Putnam

“ Putnam lingered after she was gone. He found his way to his old bench under the cedars and sat there for a while. He had not occupied this seat since his first meeting with Miss Pinckney in the summer-house, and the initials which he had whittled on its edge impressed him as belonging to some bygone stage of his history. This was the first time that she had questioned him about himself. His sympathy had won her confidence, but she had treated him hitherto in an impersonal way, as something tributary to her brother's memory, like the tombstone or the flowers on his grave. ”

“ But Washington would not stir, for he knew that General Israel Putnam, in charge of the forces there, was well able to look out for himself. As this Putnam is one of the heroes of the Revolutionary War, it will interest you to hear a few stories about him, which all Americans should know.
We are told that, even as a lad, Putnam was famous for his courage. Once, when a wolf caused great damage in his neighbors' herds, he determined to kill it. ”

“ And he placed a hand on Putnam's wrist and the ranger felt the drip of warm blood.
“Good Heavens, you young fool! What did you want to do that for? It don't help me any. Bad enough for one of us to be sliced up,” rebuked Putnam. ”

“ But in the sharp skirmish that followed, as Putnam aimed his gun at a large, powerful Indian chief, it missed fire. The Indian sprang upon him, dragged him back into the forest, and tied him securely to a tree. As the fight went on, bullets from both parties began to fly past him and to hit the tree, so that for a time he was in as great danger from his friends as from his enemies. When, at last, the French and Indians were repulsed, the latter marched Putnam away with them as their prisoner back to their camp. ”

“ But the foremost fiends were close upon him. Without stopping, he smote powerfully upon the rock with his tail. The pavement yielded to that titanic blow. A chasm opened and went riving up the valley, piercing through the bulwark hills. Down rushed the waters of the inland sea, churning boulders to dust along the narrow trough.
The main body of the fiends shrunk back terror-stricken; but a battalion of the van sprang across and made one bound toward the heart-sick and fainting Devil. He smote again with his tail, and more strongly. ”

“ Putnam shot a Potawatomi through the head as he was about to hurl his ax at the lad, and the latter yelled back to him—
“He who dwells in the sky shall be pleased with you, white man.”
Putnam swung his gun by the barrel and battered a way to the youth, caught him by the arm and commanded:
“Come away. Most of the dogs are dead.” ”

“ Perhaps no incident in Putnam's career is so often quoted as his share in the wolf-hunt, ending in his descending into the dark, narrow cave, shooting his enemy at short range, and dragging her forth in triumph. It was the one picturesque event in his life previous to 1755, when Connecticut was called upon for 1,000 men to defend the northern approaches to New York against the anticipated French invasion. ”

“ Without loss of time Captain Putnam walked from one classroom to another and the cadets and teachers followed him, and so did some of the frightened servants. In every room books and papers were scattered in all directions. On a big school globe rested an old silk hat, and an old linen duster that Josiah Crabtree occasionally used in warm weather.
“Look at that! The rascals!” spluttered the irate teacher. “My coat, sir! It makes the globe look like a—a—scarecrow, sir!” ”

“ The movements of the British were slow, and mid-afternoon had arrived before the agonizing suspense was over and they began their advance up the hill. The eager Americans were hardly to be kept behind their earthworks, much less restrained from firing at the advancing foe, as the solid ranks came marching up the acclivity, ominously silent, with deadly intent. But Putnam was with them, riding slowly up and down the lines. ”

“ Putnam's bold stand at Prospect Hill, so promptly taken and so stoutly maintained, kept the enemy within the territory they had purchased with the blood of their best soldiers, and they never advanced any farther into the country they coveted. The lines of investment around Boston were drawn closer and made more nearly impregnable, yet weeks and months went by without any material change in the relative positions of British and Provincials, save that Putnam still kept on digging, and creeping nearer and nearer to the foe. ”

“ Putnam had discharged his piece several times, and once more pulled trigger, with the muzzle against the breast of a powerful Indian. His piece missed fire. Instantly the warrior dashed forward, tomahawk in hand, and by threat of death compelled his antagonist to surrender. Putnam was immediately disarmed and bound to a tree, and his captor returned to the fight.
The battle continued, one party after the other being forced back. In the end, the movements of the struggling foes were such as to bring the tree to which Putnam was bound directly between their lines. ”

“ Putnam consists of a single street, running along the river, behind which is a rocky elevation; the street afterwards forms an angle, leaving the river and looses itself in a picturesque valley between fields and orchards. This place has six hundred inhabitants, a great many brick houses, and presents a flourishing appearance. Mr. Buckingham is one of the most respectable inhabitants, and has a large store in which he keeps all articles that may be required here; he received us in his store, and gave us much information relative to Zanesville, Putnam and its vicinity ”

“ He led the life of a farmer until the breaking out of the French and Indian War, when by his indomitable courage and enterprise he won a name that gained for him a high rank at the beginning of the Revolutionary War. When news of the skirmish at Lexington flew like wildfire over the country, Putnam, who was ploughing, left his yoke of oxen standing in the furrow, and mounting his fleetest horse, hurried to Boston. ”

“ Besides, Joseph Putnam was known to be a determined and even rather desperate young man when his passions were aroused, as they seldom were though, save in some just cause; and he had let it be known that it would be worth any person's life to attempt to arrest him. It was almost the universal habit of that day, to wear the belt and sword; and Messrs. Putnam and Raymond went thus constantly armed. Master Putnam also kept two horses constantly saddled in his stable, day and night, to escape with if necessary, into the forest, through which they might make their way to New York. ”

“ The other, a friendly Mohawk, was taken prisoner, and Major Putnam afterward saw him in Canada.
On the way back to Fort Edward, Putnam and his men were fired upon by a scouting party of Provincials, who mistook them for Frenchmen; but they were quickly undeceived when the doughty major ordered his men, "in a stentorophonick tone," to advance and give a good account of themselves. Putnam's "stentorophonick" voice—as his original biographer styles it—was well known to all the army, having been heard many times rising above the din of battle, and always in the forefront of the fighting. ”

“ While Putnam Hall is not the real name of the particular place of learning I had in mind while penning this tale for your amusement and instruction, there is really such a school, and dear Captain Putnam is a living person, as are also the lively, wide-awake, fun-loving Rover brothers, Dick, Tom, and Sam, and their schoolfellows, Larry, Fred, and Frank. The same can be said, to a certain degree, of the bully Dan Baxter, and his toady, the sneak, commonly known as "Mumps." ”

“ The distance to Cambridge was nearly ninety miles, yet Putnam covered it in an all-night's ride, going pretty much over the same ground he had traversed when, a young man of twenty-two, he had taken his wife and child to their new home in Connecticut. Thirty-five years had elapsed since the young pioneer had made his first venture in the world, ten of which he had passed in fighting for the King against whose soldiers he was soon to lead his fellow countrymen in war. ”

“ To shoot while they were yet within the woods meant a waste of powder. Putnam waited until they came to the opening and the leader glided into view and sought to find the trail on the naked ledge. The rocks left no signs of the ranger's passing, yet a tiny piece of moss torn from its fastenings told the whole story to the Indian.
Putnam covered him but waited until he straightened to his full height to call to his companions. With the bang of the gun the stricken brave leaped convulsively but made no outcry. ”

“ All these events took place within the space of a week's time, and before another week had passed Brigadier-General Putnam was in headquarters at Cambridge, occupying a house which stood within the present grounds of Harvard University. General Artemus Ward, of Massachusetts, was commander-in-chief of the forces, having been commissioned by the Provincial Congress; but Putnam was the greater favorite with the soldiers, in whose vocabulary (to paraphrase a saying common at the time) "the British were the Philistines, and Putnam, the American Samson, a chosen instrument to defeat the foe." ”

“ Israel Putnam, born at Salem, Massachusetts, on the 7th of January, 1718, was a lineal descendant of one of the Puritan Pilgrims. Even as a boy, he displayed that fearlessness and resolution that in later years characterized his military career. A fierce wolf was causing much loss of life among the sheep, and great annoyance to the farmers in the neighborhood, while cunningly eluding all their efforts to kill her. Putnam tracked her to her den, and descending into its gloomy recesses, shot her by the light of her own blazing eyeballs. ”

“ Judging from the stability of his position in Danvers, it would seem that young Farmer Putnam was established for life. He had land enough to satisfy any ordinary cultivator of that period, and a comfortable house in which dwelt with him wife and child, to cheer him by their presence. But the future patriot felt within him an ardent thirst for adventure. He longed for a wider field, and though to all appearances firmly rooted in the soil of Salem Village, he was already thinking of transplanting himself and family into that of another region. ”

“ The Putnams settled early in Salem. John, the first emigrant, came from Buckinghamshire, in 1634, with three sons, Thomas, Nathaniel, and John. Some of the name exercised a fatal influence during the reign of witchcraft. Israel was already an old man when he left his plow in the furrow to gallop to Cambridge, having been born in 1718. At twenty-one he removed to [Pg 218] Pomfret, Connecticut. Putnam was prompt, resolute, and incapable of fear—full of fight, and always ready. Washington, who did not judge badly, thought him the only fit man to make an assault on Boston. ”

“ Yanking and pulling on the pole, Putnam ducked under the flap of skin. As he crawled into the free air he carried the end of the pole with him.
As he gained the bushes the lodge wilted to the ground and began to turn inside out. Finding his rifle, the ranger braced his heels and pulled the wreckage of the lodge toward him, thereby exposing the dead sorcerer. His whitened face and red poll were in fearful contrast. As one man the row of savages and the Frenchman rose to their feet, glaring at the dead man, then slowly shifted their gaze to the gray scalp at their feet. ”

“ Putnam's companion paused with an expression of pity before one of these uncouth sepulchres, a little heap of turf which covered the body of a "span-long babe."
"Now, isn't that echt Deutsch?" began Putnam, whom the gods had made mad. "Is that glass affair let into the tombstone a looking-glass or a portrait of the deceased—like that 'statoot of a deceased infant' that Holmes tells about? Even our ancestral cherub and willow tree are better than that, or even the inevitable sick lamb and broken lily."
"The people are poor," she murmured.
"They do the same sort of thing when they're rich. ”

“ The noise awoke Captain Putnam and George Strong, who were sleeping in a tent close by. Both ran out, and a lantern was lit.
“What’s the trouble here?” demanded the captain.
“A tent is down,” answered George Strong. “Some students’ fun, I presume.”
Soon Baxter, Ritter, and Mumps crawled from under the collapsed tent, making a great noise among the tinware as they did so. Then a crowd began to collect.
“Fenwick! What in the world is the matter with your face?” cried Captain Putnam.
“It’s flour, sir,” answered Mumps. “Somebody nearly smothered me with flour.” ”

“ He was stationed the following winter at Danbury, when the famous descent of the precipice at Horse Neck occurred, one of the latest marvels of Putnam's anecdotical career. While he was on a visit to one of his outposts at Horse Neck, Governor Tryon of New York, advanced upon the place with a considerable body of troops. Putnam planted his small force on the hill, but was speedily compelled to provide for the safety of his men by a retreat, and for his own, by plunging down a formidable rocky steep by the roadside. ”

“ Putnam saw his tall form in the crowd buffeted a path to his side, his eyes demanding the report.
“I've found it,” Willis quietly informed Putnam.
As the two passed beyond the jabbering crowd the ranger continued:
“A man is dying there. Jan Lidindick. Jan the Rogue, the Dutch call him.”
“Trader and smuggler. Sorry he's dying. We planned to hang him. Who's with him?”
“His daughter Elizabeth. She came here from New York.”
“The girl Elizabeth!” exclaimed Captain Putnam. “Why, the wench dressed as a man and visited tap-rooms and tea-houses in New York. ”