ey should not glitter in the sun, and to
prevent them from rusting. He had his men cut their hair short, and each
of them carried thirty pounds of meal in his knapsack, so that they
could go on a long expedition without a wagon-train.

He had great talents as a soldier. Any one who talked with him felt it
at once. And with it all he was simple in his habits and manners,
living like one of us, and making his officers lead the same plain life.

The days he spent with the Rangers were days of pride and pleasure to
us, for we not only saw his greatness as a soldier, but the bearing of
the man was so modest, so genial and lovable, that every one was greatly
attached to him. He liked best of all to talk with John Stark, and to
get him to tell of Indians and their habits and ways of fighting. And
here he showed his keen insight. For Captain Stark was the best man in
the Rangers. Rogers got the credit for what the Rangers did. But much of
their success was due to Stark. He was a man whose judgment was sure,
who did not make mistakes.

After our defeat in March, Rogers went to Albany to see about getting
recruits. While there he was given his commission as Major of the Corps
of Rangers.

On the way from Concord to Fort Edward he became well acquainted with
Edmund, whose business-like ways and attention to details pleased Rogers
so much that when he was made major he appointed Edmund adjutant of the
Rangers--a very responsible position for so young a man. It was his duty
to record the paroles and countersigns, the various orders for the next
day, and to see that they were attended to.

[Sidenote: THE PROVINCIAL LEVIES]

In May the new provincial troops began to come in. We had been long
enough in the army to become disciplined, though not in the manner that
the regulars were, and had grown accustomed to seeing regiments dressed
in uniforms; so that when the new levies came in, we felt some of the
amusement of the regulars at their green and awkward ways. Gathered
together from country villages, they came in the clothes they wore at
home, and put me in mind of Falstaff's soldiers. Some wore long coats,
some short coats, and some no coats at all. All the colours of the
rainbow were there. Some wore their hair cropped close. Others had their
hair done up in cues, and every man in authority wore a wig. All kinds
of wigs could be seen,--little brown wigs and great, full-bottomed wigs
hanging down over their shoulders.

But the