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VIII.

Now graceful rising from his purple throne,
In radiant robes immortal Hosmer shone ;
Myrtles and bays his learned temples bound,
The statesman's wreath, the poet's garland
crown'd:

Morals and laws expand his lib'ra' soul,
Beam from his eyes, and in his accents roll,

IX.

Adams, enrag'd a broken charter bore,
And lawless acts of ministerial power;
Some injured right in each loose leaf appears
A king in terrors, and a land in tears..

X

From all the guileful plots the veil he drew;
With eye retortive looked creation through;
Op'd the wide range of nature's boundless plan,
Trac'd all the steps of liberty and man;

Crowds rose to vengeance, while his accents rung,
And independence thander'd from his tongue.

Adventures of Gen. Putnam.

Motion & the

1. In the month of Aug. 500 meu were employed under the orders of Majs. Rogers and Putnam to watch the motion of the enemy near Ticonderoga. At South bay, they act of moving. separated the party into two equal divisions, and Rodgers took a posi

tion on Wood Creek twelve miles distant from Putuan.

2. Upon being, sometime afterwards, discovered, they formed a re-union, and concerted measures

+ Reunion, & for returning to Fort Edward. a second union... Their march through the woods, was in three divisions by files, the right commanded by Rogers, the leftby Putnam and the centre by Captain D'Ell. The first night. they encamped2 on the banks at Clear river, about a mile from old Fort Ann, which had been formerly built by general Nicholson.

3. Next morning Major Rogers and a British officer, named Irwin, incautiously suffered themselves, from a spirit of false emulation, to be engaged in firing at a mark. Nothing could have been more repugnants to the military principles of Putnam than such conduct, or reprobated4 by him in more pointed terms.

4. As soon as the heavy dew5 which had fallen the preceding6 night would permit, the detachment moved in one body, Putnam being in the front, D'Ell in the centre and Rodgers in the rear. The impervious7 growth of shrubs and underbrush that had sprung up, where the land had been partially cleared

2 Encamp, to form an army

into a regular camp.

3 Repugnant, a disobedient; reluctant, con

trary, opposite. 4 Reprobated, part disallowed condemned.

5 Dew, 8 mois

ture, deposited
in the night.
6 Preceding,
part going be-
fore.

7 Impervious, a impassable, thick.

some years before, occasioned this change in the order of march.

5. At the moment of moving, the famous French partizanMolang who bad been sent with 500 men to intercepts our party, was not more than one mile and an half distant from them. Having heard the firing, he hastened to lay an ambuscade9 precisely in that part of the wood most favorable to his project. Putnam was just emerging the thicket into the common forest when the enemy arose, and with discordant2 yells and whoops' commenced an attack upon the right

of his division.

Major
from

6. Surprised, but undismayed, Putnam halted, returned the fire, and passed the word for the other division to advance for his support.D'Ell came. To action though widely scattered and principally fought between man and man, soon grew generally and intensely 3 warm. It would be as difficult as useless to describe this irregular and ferocious mode of fighting.

7. Major Putnam, perceiving it would be impracticable 4 to cross the creek, determined to maintain his ground. Inspired by his examples the officers and men behaved with great bravery; some

8 Intercept, v to stop, cut off

obstruct, seize. 9 Ambuscade, • place of sur prise, troops concealed. + Emerging, part, rising out of any thing in

which it is cov
from a state of
ered; mounting

oppress on.
2 Discordant.
o disagreeing,
inconsistent.

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times they fought aggregately6 in open view, and sometimes indiridually under cover; taking aim from behind the bodies of trees, and acting in a manner independent of each other.

8. For himself, having discharged his fusee7 several times, at length it missed fire while the muzzle was pressed against the breast of a large and well proportioned savage. This warrior, availing

himself of the indefensible8 attitude of his adversary, with a tremendous war-whoop, sprung forward, with his lifted hatchet, and compelled him to surrender; and having disarmed and bound him fast to a tree, returned to the battle,

9. The intrepid9 captains D’El and Harmon, who now commanded, were forced to give ground for a little distance the savages conceiving this to be a certain harbinger of victory, rushed impetuously on, with dreadful and redoubled cries. But our two partizans2 collecting a handful of brave men, gave the pursuers so warm a reception as to oblige them in turn to retreats a little beyond the spot at which the action had commenced. Here they made a stand.

10. This change of ground occasioned the tree to which Putuam D

6 Aggregate ly, ad in a mass, the whole together.

7 Fusee,” a soldier's gun.

8Indefensible,

a not to be de

fended.

9 Intrepid, a fearless, brave, bold daring, resolute.

+ Impetuously, ad violently, vehemently.

2 Partizan, 8 a party man, head of a party 3 Retreat, v to retire, withdraw, go off

was tied, to be directly between the Human fire of the two parties. imagination can hardly figure to itself a more deplorable4 situation. The balls flew incessantly from either side; many struck the tree, while some passed through the sleeves and skirts of his coat. In this state of jeopardy,5 unable to move his body, to stir his limbs, or even to incline his head, he remained more than an hour. So equally balanced, and so obstinate‡ was the fight!

4 Deplorable; a lamentabte,

miserable.

5 Jeopardy, danger, peril, hazard, risk

+ Obstinate, a

stubborn, reso-
lute, fixed,
firm,

11. At one moment, while the † Swerved, battle swervedt in favor of the enepart wandered, iny, a young savage chose an odd roved, deviaway of discovering his humour.ted, flown, He found Putnam bound. He might have dispatched him at a blow.but he loved better to excite the terrors of the prisoner, by hurling a tomahawk6 at his head-or rather it should seem his object was to see Low near he could throw it without touching him. The weapon? struck in the tree a number of times at a hair's breadth distance from the mark.

12. When the Indian had finished his amusement, a French officer (a much more inveterates savage by nature, though descended from so humane and polished a nation) perceiving Putnam, came up to him,

6 Tomahawk, 8 an Indian

hatchet.

7 Weapon, & an instrument of defence, or offence.

8 Inveterate,

a old, obstinate, fixed, establish

ed.

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