t if he fell into a mudhole again, he
should stick there. Johnson admitted that he was thinking of home when
he fell into the dirty place; he was just kissing his darlin' Mary when
his foot slipped. Well, we shouldered our wet baggage, and waded on to
the rest of the party, and soon after, we reached Dead River. This river
seemed to have a smooth current, broken by two or three little falls,
and we thought we could have quite an easy progress. The boats were
easily pushed along, and the men got the rest they wanted. As we were
going slowly along the river, we discovered a high mountain, the summit
of which appeared to be whitened with snow. Near the base of the
mountain we found Arnold, with the two first divisions, encamped. We
were all very glad to see a camp once more and enjoyed it, I tell you,
as much as a good meal after a hard day's work. On the day after the
arrival of our party, Colonel Arnold raised the pine-tree flag over his
tent, the men firing a salute and giving three cheers, as soon as it was
raised. On the same day, Major Bigelow went up to the top of the
mountain, expecting to see the spires of Quebec. But he weren't a Moses;
he didn't see the promised land. After that, I believe the people gave
the Major's name to the mountain. Ninety men were sent back to the rear
for provisions which now began to grow scarce. It began to rain before
we left the encampment, and it rained the best part of three days; every
man and all the baggage were drenched with water. Morgan and Arnold,
with the first and second divisions had gone ahead, and we followed. One
night, we landed at a rather late hour, and were trying to get a little
rest, when we were awaked by the freshet, which came down upon us in a
torrent; O'Brien waked Johnson and myself just in time to allow us to
get out of the way. The water arose to a great height, covering the low
grounds on each side of the river, and the current became very rapid. As
the batteaux moved on they would get entangled among the drift wood and
bushes. Sometimes we wandered from the main stream into the branches,
and then we would have to fall back into the proper course. The number
of falls seemed to increase as we advanced, and of course, there was a
portage at every one. I was almost worn out with toil and sickness, yet
I was sustained by the hope of succeeding in the expedition, and of
doing some injury to the enemy before I died. You know how an excited
spirit will overcome w