Burning at Wawarsing
page 7
The commander of the expedition, Caldwell, was now in a sore strait. He had failed in the main object of his expedition-the taking of prisoners and scalps. He was forsaken by his Indian guides, while hundreds of miles of trackless forest intervened between him and his base of supplies; and he was menaced by a foe greatly outnumbering his own force who were close at his heels, exasperated beyond measure at his work of devastation, and anxious to wreak vengeance upon the destroyer of their homes. Had Cantine advanced instead of retreating, Caldwell's diminished forces would have fallen an easy prey, and a large portion of the spoils would have been recovered.
Caldwell was now in a measure dependent upon the magnanimity of the scouts, Philip Hine and Silas Bouck. The latter agreed to pilot the party through to Niagara on condition that Caldwell would do all in his power to save him from running the gauntlet when they arrived at the fort. When they reached that post, Hine proposed allegiance to the British Crown; and was permitted to have some liberty, and went on an expedition with the British troops against Troy. It does not appear that he participated in any engagement against the Americans. One tradition is that he came back after peace was restored; another says that he escaped under pretense of going on a hunting expedition. At all events he lived to return to his friends who had mourned him as dead.
Silas Bouck, his brother scout, was taken to Montreal, put into a log jail, in company with two other prisoners, and furnished with a scanty supply of provisions, even those being of the filthiest and meanest kind. In this extremity the three prisoners set about devising some means of escape.
They succeeded in raising up one of the boards of the floor, and with the help of an old knife dug a hole under the side of the floor, and replacing the board before morning. Having some reason to apprehend the time of execution was at hand, and a dark night favoring, they made their exit through the subterraneous passage, and entered the St. Lawrence. Bouck was ahead. They had not gone far before one of his companions cried out that he was sinking. But no assistance could be afforded-each had work for himself. When nearing the opposite side a similar cry was heard from the other. Before reaching the shore Bouck too began to grow weak, and he feared he should meet the fate of his companions. He thought he might touch the bottom, but was afraid to try. At last he attempted and found it was not beyond his depth; and after reaching the beach he made his way into the wilderness without knowing where he was going.
At length morning came. The sun rose, and by that he shaped his course with more certainty. Never were the benignant rays of that luminary more welcome to a traveler than on this occasion. Soon hunger began to torture Hine`s already emaciated frame. He saw a rattlesnake in his path. Fortunately he had preserved his pocket-knife, with which he cut a crotched stick and put it over the neck of the snake, and then cut off its head. This snake he dressed and ate raw. This appeased the appetite for a while, when hunger again began to pinch him hard.
As he was pursuing his journey he came in sight of a small house. He watched it closely, and ascertained that its occupants consisted of two persons only-a man and his wife. He resolved to wait until the man should leave the house, when he would rush in, kill the woman, get some provisions and be off. He did not have to wait long for the opportunity. The moment he entered the door the woman cried out-' You are a deserter!” Some bread and meat lay on the table, which she told him to take and be off or he was a dead man; for there was a large body of Indians near by, and that her husband had gone to them. He took the bread and meat and fled with all haste into the woods, and crawled into a hollow log. He had been there but a short time when he heard the Indians traversing the forest in search of him. In the night he came out of the log, and resumed his journey. After enduring a degree of suffering seldom equalled, he arrived at Catskill, on the Hudson, about fourteen months after he was taken prisoner.
The freemen of Rochester, Ulster county, were assembled at a public-house to transact some business of a patriotic nature. The long and bloody war with Great Britain was drawing to a happy termination, and every patriot's pulse beat high with the prospect of domestic peace and national glory. While in the midst of their rejoicing, a person was discovered in the distance having the appearance of a way-worn traveler. As the stranger approached some one hinted that his step was like the stride of Silas Bouck. They had long supposed him dead-still he might be alive. They were not long in suspense. The joyful news resounded through the assembly that Bouck was coming, and with one simultaneous rush they ran to meet him. They could scarcely believe the evidence of their own eyes. They caught him up, and carried him into the house, while the air resounded with their shouts of joy. It was a reunion such as is seldom witnessed. After the trials of a protracted and bloody war, they were now to enjoy, in common, the dearly bought boon of liberty.
On the return of the Indians to Niagara it was ascertained that eighteen of their number were missing. One of the absent Indians, however, returned late in the fall, having driven a cow all the way, and lived on the milk.
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