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History of Orange County
Towns of Goshen, Hamptonburgh and Chester
Page 8
The two faithful dogs, as best under the command of the white man, whose language they could understand, and would most readily obey, were kept in the rear, and prevented as much as possible from wandering abroad in pursuit of game, and hushed to silence by their keepers.
Thus arranged, the moving column, as best it could, under the novelty of its situation, began the march, and wound its way up the steep assent of the river bank, and then into the wilderness. By this time the sun was well up in the heavens, and as if to cheer the travellers and speed them on, threw down his golden beams among the shrubs and trees of the forest, upon the springing grass and tender leaves. The reader can imagine far better than we describe, the moving scene now in progress before him. The manner of progress from time to time, the incidents of the day, &c., we shall not attempt to disclose, lest, from the poverty of the facts which have come down to us by tradition, and the comparative silence of the notes from which we draw our narrative, we might be induced to supply them from fancy, which our promise to the reader and the nature of our paper forbid.
We are authorized, however; to say that as the caravan took up the line of match, the boatmen, ever kind hearted and feeling as they are brave, showered upon them good wishes for a safe and successful journey. All that poor Sarah could respond was a glance of the eye and a gentle inclination of the head, for she was in the keeping of her feelings; and tears robbed her of utterance. The reality if her lonely and desolate condition, flashed suddenly upon her mind, and she felt as if her fate was sealed. Capture, secretion in the wilderness, far from those loved ones she had left behind, and regarded as parents, torture, violation, death, all in quick and fearful array came up in vision, and she saw herself marching in solemn mockery to self immolation. Stouter hears than that of Sarah Wells, an inexperienced girl, have quailed before a condition of things less dangerous and frightful than that, and made them weak as children. But as she rode on, the paroxysm of feeling which for the instant overwhelmed her, like some threatening cloud dissipated by the wind, soon passed off, and with it the horrid train of anticipated dangers, and she restored to her native energy of mind and buoyancy of spirits. Perhaps the grotesque appearance of the caravan, the harsh voices of the Indians, the ceaseless “ding dong bell” of the cattle, the loud whooping and hallooing of the men, the difficulty in governing her horse, and the barking and yelping of the dogs, were in themselves so novel and exciting to a youthful mind, that they contributed in part to restore the maiden to her senses. However it was, the pang was as momentary in duration as intense in feeling.
We are further authorised to say, that the Indians conducted themselves and discharged their respective duties in the most satisfactory manner, and especially the one who waited upon the person of Sarah. He was respectful and really polite during the whole of the fatiguing journey. He marched close by her side, helped her off and on her horse and pointed out many things in the woods calculated to interest her attention and draw her out in conversation. Not unfrequently he plucked an early flower as it sprang up by the way side, and calling her attention to it, tasted its leaves and then presented for acceptance. Of all the facts stated in this simple narrative, no one is so interesting and touching as this, for it vies with the most refined exhibition of politeness in civilized society. As they passed along through the forest, the small members of the feathered tribe, frightened by the unusual noise, flitted quickly and silently away from the line of march. The woodpecker seated upon some decayed branch of an aged tree, plied rapidly his iron bill and made the woods resound with noisy industry. The raven, sagacious bird, with elongated neck, bent his beak towards the moving train, in suspicion flapped his wings, and as he flew, in friendly admonition of danger, screamed “caw, caw, caw.”
Thus they proceeded on without accident or other important incident, with which to garnish our paper, till the sun had withdrawn his beams from the woodlands, and the shades of night began to close in around them, when, happily, they arrived on the bank of the stream, now called the Otterkill, opposite the spot, which Christopher Dean had selected as the place of his residence. Thus the journey of full twenty miles of pathless forest, with occasional thick underwood, was performed in a single day, and the travellers in safety at the end of it.