Page 6
History of Orange County
Towns of Goshen, Hamptonburgh and Chester
Page 6
More effectually to ensure his purposes, Denn broke ground at a distance, and rehearsed to his family, that the Indians he had brought with him were the children of the tribes, who had parted with their lands to the patentees-that they had befriended the surveyors while running out the patent, and had kindly volunteered their services to assist him to remove, etc. This was intended to have a certain effect upon at least one member of his family, destroy all fear of Indian aggression and outrage, on venturing to make the contemplated settlement, and prove from what they had done to and for the whites, while wholly within their power, how they would act towards them; for which he enjoined that they be treated in the kindest and most friendly manner. Under the circumstances of the case this was sensible arid judicious, as he was about to place and jeopard the lives of others within the power of these crafty and untried friends of the wilderness. Though we have no personal history of Mr. Denn, the facts of the case warrant the belief, that he was not destitute of a moderate share of good sense and judgment.
For some reason with which we have not been made acquainted, Denn did not wish nor intend to return with the Indians. His plan was to send up by them all his goods and chattels necessary for the present purpose, together with Sarah, to superintend and conduct the household affairs till he and Madam Dean should go. That accommodations should be ready for their reception, he intended to send up at the same time some carpenters to put up a temporary wigwam, to serve them, till they could erect a more durable log cabin. The white men would be a guard for Sarah, ensure her safety and greatly relieve her from the very imprudent and hazardous condition in which he was about to place her. And here we cannot repress an exclamation; and while we cry aloud, all the better portion of our nature rises in condemnation or the dangerous and unfeeling act, “to settle a patent of unknown wilderness twenty miles square, infested by serpents, tenanted by savages of unknown fidelity, and roamed over by beasts of prey, by the instrumentality and personal daring of this little girl!” The records of the settlement and population of the world, from the time Noah came from the ark, cannot produce a deliberate attempt like this. Modern female heroism stands abashed in the presence, nay, in the contemplation of such a fearless and dangerous act. Is there a man on the patent to-day, who would send out an orphan girl of sixteen years upon an errand like this? and if he would, where is the little maid, that could summon courage for the enterprise, and keep her heart whole while executing it? Though we do not wish to be severe, we cannot applaud the indiscreet and unfeeling conduct of Christopher Denn.
The plan to attempt the settlement was now to be opened and made known to Sarah, and her consent, if possible, obtained-else all might be a failure. The matter was broken and explained and her approbation asked for. As an inducement, and to quiet her fears, they stated that they would take horses and proceed up by land on the west side of the river, through Harvestraw and the Highlands, and meet her at the new location at some future but early day-in the course of five or six weeks at farthest; and, as if an appeal to the worldly and grosser portion of her nature would seduce her will, and conquer the strong and innate aversions of the maiden's mind, Denn offered a bounty of one hundred acres of land for her services, out of, or adjoining his portion of the patent. When Denn ceased to speak, she looked around upon the three Indians, as they stood clad in the rude and uncouth garb of the forest, with raven locks, undressed and filthy in person; whose dark eyes fell upon her like the gaze of a reptile, and an involuntary shudder vibrated her frame, as if it were an aspen leaf. As if thunder struck by the magnitude and inhumanity of the proposition, she remained silent and protested not against it. Thus far, ever dutiful to the commands of the only persons on earth whom she had known as father or mother, in a moment she became calm and collected, and rose in spirit and dignity of character equal to the crisis; and as if with prophetic vision, and with a mind cheered more by hope than depressed by fears, yielded consent. The after character of this girl, as developed when grown to womanhood, and performing the arduous duties assigned her by her then associations and condition in life, abundantly assures us, that laborious and dangerous indeed must have been the service which she feared to assume, or could not accomplish. Though small of her age and delicate in person, she was tenanted by a soul daring and dauntless as those of the Indians who stood beside her. We may truly say of her, as the poet said of one of the other sex, “what woman dared do, she dared.” Her regrets on the occasion were more deep and poignant on account of parting with Madam Denn, than from any fears of the Indians, distance or wild wood.
On a bare statement of the case, we instinctively shrink from the unreasonable and cruel nature of the proposition, environed as its attempt and accomplishment were with manifest hardships and unseen dangers; still, this little maid had the courage and spirit to brave them all, and carried out into complete execution the design and objects of her patron.
This being settled, the next step taken by Denn was to collect and arrange matters, and get them in quick readiness for departure. Madam Denn gave her attention to Sarah, and to the household department of the transaction; while Denn hastened to procure the carpenters, who were to accompany her. These he soon found, and engaged them to be ready at a specified time with their tools and implements of trade. At this stage of preparation, a new difficulty presented itself. As before remarked, Denn was in straightened circumstances, and the settlement could not, be effected without adequate means and provision for the purpose. There were horses to be used in transporting Sarah and the household goods from the "water side” at New Windsor to the destined location, with provisions to subsist the colony for a shorter or longer period. Cows also were to be purchased for the daily and personal convenience of all, and where were they to be had? Beside these, a boat of sufficient magnitude to convey the voyagers with their luggage up to New Windsor, the place of debarkation, was all essential, which was beyond his limited means, and utterly unattainable by him. Having exhausted himself in providing what he could, he obeyed the injunction “then to call upon Hercules” and forthwith made application to the owners of the patent, whose interest in the matter was as deep and extensive as his, and, to his great joy and satisfaction, it was crowned with success.
The boat, with men to man her, horses, cows and dogs, with such articles of house keeping and farming implements as were wanted to complete the outfit, were promised to be ready and forthcoming at the appointed time. The expedition with which all this was settled upon, arranged and executed, reflects no small share of credit upon Christopher and Madam Denn and Sarah. The evening of the second day witnessed its accomplishment, by which time they were collected and ready at the ferry stairs on the west side of the town, in progress of embarcation. As this portion of our narrative was derived from Sarah in after life, we propose to place an inventory of the various articles of outfit before the reader, that he may judge of its nature, extent and value- which was as follows:
Two pack horses with bells on, two milk cows with bells, two dogs, two Irish brahams, one spade, two pails, two beds and bedding, one small and one larger pot, one small and one larger kettle, wood trenchers and bowls, candlesticks and candles, a pair of trammels, a frying pan, small tin plates for saucers, coffee pot with coffee, teapot, chocolate, tin canister with tea, silver tea spoons and sugar tongs, small China tea cups and saucers, bundle of cloths, saddle bags, pillow saddle, knives and forks, some potatoes, wallets, medical cordials in vials, refined sugar in small pieces, brown sugar in rolls, flour, biscuit, ham in small sacks, some trinkets, ribbons and small knives for the Indians.
There may have been other articles not enumerated.
The boat being ready, and the stock and furniture with the carpenters, dogs, Indians and Irish brahams all aboard before Sarah stepped in, Christopher Denn, as he stood on the terry stairs, found it not in his heart to let her leave-committed as she was about to be to the care of the uncertain elements, and the equally uncertain guardianship of her professed Indian friends-without a parting word of consolation and encouragement. The sun had rolled down his course, the shades of evening were gathering, and night was letting down her curtain from the skies. The strange nature of the mission, the object to be accomplished, the apparent feebleness, nay, absolute weakness of the agents and means employed, the separation of friends, the commitment of a frail, tender and bleating lamb to the untamed lions of the forest, the surge of the Hudson, as it rolled its tide against the frame work they stood on, the night coming on with uncertain aspect-all appealed to the feelings, and shed a solemn gloom of foreboding evil over the parties. The man in Denn's situation who could have remained unaffected and unmoved would have been a brute. In a subdued voice and tones of affectionate regard, he said, “Sarah, you have been kind and dutiful to us thus far, and your present conduct confirms us in your kindness. The duty you have to perform is new and may be fatiguing; but must, if possible, be accomplished now, or the season may be lost. The workmen will take care of you while on the boat and afterwards; while the Indians, of whose friendship I have no doubt, will guide you through the woods to the place selected for our dwelling. The work is very important, and what you now do for Madam Denn and me, is also done for the benefit of the company. You shall be rewarded according to promise, and still more fully compensated. You will be taken to New Windsor, and from thence conveyed on horseback to the settlement, and we will meet you there as soon as we possibly can, in the course of five or six weeks at farthest. Be of good cheer, and we hope no accident, will befall you.”
Then taking her hand, he and Madam Denn embraced her in silence. Tears blocked up the passages of utterance, and nothing was heard save “God speed and protect you, Sarah.” As she stepped into the boat, crowded and jammed in with men, Indians, animals and other various lading, it fell off from the dock, and a favorable breeze wafted them up the river, and soon they were out of sight of the city. We shall not increase the length of our narrative, by describing the sensations, thoughts and sayings of the parties, nor of the voyage itself, further than to say that it was short and prosperous, and that towards the evening of the next day, they ran their boat on the beach at New Windsor, there being no dock there at the time. There they dropped anchor and spent the night on board, and long before the sun had left his eastern couch, in the early gray of the morning, they disembarked on the sands of the beach. Soon all was noise and confusion in the arrangements preparatory to starting, and taking up the line of march, *they plunged as it were into the very depths of the forest. The dogs, released from confinement, ran and leaped about, barked at any and every thing, and played around in the plenitude of joy. The cattle also, freed from unusual restraint, and having fed upon dry provender during the winter, in their inclination to graze upon the tender vegetables springing up in all directions, were wild and uncontrollable. The season was the month of May. The Indians, not the least interesting objects in this new and exciting drama of real life, stood as stolid and indifferent, to the moving panorama, as the trees by which they were surrounded, and only moved at the request of Sarah, or the authority of the white men.
The reader will observe that two horses and two cows were the only ways and means provided to transport Sarah, all the provisions, household utensils, farming instruments and other articles, and therefore the crisis called into requisition the best judgment and nicest calculation of the parties, in the matter of arrangement and stowage. To have a true idea of the exciting nature of the scene, the noise, turmoil and bustle, with the real difficulties which at this time engaged the attention of the parties, the reader must place himself at Cairo, in Egypt, and leisurely observe the arrangements of some caravan of merchants, traders and others, preparatory to its departure, to cross the desert of Zahara to the distant city of Tombucto. True, this was on a less magnificent scale than the one referred to, yet the parties, the dangers of the journey, the mode of transportation, the ocean of waving forest to be passed, were all of the same general character with it. But we hasten on the arrangements of our small and interesting caravan, that it may leave the “water side of the Highlands," and move towards its destination.
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*Errata--read and plunging,