Sarah Dillard's Ride: A Story of the Carolinas in 1780

by Mary Hazelton Blanchard Wade

  CHAPTER VII.

  AT WATUGA.

  Captain Depuyster, who had been charged by Major Ferguson with seeingthat the boys were passed through the line of sentinels surroundingthe encampment, lingered behind for a moment to speak with thecommander, and the newly-released prisoners were still in such a mazeof bewilderment at having been given their liberty that they failed torealize there might be necessity for a captain's escort.

  They went out of the dwelling, past the sentinels at the door insilence; it was as if neither dared to speak lest the sound of hisvoice might cause the British commander to reconsider hisdetermination.

  Without so much as looking behind them to learn if Captain Depuysterwas following, for as a matter of fact they hardly heard the commandwhich Major Ferguson gave relative to their departure, they wentstraight from the door toward the trail which led to Greene's Spring;but before having advanced twenty paces they were brought to a halt asEphraim Sowers stepped in front of them.

  "Have a care you rebels!" the Tory cried threateningly. "Don't get theidea that you can run away whenever the fancy takes you, for I am notto be caught at a disadvantage every hour in the day, as I was lastnight."

  "If we come in contact with you again there will be more damage donethan when we contented ourselves with making you prisoner," Nathansaid sharply. "Stand aside, or it will be the worse for you."

  Ephraim looked up in surprise that the prisoners should have retainedsuch an independent bearing after their interview with the major, forhe counted upon their having been reduced to abject submission. He wasnot to be frightened by their threats, however, now that he was in theopen air with the redcoated soldiery all around him; and instead ofobeying Nathan's command he brandished his fists as he cried:

  "Get back to the house until I can learn what is to be done with you."

  "We will give you the information without any necessity for yourreturning," Evan said with a laugh, which only served to irritate theTory. "We have Major Ferguson's permission to depart, and count ondoing so without allowing ourselves to be delayed by such as you."

  "Major Ferguson's permission to depart!" Ephraim repeated stupidly.

  "Step aside, or we may be called upon to put you out of our path withmore force than is agreeable."

  "You lie when you say the major has released you!"

  "Hark you, Ephraim Sowers; I am not minded to get into a brawlhereabouts; but so much as repeat that word, and I shall give no heedas to the consequences," Nathan said sternly. "You and I have a longreckoning to be settled, and I do not desire to begin it now; yet Ishall if you are not choice of your words."

  Ephraim looked from one to the other questioningly, as if trying todecide how he might best reduce these lads to the proper state ofsubmission, and then called peremptorily to a soldier who was passingnear by:

  "Hello there! Here are two prisoners who count on escaping bypretending that Major Ferguson has given them permission to depart.Come and take them in charge."

  "Are these your orders, or do you repeat some other's words?"

  "Don't stop to talk; but lay hold of these two rebels, lest by sheerboldness they succeed in making off."

  "Best keep a quiet and civil tongue in your head, youngster, for I amnot minded to take orders from one who does such dirty work as you,"the soldier said surlily, and passed on, leaving Ephraim crimson withrage.

  Near by where the boys had been halted was a stack of muskets, andrunning quickly up to them the Tory seized one, regardless of the factthat by so doing he allowed all the others to fall to the ground.

  Then, turning suddenly, he aimed the weapon full at the two lads,crying as he did so:

  "Wheel about, and march back to the house, or I shall shoot. Don'tthink you can get the upperhand of me as readily as you did lastnight, for I am not minded to deal gently with you now."

  "Ho, there! Guard!" a voice cried. "Seize that lad and let him bedeprived of his liberty until he has sense enough to keep in his ownstation."

  The soldier who had refused to obey Ephraim wheeled about suddenlyupon receiving this command from Captain Depuyster, who had just comefrom the dwelling, and before the young Tory was well aware of thechange in the position of affairs, he was being marched toward thestables, the trooper's hand clutching his collar so tightly as torender breathing a difficult operation.

  "You can go on now, and see to it that you do not loiter, until youhave repeated Major Ferguson's words to the rebels round about."

  Once more the boys set their faces toward Greene's Spring, and as theymarched rapidly away the captain followed them until they were pastthe line of sentinels.

  Then he turned on his heel, and the two who had so lately beenprisoners slackened not their pace until a mile or more was traversed,when as if with one accord they came to a halt, in order tocongratulate each other upon the fortunate and unexpected turn ofaffairs.

  It is not necessary to repeat here what they said, for one can wellfancy how extravagant were their words and demonstrations of joy atfinding themselves free when it had seemed positive they were doomedto a long term of imprisonment, during which time Ephraim Sowers mightoften play the part of jailer.

  They hugged each other as if the thankfulness in their hearts could bethus shown better than by words, and laughed loud and long at thediscomfiture of the Tory spy, who had counted so certainly on makingthem atone for their treatment of him.

  In fact, so elated were the lads that their words as well as gestureswere extravagant; perhaps half an hour had thus been spent beforeeither bethought himself that it was necessary they should push aheadwith all speed, for no rations had been served since the nightprevious, and food was not to be obtained until they were amongfriends once more.

  Once the boys were well on the journey, and after the first excess ofjoy had passed away, both realized their extreme weariness.

  The previous day was spent in marching. No sleep had come during thenight, and much excitement had tended to increase their fatigue.

  Now twenty miles must be traversed, without food, before they couldgain the needed rest, and it is not strange that when another hourpassed they found it difficult to continue the advance.

  More than once Evan urged that a halt be made for two or three hours,lest they should not be able to hold out until the end; but Nathansteadily refused to listen to any suggestions, and they toiledpainfully on, stumbling here or staggering there, hardly conscious oftheir movements.

  It was as if in a dream that they finally saw that band of Americanswho had repulsed the British forces a few hours previous, and then allwas a blank, for consciousness literally deserted them.

  During the remainder of the day and all of the following night theweary lads slept.

  The sun was rising, and Colonel Clarke's men were making ready for achange of camp, when Captain Dillard awakened the lads by shaking eachgently by the arm, as he cried in a cheery tone:

  "Rise up, or sleep will wear your eyes out. Unless I am much mistakenyou are more in need of food just now than of additional slumber, andit is time you were stirring."

  The boys sprang to their feet refreshed by the long repose, andravenously hungry, but so eager were they to learn the particulars ofthe combat which they had heard from the distance that neitherrealized his need of food.

  "You shall hear it all very shortly; but it will be on full stomachs,for I am not minded to have you starve yet awhile, and it is Sarah'sright to tell the story."

  "Then Mrs. Dillard _did_ get here in time?" Nathan cried.

  "Ay, lads, else were we like to have been murdered while we slept. Anda brave ride it was; but I am not the one to tell it. Come over by thefire, and after you have filled yourselves up I will put you in theway to listen to all which I know you are eager to hear."

  Half an hour later, after they had literally obeyed the injunction to"fill themselves up," the boys and Captain Dillard were pressing on inadvance of the American force, to the dwelling where Mrs. Dillard hadsought shelter, and before n
oon they had arrived at their destination.

  There was much to be told on both sides, and as the quickest method ofgaining the information he desired, Nathan first explained how theyhad left the British camp, and gave all the details of their advancefrom the time of parting with Mrs. Dillard on the mountain trail.

  Then it was his turn to act the part of listener, and eagerly did heand Evan drink in the vivid account of that night ride, and the combatwhich ensued.

  It seemed as if the colt recognized the uselessness of strugglingfurther against the determined woman who was bent on riding him, forwhen the boys had let go their hold he darted forward straight as anarrow over the trail, and at full speed.

  There were many places where the narrow road ran along the side of themountain, when a single misstep would have thrown him headlong overthe cliffs, and yet no mountaineer's steed ever traveled with a surerfooting, and at so swift a pace.

  Once only did he make any effort at throwing his rider. Then,fortunately, it was in a valley where there were no trees, and SarahDillard was sufficiently expert an equestrienne to baffle him.

  During ten minutes or more the steed plunged and kicked, and then, asif again becoming convinced that he must carry the life-savingmessage, he darted onward, slackening not the pace until they werearrived in the midst of the encampment.

  The amazement of the patriots at seeing the hostess from whom they hadso lately parted at such an hour, can well be fancied, and it may alsobe readily understood that, having accomplished the dangerous journey,Sarah Dillard lost no time in making known the fateful news which shebrought.

  One word was sufficient to these men who were inured to hardships ofevery kind and accustomed to face danger in every form.

  Within five minutes after Mrs. Dillard's arrival they were prepared togive Major Ferguson's force a warm reception, and so sure were themen in their ability to hold the encampment against the enemy, that asquad of four was sent, as escort to the brave rider, a dozen miles ormore away where dwelt one in whose fidelity to the Cause there couldbe no question.

  The colt, so Captain Dillard said, had done his share in saving thelives of an hundred men, and he should be called upon to perform nomeaner work so long as he might live, than that of bearing on his backthe woman who had literally taken her life in her hands when she setout on that perilous ride.

  As to the combat, the captain dismissed it with few words:

  "We were ready for the redcoats when they came up, and had been fortwo hours or more. When the horses were picketed our scouts brought usword, and then it was only a question of figuring in our own minds howlong it would take them to creep up on us.

  "We could see the Britishers as they surrounded the encampment; butnever a man raised his gun until they had their muskets at theirshoulders, and then we sent a volley among them that mowed down a fullhalf of those in the front rank. I thought at the moment that theywould retreat without so much as firing a shot, because of theastonishment which must have come over them. Fancy, every redcoatthere felt certain in his own mind that we would be taken wholly bysurprise--that they had simply to fire into a crowd of sleeping men,and it would have staggered the best of soldiers to have a shower ofbullets sent among them thus suddenly.

  "They did give us a volley, however--perhaps half a dozen of themduring fifteen minutes that passed from the time we first opened fireuntil the last musket was discharged, and then I can say truthfullythat fully half their number was left behind, for, as we figured it,not more than two hundred came out, and we found dead and woundedninety-eight. As for ourselves, but one man was harmed by Britishlead, and he got a bullet through his arm in such fashion that he willnot be off duty a single day."

  "We have buried the dead, sent the disabled over the mountains wherethey will be well cared for, and now stand prepared to meet MajorFerguson's force again. But tell me what is the message which hecharged you to deliver to all the rebels within fifty miles?"

  "We are to say to those who fight in the cause of freedom, that MajorFerguson has come from Cornwallis' army unhampered by any orders otherthan those to crush out the spirit of rebellion, and if you do notdesist from your armed resistance to the king's commands, and takeprotection under his standard, he will march his army over themountains, hang your leaders, and lay waste the country with fire andsword."

  "The gentleman has considerable to say for himself, eh?" and CaptainDillard indulged in a hearty laugh. "I wonder if Major Ferguson of theSeventy-first regiment thinks the men hereabout are of suchmilk-and-water natures that he can disperse them with a word. If I amnot mistaken he tried to lay waste Greene's Spring with fire andsword, and got decidedly the worst of the attempt. It may so chancethat he will fail the next time he tries the same game. However, it isnot for you to question his method of making war until after you havepaid the price of your release. Get you gone as soon as may be, lads,and we will utilize the gallant major's paroled prisoners to thecalling together of our men, at the same time his threatening wordsare repeated. You shall be supplied with horses, and I will write downa list of those 'rebels' holding command nearabout, so that each andevery one of them may be visited. Having repeated the threat, youshall then say that Colonel Clarke has heard the message, and gone onto Watuga, where he awaits the coming of those who resist the king'scommands. In other words, lads, we will make Watuga a rendezvous, andthe time for all to be there is not later than the 25th of September."

  "Now get you gone, for there be many miles of traveling, and many daysto be spent ere your mission is ended and you have the right to callyourselves free lads once more. Ride with all speed, and waste not anhour, for the time has come when General Cornwallis shall be taught alesson, or I am mistaken in my neighbors."

  Thus it was that Nathan and Evan set off on their long and deviousjourney with no more of a halt than was necessary to relate theirstory and hear that which Captain and Mrs. Dillard had to tell.

  To repeat in detail all their wanderings would form dry reading,therefore let us simply recount what was done from that day until thetwenty-fifth of September, when, as Captain Dillard had arranged, thepatriots assembled at Watuga.

  They repeated Major Ferguson's message to Colonel William Campbell ofWashington County, in Virginia, and he promised to join the patriotswith four hundred men.

  They had speech with Nathan's uncle, Colonel Isaac Shelby, who agreedto bring two hundred and forty from Sullivan County in North Carolina.

  Lieutenant-Colonel John Sevier, who received them most hospitably,declared that he, with two hundred and forty of his neighbors fromWashington County, in North Carolina, would start at once for Watuga.

  Colonel Charles McDowells, Evan's father, returned answer that he,with an hundred and sixty from the counties of Burke and Rutherford,would join the force, and Colonel Cleaveland answered for threehundred and fifty from the counties of Wilkes and Surry; but agreed tojoin force with the other Americans somewhere on the Catawba River.

  Colonel James Williams urged that the force march to the Cowpens, onBroad River in South Carolina, where he would add four hundred trainedsoldiers to the command.

  It was not until the morning of the 25th of September that Nathan andEvan completed their work of repeating Major Ferguson's message andsummoning the mountain men to the rendezvous.

  Then they were free, so far as the British officer could have anyclaim upon them, and believed themselves entitled to a place in theranks by virtue of what they had done for the cause.

  Many miles had been traversed, some on horseback, many in boats, andnot a few afoot. They were received everywhere with the utmosthospitality, and perhaps never were two lads shown more respect thanthey, because of the fact that they were doing, and had done, the workof men, although only boys.

  They were justly proud on the day of their arrival at Watuga, to bereceived by these sturdy patriots like equals, and to be besieged onevery side with questions as to the general feeling among the peopleof the districts which they had visited.

  E
van's father gave them a place in his troop, and when some of the meninsisted that the boys should be allowed to play the part of officersbecause of the particular and difficult work they had performed,Colonel McDowells replied:

  "If it is the purpose of the lads to serve their country, they canbest do so with muskets in their hands, but if they simply desire toparade themselves before the people in fine feathers, the Carolinas isno place for them. They had better go where they can have better fareand more opportunity for admiration."

  It troubled the boys but little that, after having been intrusted withimportant business, they were to have no more responsible part thanthat of private soldiers, for they knew full well that neither wasfitted for a command, and it sufficed that the privilege was giventhem to serve the cause in howsoever humble capacity.

  They were in the ranks on that 26th day of September when the littleforce went out from Watuga down the Catawba River, and by the 5th ofOctober, when the patriots had arrived at the Cowpens where ColonelWilliams kept his word by marching up with twenty men more than he hadpromised, it was said among the men as well as the officers that therewere no more promising soldiers in the force than these two lads whosefirst experience in military matters had been gained as prisoners.

  During this time they made diligent inquiries of all who might havesuch information concerning Ephraim Sowers, but without learninganything whatsoever.

  "Don't let that fret you, lads," Captain Dillard said when they wentinto camp at the Cowpens, and learned from the scouts that MajorFerguson's force was encamped not more than thirty miles distant nearthe Cherokee Ford of Broad River. "Don't let that fret you. Unless Iam very much mistaken, we shall not remain here many hours, for thereis a council of war being held, and from what I know of our commandingofficers, we shall give the gallant major all the hot work he candesire. Then, if your Tory spy be not weak-kneed, you will have anopportunity of coming face to face with him, for once we have met thisgentleman who proposes to lay waste our country with fire and sword,we shall not leave him until after having made the acquaintance of agoodly number of his men."

  "But Ephraim Sowers is not a soldier," Evan said with a laugh, "and Iam of the opinion that he is weak-kneed."

  "Even then the chances are he yet remains with Ferguson's troop, forhark you, lad, the Tories have joined the major in such numbers thathereabouts in the Carolinas are none left at their homes. The spy muststick to his red-coated friends whom he served so well, or have amighty lonesome time of it by himself. If I had played his part, doingall in my power to bring about the death of those who had befriendedme, I should make it my business to keep ever within sight of a reduniform, lest some of those whose death I had sought to compass mightfall upon me. You shall see Ephraim Sowers and have a long talk withhim."

  "You speak, Captain, as if there could be no question of the result,once we are come up with the force."

  "Neither is there, lad. We of the Carolinas have each a home toprotect, and so many wrongs to avenge that there can be no backwardmove on our part once the fight is opened."

  "How many men think you Major Ferguson can muster?"

  "In regulars and Tories from fourteen to fifteen hundred."

  "And our own forces?"

  "Not far from seventeen hundred."

  "Then we are the stronger?"

  "Not so, Nathan, my boy. Did we number two thousand the force wouldhardly be equal, because of disparity of weapons. The king's troopsare well equipped, and they bring with them muskets and ammunition inplenty for the Tories who join them. We have only such as each man canprovide, and some of us so poorly armed that half a dozen rounds wouldsee the powder-horns and shot pouches emptied. But we are fightingfor the cause, and they for the King. In that you have the wholestory, and therefore this I say: When we come face to face with MajorFerguson, as I believe we shall within twenty-four hours, we will staywith him so long that you will have ample time in which to seek outthis spy who would have compassed the death of us at Greene's Spring."