m had been favored during three
years of fighting a wily and treacherous foe, suddenly deserted him
when, in the month of August, 1758, he found himself confronted by an
Indian warrior of herculean frame, during a skirmish near Fort St. Anne.
He and Major Rogers had been sent out by Abercrombie to ascertain the
whereabouts of a war party which was committing depredations between
Fort Edward and the lakes. The timid general was very much afraid of an
attack in force by the victorious Montcalm, and constantly on the watch.

One morning, as the Rangers were proceeding through a dense thicket,
with Putnam's Provincials in front, they ran into an ambush which the
wary Marin, the French partizan fighter, had prepared, by posting his
men in a semicircular position across the trail. Suddenly the air was
rent with yells and reports of firearms, and several Provincials fell in
their tracks. Putnam, taken unawares, yet as always cool and collected,
gave orders to return the fire, and sent word back for support, which in
the confusion incident to the sudden attack was not promptly
forthcoming. Forging ahead, he was confronted by an Indian chieftain, a
giant in size, against whose breast he at once placed the muzzle of his
fusee, which--as those primitive flintlocks were likely to do in an
emergency--missed fire. The savage then had him at his mercy, and
brandishing his tomahawk above his head compelled him to surrender, when
he tied him to a tree, and then left him to mingle in the fight again.
As the Rangers rallied to battle it happened that the tree to which
Putnam was bound came directly between the fires of both parties, and as
the bullets flew thickly around our hero's position was not by any
means an enviable one. Some of the balls passed through the sleeves and
skirt of his coat, and in this perilous position he remained for more
than an hour, unable either to move a limb or even his head.

No attention was paid to him, except that now and then a savage would
approach, and seeing him there helpless and a conspicuous mark would
throw a tomahawk at his head, to see how near he could come to this
living target without inflicting a fatal wound. An equally savage
Frenchman also approached, and aiming his fusee at his breast, would
have put him out of his misery had it not missed fire. This enraged the
scoundrel so that he gave Putnam a blow on the jaw with the butt-end of
his musket which nearly finished him, and then left him a