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A half-century of conflict. France and England in North America. Part ...

A half-century of conflict. France and England in North America. Part ...

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244 FORT MASSACHUSETTS. [1746.Sergeant Hawks, the provisional comm<strong>and</strong>er, was,accord<strong>in</strong>g to tradition, a tall man with sunburntfeatures,erect, spare, very s<strong>in</strong>ewy <strong>and</strong> strong, <strong>and</strong> <strong>of</strong>a bold <strong>and</strong> resolute temper. He had need to be so,for count<strong>in</strong>g every man <strong>in</strong> the fort,lay <strong>and</strong> clerical,sick <strong>and</strong> well, he was beset by more than thirty timeshis own number; or, count<strong>in</strong>g only his effectivemen, by more than sixty times, — <strong>and</strong> this at thelowest report <strong>of</strong> the attack<strong>in</strong>g force. As there wasnoth<strong>in</strong>g but a log fence between him <strong>and</strong> his enemy,it was clear that they could hew or burn a waythrough it,or climb over it with no surpris<strong>in</strong>g effort<strong>of</strong> valor. Rigaud, as we have seen, had planned ageneral assault under cover <strong>of</strong> night, but had beenthwarted by the precipitancy <strong>of</strong> the young Indians<strong>and</strong> Canadians.These now showed no <strong>in</strong>cl<strong>in</strong>ation todepart from the cautious maxims <strong>of</strong> forest warfare.They made a terrific noise, but when they camewith<strong>in</strong> gunshot <strong>of</strong> the fort, it was by dart<strong>in</strong>g fromstump to stump with a quick zigzag movement thatmade them more difficult to hit than birds on thew<strong>in</strong>g. The best moment for a shot was when theyreached a stump, <strong>and</strong> stopped for an <strong>in</strong>stant to duck<strong>and</strong> hide beh<strong>in</strong>d it. By seiz<strong>in</strong>g tliis fleet<strong>in</strong>g opportunity.Hawks himself put a bullet <strong>in</strong>to the breast <strong>of</strong>an Abenaki chief from St. Francis, — " which endedrema<strong>in</strong>s <strong>of</strong> a cellar, <strong>and</strong> a thriv<strong>in</strong>g growth <strong>of</strong> horse-radish, — a relic<strong>of</strong> the garrison garden. My friend, Dr. D. D. Slade, has given an<strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g account <strong>of</strong> the spot <strong>in</strong> the Magaz<strong>in</strong>e <strong>of</strong> <strong>America</strong>n Historyfor October, 1888.

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