Rufus Putnam

“ Webb’s reports to the governor during this period are noted in Goldsbrow Banyar’s diary (Aug. 5-20) , in the Mag. of Amer. Hist., January, 1877. The Journal of General Rufus Putnam, kept in Northern New York during four campaigns, 1757-1760, with notes and biog. sketch by E. C. Dawes (Albany, 1886) , shows (pp. 38-41) how the news came in from the lake,—the diarist, whose father was a cousin of Israel Putnam, being stationed at Fort Edward.
[1436] Niles’ French and Indian Wars; Minot’s Massachusetts (ii. 21) ; Belknap’s New Hampshire (ii. 298) ; Hoyt’s Antiq. Researches, Indian Wars, (p. 288) ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 is one of the most thorough believers in intellectual liberty in the world. He believes with all his heart, is full of enthusiasm, ready to make any sacrifice, and to endure any hardship. Had he lived a few years ago, he would have been a martyr. He has written some of the most stirring appeals to the Liberals of this country that I have ever read. He believes that Freethought has a future; that the time is coming when the superstitions of the world will either be forgotten, or remembered—some of them with smiles—most of them with tears. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ He had seen her twice in Albany. Her conduct was most questionable.
His New England Puritanism had been weakened none by his experience as an Indian-fighter. Putnam had spoken to his common sense in saying she was not the kind of a girl for him to marry. She was his antithesis. He had been brought up to believe that harmony could never be built up out of contradictions. ”

“ Several hundred men are rendered useless, merely for want of necessary apparel, as no clothing is permitted to be stopped at this post."
No complaint was made, but merely a statement of facts; for Putnam must have known that many of the soldiers under his commander were at that very time half starved and half naked at Valley Forge. The day after writing this letter to Washington, having secured permission for a brief furlough, General Putnam went home to attend to private affairs which demanded his attention. ”

“ 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. ”

“ In 1740 he removed to a farm in the present townships of Pomfret and Brooklyn, Connecticut. Here in the winter of 1742–1743 he went down into a wolf den (still shown in Pomfret) and at close quarters killed a huge wolf. Putnam took an active part in the French and Indian War, enlisting as a private in 1755 and rising to the rank of major in March 1758. He was conspicuous for personal courage and for skill in Indian warfare, and was the hero of numerous exploits. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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.” ”

“ Do you think I love thoughts of bloodshed? Do I risk my neck as a spy because I enjoy it? It is my duty. It is for my mother's country. I'm French. You' can't have the paper. I dare you to touch me.”
“You—you young hussy!” groaned Putnam, bewildered by her rapid change of front. “What you need is a good birching. You little fool! Do you think Loudoun'll spare that slim neck of yours if he knows the desperate chance you're trying to force on him?
“No, I can't search you. But I can take you to Fort William Henry and the sutler's wife shall search you.” ”

“ 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 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ This was Putnam's chance; and, darting across the small plot sown to squash and pumpkins, he reached the middle cabin unobserved and bolted through the door. For a moment he was nonplused, believing that he was in the presence of the dead, and a mummy at that, so withered and shrunken was the figure in the box bunk. But the eyes flickered.
Putnam glided forwarded, but the face of the aged man betrayed no fear. Putnam placed a knife at the scraggy, wrinkled throat, but not a muscle of the parchment face moved. ”

“ Putnam was a large, strong, muscular man, with an open, bold, determined countenance, and a large head, with full broad forehead and brain, proclaiming prodigious power and energy of mind to govern and direct, and passion to impel. ”

“ Then a low oath slipped through his clinched teeth as he realized the bosom of his shirt was quiet. The puppy had tumbled or crawled out and was questing forth for adventures.
“Dern his fat little hide! He's killed hisself,” murmured Putnam, watching anxiously the progress of the runaway by noting the occasional disturbance of twigs and the low branches.
But now was created a new focus for his attention. From some silver birch just below him and squarely in his path to the lake emerged the naked and freshly oiled figure of an Indian. Behind him followed another, and then another. ”

“ I says, "maybe you're right; and I do get seasick awful quick. But—oh, Ma! I got to enlist some place. Can't you see the way I feel?"
Ma could.
"I know!" she says, very sympathetic. "I was the same when your pa missed both the third trapeze and the life net. I would of enlisted when he died if there had been a war. And, of course, you feel like Jim was dead. How about the Red Cross?"
"Won't do for me," I says, prompt. "I don't see myself sitting around in no shop, with a dust cloth tied over my head, selling tickets. I got to do something active or I'll go bugs!" ”

“ 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." ”

“ 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. ”

“ And the ——'s to pay if she gets through with that budget.”
“That's a hoss of different color,” slowly admitted Putnam. “No; she mustn't get through. She can't be far ahead. She doesn't know she's chased. She'll keep to the bush and move slowly to dodge the troops. Willis and I will cut her off.”
It was not until they were back in the Lake George road that Willis found his voice.
“Think of it! She passed herself off as me,” were his first words.
“And keen enough not to go to Lyman till candle-light,” sighed Putnam. “You know the country from here to Fort William Henry?” ”

“ A cold wind made a sound in the pine-tops like the beating of surf on a distant shore. A flock of little winter birds flew suddenly up from the ground into one of the trees, like a flight of gray leaves whirled up by a gust. As Putnam turned to look at them he saw, against the strip of sunset along the horizon, the slim figure of a girl walking rapidly toward the opposite side of the common. His heart gave a great leap, and he started after her on a run. At a corner of the open ground the figure vanished, nor could Putnam decide into which of two or three small streets she had turned. ”