approached him with caution. They
did not think it quite safe to come close up to a man of his
extraordinary stature, and commanding aspect. He was, however soon
surrounded by a large number of marines, who had the great honor of
recapturing a lame Indian, and conducting him back again to his
Britannic majesty's fleet of three deckers, at anchor off his royal
dock of Chatham!

We made several attempts to gain our liberty while lying in the river
Medway; but none of our daring feats equalled this of the Indian. We
gave him the name of _Baron Trenck_, and pronounced him his superior;
for he had to pass the fire of several ships; and the jolly-boat
appeared to be surrounded in a shower of shot, and yet only one man
was wounded in the leg. When the Indian had made the fields, and was
ascending the rising ground, all the prisoners in our ship gave him
three cheers. We cheered him as he came along back in the boat with
his comrades, and drank their healths in the first liquor we obtained.
It is for deeds of bravery, and indications of a commanding mind, and
superior strength, and agility of body, that our aboriginals in North
America, appoint their kings; and certainly there is more sense and
reason in it, than making the son a king because his father was king.
This Indian was, by nature, a commander.

Something of the same cool and daring character was conspicuous in the
master and crew of a very small New England schooner, in September
1759, when General Wolfe was investing Quebec by sea and land, and
when the army and fleet under admiral Holmes, were cannonading and
bombarding the city and numerous batteries of the French.

Amidst the grand movements of the army and navy, a schooner of the
most diminutive size, which the navigator after called "_the Terror of
France_," weighed her little anchor, and, to the astonishment of every
one, was seen sailing past the batteries, up to the city. The French
fired a great number of shot at her; nevertheless _Jonathan_ steered
steadily on, and got safe up, with her colors flying; and coming to
anchor in the upper river, she triumphantly saluted admiral Holmes
with a discharge from all her swivels. She met with no accident,
except one man being slightly wounded on board. During this, says
captain Knox, our batteries fired briskly on the town, to favor her as
she passed. While the officers and gunners were enraged at what they
deemed a contempt of their formidable batteries, other off