 his eye rested upon the body of his fallen foe, 
 when springing to his feet he seized the lifeless 
 moose by the throat from which he could only 
 be removed with considerable diiBculty. This 
 restoration of his favorite dog to life and vigor 
 caused Foster more real joy than the killing of 
 a dozen moose could possibly have done." 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 IV/I ANY of Foster's exploits, like a few re- 
 X®1 corded in the preceding chapter, occurred 
 in the vicinity of his own home, while others 
 occurred farther away, in the very heart of the 
 Adirondacks. As deer and moose grew scarce 
 near his home, he and his brothers would pene- 
 trate into other districts in the fall in quest of 
 this game for their winter's supply of meat. 
 
 The following incident occurred while he and 
 liis brother Shubael were on a deer hunt in St. 
 Lawrence county, and will serve to show the 
 numberless perils to which he exposed himself 
 in those days. Th-e two hunters were making 
 their way stealthily along through the dense for- 
 ests "still hunting," when they came suddenly 
 upon two noble bucks engaged in combat, prob- 
 ably trying titles to the territory. 
 
 To end this dispute and give his brother a 
 chance to shoot some noble game, Foster told 
 Shubael to ''shoot the nigh deer." The lad 
 obeyed; he fu'ed and the nigh deer dropped. 
 
 'That's good; now shoot the other one," ex- 
 
Nat Foster. 199 
 
 claimed his brother as he whipped out his knife 
 and rushed forward to stick the fallen deer. 
 
 The other buck had bounded off as Shubael 
 fired, but now stopped to witness, with the terri- 
 fied Shubael, who forgot all about shooting 
 again, a more novel engagement than the recent 
 one. The fallen buck was not killed, but only 
 stunned by the ball from Shubael's rifle striking 
 it in the neck, near the spinal cord. As Foster 
 ran up to cut its throat, the animal sprang to its 
 feet and began to strike furiously at the hardy 
 hunter with its powerful antlers. Quick as a 
 flash, Foster placed the knife between his teeth 
 and grasped the weapons ot nis foe. Then began 
 a struggle for the mastery, more furious than 
 the two bucks' engagement; one which for a 
 time paralyzed Shubael, charmed the uninjured 
 buck, who remained a few rods away gazing 
 upon the scene, and caused the squirrels and 
 chipmunks to scurry to their holes in alarm at 
 the unusual confusion. Foster maintained his 
 grip upon the antlers of the deer while the ani- 
 mal thrashed him about among the trees and 
 bushes in an alarming manner. The struggle 
 was long and fierce. Foster not daring to let go 
 his hold, nor even willing to give up until he 
 had gained the mastery. Finally, as good luck 
 would have it, he got the head of the deer 
 
2 00 Life and Adventures of 
 
 wedged between two trees, against one of which 
 a horn was broicen, and the worried animal 
 thrown down, when he quickly cut its throat 
 with the knife he had kept firmly clutched be- 
 tween his teeth. 
 
 As the confusion ceased and quiet reigned 
 again, the other buck made known the fact that 
 he had been a silent spectator by leaping 
 through the underbrush. 
 
 At this Foster, who had risen and was wiping 
 the blood and dirt from his face, exclaimed to 
 his brother, disgustedly, "I thought you'd shoot 
 the other one! Geme the gun," and, snatching 
 it from his brother's hand, he raised it, sighted a 
 patch of the fleeing deer among the leaves of 
 the forest, fired and brought it down. 
 
 The tussle between Foster and the wounded 
 deer, I am told, lasted over ten minutes. The 
 ground was trampled and the grass and bushes 
 beaten down for rocTs around, and his tattered 
 garments must have reminded him of certain en- 
 gagements of his youth. 
 
 One time he had an amusing experience with 
 a trapped bear and a very confident neighbor 
 near his own home at Salisbury. A bear had 
 been intruding upon some of his neighbors' 
 farms and raising havoc in tneir corn fields. For 
 some time it left Foster's farm and crops alone. 
 
Nat Foster. 201 
 
 which made the neighbors beheve that the bear 
 knew Foster's character as a hunter, and so 
 avoided his property. Finally bruin invaded 
 Foster's orchard and feasted upon half ripe sweet 
 apples he obtained by climbing the trees and 
 clambering about among the branches, doing 
 considerable damage by breaking the limbs. 
 Foster watched his orchard late into the night, 
 for several evenings, but the bear would not 
 make his visits until he had given up the w^atch 
 and gone to bed. Resolved upon other tactics, 
 Foster set his huge bear trap at the entrance of 
 the orchard but a short distance from his barn. 
 Xow the neighbors, one and all, w^aited anx- 
 iously to see if "Uncle Nat" would succeed in 
 ridding tliem of this troublesome intruder upon 
 the town. 
 
 For several nights the bear avoided the trap, 
 but continued his depredations in the orchard. 
 At last, one morning Mrs. Foster, who had gone 
 to the farm yard to milk the cow^s, discovered 
 bruin in the trap, and at once hastened to tell 
 her husband, who was chopping wood at the 
 house. He hurried in the house to procure his 
 rifle. Just at this moment a neighbor arrived 
 who was noted in the community for his brag 
 and bluster. This man had repeatedly told how 
 he would deal with the bear if only he had the 
 14 
 
202 Life and Adventures of 
 
 opportunity. He was there now to inquire if 
 the bear had been caught. 
 
 Upon being informed that the animal was at 
 that very moment in the trap down by the or- 
 chard, he manifested the greatest glee, and at 
 once asked Foster for the privilege of shooting 
 him. Now Foster had little faith in his neigh- 
 bor's ability to execute any kind of a beast under 
 any circumstances because of his timidity, which 
 the poor man always tried to conceal by boast- 
 ing; but being always ready to please and ac- 
 commodate a friend, he assented; but he took 
 the precaution, after loading the rifle and giving 
 it to his visitor, to sling over his shoulder his 
 powder horn and place a couple of bullets be- 
 tween his fingers. 
 
 As they made their way to the orchard, the 
 man was constantly telling him how he was 
 going to give the bear a sure death by his un- 
 erring shot. They went around the barn and 
 came in sight of the bear, who was meditatively 
 eyeing the paw that was embraced by the earn- 
 est jaws of the trap. A glance told Foster that 
 the animal was not very securely caught, only 
 the tip of his paw and the claws being fast. But 
 he said nothing, resolving to have some fun 
 with his boasting companion. The bravado of 
 his neisfhbor seemed to cool somewhat as thev 
 
Nat Foster. 203 
 
 came in sight of the black monster, and he 
 wanted to stop and take his "deadly" shot as 
 soon as they had turned the corner of the barn. 
 But Foster would not consent to this, insisting 
 that they go much closer before he took his 
 shot. 
 
 When they had come to a "close" distance, 
 so close that it made the neighbor blancli with 
 fear, Foster stopped and told his confident friend 
 to shoot. He was a timid man, as we have said, 
 and one thing he was really afraid of was a gun. 
 He paused now to ask Foster if his rifle "kicked." 
 Foster told him it might a little, but to go ahead 
 and finish the bear. So he put the gun to his 
 shoulder, took careful aim, then turned his head, 
 shut both eyes, and jerked the trigger. Of 
 course he pulled the sight off from the bear, 
 and the bullet buried itself in the trunk of an 
 inoffensive apple tree. 
 
 The shot had an effect on the bear for all 
 that, for at the report of the rifle he gave a lunge 
 and jerk which set him quite free, leaving his 
 claws in the trap. As the smoke cleared away, 
 the now thoroughly excited neighbor beheld the 
 bear sitting beside the trap, sucking his in- 
 jured paw. 
 
 This was enough to entirely unman him, and 
 when the bear dropped upon all fours and made 
 
2 04 Life and Adventures of 
 
 towards them, his fright was complete, and he 
 franticahy appealed to Foster, exclaiming, "Oh, 
 Uncle Nat! Uncle Nat! What shall we do, what 
 shall we do?" 
 
 Foster was too much amused to answer in 
 words, but instead, he took the rifle from his 
 demoralized friend, poured in a charge of pow- 
 der, dropped in a ball and shot the bear in the 
 heart. 
 
 The traps used to catch bears were ponderous 
 things. Foster and Stoner each had one made 
 especially for their use by village smiths. They 
 weighed in the neighborhood of fifty pounds. 
 It is needless to say that they were never "toted" 
 very far into the wilderness, though Foster 
 sometimes took his to Fulton Chain, after the 
 road to Moose river was opened. The trap is 
 now in the possession of one of his grandsons, 
 as is also the powder horn and bullet pouch he 
 carried in his tramps and hunts. The jaws of 
 the trap are over two feet in length and five 
 inches in width, and are armed underneath with 
 ugly spikes, which penetrating the bear's foot, 
 making escape impossible when once securely 
 caught. The huge strap springs on each side 
 which closed the jaws of the trap were rein- 
 forced by a second set of springs inside of the 
 main ones. 
 
N^at Foster. 205 
 
 To set this machine was no small task, nor 
 was it by any means free from danger. It was 
 almost impossible for one man alone to set it. 
 The only way the double springs could be 
 forced down was by placing the trap near the 
 root of a tree, a log or rock, or some other ob- 
 ject where a leverage could be obtained; then 
 a stout and heavy stake or pole was placed 
 across the spring with the butt of the lever under 
 the log or stone, and one man by throwing his 
 entire weight on the extreme end of the pole 
 could force down the spring. He would then 
 have to remain controlling the end of his lever 
 while his companion went through the same per- 
 formance with the other set of springs. At this 
 juncture there should be a third man to set the 
 pan. But when a third man was not at hand, 
 they would succeed in adjusting it by one of 
 them reaching and setting the catch. This was 
 a risky thing to do, and the precaution was al- 
 ways taken by the man doing it 01 placing a bil- 
 let of wood between the jaws before attempting 
 to adjust the pan, lest the levers getting loose, he 
 would find the horrible spiKes piercing his own 
 limbs. A chain some six feet in length, provided 
 with two grappling hooks at the end completed 
 the equipment of this ponderous apparatus. 
 
 The wolf traps used by the hunters were on 
 
2o6 Life and Adventures of 
 
 the same plan as this bear trap, but weighing 
 only live or six pounds, and having only single 
 springs on each side. The traps used in catch- 
 ing otter were alsO' provided with two springs, 
 only the whole trap was much lighter. For 
 trapping mink, fisher and muskrat, traps with a 
 single spring on one side was used. 
 
 Upon one occasion when he and his brother 
 Shubael were following a line of wolf traps near 
 Salisbury, they came to one in which a half- 
 grown wolf was caught by one of its hind legs. 
 At the approach of the hunters it crawled under 
 a brush pile, snarling and growling at a great 
 rate. For the fun of the thing, Foster resolved 
 tO' take the snarler home alive. So he cut a 
 forked stick and fixed a kind of halter about its 
 muzzle and then released it from the trap and 
 started with the captive for home. 
 
 The young wolf would go very quietly a little 
 way, and then stop and spring at its captor. 
 But it was easily controlled by the forked stick 
 fastened to its nose. After getting it home he 
 muzzled it and fastened it to a drag and allowed 
 it partial liberty. It would roam about the place 
 and into the house, much of the time keeping 
 itself concealed under a bed. As it showed no 
 signs of becoming domesticated it was finally 
 slain, and the bounty obtained for its scalp. 
 
Nat Foster. 207 
 
 Foster seemed to have a particular liking for 
 strange pets. As we remember, while a lad he 
 brought home bear cubs and panther kittens, 
 and once captured a fuU-growii eagle. Later in 
 life he continued the practice of endeavoring to 
 make pets of the wild animals of the forests. He 
 at one time had a full grown moose in his barn 
 at Salisbury, which I have mentioned; this he 
 captured one winter when the snow was deep 
 and crusted. This moose became quite tame. 
 The children of the neighborhood obtained great 
 pleasure by going to Uncle Nat's, as they called 
 him, and seeing his moose, petting it, and giving 
 it handfuls of grain and other delicacies, 
 
 Foster's fondness for children was great. 
 Under his rough exterior, as a hunter and trap- 
 per of animals of the wood and a slayer of In- 
 dians, he carried a most tender and warm heart, 
 particularly for all children. He always had a 
 kind word for them, with a lively regard for their 
 childish delights. An incident has been related 
 to me of a visit paid him by two sons of his 
 brother Elisha, illustrative of this kind trait of 
 his. 
 
 The boys w^ere aged eight and ten, and had 
 come to spend the day on Uncle Nat's farm. 
 They found him busily engaged in chopping 
 wood. But as soon as he saw the boys ap- 
 
2o8 Life and Adventures of 
 
 proaching him he ceased work and greeted them 
 Avith a cheery "Hello, boys, glad to see you; 
 -come to spend the day with Uncle Nat? Well, 
 now, you must have a good time." And with 
 that he stuck his ax in the block and went 
 around the farm wnth them, showing them the 
 things that would interest them, all the while 
 asking them questions of their own life; about 
 their going to school; what chores they had to 
 do at home, and similar questions. He took 
 them to the pig sty to show them a hog he was 
 fattening, which was already so fat it could 
 hardly get up; took them to the barn to see the 
 moose, and showed them his fish pond, promis- 
 ing to let them catch some trout from it after a 
 while. Finally he asked the boys if they could 
 shoot, but neither had ever fired ofif a gun, their 
 father having long before abandoned the voca- 
 tion of a hunter. So he told them he would 
 show them how, and their eyes fairly glistened 
 with pleasure at the prospect of Uncle Nat's 
 teaching them to shoot. 
 
 Taking his young nephews to the house, he 
 took down his rifle and explained it to them. 
 They listened with awed attention, for Uncle 
 Nat's reputation as a wonderful marksman and 
 successful hunter was familiar to them. After 
 explaining all the parts of the rifle to the 1)oys, 
 
Nat Foster. 209 
 
 and the manner of loading- and firing, he took 
 them out to the wood pile to practice shooting, 
 the delighted boys leaping and running before 
 him. Arriving at the wood pile, Foster set up a 
 target a reasonable distance away by fastening 
 a piece of paper about the size of a silver dollar 
 to a block of wood. He then loaded the rifle 
 and gave the honor of the first shot to the oldest 
 lad, Aaron by name. 
 
 "Now% then," said he, by way of instruction, 
 "'raise the sight until you've got in on the paper, 
 and then pull easy." 
 
 The rifle was heavy for Aaron, but he man- 
 aged to level the barrel and fire, but did not even 
 hit the stump. His uncle did not discourage 
 him, however, but told the lad that he had done 
 "perty well," but that he could probably do a 
 "little better," and told the boys to watch the 
 paper while he fired. 
 
 In a few seconds he had loaded, and the boys 
 had hardly had time to fasten their eyes on the 
 paper before their uncle put a ball exactly 
 through its center. This quite astonished and 
 delighted them, and they capered about with 
 glee, shouting, ''Do it again. Uncle Nat." But 
 he insisted that they all must take turns in 
 shooting, and so the younger lad took a shot; 
 and before they got through he had them so 
 
2ro Life and Adventures of 
 
 they could hit a larger piece of paper by firing 
 from a rest. In some such manner as this he 
 entertained and amused the boys the whole day. 
 
 These side lights upon this phase of Foster's 
 life show his true character. It was one of kind- 
 ness and true integrity, and tends to enlighten 
 the hardy and rough side of his life as a hunter, 
 and the grewsomeness of its bloody conflicts 
 with his dark-skinned fellow creatures. 
 
 Foster's exploits with Indians were always 
 shrouded in a mystery. When a boy nothing 
 was thought of shooting an Indian, but when he 
 moved to New York and came to live in Her- 
 kimer county, the laws had become more strict 
 and an Indian's life regarded of some value, so 
 that when a person wantonly slew one, he was 
 likely to be arrested and tried for it. 
 
 I believe that in spite of the fact that Foster 
 had had instilled into his mind a hatred of the 
 red man by his father, he never deliberately and 
 in cold blood killed one. Yet when crossed by 
 one, or threatened by any of them, he would 
 shoot them without hesitancy, and as coolly as 
 his father had done in his day, and as he had 
 taught his son to do. Whenever Uncle Nat 
 spoke of these experiences, however, he 
 shrewdly made use of such guarded language, 
 that no legal advantage could be taken of it. 
 
Nat Foster, 211 
 
 Thus we see that in recounting his adventure 
 with the Indians near Piesco Lake, from whom 
 he rescued httle Mary French, he did not say 
 that he killed any of them. He simply said that 
 he shot at the first Indian that was coming up 
 the ravine where the girl, his dog and himself 
 were concealed, and that the savage dropped his 
 gun; that he fired again and the rear Indian 
 turned and ran towards Piesco Lake, and then 
 he fired that way. That was all. "The Indians," 
 he declared, "may have all got back to Canada, 
 but they did not molest him any more. 
 
 In this way he told all his stories about killing 
 Indians. They are all very brief and to the point. 
 Here is one. He was telling some of his friends 
 of the lucky shots ne had made, and declared 
 that the best shot he ever made brought him 
 eighteen beaver pelts, a dozen otter skins, and 
 twenty muskrat hides, together with several 
 skins of mink. All of these he secured with the 
 single discharge of his gun. This wonderful 
 statement staggered the faith of even his best 
 friends, who had the greatest confidence in his 
 ability tO' shoot fast and quick and do destructive 
 work with his rifle. One of them in the group 
 to whom he was telling the yarn ventured to ex- 
 press a doubt about its truthfulness. Foster's 
 simple reply to his skeptical friend was, "Wal,. 
 
2 12 Life and Adventures of 
 
 yes, it was a wonderful shot, but not so hard, 
 ■either. I just had to take the fihing out of a 
 blanket to do it; that's all." No doubt of it. I 
 haven't the slightest idea that the poor red skin 
 wdio owned the pelts ever rolled himself in His 
 blanket again. 
 
 One of his favorite expressions and mode of 
 explanation whenever asked about any particu- 
 lar Indian he was suspected of making away 
 with was, ''Wal, the last I saw of 'em, his blanket 
 was a smoking." Here is another one of his 
 ■characteristic stories. "I was walking in the 
 woods when I saw an Injun lay down to drink 
 •out of a brook; something was the matter with 
 him, for he dropped his face into the water and 
 ■drowned. I thought I might as well take his 
 gun, blanket and stufT as to leave them there 
 to spoil." 
 
 Another time he said that in one of his hunt- 
 ing excursions he fell in with an Indian who 
 carried on his back thirteen otter skins; that he 
 had no intention of harming the Indian, in fact 
 did not know that he had killed him, but that he 
 never let otter skins escape him alive. He fired, 
 they all fell, and he picked them up and came 
 away. 
 
 In the same guarded way he told of making 
 away with the Indian Hess. As Simms in his 
 
Nat Foster. 213 
 
 book gives a very good account of this incident 
 in the Hfe of our hero, we will transcribe it from 
 his work verbatim. 
 
 Before the American Revolution there dwelt 
 about two miles from the present village (now 
 a city) of Little Falls, an Indian named Hess, 
 who took an active part in that conflict as a hire- 
 ling of Britain, and whO' undoubtedly was one 
 of the most cruel and bloodthirsty of his race. 
 Some ten or twelve years after the war, this In- 
 dian returned to his former hunting grounds to 
 prosecute his favorite avocation. 
 
 "A country inn at this period was, for the 
 spread of knowledge to be smoked in and 
 watered in, a kind of 'circulating medium;' a 
 place where in the absence of our thousands of 
 newspapers the people of the surrounding coun- 
 try met to learn news from quia nuncs. And as 
 Little Falls * * '^ was then a place of som.e 
 notoriety on account of her new inland locks and 
 old moss clad rocks, the bar-room of the village 
 tavern became the place where all the classic 
 events of olden time, and all the improvements 
 of the modern days were freely discussed. 
 
 "On a certain occasion Foster met the Indian 
 Hess in the bar-room of the Little Falls tavern, 
 and observing that his dress a-la-mode was that 
 of a hunter, he attempted to engage him in con- 
 
2 14 -^^^^ ^f^d Adventures of 
 
 versatioii, but he feigned ignorance of the Eng- 
 lish language until his white competitor in bea- 
 ver skins oiled his tongue at the bar, when lo! 
 the seal on his lips w^as broken and he spoke 
 English tolerably well. The two hunters soon 
 after left the village and traveled some distance 
 together, when the conversation turned upon 
 Revolutionary days. Boasting of his individual 
 exploits on the frontiers of New York, the In- 
 dian exhibited a tobacco pouch of delicate 
 leather. 'This,' said the crafty warrior, 'me got 
 in war. Me kill white woman, rip open belly, 
 find papoose, skin him some, and make pouch.' 
 Hess also opened the box in the breech of his 
 rifle and exhibited some evidence he there car- 
 ried of the number of scalps he had taken in the 
 war. The tally,' said Foster afterwards, 'ran up 
 to the almost incredible number of forty-five,' 
 and he added, T had almost a notion to shoot 
 him on the spot.' 
 
 "Just before parting the Indian inquired of his 
 companion his name, and on hearing it he ex- 
 claimed, 'Ha, Nat Foster, you bad man, you kill 
 Indians.' 
 
 "On the Indian making recognition of him, 
 Foster thought he detected in his look and man- 
 ner a 'lurking devil' that seemed to say, 'if ever 
 you fall into my power you will feel it:' and 
 
Nat Foster. 215 
 
 hearing him call him an 'Indian killer' he be- 
 lieved the old Indian, if opportunity presented, 
 would not scruple to take his life also. The 
 boast of murdered innocence had drawn a frown 
 across the sunburnt brow and stern features of 
 the white hunter, that seemed to send back a 
 defiance to the red man's look of meditated 
 death. But they parted, and if not as friends, 
 certainly not as avowed enemies. But each, no 
 doubt, felt apprehensive that a second interview 
 might not terminate so fortunately for both of 
 them; and certain it is, that one of them at least 
 resolved not to be over reached by the other. 
 
 "Not long after the above incident transpired, 
 loster was threading the forest alone in the 
 northern part of Herkimer county, in the pursuit 
 of game. In a secluded spot, far away from any 
 regular trail, he came unexpectedly upon and 
 shot a moose cow. While securing the noble 
 game, its mate, a most ferocious bull, being at- 
 tracted to the spot by the bellowing of the dam, 
 attacked him with great fury. In a dodging 
 fight the hunter was obliged to make some two 
 or three shots in rapid succession. Foster re- 
 loaded his rifle before he ventured to approach 
 even a fallen animal that had been so tenacious 
 of life. He seldom changed his position in the 
 woods without a charge in his gun. While ad- 
 
2i6 Life and Adventures of 
 
 vancing to the fallen bull he was startled to hear 
 footsteps within a short distance, and w^as possi- 
 bly not less surprised to find in the person of 
 his new visitant the muscular form of the Indian 
 Hess. 
 
 "Hess, supposing, as is presumed, that Fos- 
 ter's rifle was unloaded, now experienced no dif- 
 ficulty in 'murdering tne king's English,' and at 
 the end of a mighty whoop that told credibly for 
 his lungs and the absence of balsams, shouted, 
 'Now Foster, me got you, me kin you now.' Be- 
 tween Hess and his intended victim there was a 
 -little marsh over which a tree had fallen. Mount- 
 ing the log to approach the white hunter, he 
 advanced with uplifted tomahawk and death 
 boding mien, when the report of a rifle again 
 echoed amid the fir tops of the forest, a bullet 
 plowed its way through the Indian's heart, and 
 with a guttural groan, the dark warrior fell dead 
 upon the marsh. Lest Hess might not be un- 
 accompanied in the forest, the eagle-eyed marks- 
 man hastily reloaded his rifle, and then quickly 
 stamped the corpse of his victim deep into the 
 soft mud of the marsh. Dark mystery hung over 
 the fate of this lone hunter for years. Many re- 
 membered that his disappearance was sudden 
 and unexpected: and others remembered that 
 they had heard Foster say shortly after meeting 
 
Nat Foster. 217 
 
 him at Little Falls, that he had seen him once 
 and only once after that. 
 
 "He confidently communicated many years 
 affer to Jacob S. Christman, v.'ith whom he was 
 hunting, the fate of this unfortunate savage for 
 whom — 
 
 "No solemn bell's metallic tongue, 
 E'er toll'd its death note on the breeze; 
 Zephyrs alone his requiem rung, 
 Where ivy green her mantle hung 
 'Mid plumed and bowing trees." 
 
 Thus does Simms beautifully close his de- 
 scription of the grewsome event, throwing the 
 mantle of sentiment about the poor Indian's 
 death. Would that we were all as kindly dis- 
 posed and as gentle in our expressions. 
 
 Foster was not given up to any extent to the 
 influence of sentiment. To him the shooting of 
 an Indian under such circumstances was a grim 
 necessity; there was no poetry about it for him. 
 Nor did any scruple probably enter his mind at 
 the taking of Indians' lives. And how coiild w^e 
 expect it would? W^ith his birth and his early 
 years spent in a locality where the red man was 
 regarded as a deadly foe, and wdiose introduc- 
 tion into New York State, and to the Adiron- 
 dack wilderness was accomplished with stern 
 15 
 
21 8 Life and Adventures of 
 
 conflicts with still barbarous members of the 
 race. 
 
 In the same way he regarded the trapping of 
 game and shooting of deer. It was a matter of 
 business with him; God had made the forests 
 and put the wild animals there for his and others' 
 use, and so he plied his trade as industriously as 
 possible, even unto his old age, shooting his 
 deer, bears and panthers, and trapping the 
 smaller quadrupeds with zeal, thinning out the 
 Indians whenever necessary; and though he 
 sometimes displayed what would appear to many 
 as an unjustifiable desire to slaughter game, yet 
 it was because he regarded the business from a 
 commercial standpoint. 
 
 Simms gives in his book, some accounts of a 
 W. S. Benchley's association with Foster in a 
 few of his hunts. This man and the famous 
 hunter were once fishing from a boat on one < f 
 the Fulton Chain of lakes, when Foster discov- 
 ered an old doe and two fawns feeding on the 
 shore, about a quarter of a mile distant. The 
 fawns were about as big as lambs at two months 
 old. Foster was on fire in an instant. If he 
 could kill the doe, he said, he could easily secure 
 the fawns, and their runnets would bring him 
 fifty cents each. Benchley remonstrated with 
 liim for wanting- to kill the little fellows for so 
 
Nat Foster. 219 
 
 small a gain, and proposed to pay him the dollar 
 and let them go. But no; that would not be 
 earning it, and nothing would satisfy him short 
 of a shot. His companion then refused to row 
 him within shot; one look, however, from Fos- 
 ter satisfied him that he might as well comply. 
 In doing so he however managed to make some 
 noise in the water to frighten the doe and her 
 fawns away, but not without strong expressions 
 of opinion from Foster that he did it intention- 
 ally. 
 
 The same person says that one time upon en- 
 tering the Seventh lake with Foster, the eagle 
 eve of the -latter discovered a buck feeding upon 
 a grassy beach nearly half a mile away. 
 
 Said Foster, "Benchley, put me ashore and I 
 will give you some venison for dinner." 
 
 Benchley did so, and then rowed out into the 
 lake far enough to see the deer. After watching 
 some time he saw Foster step stealthily from the 
 bushes upon the beach; at the same instant the 
 l)uck raised his head in alarm and the watcher 
 immediately saw the puff of smoke from Foster's 
 rifle, and the deer fell. At the hunter's call 
 Benchley rowed to him, he not knowing Bench- 
 lev had seen him shoot or the deer fall. 
 
 "Well, Uncle Nat, said Benchley, "have you 
 killed him?" The old hunter straightened up 
 
2 20 Life and Adventures of 
 
 like a soldier, with his eyes flashing; grasping 
 his rifle in his right hand and holding it aloft, 
 he exclaimed, "Benchley, he never told a lie, 
 when he speaks he tells the truth." His com- 
 panion stepped ashore, and going to the carcass 
 of the dead buck found he had put the ball pre- 
 cisely in the center of its forehead. "And con- 
 sidering," says Benchley, "that Foster was fully 
 twenty-five rods from the animal and that he 
 fired the instant it raised its head, it was an un- 
 usually good shot, even for him.' They dressed 
 the carcass and as Foster had promised, they 
 had venison for their dinner. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 ONE time Foster's life was threatened by a 
 pack of hungry wolves. The way he con- 
 ducted himself on the occasion, and the manner 
 in which he afterwards related the occurrence 
 was characteristic of the man. It happened 
 early in the spring, after he had been home for 
 a short time and had returned to the wilderness 
 for a final six weeks of trapping. On the third 
 day in, he reached the beginning of his line of 
 traps, at the intersection of the Lime Kiln creek 
 and Moose river, where he camped for the night. 
 His traps extended from here, up the 
 creek to the lake of the same name. From there 
 they ran north to Fourth Lake on the Fulton 
 Chain, then taking a northeasterly course they 
 extended as far as Racquet Lake. 
 
 The morning following his camp at the mouth 
 of Lime Kiln creek, he startea up the stream, 
 visiting his traps as he went along. Although he 
 did not expect to find much game in them, he 
 visited them all for the purpose of setting and re- 
 baiting those requiring it. As they lay on both 
 
2 22 Life and Adventures of 
 
 sides of the stream he was constantly crossing- 
 from one side to the other on convenient logs 
 and fallen trees, making sIoav progress up the 
 stream. Not until he reached the falls on the 
 creek, where he arrived in the middle of the 
 afternoon, did he find game to amount to any- 
 thing. Below and in the vicinity of the falls, he 
 took from various traps and snares, three bea- 
 vers, a fisher, one red fox, and several mink. 
 This was better than he had expected, for bea- 
 vers were usually caught by baiting the traps 
 with fresh castereum or beaver caster obtained 
 from the carcass of any beaver and setting the 
 trap near the school or settlement of beavers. 
 Minks w^ere usually snared with the aid of a 
 fresh decoy trail made by dragging the entrails 
 and stomach of a deer or other large animal over 
 the snow and setting dead falls and small steel 
 traps baited with meat along the course. As he 
 had not been on the ground for some time to 
 attend to these details of the trapper's art, he 
 was agreeably surprised to find so many of these 
 animals taken. 
 
 Gathering all together, he carried them to a 
 large fiat rock at the foot of a hill opposite the 
 falls, and set about the task of skinning the game, 
 casting the fiayed carcasses on the ground by 
 his side. As it was late when he completed the 
 
Nat Foster. 223 
 
 work he decided to camp where he was for the 
 night. With an eye to the speedy erection of a 
 sheher for himself, he selected the spot where 
 he had been working, and appropriated a side 
 of the rock that was perpendicular to rest the 
 roof o{ his hut upon; he quickly made a little 
 bower of boughs by placing poles from the rock 
 to the ground and covering them and closing- 
 one side with the branches of evergreens. Then 
 cutting a huge armful of the evergreens he 
 strewed them on the ground underneath the lit- 
 tle roof, and had a snug and well sheltered place 
 for the night. After gathering some firewoocl 
 he prepared his evening meal, which consisted 
 of a slice of corned venison toasted on a spit, 
 tea made in his tin teapot, and bread which he 
 had thus early in the trip. 
 
 While eating his supper he heard the dismal 
 howl of a wolf, as if calling another. Soon it 
 was answered by a responsive howl from one 
 deep in the woods, and this again was taken up 
 by another still deeper in the forest. Such 
 sounds were familiar to the lone hunter en- 
 camped by the rock, and he finished his repast, 
 lighted his pipe, and settled himself for a com- 
 fortable smoke, without givng heed to the dole- 
 ful sounds that came from the depths of the 
 woods; still the howls continued, increasing as 
 
2 24 -^^^^ ^"c^ Adventures of 
 
 the darkness deepened. The wolves were evi- 
 dently gathering- in a pack for some purpose or 
 another, but not thinking that they would dis- 
 turb him, Foster finished his pipe with com- 
 posure, and replenishing the fire, betook himself 
 to his shelter, and wrapping his blanket about 
 him, sought the sleep he desired and needed. 
 At intervals of two or three minutes he would 
 hear the long drawn out howl which would have 
 sent terror to the heart of a person unused to 
 such sounds, but which did not at all disturb our 
 hero, who suffered himself to sink into a peace- 
 ful slumber, from which he was awakened in a 
 couple of hours by the most startling noises that 
 ever fell on a hunter's ears. His fire had burned 
 low and the wolves had surrounded his camp 
 in a pack, being attracted by the smell of the 
 carcasses of the beavers and minks he had left 
 by the rock. They were now having a furious 
 fight over the meat, barking, yelling, squealing 
 and snapping at each other in their eagerness 
 to get the toothsome morsels. 
 
 For an instant Foster was frightened at the 
 fearful din they were making and was puzzled as 
 to how he was to escape from the predicament, 
 for the pack had completely surrounded his 
 camp, and were even crowded together in front 
 of the opening of his hut. Seizing his rifle and 
 
Nat I' osier . 225 
 
 ammunition he crawled out of his shelter and 
 sprang for the rock, leaping over the ferocious 
 brutes, who snapped at him as he cleared them. 
 
 The pack instantly surrounded the rock, and 
 with howls and snarls they sat upon their 
 haunches, licking their chops in expectation as 
 they eyed the lone man hungrily, for the little 
 meat afforded them by the carcasses of the bea- 
 vers and minks, were nothing to a pack of 
 wolves that had been enduring hunger a whole 
 winter. 
 
 Once on the rock, Foster regained his com- 
 posure and prepared to begin an onslaught on 
 his foes by putting the usual six rifle balls be- 
 tween his fingers, and placing his powder horn 
 within his easy and mechanical reach. 
 
 'T will say right here," said Foster, in after 
 years, when he would relate the adventure, ''it 
 was not a very desirable place to be in, par- 
 ticularly if a man was anything of a coward, for 
 the wolves were desperate and bound to have a 
 square meal before they quit. But as captain 
 of my own company, I determined to keep a 
 cool head; I gave the word to assault the enemy 
 and opened fire on the varmints, and if I ever 
 made six shots in one minute I done it then, 
 and though I couldn't see the sight of my gun 
 I could see the outlines of the wolves bv the 
 
2 26 Life and Adventures of 
 
 light of the moon plain enough, and picked 'em 
 off easy. At first they seemed inclined to stand 
 their ground, and as fast as I could thin 'em out 
 they would close up together like a lot of sol- 
 diers; but after a few rounds they began to 
 weaken, and soon commenced to back ofif, and 
 at last the retreat became general, and I was 
 master of the field." 
 
 In fact, he had either killed, wounded or driven 
 away the wdiole pack by his rapid and deadly 
 firing. But with his usual indifference he de- 
 scended from the rock and throwing more wood 
 on the fire, sought his blanket again, not even 
 looking out for the wolves he might have killed. 
 He was not to remain long undisturbed, how- 
 ever, for he was awakened again in a couple of 
 hours, by the woives barking and yelping over 
 a bone or possibly the body of one of their own 
 number, down by the river. But as they were 
 not threatening him, he rolled over for another 
 nap, when he heard them approaching with om- 
 inous growls. Seizing his rifle he crawled out 
 again, and stood his ground, this time in front 
 of the rock. They were cowardly now, and 
 kept outside of the feeble glare of light sent out 
 by the glowing embers of his fire. He waited 
 for them to come nearer, but as they kept back 
 in the darkness, he fired at them at random. 
 
Nat Foster. 227 
 
 "In a few moments/' he declared, "all was as 
 quiet as a grave yard;" and going back to his 
 couch of boughs he rested quietly the remain- 
 der of the night. 
 
 The next morning he went out and inspected 
 the field of battle, finding twelve dead wolves, 
 and one wounded one some distance from the 
 scene of the night's action, making thirteen in 
 all. A number which he declared was unlucky 
 generally, but was lucky for him on that occa- 
 sion, as he succeeded in getting all the heads 
 and pelts out of the woods, and ultimately col- 
 lecting the large bounty due him. 
 
 Foster first visited Bald Mountain and the 
 First Lake on Fulton Chain when a young man, 
 and before any improvements had been made 
 there. What is now so well known as the Old 
 Forge did not exist. Brown or his son-in-law 
 Herreshoff had not yet penetrated the wilder- 
 ness, or probably even contemplated what was 
 afterwards their vain attempt to subdue it, and 
 cultivate the stubborn soil or wring from the 
 heart of the mountains the valuable ores that 
 are still believed by many to be there. 
 
 Fabulous stories are told of hunters finding 
 extensive lodes of iron and lead, and it is some- 
 times hinted even more valuable ore. It is told 
 of Foster that on one occas'i /n when he was 
 
2 28 Life and Adventures of 
 
 sojourning for some time on the Chain, a party 
 of Indians invited him to join them in shooting 
 at a mark, but that he decHned on the ground 
 that he could not afford to waste his buHets, 
 for, although, he had the moulds for running 
 bullets for his rifle he had no more lead. At 
 this, it is said, one of the Indians volunteered to 
 get him all the lead he wanted ; taking his canoe 
 the Indian paddled up First Lake, being gone a 
 couple of hours. When he returned he had a 
 lump of almost pure lead, as large as his head, 
 v^diich he declared he got from a "rock" in the 
 woods; but its location he would not divulge. 
 The truth of this story cannot be verified. 
 
 Another circumstance related of him, how- 
 ever, goes to show without doubt that Foster 
 did find valuable ore or carbon in his wander- 
 ings in the wilderness. For he and his son 
 David, who lived with him for a time at Old 
 Forge, were aware of the existence of a vein 
 — of valuable material of some kind. They never 
 revealed its location, and after they withdrew 
 from the wilderness, at the shooting of the 
 Indian Drid, they abandoned, for a time at least, 
 the idea of gaining any benefit from their know- 
 ledge. Finally Foster died, and his son David 
 removed to Ohio. After a short residence there, 
 he returned to New York with the express in- 
 
Nat Foster. 229. 
 
 tentions of making use of his knowledge of the 
 location of the vein in question; but before his 
 plans were matured he was injured by an ac- 
 cident. A stone fell on his limbs and crushed 
 them, from the elTects of which he died. Before 
 his death, he dictated to his family a descrip- 
 tion of the trail to be followed from the Old 
 Forge tO' the vein, which was taken down in 
 writing by a member of his family. This docu- 
 ment which I have seen, is now^ in the posses- 
 sion of one of his kinsmen. But it would be 
 dil^.cult, if not an almost impossible task, it 
 seems to me to make any use of it; as the 
 course is indicated by certain trees, stumps, 
 hillocks and rocks which must be quite changed 
 now. If this vein, which from the paper I would 
 take to be either lead or coal, and which a dying 
 man considered important enough to dictate 
 directions to, is ever found, it must be by re- 
 newed searches and developments. 
 
 But let us leave this "prospecting" feature into 
 which my story has drifted, and listen to an 
 adventure Foster nad on this tract with a 
 couple of Indians, in which he disposed of them 
 in his usual way. 
 
 As I have said, when he was wont to first visit 
 the tract around the Old Forge and Fulton 
 Chain, it was still as wild and uninhabited as 
 
230 Life and Adventures of 
 
 in its most primitive days. It was destined 
 however, to be the scene of activity and industry 
 for ,a Httle while, then to relapse almost into a 
 state of nature again, when it was to be the scene 
 of the closing tragedy in the hunter's life, and 
 finally to become the resort of thousands of 
 sportsmen and others, seeking pleasure, recrea- 
 tion and health. 
 
 Foster first visited the part of the wilderness 
 in July. Hunters often went into the woods 
 at this time of the year to 1)uild taeir camps, as 
 the bark of trees would peel readily oiily at tnis 
 time. He "toted" m a great load of traps, and 
 left them at Second Lake. He then proceeded 
 to Fourth Lake, where he made himself a canoe. 
 He then returned tO' Second Lake, getting his 
 traps and scattering them along his contem- 
 plated winter's route, going as far as Long 
 Lake. This task of distributing and concealing 
 his traps being completed, he returned to Eighth 
 Lake, where he built a substantial camp of logs 
 and bark, located at the foot of the lake near the 
 outlet. This he intended to use as his head- 
 quarters for the winter. 
 
 Hunters found it necessary as well as conven- 
 ient to erect "way stations" or small camps 
 along their routes, where they could store some 
 wood for a cjuick fire, and have a convenient 
 
Nat Foster. 231 
 
 place to stop if night overtook them before they 
 could return to their main camp. So after erect- 
 ing the snug cabin on Eighth Lake, Foster 
 rowed to the foot of First Lake, and looked 
 about for a suitable place for locating one of 
 these camps. Near the outlet of the lake he 
 found what he recognized at once as a capital 
 thing for a way station, and also a valuable 
 place of concealment for whatever he wished to 
 hide from roving Indians. It was the stump or 
 stub of a huge hollow tree. The trunk of the 
 tree had been broken ofT about seven feet from 
 the ground, doubtless by some gale of wind. 
 He cut a hole through the shell of the stump, 
 and then cleaned and hewed out the rotten wood 
 inside, so that he had a little room nearly six feet 
 \\\ diameter. By roofing the top w4th bark he 
 had a tight and snug place of concealment for 
 his things, and ample room for himself and his 
 dog, if they were ever overtaken in those parts 
 by a thunder storm, or had to spend the night 
 there. Putting- his pack basket on the bottom, 
 he could seat himself thereon, and wath his dog 
 at his feet, could comfortably spend a few hours 
 of repose in this strange hut. 
 
 Much pleased wnth the afTair, he gathered 
 some dry wood, and put it together with some 
 traps, an axe, his tin teapot and frying pan in- 
 
232 Life and Adventures of 
 
 side, and closed the aperture he had made in the 
 side by drawing the bushes around it. FelUng- 
 a sapling so that its bushy top rested on the top 
 of the stump, thus effectually concealing the 
 bark roof. He concealed his boat by the shore, 
 and turned his face homeward, well satisfied 
 that he would find things as he had left them. 
 He returned the following November, and found 
 everything undisturbed; and commenced opera- 
 tion at once, setting traps on his route, operating 
 along the Fulton Chain, up the head waters to 
 Racquet Lake, and on to Long Lake, which 
 marked the end of his extensive course. It took 
 him a week to make the round. Then he re- 
 turned to his camp on Eighth Lake, and "set up 
 housekeeping" in his cabin. 
 
 At first his success was far beyond his ex- 
 pectations; taking unusually large c[uantities of 
 fur, SO' that the outlook was for a season of the 
 most profitable trapping he had ever had. At 
 the end of a few weeks, however, the amount of 
 game he took from his traps grew constantly 
 less, the decrease being most prominent on the 
 northern part of his route. He found footprints 
 of Indians on this part of his line, and knew at 
 once that they were stealing from his traps. 
 They operated very cautiously, however, and he 
 saw nothinof of them, or of the carcasses of the 
 
Nat Foster. 233 
 
 animals they must have taken from his traps. 
 They were so sly that he ceased attending to 
 the upper end of his. route, and only operated 
 between his camp at Eighth Lake and his stump 
 camp at the foot of First Lake, for he knew that 
 if he stopped setting and baiting his traps on 
 the upper section of the route, the Indians, who 
 were too lazy to either take traps into the woods, 
 or attend to them even after they were placed, 
 would then come down to the lower end of his 
 route, and he would then have an opportunity 
 to settle with them. 
 
 This plan worked as he expected. One fore- 
 noon he returned to his camp at Eighth Lake, 
 having spent the night at his stump camp, and 
 found the carcasses of several beavers and fish- 
 ers by the camp. He examined them and found 
 the marks of a trap on each one. This made 
 him thoroughly mad; he was bringmg traps 
 from his home in Salisbury, toting them on his 
 back some forty miles, and then the Indians 
 getting the benefit. He resolved to ''clean the 
 Indians out," even if he had to "scare them 
 clear to Canada" in doing it. 
 
 Thev were evidently in the vicinity now, and 
 
 he determined to meet and "fix" them ere the 
 
 sun went down. Fortune materially assisted 
 
 him in carrving out this resolve, though he did 
 
 i'6 
 
2 34 -^*^^ ^"^' Adventures of 
 
 not actually accoinplish it until long after sun- 
 set. 
 
 Taking his rifle and getting into his canoe, he 
 paddled swiftly, but cautiously, down the lakes, 
 keeping a sharp lookout for the Indians. He 
 went so far as Sixth Lake without seeing any- 
 thing of them. At the foot of Sixth Lake he 
 had to "carry," but undaunted he took his canoe 
 on his shoulders, and quickly walked to Fifth 
 Lake without a stop. Launching his craft here, 
 he continued on his course to Fourth Lake, 
 wh' Tc lie concluded to visit some of his traps to 
 see if the Indians had visited them yet. Rowing 
 into a little cove in the shore opposite Bear 
 Island, he drew his canoe into some l^ushes that 
 grew to the water's edge, and made his way to 
 some mink traps he had set, quite a distance in 
 the wooci.*-. He found them unmolested, some 
 having game in them; this he took and returned 
 to the lake. What was his surprise on reaching 
 It to find a pack of furs, with some game, lying 
 un the shore. He drew back into the bushes 
 mimediately upon discovering the heap, and 
 peered cautiously around for those who had 
 l)rought it. 
 
 Looking out upon the lake he was not sur- 
 prised at seeing a canoe being paddled by two 
 Indians towards the island. When thev reached 
 
Nat Foster. 235 
 
 it they drew their canoe on the shore, and taking 
 their rifles, disappeared in the woods that were 
 then very dense on the island. 
 
 Foster now coiichided that these Indians had 
 left the fur and game where it was, to go and 
 explore the island, expecting to find him en- 
 camped there. He had no doubt from their 
 actions that they intended to shoot him if they 
 found him there, and then return to get the 
 things they had left, and continued their round 
 of his traps. He examined the bodies of the 
 mink and fisher that the Indians had left with 
 the pack of furs, and found that they were still 
 warm; and having the marks of the traps on 
 their limbs, he knew that they had been but 
 recently taken from his traps farther up the 
 lake. The Indians were probably ashore when 
 he rowed down, and did not see him, nor he 
 them. 
 
 Fortunately he had taken pains to conceal his 
 canoe when he landed, so that it escaped the 
 Indians observation. Drawing it from the bush- 
 es, he hastily put the furs and all the game in it, 
 and paddled rapidly down the lakes to his 
 stump camp at the foot of Fourth Lake; when 
 he arrived it was about four o'clock in the after- 
 noon. The first thing he did was to start a fire, 
 and cook himself some supper from provisions 
 
236 Life and Adventures of 
 
 he had in the stump. After appeasing the hun- 
 ger his long fast from morning had created, he 
 began putting in operation a plan he had 
 thought of for fooling the Indians. He knew 
 they would soon return to the cove for the 
 things they had left, and finding them gone^ 
 would probably conclude that he had visited the 
 spot and taken them, and returned to his camp 
 on Eighth Lake, of the existence of which he 
 knew they must be aware. Thinking he had 
 gone up the lakes, they would continue on down 
 the lakes, robbing his traps as they went. When 
 they reached the foot of First Lake, they would 
 look about for a camp, and he resolved to have 
 one ready for them. 
 
 Selecting a favorable spot a few rods from his 
 stump, he proceeded tO' build one of those com- 
 fortable little huts of boughs he was so expert 
 in making in so short a time. On completing 
 the shelter he arranged a pile of hemlock twigs 
 under it, and covered them with a blanket, so 
 that it looked exactly like a figure of a man 
 reposing. By the time he had completed all of 
 these arrangements it was dusk; he now started 
 a fire in front of the open end of the shanty, and 
 betook himself tO' his hollow stump, and seat- 
 ing himself on his pack basket, with his dog 
 at his feet, and his rifle between his knees, he 
 waited to see what would come of his ruse. 
 
Nat Foster. 237 
 
 As the darkness deepened the fire blazed more 
 brightly, for he had put on a great quantity of 
 wood. He watched its fierce burning with satis- 
 faction, for he knew that if the Indians were in 
 the vicinity they would see it, and as it burned 
 low, and the night advanced they would inves- 
 tigate it. It was a weary vigil, and he allowed 
 himself to fall into a doze, as he knew faithful 
 old Watch would awaken him when the Indians 
 came. He was a faithful canine, an exact coun- 
 terpart of his mother Rose, who was the hunter's 
 companion in his youth. 
 
 Foster had dozed and slept some time, when 
 the dog roused him by his trembling body as it 
 lay against his feet. He knew at once that 
 Watch had scented the Indians. He cocked his 
 rifle and peered out of the opening in the 
 stump. The fire was now a heap of coals, which 
 sent out a ruddy glow, just lighting up the in- 
 terior of the hut of boughs, revealing the blanket 
 as a sleeping man. His cjuick ear soon detected 
 the careful dip of a paddle, and in a few moments 
 he saw lurough the trees the two Indians in 
 their canoe, appear from the inky darkness 
 which hung over the waters of the lake; they 
 paddled to the shore, stepped carefully out, and 
 pulled their boats onto the beach. 
 
 Thev stood motionless on the shore for a 
 
238 Life and Adventures of 
 
 couple of minutes, with their rifles in their hands 
 taking observations, and then began to pick 
 their way carefully towards the camp. 
 
 Said Foster in relating this adventure: "As I 
 watched 'em I got most excited as my dog, and 
 could hardly keep from leaping out of my 
 stump, and actually shooting 'em. The two 
 red devils skulked along craning their necks, 
 nodding their heads, and motioning to each 
 other as they pointed to the fire and the hut. 
 They would advance about three steps, and then 
 they would stop and look and listen, and alto- 
 gether .acted like two of the most detestable and 
 cowardly whelps that they were. 
 
 "Finally they got where they could see inside 
 of the hut, and then the cusses had to stop and 
 have another conflab with each other in their 
 sign talk. I most made up my mind again to 
 shoot 'em dead, they looked and acted so cus- 
 sedly devilish, and I did get out of my stump 
 and got up behind a big hemlock tree ready to 
 shoot 'em; but I restrained msyelf and let 'em 
 proceed. Finally they moved again, and worked 
 up closer, so they had a good view of what they 
 thought was me in the hut. Then, after a little 
 more of their motioning, they both took aim at 
 the blanket and fired. 
 
 "And this transaction" Foster was wont to 
 
Nat Foster. 239 
 
 say in concluding his account of the story, "so 
 excited me that I yelled in my excitement, and 
 mv dog bayed with a vengeance, and sometimes 
 I've thought," he would say in a reminiscent 
 manner, "that I must have fired twice right in 
 the direction of them Indians, but I was so ex- 
 cited I don't exactly remember. But anyhow, 
 I know I discharged my gun, and I've always 
 been of the opinion that it had the desired effect, 
 for Watch and me didn't have any more trouble 
 with the red devils after I scart 'em away from 
 mv stump camp, and I had a fine season jf 
 trapping." 
 
 This was Foster's first encounter with Indians 
 on the Fulton Chain, and occurred several years 
 before any white man had penetrated the wild- 
 erness to settle it. We see how easily he ac- 
 counted then for the way in which he disposed 
 of the Indians that troubled him. 
 
 Years after, however, he was to have an en- 
 counter with another one of the race, the serious 
 outcome of which could not be easily gotten 
 rid of. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 DURING the time intervening between the 
 adventures with which the preceding 
 cnapter closes, and the tragedy narrated in the 
 next, whch is the closing event in the life of our 
 herO', there were mighty changes wrought at 
 that section of the Adirondack wilderness, 
 where they occurred. 
 
 I am greatly indebted to C. E. Snyder, Esq., 
 of Herkimer, N. Y., for much of my knowledge 
 of the history of the tract where the closing 
 tragedy of Eoster's life occurred. Mr. Snyder 
 recently prepared a paper on "Brown's Tract," 
 which he read before the Historical Society of 
 Herkimer County. He has given me the privi- 
 lege, which I gladly avail myself of, of using his 
 manuscript in my description of the develop- 
 ment of the country where Eoster hunted so 
 many years; which development has such an 
 important bearing on the closing scenes of his 
 last days as a hunter and trapper. 
 
 In 1798, John Brown, a capitalist of Rhode 
 Island, and a conspicuous patriot during the 
 
Nat Foster. 241 
 
 war of the Revolution, and afterwards a mem- 
 ber of Congress, came into possession of the 
 region known so many years as "Brown's 
 Tract." He got it through the foreclosure of 
 a second mortgage he held on the territory. It 
 embraced 210,000 acres about the head waters 
 of Moose River. It lay in the northern part of 
 Herkimer, tne western part of Hamilton, and 
 the eastern part of Lewis Counties, and in- 
 cluded the Fulton Chain of lakes. 
 
 These lakes received their name from Robert 
 Fulton, the inventor of the steamboat. He ex- 
 plored the region in 181 1, to ascertain the 
 practicability of adopting the lakes and streams 
 there, into the canal system which was then 
 being developed by the legislature of the State. 
 Fultoii was very enthusiastic over the beautiful 
 chain, and probably made reference to it in his 
 first report to the Canal Commission, of which 
 he was a member. At all events, from this time 
 the lakes have been known as "the Fulton 
 Chain." 
 
 After the close of the War of the Revolution, 
 a large part of the territory of Northern New 
 York passed through the hands of speculators, 
 who inaugurated a land boom, which must 
 have been something like the western land 
 booms of recent years. But one man it appears 
 
242 Life and Adventures of 
 
 made any money. That was William Constable, 
 who boug-ht 1,920,000 acres in 1792, and in the 
 same year sold 1,280,000 acres, including what 
 was afterwards Brown's Tract, to Samuel Ward 
 of New York City, for one hundred thousand 
 pounds. He doubled his money by the deal, 
 and had 640,000 acres of his original purchase 
 left. The ownership of this tract of 1,128,000 
 acres passed through several hands, until a 
 part of it, what afterwards came into possession 
 of Brown, was owned by Philip Livingston of 
 New York City. A son-in-law of Brown's 
 named Francis was responsible for the acquire- 
 ment of the land by l>rown, according to the 
 statements of Mr. Snyder in his paper. He 
 says : 
 
 "The story is told by the descendants of 
 Brown's family, that a cargo of Indian mer- 
 chandise had been landed and sold by Francis, 
 who was an agent of Brown. Francis fell in 
 with some land speculators, and yielding to the 
 real estate boom then so universally prevalent, 
 is said to^ have invested $50,000 of the money ol 
 John Brown in a second mortgage on Brown's 
 Tract. This investment was from the start 
 disapproved of by Brown, and was a source to 
 him and his family of considerable loss. 
 
 ''After Brown had acquired title to the land 
 
Nat Foster. 243 
 
 upon the foreclosure oi the Livingston mort- 
 gage, he began to take measures to develop 
 and settle the country. He first caused a sur- 
 vey of the land to be made by Arnold Smith, 
 Elkanah French and John Allen. The 210,000 
 acres were sub-divided into eight townships, 
 which were numbered from one to eight con- 
 secutively, and also named. The names which 
 Brown gave them are mottoes which are said 
 to have been used by him in his business career. 
 Township No. i was named Industry and was 
 surveyed into 160 acre farms. Township No. 2 
 was named Enterprise and was surveyed into 
 one-half mile squares. Township No. 3 was 
 named Perseverance and was also surveyed into 
 one-half mile squares. Township No. 4 was 
 named Unanimity, Township No. 5 Frugality, 
 Township No. 6 Sobriety, Township No. 7 Econ- 
 omy, Township No. 8 Regularity. 
 
 "After surveying the land Brown built a road 
 through the forest from Remsen, Oneida county, 
 to Township No. 7, upon his tract, a distance of 
 about twenty-five miles. The road terminated 
 near the south shore of the middle branch of 
 Moose river in the center of the township, about 
 two miles from the south boundary line of his 
 tract, at which place he planned a settlement. 
 The building of this road for a single individual 
 
244 ^^^^ o;ifl? Adventures of 
 
 must have l)een a great undertaking. "^^ * Brown's 
 aim was to make permanent settlements on the 
 tract and to convert the wilderness into farms. 
 A mill dam was built across the mouth of the 
 middle branch of the Moose river, then called 
 Mill creek, on the site of the present dam at Old 
 Forge, for the purpose of obtaining power to 
 run the sawmill and grist mill. The sawmill 
 which he built is said to have been located in 
 about the same place as the present sawmill at 
 Old Forge. His grist mill is said tO' have been 
 erected oii the opposite side of the river, a little 
 lower down the stream." 
 
 After the dam was built it was three months, 
 it is said, before the water flowed over it, and a 
 search was made supposing the water had found 
 another outlet. 
 
 "Personally, Brown, so far as I can find," con- 
 tinues Mr. Snyder, "was only once upon the 
 tract superintending its settlement. Its develop- 
 ment was intrusted almost entirely to agents. 
 Personally, Brown was a man of short stature 
 and weighed in the neighborhood of three hun- 
 dred pounds. He drove about in a specially con- 
 structed gig, built low so as to make it possible 
 for him to get in and out. However, notwith- 
 standing these physical defects, his descendants, 
 I am informed, have recently discovered a letter 
 
Nat Foster. 245 
 
 showing that under ah these personal disadvan- 
 tages he made a visit to the tract. 
 
 "Brown did not long survive his attempted 
 settlement; he died in 1803. How many settlers 
 there were, and who they were and whence they 
 came, is not known, so far as I have learned. 
 The climate was cold and unfavorable for agri- 
 cultural operations. The soil was poor, the loca- 
 tion in the center of a large dreary forest, miles 
 and miles away from any settlement. The tide 
 of immigration was all towards the west, leaving 
 this little community far to one side. Gradually 
 the settlers w'hom he brought there left the place. 
 
 "By the will of John Brown the title to the 
 larger part of Brown's Tract passed to his grand- 
 son, John Brown Francis, of Warwick, Rhode 
 Island. Francis was at one time a Senator, rep- 
 resenting his State in the United States Senate, 
 and subsequently became its Governor. ' 
 
 Brown had another son-in-law named Charles 
 F. HerreshofY, wdio became interested in the 
 tract, through renewed attempts made by Fran- 
 cis to settle the tract after the war of 1812. 
 He purchased a considerable part of Township 
 No. 7, where he afterwards built his famous 
 forge. He was a German by birth, and had a 
 commanding appearance, being six feet tall, and 
 very gentlemanly in his w^ays. It is also said 
 
246 Life and Adventures of 
 
 that he was extremely proud and aristocratic, 
 though this must be taken with consideration, 
 for those from whom was received this verdict 
 were the hardy settlers of the rural parts of the 
 country w^ho would not appreciate the retiring 
 disposition and courteous bearing of a foreign 
 gentleman. He was a finished scholar. 
 
 He went onto the tract in 18 17 and spent the 
 greater part of his time until his death, in the 
 wilderness attempting to subdue and improve it. 
 It is said that as he entered the forest for the 
 first time he declared with an oath, that he would 
 settle the tract or settle himself. Although less 
 calculated than some men of smaller mental cali- 
 ber to do the great work of settling a wilderness, 
 still he accomplished considerable towards the 
 fulfillment of his purpose. He repaired the mills 
 Brown had erected, which had fallen into decay, 
 and in the course of a few years had cleared up 
 large tracts of his wild territory. Iron ore had 
 been discovered during the old settlements, and 
 iron works were projected by Herreshoff. At 
 the site of the mills he erected a forge for the 
 smelting of ore, and opened several roads from 
 there to the settlements he scattered about on 
 the tract. 
 
 Herreshott is said to have manufactured ex- 
 actly a ton of iron at his famous forge. It was 
 
Nat Foster. 247 
 
 of the very best quality, and cost, it is said, one 
 dollar a pound. Black sand found on the lake 
 shore and separated by magnets, was principally 
 used in making this ton of iron. He expected to 
 find ore in abundance in the mountains, but only 
 succeeded in locating a small vein in some two 
 hundred feet of rock, which he dug out at an 
 enormous expense. 
 
 Mr. wSnyder says of this attempt to obtain ore 
 for smelting: "An iron mine was opened nearly 
 opposite the site of the depot at Fulton Chain, 
 and on the westerly side, wdiere to this day is 
 ■pointed out to the tourist a large hole in the 
 rocks from which the ore w^as taken. Old drill 
 marks are still to be seen about the mine at the 
 entrance of which is a tree some eight inches in 
 diameter, growing up among refuse thrown out 
 of the mine; while at the bottom, fed by little 
 veins of pure cold Adirondack water, is a well 
 of some little depth. The place is sometimes 
 spoken of as John Brown's well. '^ '•' * '^' 
 
 ''There was no power near the mine to operate 
 an iron works, or to reduce the ore, and Herre- 
 shofY accordingly built a mill, or forge, about 
 one and a half miles away, near the dam across 
 the middle branch of the Moose river, previously 
 built by Brown, his father-in-law\ His forge is 
 said to have been located just below the grist 
 
248 Life and Adventures of 
 
 mill. Heavy machinery was taken through the 
 woods and set up here in the heart of the forest. 
 Considerable preparation was made for manu- 
 facture of iron. A nail shop was started. 
 
 "Coal was, of course, necessary for the reduc- 
 tion of iron ore, and for this purpose charcoal 
 was manufactured. " * '•'= =•= * ■'' 
 
 "Herreshofif built for himself what must have 
 been in those days and for that place, a fine 
 house, made of timber and boards sawed at the 
 old mill built by his father-in-law. The house 
 was located nearly opposite the site of the rail- 
 way depot at Fulton Chain, and on the westerly 
 side, and subsequently became known as the 
 Arnold house. It was standing" until about a 
 year ago (1895), in a dilapidated condition, when 
 it was destroyed by fire. Herreshofif also built 
 a large barn a short distance from his dwelling, 
 on the top of which was a cupola in which a bell 
 was placed for the purpose of summoning the 
 men to their meals. 
 
 "Herreshoilf struggled heroically," says Mr. 
 Snyder, "against great odds. He planned for 
 the conversion of the forest into farms and at the 
 same time for the development of iron mines 
 and iron works. The conditions for settling the 
 country were, of course, just as unfavorable with 
 Herreshofif as with Brown. The settlers whom 
 
Nat Foster. 249 
 
 he brought upon the tract became discontented; 
 poor soil, severe cHmate and isolation in the 
 midst of a great forest, was more than Herre- 
 shofif could successfully contend with. Then he 
 beccme indebted considerably to his miners and 
 iron workers. The funds which he brought with 
 him became exhausted. Drafts which he drew 
 upon his family in Providence were returned 
 unaccepted, and he was confronted with ruin." 
 I have learned from an old resident of the 
 tract, that at about this time he began to brood 
 much over his troubles, and was really suspected 
 of losing his mind by his employees, .and they 
 rather expected that he would make aw^ay with 
 himself. One day he ordered some of his men 
 to the senseless task of filling up the great hole 
 that had been dug in search of iron. They set 
 about the work and continued it until Herre- 
 shoff went dowai into the pit and then ordered 
 them to continue throwing in the rocks, logs 
 and brush they w^ere using to fill it wath, when 
 they decided he w-ished to commit suicide, and 
 laid off from w^ork that day. 
 
 HerreshoiY is described by Simms as a good- 
 feeling man in spite of his reserved ways and 
 dignified bearing. "On one occasion," he says, 
 "Herreshofif went wath some of his men in a 
 boat to the head of Fourth Lake, to select some 
 17 
 
250 Life and Adventures of 
 
 pine timber. Passing one of the islands of the 
 lake, he desired to be set ashore on a bluft ex- 
 tending some distance into the lake. 
 
 "He was a great smoker, and having lit his 
 pipe, he concluded to increase the fumigation by 
 also lighting- the grass and dry brush on the 
 bluff about him. A few minutes only sufficed, 
 with the breeze blowing, to spread the flames 
 over the entire bluff. The wind drove the heat 
 towards him, and calling for the boat to come 
 to him, he gained the extreme point of land in 
 hope of escaping the fire. Before the boat could 
 get to him, however, the flames drove him out 
 onto a tree which extended horizontally over 
 the water. 
 
 "The craft seemed to him to move at a snail's 
 pace, .as the heat and smoke — of which latter 
 commodity he for once had enough, — became 
 more insufferable. He held on to his footing 
 until he saw a sheet of flame coming along the 
 trunk of the tree, and directly into his face, when 
 he sprang off into the water, among the trout. 
 He did not glide as noiselessly as they in that 
 element, however, but floundered about like .1 
 porpoise, and for once, if we mistake not, quit 
 smoking with to1)acco still in his pipe; he was 
 rescued by his employes, half drowned and half 
 frozen, as he took the unexpected bath in Sep- 
 tember, and shivered for .lOurs to pay for it." 
 
Nat Foster. 251 
 
 The end came, however, in a short time; win- 
 ter was upon him, and the great, ambitious 
 man was no doubt keenly sensible of his utter 
 helplessness. Cast down and burdened with 
 despair, on the morning of the 19th of Decem- 
 ber, 18 19, he went out to the northeastern cor- 
 ner of his house and sent a pistol ball crashing 
 through his l^rain. A young woman named 
 Hannah Merry, an employee of the house, was 
 outside and looking up saw her employer fall 
 to the ground. The report of the firearm brought 
 other of his servants and attendants from the 
 house, and David Sweet and Seth Lathrop, hired 
 men, carried him into the house, where he soon 
 expired. 
 
 ''Such," says Simms, "was the melancholy and 
 tragic fate of one of the most enterprising men 
 that ever entered the wild lands of New York 
 to subdue them." 
 
 The body of HerreshofY was carried to Russia 
 Corners, a distance of fifty miles, where an in- 
 quest was held, after which the remains w^ere 
 taken to Boonville and interred in the village 
 burying ground. When the present cemetery of 
 the town was laid out, his body was taken up 
 Avith others in the old burial plot and interred in 
 the new one, where it is now, marked by an old- 
 fashioned slab of marble which his relations 
 
252 Life and Adventures of 
 
 caused to be erected at his grave a few years 
 after his death. It bears the simple inscription 
 of "Charles Frederick Herreshoff, Obiit Dec. 
 19th, 1819. Aetat 50." 
 
 With the death of Herreshofif his settlements 
 became tenantless, and remained so with ex- 
 ceptions of two or three renewed attempts made 
 from time to time by different families to live on 
 some of the clearings. But they were generally 
 deserted, being only visited by hunters who 
 camped in the deserted dwellings. Those clear- 
 ings about the foot of the chain were the ones 
 occupied by tenants longest. Otis Arnold was 
 the last one to occupy the old Herreshoff house 
 and farm it for a living. He rented the place 
 soon after Foster got into trouble by shooting 
 the Indian at Indian Point in 1833, and remained 
 there many years. He grew large crops of oats, 
 and threshing them in the fall, would draw the 
 grain to market in the winter; about the only 
 time loads could be taken over the road, which 
 had fallen into decay. 
 
 Of this period of the history of the tract Mr. 
 Snyder says: ''Many accounts are to be met 
 with of visits to Arnold's, during this period, all 
 of which are entertaining. In the autumn of 
 T855, the Honorable Amelia M. Murray, maid 
 of honor to Oueen Victoria, went over the lake 
 
Nat Foster. 
 
 253 
 
 belt of the wilderness with Governor Seymour, 
 the Governor's nieces and other friends. On 
 their way out they stopped at Arnold's, and the 
 story of the diary of Lady Amelia is in these 
 words: 'Mr. Seymour remained to make ar- 
 rangements with the guide, while his niece and 
 I walked on to Arnold's farm; there we found 
 Mrs. Arnold and six daughters. These girls, 
 aged from twelve to twenty, were placed in a 
 row against the wall of the shanty, with looks 
 so expressive of astonishment, that I felt puzzled 
 to account for their manner, until their mother 
 informed us that they had never before seen an- 
 other woman than herself. I could not elicit a 
 word from them, but at last when I begged for a 
 little milk, the eldest went and brought me a 
 glass. I then remembered that we had met a 
 single hunter, rowing on Moose river, who 
 called out, 'Where on earth did them women 
 come from.' " 
 
 "Another tourist, Wallace, in his 'Babes in 
 the Woods,' gives this account of a visit to Ar- 
 nold's: ''As we approached the house we passed 
 through a yard where the daughters of the fam- 
 ily were engaged in milking, with a little smok- 
 ing fire beneath every cow. Here was a new- 
 feature. Such remarks as the following greeted 
 the ears of the milkers: "If they are not smoking 
 
254 -'^^'^^ ^'^d Adventures of 
 
 their beef with the skins on!' 'I have heard of 
 building fires under balky horses, out I fail to 
 see the necessity of serving cows that way/ 
 'Boys, can't you see,' said another, 'that this is 
 done as a matter of domestic economy. The 
 gradual and increased warmth acts upon the udder 
 of the animal and through this upon the lacteal 
 contents thereof, producing a sort of coagulation 
 whereby the creamy globules are precipitated/ 
 By this time we had begun to learn by experi- 
 ence that the smouldering fires were smudges 
 to drive the punkies from the cows so that they 
 might be milked in peace." "Here, perhaps, is 
 another reason," says Mr. Snyder, "why the 
 Brown and Herreshofif settlements proved dis- 
 astrous. Unless they knew how to manaije 
 punkies, they certainly did a wise thing in mov- 
 ing away." 
 
 But let me return to the period when Foster 
 occupied the house as a tenant. In May, 1830, 
 the premises were leased by Caleb Lyons as 
 agent of the Browns, to David and Solomon 
 Maybee, for thirty dollars. Two years later, 
 Feb., 1832, Foster, who had traversed the region 
 as a hunter during all the vain attempts to settle 
 it, purchased an assignment of the lease for ten 
 dollars and moved his family there, that he 
 might with greater convenience follow in his 
 
Nat Foster. 255 
 
 old age his favorite avocation of a wilderness 
 trapper and hunter. He intended, no doubt, to 
 spend the remainder of his days there among 
 the mountains and lakes he loved, and to thread 
 the forests in pursuit of noble game. But he 
 was destined to spend but a few years there, 
 however, and that, harassed and rendered un- 
 safe by a lazy, but treachrous Indian, who made 
 himself at home on the tract. It seems as if the 
 Indians were to be forever his foes, and that 
 even in his old age, lie must administer some 
 of his stern discipline to intrusive red men. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 WHEN Foster took up what he intended, 
 no doubt, should be his permanent resi- 
 dence on Fulton Chain in 1832, he was over 
 sixty-five years of age. He rented the farm at 
 Salisbury to his son Amos, and took his wife 
 with him into the wilderness. They occupied 
 as their home the Herreshofif house. In a short 
 time they were joined by their son David, ac- 
 companied by his wife and child. The Fosters 
 were the only white families on the clearings at 
 the time, though three old bachelors lived in 
 another one of the abandoned dwellings situated 
 on the "Middle Clearing," being about half way 
 between the Herreshof¥ house and the dam. It 
 afterwards became knows as the Slocum place. 
 The names of the three men were William S. 
 Wood, David Chase and Wilbrd Johnson. The 
 latter had gone into the woods to work in the 
 forge at his trade as smelter, but upon the 
 abandonment of the works he continued there, 
 hunting and trapping for a living, and was joined 
 by Wood and Chase in his hermitage. 
 
lie threw up his arms in terror at the moment of explosion,' 
 
Nat Fester. 257 
 
 In a rude hut or shanty not far from their 
 dweUing, hved an Indian named Peter Waters, 
 but famiharly known in the forests by the name 
 of Drid. He was a quarrelsome fellow, and as 
 soon as Foster settled on the tract, began to 
 use every conceivable means to pick a quarrel 
 with him. No doubt the fact that Foster was 
 known as a man who had slain many of his race 
 and bore the reputation of an Indian killer, in- 
 tensified his hatred of the old hunter. And from 
 the fact that he was now advanced in years and 
 his hghting days were practically over, Drid er- 
 roneously thought he could treat him with the 
 insolence and audacity he did; but he "reckoned 
 without his host," for the old man had not ''lost 
 his cunning," nor "his hand its skill," as the 
 reckless warrior was to discover in due time. 
 
 Foster, during his residence at the Chain, was 
 very jealous of his rights there. He had leased 
 the tract for the express purpose of hunting and 
 trapping undisturbed during the last years of his 
 life. W. S. Benchley, writing of him in 1843, 
 says: "I spent several days upon the lakes with 
 Foster at tnis time. He conversed but little, 
 and his restless, roving eye was never still. With 
 his rifle at his side, he seemed ever anxious to 
 discover something on shore worthy of his un- 
 erring aim. Frequently he would direct my at- 
 
258 Life and Adventures of 
 
 tention to an object on some distant grassy 
 beach, saying, 'See, there is a deer; watch and 
 you will see it move.' He was never mistaken. 
 Still, one less accustomed with the w^oods would 
 very seldom have supposed that anything of the 
 kind w^as in sight. The bald eagle, which is 
 frequently seen in this region," continues Bench- 
 ley, "Foster would never disturb, for he thought 
 those noble birds were made to live unmolested 
 by man, although he said, 'the cussed Injuns 
 shot them.' " His sentiments appear to have 
 undergone a change in this respect since his boy- 
 hood, or perhaps the memory of Old Put caused 
 him to entertain a sentimental regard for the 
 noble bird. "He seemed to feel as though he 
 w^as lord of the tract," says Benchley, ''and no 
 one else, especially an Indian, had as good a 
 right there as he." 
 
 The same writer says: "Along the northern 
 shore of Second Lake rises a most grand and 
 sublime mountain (Bald Mountain) presenting 
 the frO'Ut of a naked rock for nearly a mile, at a 
 height of several hundred feet. On its summit 
 Uncle Nat told me he nad often been, and that 
 from that elevated position he could see the 
 lakes for miles around, and that there he could 
 
 enjoy himself 'and not be troubled by the d d 
 
 Indians, especially that black devil, who was all 
 
Nat Foster. 259 
 
 the while threatening his Hfe.' " The Indian al- 
 luded to is said to have been quite successful 
 in killing deer, and often "floated" for them. 
 This mode of securing the noble game much 
 displeased Foster and it is believed to have been 
 one source of dif^culty between them. 
 
 The real trouble between Foster and the In- 
 dian began soon after the former took up his 
 residence on the tract. Drid took Foster's boat 
 from its moorings at the dam without his knowl- 
 edge or consent, and left it a mile up the river. 
 As sooii as Foster missed his boat he looked up 
 the Indian and compelled him, at the muzzle of 
 his rifle, to lead him to the spot where he had 
 left it. He found the Indian had stove a hole 
 in it, and as he was bending over examining it, 
 Drid jumped on the old man and attempted to 
 knife him. In spite of his age Foster threw 
 him oi¥ and cocking his rifle told Drid to "Be- 
 gone before I shoot you in your tracks." See- 
 ing the flash of the old man's eye, he slunk sul- 
 lenly away, and from that time until his death, 
 he constantly threatened the hunter's life, and 
 made several unsuccessful attempts to shoot or 
 tomahawk him. 
 
 The Fosters were always kind to the Indian's 
 family, and when he was away on a long hunt, 
 his squaw depended almost entirely on this kind- 
 
26o Life and Adventures of 
 
 ness for the support of herself and children. 
 This was continued after the quarrel the same as 
 before. Foster kept a cow and the family of his 
 Indian neighbor, as well ,as the white residents, 
 were supplied with milk free of charge. But 
 such articles as Foster had to bring into the 
 woods, he would make a charge for. On one 
 occasion when he very civilly asked the Indian 
 to settle the account he became very abusive and 
 made .a positive threat against the life of his 
 kind-hearted old neighbor. 
 
 "In July, about two months before his death," 
 says Simms, "Drid was returning from a hunt 
 in company with a white hunter named Carpen- 
 ter, who frequented the tract. As they drew 
 near the upper clearing the Indian discharged 
 his rifle and reloaded and carefully primed it. 
 His companion inquired why he did it, saying- 
 he would not find game so near the clearing. 
 *Me going to -shoot ole Foster,' answered Drid, 
 and he did go to the Foster dwelling, and stand- 
 ing some distance from the door, he hailed sev- 
 eral times to draw Foster, if he was in the house, 
 to an exposed situation. The halloo was an- 
 swered by Mrs. Foster, who was alarmed when 
 she saw the threatening attitude of her dusky 
 neighbor. He incjuired for her husband, and 
 being told he was not at home, he exclaimed as 
 lie turned to eo, 'Me shoot him if he had been.' " 
 
Nat hosier. 261 
 
 The next morning the family of Drid being 
 out of provisions, apphed, as usual, to the Fos- 
 ters for food. Being informed by his wife and 
 Carpenter of the Indian's conduct of the night 
 before, Foster took some flour and, accompanied 
 by Carpenter, sought the red man's shanty to 
 relieve the wants of his family and to question 
 him in regards to his conduct the previous night. 
 In the presence of the witness he asked Drid if 
 he had not called at his door the night before, 
 intending to shoot him. The Indian readily ad- 
 mitted that he had, and assigned as a reason 
 that he had threatened to kill him. T made no 
 such threat,' said the old man, warmly; T sim- 
 ply said that it wouldn't be well for you to take 
 my boat again and leave it a mile from the dam 
 with a hole in her bottom.' " 
 
 Sometime after the above incident, the Indian 
 w'as at the Foster dwelling with one or two of 
 the neighbors, when the old trapper again asked 
 him to pay his account. The Indian instantly 
 
 flew into a passion, exclaiming, "You a d d 
 
 liar, me don't owe you a cent," and raised his 
 tomahaw'k to strike the old man, who quickly 
 sprang into his house, .and reappeared instantly 
 with his rifle in his hand, wdien his foe slunk 
 back and exclaimed, "Foster, if ever you go to 
 
262 Life and Adventures of 
 
 Eighth Lake, me kill you," and with many 
 threats he went to his cabin. 
 
 Realizing that w^iat was once his privilege in 
 the woods, would not be tolerated now by law, 
 Foster soon after the above occurrence, w^ent to 
 Justice of the Peace Joshua Harris, of Branting- 
 ham, twenty miles away, to swear out a peace 
 warrant against the Indian; but the officer de- 
 clined to issue one, saying that the Indian would 
 be as likely to kill him if he did, as he was now 
 to kill Foster. It seems that Drid was well 
 known to the people in that part of Lewis 
 county, and I have ascertained that he frequently 
 tramped out of the woods to the settlements for 
 bartering and trading. The Justice advised Fos- 
 ter to remove himself and family from the forest. 
 
 ''What!'' exclaimed Foster, "after I've hunted 
 the red devils there over thirty years, be scared 
 away by one? If you won't give me protection, 
 then I'll protect myself;" and with this decision 
 he returned to the tract and continued his hunt- 
 ing and trapping. 
 
 The little community of tw^elve or fifteen souls, 
 composed of the Fosters, the three bachelors and 
 the Indian's family, was occasionally visited by 
 men who came to spend a few days or a week 
 in hunting and fishing. They were generally 
 residents of the towns on the borders of the 
 
Nat Foster. 263 
 
 wilderness in Oneida and Lewis counties. Par- 
 ties of half a dozen men would come from Low- 
 ville or Boonville, spend the night with Foster, 
 and make arrangements with him or his son to 
 act as guide up the lakes. The bachelors also 
 acted as guides to the visitors who occasionally 
 came in. This may be regarded as the begin- 
 ning of the present extensive excursions and 
 trips to the Adirondacks, made by thousands 
 every summer. It was also, I believe, the be- 
 ginning of the extensive system of guiding now 
 maintained by a noble lot of fellows, as a whole, 
 who' make it their entire business the greater 
 part of the year, to guide and assist the visitors 
 about through the net work of trails that now 
 girdle the entire wilderness. 
 
 The journey into the wilderness, too, has been 
 facilitated in recent years by the construction of 
 the Adirondack and St. Lawrence, and Mohawk 
 and Malone railways, whereby one may quickly 
 and comfortably reach the heart of the moun- 
 tain and lake region to enjoy the superb scenery, 
 the invigorating atmosphere, and restful stillness 
 of the grand and mighty district. 
 
 If he chooses, he may angle for the saucy 
 trout, or hunt, at the proper season, for deer; 
 and yet, if not successful in either diversion, he 
 should still be well satisfied and repaid by rea- 
 
264 ^t^^ cif^d Adventures of 
 
 son of his simple presence in that grand park 
 of nature, which has successfully resisted, thtis 
 far, the vandal hand of man. It is to be hoped 
 that the lawmakers of the State will take steps 
 to properly protect and preserve it, both from 
 destructive speculations m its wealth of timber, 
 and from monopoly in ownership and control of 
 its beautiful rivers and lakes, and boundless ex- 
 panse of forests wdiich should be kept open for 
 use by all who wish to properly use the great 
 park for rest and recreation. 
 
 Early in the month of September, 1833, four 
 men in the town of Ley den, then on the edge 
 of the wilderness, arranged to go to Fulton 
 Chain on a salmon fishing trip. The party con- 
 sisted of Jonathan Tyler, and his son Willis, 
 Herman Thomas and Nelson Stimpson. They 
 started for the chain on foot the morning of the 
 1 6th, and arrived at the old Herreshoff house 
 in the afternoon. Foster was at home and gave 
 them a hearty welcome. One or two of the 
 party were well acquainted with him, while one, 
 Mr. Stimpson, had never met him before, 
 though, of course, thoroughly familiar with his 
 name and reputation as a hunter and trapper, 
 Mr. Stimpson, who is still living in the town of 
 Leyden at the advanced age of ninety-three (1897) 
 gives his first impression of the old hunter as 
 
Nat Foster. 265 
 
 most pleasant and favorable. He made them 
 feel at home at once, and showed them about, 
 explaining the interesting places in the clearing 
 to those who were not familiar with them. He 
 exhibited to the party several specimen proofs 
 he had of his successful following of the chase. 
 He had a large and varied collection of deers' 
 antlers and many finely cured skins of wild 
 animals. It is evident that he became an expert 
 taxiderimist in the course of his life; besides 
 these skins, which he showed the visitors, he had 
 the mounted skins of four panthers set up, on 
 a row of ash barrels by the house. They ap- 
 peared, Mr. Stimson says, "as natural as life." 
 Foster showed these specimens with pride, for 
 they bore the mark of his bullets which had 
 brought them to their death. "And each one," 
 Mr. Stimpson declares, "had been shot right in 
 the center of the forenead." 
 
 When Foster learned that the party came for 
 salmon fishing, he volunteered to accompany 
 them up the lakes the next morning, which offer 
 was gladly accepted, as he could show them the 
 best places for casting. The old hunter enter- 
 tained them during the evening with reminis- 
 cences of his life and adventures. The stories 
 he told, the reader is familiar with as being al- 
 ready given in other parts of this book. Indeed, 
 '18 
 
266 Life and Adventures of 
 
 I was much surprised and pleasea when I came 
 to interview Mr. Stimpson, to have many of the 
 adventures of Foster I had already obtained 
 from various sources, retold to me by him, and 
 without my interrogation, as stories told him 
 and his party by Foster himself at this time. 
 Thus, ''in the mouths of two or three witnesses," 
 they are established. 
 
 The night before the eventful day on which 
 Foster shot Drid, was the one the fishing party 
 arrived on the tract. Among other adventures 
 which Foster related were several of the Indian 
 stories I have given, which he told in his usual 
 guarded manner, so as not to incriminate him- 
 self. The conversation drifted to the subject of 
 Indians in general, however, and then Foster 
 told them that there was one ''red devil" on the 
 tract at the time who was giving him a great 
 deal of trouble, and that "if he could catch him 
 out anywhere he would put him where the dogs 
 wouldn't bite nim." No one of the party doubted 
 l)ut that he would do this, though they little 
 thought they w^ould see him do it. There is no 
 doubt but that Foster had ciecided to kill the 
 Indian Drid, having failed to get a precept from 
 the law against him. But it is doubtful if he in- 
 tended to shoot him in as open a manner as he 
 did the next dav, althou2:h he was convinced that 
 
Nat Foster. 267 
 
 he had to meet and settle with the enemy some- 
 where, as he had been compelled before to shoot 
 many another Indian in the depths of the forest 
 where no eye of man would observe his slaying 
 his enemy, and about which there would be no 
 questions asked when the savage did not appear 
 at his usual haunts. But he failed to follow this 
 usual course, and instead, shot his foe on the 
 principal waterway of the tract, and when there 
 were many witnesses of the deed. Tliis brought 
 him for the first time into serious conflict with 
 the law, and brought about his only indictment 
 and trial for killing an Indian. 
 
 The men of the fishing party retired late, but 
 arose early in order to get an early start. After 
 breakfasting they started, accompanied by Fos- 
 ter. When they arrived at the middle clearing, 
 he asked the party to stop while he would in- 
 quire if Wood and Chase were ready, as he knew 
 they were going up the lakes that morning, and 
 he thought they might all go together. So they 
 paused outside of the bachelors' lodge, setting 
 their packs down for a rest while he entered the 
 domicile. He found the bachelors eating their 
 breakfast, while seated on the wood box by the 
 fireplace, smoking his pipe, was his hated enemy 
 Drid. He had some traps which he wished to 
 get at Raquet Lake, and had invited himself to 
 
2 68 Life and Adventures of 
 
 accompany Wood and Chase as far as they went. 
 Foster took no notice of him, however, but en- 
 tered into conversation with the others about 
 the fishing party outside, and inquired when they 
 would be ready to start. Wood told him in 
 about an hour or possibly less, and Foster turned 
 to go, when the Indian started up and blurted 
 out, "Foster, you old cuss, what for you call me 
 rascal the other day?" Foster thinking to turn 
 the question away, answered in a jocular man- 
 ner, "Because I was a mind to;" but this ap- 
 peared to only inflame the Indian to action, and 
 he sprang upon Foster. He was a lithe, muscular 
 fellow, and only about twenty-five years old, but 
 in spite of this advantage, he could not master 
 the old man who clinched him. The bystanders 
 quickly separated them, Drid calling loudly for 
 his tomahawk, and Foster for his rifle; he was 
 excited by this time, and as he regained his feet, 
 he exclaimed, "You want to pick a quarrel with 
 
 me this morning, you black ?" when 
 
 the Indian, who had shaken off those who had 
 pulled him away, sprang at the old man, this 
 time with his knife drawn. His quick and un- 
 expected attack took Foster by surprise, and he 
 was borne to the floor by the Indian, who was 
 just about to plunge his knife into the old man's 
 heart, when Wood struck his hand, and the 
 
Nat Foster. 269 
 
 knife inflicted only a flesh wound on Foster's 
 wrist. Ag-ain the Indian was seized and pulled 
 away, swearing like a pirate, exclaiming at the 
 end of a horrid oath, "Foster, you old cuss, you 
 no live till Christmas;" and Foster, whose worst 
 passion was aroused, retorted, "and you'll do 
 d d well if you live to see another moon." 
 
 He now joined the waiting and anxious fisher- 
 men, who had been alarmed, as well they might 
 be, by the tussles and loud talking going 011 in 
 the house. He procured some cloth from one of 
 them and bound up his wrist, telling them they 
 must go on without him, as he would not think 
 of going up the lake that day. Leaving them, 
 he started towards his own home. They watched 
 him until he was hid from view by the trees, 
 when they gathered up their things and started 
 for the dam. They had gone but a few rods, 
 however, when the report of a rifle up the road 
 startled them. It was evidently fired by Foster, 
 and they wondered if he had seen a deer to 
 shoot. It was Foster's rifle they heard, but it 
 was not a deer that caused the old hunter to 
 discharge his piece. He had simply rid it of its 
 present charge, to carefully load it for game of 
 another kind. 
 
 His mind was thoroughly settled. He must 
 shoot the Indian ere ne returned from his trip 
 
270 Life and Adventures of 
 
 lip the lakes or he would shoot him, or possibly 
 murder him in his bed; for the Indian had threat- 
 ened several times to enter Foster's dwelling in 
 the night and stab him as he was sleeping. He 
 now loaded his trusty rifle with two balls, and 
 making a detour through the woods, he came 
 out on the road ahead of the fishermen. When 
 he reached the dam, he crossed to the north side 
 of the river, and made his way through the for- 
 ests to a point on the river, just below First Lake, 
 where the boats, as they came up, had to pass. 
 Taking up a position on this point among some 
 bushes and between two large hemlocks, he 
 a\vaited the arrival of the party. 
 
 The fishermen reached the dam without inci- 
 dent, and there waited for the arrival of Wood 
 and Chase for instructions as to what boat to 
 take. In due time they arrived, accompanied 
 by Drid, who was still swearing vengeance at 
 Foster, and w^as half inclined to abandon his 
 trip to Raquet Lake and return to Foster's 
 house to shoot him. He was dissuaded from this 
 course, however, by Wood and Chase, w'ho pre- 
 vailed on him to accompany them, and by doing 
 this, instead of preserving, as they thought, the 
 safety of Foster, they only lured the Indian to 
 his owai death. After some delay in getting 
 ready they all left the dam, Drid in a light bark 
 
Nat Foster. 271 
 
 canoe, Wood and Chase in a large bark canoe, 
 and the fishing party in a wooden boat. 
 
 It is a twenty minutes' row from the dam at 
 the Old Forge to Indian Point. At length the 
 little fleet of boats drew near. Wood and Chase 
 had some traps on shore here, and they and the 
 Indian ceased paddling to put in and get them, 
 while the fishing party continued on up the 
 stream. As they neared the point, Mr. Stimp- 
 son, who sat in the stern of the skiff, espied Fos- 
 ter standing bareheaded among the bushes on 
 the extreme end of the point, his rifle in his 
 hand. Though surprised at seeing him there, 
 when he had apparently gone home an hour be- 
 fore, Stimpson knew at once what he was there 
 for, and apprised the other occupants of the 
 boat of the old hunter's presence on the point. 
 Instantly aware of the tragedy that was to be en- 
 acted, the rowers nervously but quickly pulled 
 the boat past the point, while all excitedly 
 awaited the event. As they rounded the point, 
 Stimpson turned in his seat in the stern of the 
 boat, and motioning to Wood and Chase, 
 pointed to the shore, and they, too, as they pad- 
 dled to the shore, saw Foster farther out at the 
 point. Knowing what object brought him there 
 they got their traps witHout a moment's delay 
 and pushed out into the stream. 
 
272 Life and Adventures of 
 
 The Indian now guessed from the actions of 
 the members of the fishing party and the con- 
 duct of Wood and Chase, as they hastily got 
 their traps, that the man he feared was on the 
 point, and he changed the position of his canoe 
 SO' that it was on the south side of the trappers' 
 canoe, and his own body midway between theirs. 
 
 '* Although Foster was several rods distant 
 from the canoes," says Simms, "still the position 
 of his foe did not secure his safety. As they 
 rounded the point the Indian's eye caught a 
 glimpse of the fearful figure in the bushes just 
 as the rifle was poised, and he threw^ up his arms 
 in terror, at the moment of the explosion. Both 
 bullets entered his left side near the arm-pit, 
 passed through his heart and went out below the 
 rig-ht arm. They entered at the same spot, but 
 left two places of egress opposite. The Indian 
 fell backwards, with his head and shoulders in 
 the v>ater, his feet and legs remaining in the 
 canoe. He fell so dead that his position re- 
 mained unchanged, the fairy craft preserving the 
 cradling motion communicated to it by the fall, 
 for some time after the spirit of its owner had 
 winged its flight," 
 
 To range the circuit of the sky. 
 
 Wood and Chase, who really saw the shooting, 
 and the members of the fishing party who, from 
 
Nat Foster. 273 
 
 their position on the river beyond the point, only 
 heard the report of the rifle, but knew its sig- 
 nificance, were, according to their own testi- 
 mony at the trial, "perty badly frightened," so 
 much so that one of the fishing party did not 
 visit the chain again in ten years. 
 
 As soon as the echoes from the old hunter's 
 rifle, which had brought down its last Indian, 
 had died away, Wood and Chase set up a great 
 hallooing to the fishing party to come back, as 
 there was a dead man in the river. They obeyed, 
 though reluctantly, for they did not wish to be 
 mixed up in the affair; for as Mr. Stimpson ex- 
 pressed it, "it was going to spoil our fishing- 
 trip." When they arrived at the scene Foster 
 had disappeared, and Wood and Chase were 
 ashore. They, anxious to free themselves from 
 any future complications, now discharged their 
 guns to show the fishermen that they had not 
 fired the shot that brought death to Drid. They 
 then had a consultation, as to the disposition of 
 the Indian's body. Some said it ought not to 
 be disturbed until it was viewed by a coroner; 
 while others pronounced this as absurd, as it 
 would take at least two days to notify a coroner 
 and get him onto the tract, during which time 
 the body would become loosened from the canoe 
 and float awav. Thev were not able to arrive at 
 
2 74 -^^^^ CL^d Adventures of 
 
 an agreement, and so returned to the dam, and 
 concluded to do what was a Httle ironical; that 
 was, to ask Foster's advice. 
 
 Wood and young Tyler went to his house for 
 this purpose, leaving the rest at the dam. The 
 distance from the point where the shooting oc- 
 curred to the dam is greater by water than a 
 direct route on land, and Foster, having tra- 
 versed the land route, returned home before the 
 others had returned to the dam. He had wiped 
 out his rifle and changed his clothes ere the 
 messengers arrived. Some say he shot a deer 
 on the way home and had it dressed and hanging 
 in front of his house when they arrived. But 
 I have not been able to verify this statement. 
 They found the old man resting on a bed; he 
 had on his best suit of clothes and a linen shirt 
 with an old-fashioned starched collar. He ap- 
 peared to have made himself ready for going out 
 of the woods at once. He expressed surprise at 
 seeing Wood and Tyler, and inquired what 
 brought them back. They replied that Drid was 
 dead up the river and they did not know what 
 to do about getting the body down, and had 
 come to ask his advice what to do. The old 
 man expressed no surprise at the announce- 
 ment of the Indian's death; but did so at their 
 beimr afraid to touch the liodv. He told them 
 
Nat Foster. 275 
 
 they should have no hesitancy about getting it 
 to the landing, and offered to go with them and 
 assist. The messengers agreed to this and he 
 arose and accompanied them to the dam. 
 
 When they arrived, all >.at Stimpson and the 
 elder Tyler embarked in the skiff the fishing 
 party had used, and with Foster in the stern 
 steering they rowed to the scene of the shooting. 
 They found the body still floating as it fell, with 
 the legs in the canoe. Even then all but Foster 
 declined to touch it, and so, while the others held 
 the canoe, he got the corpse back into it, and 
 they then towed it to the dam, where the tiny craft 
 with its gory cargo was made fast to the land- 
 ing, and a blanket procured and thrown over it. 
 The matter of notifying a coroner and justice 
 was then talked over with Foster and they all 
 agreed to go out the next day. 
 
 The fishing party, to whom the events of the 
 day had brought an abrupt ending of their plans, 
 again stayed with Foster over night, and he en- 
 tertained them as on the previous evening with 
 stories of his adventures in the woods. 
 
 One of the striking things to be noted in con- 
 nection with the conduct of all after the tragedy, 
 is, that no mention was made b}' any one, of how 
 Drid came to his death. Foster neither feigned 
 ignorance or intimated the least knowledge of 
 
276 Life and Adventures of 
 
 it. He followed the course any attorney would 
 have told him to, and set the seal of silence on 
 his lips. The next day all tramped out of the 
 woods, Foster being in as jovial and good-na- 
 turcd a mood as any, telling them, as they passed 
 a ledge of rocks, of how he had shot a panther 
 and deer there. The house of the first officer 
 of the law they reached after an eighteen mile 
 tramp was that of Justice Harris, wdio had re- 
 fused a few months before to issue a peace war- 
 rant to Foster against the Indian he had now 
 slain. They found Harris at home and the wit- 
 nesses related the affair to him and asked him 
 to issue a warrant for Foster's arrest. But to his 
 credit be it said, that though he had shown his 
 weakness of character in not granting a peace 
 Avarrant to Foster against the Indian, now showed 
 his friendship for Foster by refusing to cause his 
 arrest, referring them to a justice who lived a 
 few miles farther, and had Foster stay with him. 
 The rest of the party continued on their journey 
 tmtil they came to the home of Justice Lyman 
 R. Lyon, to whom Harris had referred them. 
 But he, too, declined to issue a warrant for the 
 old hunter, w^ho was a friend of his, and referred 
 them to still another justice, Segar, in the town 
 of Turin. They found Justice Segar, afterwards 
 a judge, at home. After hearing the facts of the 
 
Nat Foster. 277 
 
 case he issued a warrant for Foster and detained 
 the whole party over night at the pubUc house 
 as witnesses. In the morning he dispatched a 
 constable to the home of Harris to arrest Fos- 
 ter. The officer returned about noon with his 
 prisoner, who came willingly, and cheerfully 
 submitted to the examination. Court was con- 
 vened in the sitting room of the tavern, and after 
 the witnesses had been sworn and testified, Fos- 
 ter was remanded to jail in the village of Mar- 
 tinsburg. 
 
 It is presumed that a coroner was sent to the 
 Old Forge and viewed the remains of the In- 
 dian and then buried them, though I have been 
 unable to ascertain as tO' this. Simms says in 
 his book that the body was buried the day of 
 the shooting and that Foster assisted. But Mr. 
 Stimpson declares that the body was left in the 
 canoe, covered with a blanket; and it must have 
 been buried by the coroner, or under his direc- 
 tion, by either Willard Johnson or Foster's son 
 David, who were the only men left on the tract 
 when the others went out. A brother of Drid 
 came to the Forge from Canada soon after the 
 shooting. They belonged to the St. Regis tribe. 
 He took up his l:>rother's body and reinterred it 
 in Indian style. Drid's squaw^ it is said, mani- 
 fested no emotion at her husband's death, and 
 
278 Life and Adventures of 
 
 the nearest approach she showed to any interest 
 in his body, was to cut out the pieces of blanket 
 which contained the bullet holes for keepsakes, 
 when the reinterrmeiit took place. Her brother- 
 in-law took her and her children, of which she 
 had a number, back to Canada with him. The 
 grave of this last Indian Foster shot was to be 
 seen near the shore at Old Forge for many 
 years. The mound was marked by a cross bear- 
 ing the simple inscription of "Pete." In recent 
 years it has been neglected, and when I visited 
 Old Forge in 1895 I found it covered with a pile 
 of lumber, the product of the sawmill still main- 
 tained there. If restored and marked it would 
 be an interesting feature of the place. 
 
 Times had changed. The law had penetrated 
 even to the heart of the Adirondack wilderness. 
 Foster w^as well aware of this, as we can see by 
 his long toleration of the Indian's insolent con- 
 duct. Foster did not remain long in the Mar- 
 tinsburg jail. The shooting occurred in Her- 
 kimer county, and so his friends in Salisbury, 
 to the number of one hundred, w^ent to Martins- 
 burg and took him to the Herkimer county jail, 
 in the village of Herkimer, Avhere he remained 
 until his trial. He was indicted for murder at a 
 court of General Sessions convened in Herkimer 
 on February 3d, 1834. He was arraigned for 
 
Nat Foster. 279 
 
 trial September 3d, of the same year, in the 
 Circuit Court of tlie county. Although the trial 
 lasted but two days, it attracted great attention, 
 for Foster was very popular all through that 
 part of the county. The account of the trial as 
 given in Simms' book is quite interesting. The 
 prosecution had first to prove that Foster really 
 fired the shot w^hich brought death to the Indian. 
 This was not actually proven by direct evidence, 
 so skilfully did the defense cross-examine the 
 witnesses presented by the people. Neither 
 Wood or Chase or any member of the fishing 
 party were able to swear that they saw the dis- 
 charge of Foster's rifle, though all had seen him 
 on the point, immediately before the Indian was 
 killed. They all heard .a shot and Wood and 
 Chase saw the Indian fall, but no one saw Fos- 
 ter shoot. From this the attorney for the de- 
 fense very suavely argued that the Indian might 
 have been killed by a stray shot from a hunter 
 in the woods. For the defense it was an easy 
 matter to present evidence to^ prove the quarrel- 
 some disposition of the Indian. Any number 
 of hunters and others w^ere in the court room 
 ready and willing to testify to this. Next, the 
 threats and attacks the Indian had made on Fos- 
 ter's life, particularly the one of the morning he 
 met his death, was brought into evidence. Con- 
 
2 8o Life and Adi'cntures of 
 
 cerning the admission of this evidence presented 
 by the defense, Mr. Snyder says: 
 
 "The court was composed of Hon. Hiram 
 Denio, presiding, who was one of the great 
 judges of the State, and Jonas Cleland, of War- 
 ren, John B. Dygert, of Frankfort, Abijah Os- 
 born, of Herkimer, and Richard Herrenden, of 
 Newport, were the side judges of the Common 
 Pleas. When the defense was reached, one of 
 the witnesses was asked, 'Did you ever hear this 
 Indian threaten to kill Foster?' To this the 
 District Attorney objected. Judge Denio held 
 the testimony to be inadmissable, when much 
 to his surprise and astonishment three of the 
 side judges announced that it w'as admissible, 
 thereby overruling Judge Denio's law. Under 
 this ruling of the side judges, Foster was per- 
 mitted to prove that the Indian had threatened 
 to kill him. It is interesting to note that the 
 Court of Appeals subsequently in the Fisk- 
 Stokes murder case, substantially affirmed the 
 law promulgated by these side judges." 
 
 The summing up of Foster's attorney, Mr. E. 
 P. Hurlbut, is said to have been a masterly ef- 
 fort, full of pathos and tender references to the 
 aged prisoner at the bar. Many were moved to 
 tears by his elociuence. 
 
 In his charge the Court advised the jury that 
 
Nat Foster. 28 1 
 
 "the law applied to the region of the country 
 where the offense was committed. In regard 
 to the race to which Peter Waters, the person 
 named in the indictment, belonged," he said, 
 "no one could take the life of such a one without 
 h reasons as would authorize the taking- the 
 
 sue 
 
 life of any other human being." His charge 
 rather argued for conviction in some degree of 
 murder or manslaughter. The jury retired and 
 after a short deliberation returned. As the jury- 
 men entered and took their seats, the crowded 
 court room became hushed. 
 
 The moment, even more than is usual on 
 such occasions, was one of intense interest. To 
 so great a tension had the feelings of the old 
 hunter been drawn by the excitement of the 
 trial, that he now seemed hovering between life 
 and death, and was insensible during the in- 
 terrogation of the jury. 
 
 "Gentlemen of the jury," said the clerk, "have 
 you arrived at a verdict?" 
 
 "We have," answered the foreman, "we find 
 the prisoner not guilty." 
 
 A murmur of applause ran through the 
 crowded chambers, but Foster was unconscious 
 of it all. It was with considerable difHculty that 
 he was roused to consciousness, so as to under- 
 stand his fate. When the words "Not Guilty'' 
 19 
 
282 Life and Adventures of 
 
 had been repeated to him several times, he ap- 
 peared to reaUze their meaning, and rising up, 
 he siezed Mr. Hurlbnt, his chief counsel, with a 
 grip which the Judge used afterward to say wa'S 
 ''more than powerful," and straining him to his 
 breast, exclaimed, "God bless yoii," then re- 
 leasing his hold, he turned, and he stretched 
 out both hands wide over the heads of the 
 people that filled the court room, and ex- 
 claimed "God bless you all, God bless the 
 people." His friends who were jubilant over 
 the verdict then seized him, and placing him on 
 their shoulders, marched in triumph through 
 the streets of the village. Mr. Hurlbut and Fos- 
 ter never met again; as the old trapper soon after 
 left the state. Mr, Hurlbut's fee for conducting 
 the defense was fifty dollars, which Foster left 
 with his son Amos, to give to his attorney. It 
 was considered liberal compensation for thos-i 
 days. 
 
 The closing years of Foster's life were as 
 peaceful and uneventful, as they well deserved 
 to be. He had sold his farm at Salisbury to his 
 son Amos in the summer preceding his trial. 
 After his trial he spent sometime with his mar- 
 ried children, after which he went with his wife 
 to Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania, where some of 
 his relations lived, Simms savs that he was 
 
Nat Foster. 285 
 
 afraid to remain in the country after killing the 
 Indian at Old Forge. But this is highly im- 
 probable, as he had shot too many Indians in 
 his days to be afraid of any of Drid's friends 
 wreaking vengeance on him. It is true that he 
 visited Fulton Chain but a few times after he 
 shot Drid, but this was merely precautionary. 
 He spent most of his time before going to 
 Pennsylvania with his daughter Jemima, in the 
 town of Ava, which was then on the very edge 
 of Brown's Tract, and never displayed any fear 
 of being molested. 
 
 Even in his new home in Pennsylvania, he 
 continued to hunt a little. In his seventy-third 
 year he shot a small deer about a mile and a 
 half from his home. As of yore, he threw the 
 carcass across his shoulders and started for 
 home, but as he was ascending a hill a quarter 
 of a mile from his house, he was taken with a 
 severe pain in his chest, and distinctly felt some- 
 thing "give way," as he expressed it, in the re- 
 gion of his lungs. He struggled home, and fell 
 fainting on the door steps, bleeding from the 
 mouth. He rallied in a few days, and realizing 
 that he could not live long, declared he must 
 go to his daughter Jemima to die. Accord- 
 ingly, as soon as he was able, he and his wife 
 started on the long journey. They journeyed by 
 
284 Life and Adventures of 
 
 water as far as Rome, N. Y., where they pro- 
 cured a horse and driver, who took them to 
 Ava, a distance of fourteen miles. They 
 arrived at the home of his son-in-law David 
 Edgerton, the husband of Jemima, considerably 
 after dark; and wishing to have some fun with 
 his 'children, the old man sent the driver into 
 the house with instructions to ask "for lodging 
 for two old people who had made a long journey 
 that day, and could go no farther." After some 
 demurs, Mr. and Mrs. Edgerton finally said, 
 that if it would be any accommodation to the 
 aged travelers, they would take them in, but 
 still they said they did not see any reason why 
 they should not go on tO' the tavern. The driver 
 urged them, however, and they finally gave a 
 decisive and affirmative answer, when he with- 
 drew and brought in Mrs. Edgerton's parents. 
 Great was their rejoicing, and the rejoicing of 
 their children, with whom they were great 
 favorites, especially grandpa, because of the 
 stories he used to tell them before he went away. 
 The old hunter lived less than a year after his 
 return to Ava. On the 14th of March, in 1840, 
 a sudden change came over him, which even his 
 young grand-children were able to detect, by 
 his changed demeanor; the absence of his cheery 
 words, and kindly attentions. His iron consti- 
 
Nat Foster. 285 
 
 tution had worn out, and the mechanism of his 
 being was now propelled only by the momentum 
 given to it by its years of ceaseless activity. 
 Preparations were quickly made for his tender 
 care, by the loving ones who surrounded him. 
 A bed was prepared for him in the living room 
 of the house, while the members of the house- 
 hold vied with each other in their efforts to 
 make everything quiet and comfortable for 
 ''grandpa." 
 
 The end came speedily. On the morning of 
 the 1 6th tney saw it was approaching. Neigh- 
 bors and friends gathered in kind solicitude. 
 His faithful wife sat by his bedside; his daughter 
 Jemima by the fireplace, with her youngest child, 
 a boy of three years, on her knees. The little 
 fellow slipped from his mother's knee, and ap- 
 proached the bed on which the dying hunter 
 lay; he stopped in the middle of the room, when 
 some one picked him up and carried him to the 
 bedside, that he might see his grandfather once 
 more. The old hunter recognized the child, 
 and his eyes lit up with a gleam of pleasure, and 
 he was gone. 
 
 And so he passed away; with the March wind 
 howling without, but with the cheerful singing 
 of a kettle hanging from a crane over the fire 
 within, his loving friends and family breathing 
 
2 86 Life and Adventures of 
 
 prayers for him, his own face ilkimed with a 
 smile of peace. In the midst of such peaceful 
 and hallowed surroundings, the old hunter and 
 trapper went to meet his God. 
 
 Thus do we leave him, the hero of so many 
 and gallant exploits. i\ hero, not because he 
 killed a few Indians, whose rights have always 
 been trampled upon; but a hero because of the 
 sturdy character he developed and displayed 
 in maintaining his own rights, as he saw^ and 
 understood them; fearing, as his father had 
 taught him, not the face of clay, but only the 
 face of him in whose hands we leave him, who 
 set his mark on the murderer Cain, and who ex- 
 tended mercy to Moses wdio slew a man, and 
 concealed the body in the sands of the Egyptian 
 plain. 
 

 
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