Book: Ridgeway

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Black Jack and his companion were astonished to find such order reign
in the midst of an invading army, and to perceive that the inhabitants
of the village were not subjected to instant plunder, if not fire and
sword, by the troops now in possession of the place. They had come
over in the hope of being able to make some bold strokes in the wake
of the soldiery, and the confusion that they had fancied should obtain
among the people; but finding that they were foiled in this direction,
they cast their eyes about them to see what was best to be done under
the circumstances.

"I'll be blowed," growled Jack, as they both rambled in the outskirts
of the village the morning of their arrival, "if this ain't a go.
Honly fancy, Kid, vot a set of spoonies these 'ere fellows har, not to
be goin it like the Hinglish in Hindia, or in the Peninsoola under the
Duke. I 'eard a fellow as vos there say, that they used to steal hoff
at night and 'av hodd sport and leave none to tell the tale in the
mornin. Glorious, vosn't it? And then ven they gathered hup the svag,
they made it hall right vith the sentries and sometimes vith the
hofficers themselves."

"Jack, I'll never make anything of you," returned the Kid; "your
language is so vulgar, and your address altogether so ungentlemanlike,
that you at once peach on yourself; for anybody, with even half an
eye, that either sees you or hears you speak, would take you for the
villain you unquestionably are."

"Oh! bless'ee, but you're a sveet cove," rejoined Jack, "and no vun
vould suppose for a moment that you cut Sal Gordon's throat, the night
you coaxed her hoff to marry her, just because you took a fancy to a
couple of five-pun notes she had in her trash-bag that she refused to
give hup afore the knot vos tied."

"Come, come," winced the Kid, "no more of that, but let us see if we
can't do a little business here, or, at least, before we return, which
I venture to say we shall manage if we keep in the wake of these
fellows without arousing the suspicions of any of them."

"Yes, yes!" said Jack, "but vot hif ve should run foul of the henemy
and be taken hup as belongin to these 'ere chaps, hif so be they're
beaten, as I hope they vill?"

"I tell you what, there's but one chap among them all that'll keep his
eye on us," replied the Kid, "and that's the fellow who thought to
surprise me into a confession, by suddenly producing a button that, I
apprehend, dropped off the dress of the lady that we, recently ran
over here for our new employer. I have found out his name, and learned
that he was engaged to be married to this same beauty, who is now
safely caged at Wilson's, where she'll soon be apt to learn that she's
in about as nice a fix as ever she was in during her life. But," he
continued, "I don't know what to make of that Martha. All I can do or
say, whenever I happen to be at the house, has no other effect than
that of apparently making her more and more opposed to her uncle's
wishes, until I am convinced shell never be mine, willingly at least.
And after all, I love the girl well enough; although I feel I should
kill her before she was mine a month."

Thus baffled and circumscribed, these two scoundrels prowled about the
village until near ten o'clock, when the troops moved down the river
about four miles, and went into camp at Newbiggin's farm. At this
period the gallant O'Neill was in great uncertainty. Here he was in an
enemy's country with but a handful of men, and in utter darkness as to
what was going on at other points. Already, at Buffalo, he had a taste
of the manner in which the War Department had conducted the expedition
to that point; and was, of course, afraid that the inefficiency of
that department would make itself apparent in more relations than one.
In the ability, activity and devotion of President Roberts,
Vice-President Gibbons and the Senate, he had the fullest confidence;
but Col. Roberts did not take it upon himself to dictate to a
department that was in charge of what was believed to be an old and
experienced military officer, and one on whose judgment and practical
skill he placed the fullest reliance. The position was a desperate
one; but O'Neill was determined to maintain his ground on British
soil, until satisfied that failure had obtained elsewhere, and that
there was no probability of his being reinforced. He had long burned
for an opportunity of meeting the enemies of the land of his birth in
open fight; and now, although all around looked dark and uncertain, he
was determined to join issue with any force that was brought against
him. His men for the most part, too, shared this sentiment. True, that
a few cowardly hounds had deserted his standard almost as soon as it
had been unfurled on the enemy's shore; but then these were of that
miserable breed that always attach themselves to expeditions of this
sort without measuring their motives or the strength of their
principles. However, be this as it may, they have forever forfeited
their claims to the name of Irishmen, if such they were; while the
very recollection will be painful to many, that so dastardly and
worthless a crew tainted, even for a single moment, the pure
atmosphere in which such men breathed as the following, not to speak
of the noble rank and file whose names we are unable, for obvious
reasons, to give here, and who, like them, led by the gallant O'NEILL,
immortalized themselves on the field of Ridgeway:

_OFFICERS OF THE I.R.A., PRESENT AT RIDGEWAY_.

Lieutenant RUDOLPH FITZPATRICK, Aid-de-Camp to O'NEILL.

Colonel OWEN STARR, commanding Kentucky troops.
Lieutenant Colonel JOHN SPAULDING, Louisville, Kentucky troops.
Captain TIMOTHY O'LEARY, Louisville, Kentucky troops.
Captain JOHN GEARY, Lexington, Kentucky troops.
Lieutenant PATK J. TYRRELL. Louisville, Kentucky troops.
Lieutenant MICH'L BOLAND, Louisville, Kentucky troops.

Colonel JOHN HOY, Buffalo, commanding 7th Regiment I.R.A.
Lieutenant Colonel MICH'L BAILEY, Buffalo, 7th Regiment I.R.A.
Captain JOHN M. FOGARTY, Buffalo.
Captain WM. B. SMITH, Buffalo.
Lieutenant EDW'D LONERGAN, Buffalo.

Colonel JOHN GRACE, Cincinnati; commanding Ohio troops.
Captain SAM SULLIVAN, Cincinnati. Ohio troops.
Lieutenant JOHN J. GEOGHAN, Cincinnati. Ohio troops.

Captain ---- BUCKLEY, Cleveland, Ohio troops.
Lieutenant TIMOTHY LAVAN, Cleveland, Ohio.

Captain ---- McDONALD, Pulaski, Tennessee.

Captain LAWRENCE SHIELDS, Nashville, commanding Tennessee troops.
Captain PHILIP MUNDY, Chattanooga, Tenn.
Lieutenant JAMES J. ROACH, Nashville, Tenn.
Lieutenant JOHN MAGUIRE, Nashville, Tenn.

Captain MICH'L CONLON, Memphis, Tennessee.

Captain ---- HAGGERTY, Indianapolis, Indiana.

Major JOHN C. CANTY, Fort Erie, C.W.

We trust that we have not omitted here the name of any officer present
at Ridgeway. If it should ever appear that we have done so, it will be
a source of great pain to us, although we can plead in apology that
every effort was made on our part to procure a complete list.

Seeing that there was not much to be made out of Fort Erie, the two
comrades, Black Jack and the Kid, moved cautiously in the rear of the
troops as they fell down the river; their intention being to remain
concealed in the vicinity of any point at which an engagement might
take place, and then trust to chance for an opportunity of rifling the
dead or picking up whatever spoils happened to drop in their way.
While deliberating upon this creditable resolve, about noon, as they
had made a detour and pushed ahead of the troops, who were going into
camp, their attention was arrested by the noise of some vehicle coming
up a side road across which they were wending their way. In the course
of a few moments they discovered that it was the wagon of Wilson,
driven by that worthy, in the direction of the village of Waterloo; he
evidently not having, as yet, heard of the Province being invaded.
Immediately a conference took place between the three friends, when it
was agreed that Wilson's wagon should be concealed in a wooded hollow
close by, and that it should be made the receptacle of whatever
plunder might be secured during the struggle that they all felt must
soon take place. Consequently, the team was turned aside, and, after
being unhitched, was secured in a close clump of trees, that was not
likely to be visited by any persons in the vicinity; and more
particularly so, when the country was now being alarmed throughout,
and people were securing themselves in their habitations.

After this being arranged, and the horses fed and watered, the party
again sallied forth towards the main road, with a view to getting as
near as was safe to the camp of the invaders, and gleaning some
information as to their future movements. They had been hovering about
in this way for some time, when they came to a point where two roads
met, and where they perceived two wagons in which were a number of
people, all standing and reconoitering something, in alarm or
surprise, through a field-glass, which they were passing from one to
the other. At a glance the trio saw that these persons were Canadians;
and, fearing nothing, they made instantly towards them, and as though
in ignorance of what had taken place, made inquiries as to what they
were inspecting.

While engaged in conversation upon this point, and learning that those
in the wagons were observing a body of armed men who were moving at
some distance from them, but whom they could not identify as either
friends or foes, the whole party perceived an officer riding towards
them with the greatest apparent coolness and confidence. On coming up,
he informed them that the body of men in the distance were some
volunteers who were not very well acquainted with the roads about
there, and that he would feel obliged if they would just drive down
and give the commanding officer whatever information was in their
power upon the subject of the best route to be taken to a certain
point, naming it. To this request they all gladly acceded, the Kid and
Jack not daring to say a word, and not one of them suspecting anything
from the peculiar uniform of the officer; from the fact that they were
not aware the hat indicated that he did not belong to any Canadian
force; believing, as they did, that the uniforms of the volunteers
were of various descriptions. When, however, they arrived at the point
where the men were stationed, they quickly found out their mistake,
and, to their utter consternation, were all made prisoners, Wilson and
his two companions included. The body that made this capture was a
reconnoitering force commanded by Col. John Hoy; and no sooner was it
made, than the prisoners and the two wagons were at once forwarded
under an escort to O'Neill's camp, where, on the Kid and Black Jack
being recognized as belonging to Buffalo, they were released at once;
the others being held for a short period with a view to gaining some
information from them, relative to the movements or whereabouts of the
enemy, of which, as it subsequently turned out, they knew nothing
whatever.

This introduction to the camp was considered fortunate by the Kid and
his comrade, who now, on being acknowledged by some of the men who
knew nothing of their real character, seemed anxious to remain under
the protection of the Irish flag until, as they stated, they could
effect their escape across the river; as they now averred that, should
they attempt to regain Buffalo alone, they could not fail to fall into
the hands of the Canadian forces, who, it was rumored, were gathering
on every side of the Fenian army, with the design of surrounding it
and cutting off its retreat. This all seemed natural and reasonable
enough; and more particularly as the two villains asserted that they
were on their way to Chippewa on business of importance, but should
now get back to their home as soon as practicable; they not having had
any idea that the invasion was about to take place; and having crossed
to the Canadian side early the evening before; that finding they could
not get any one to recross the river with them, as things stood, they
thought it better to keep in the wake of the army until they had
reached some point where they could effect a crossing; not wishing to
entrust themselves to the people of Fort Erie, after the troops had
evacuated that place, as they felt certain that the inhabitants
regarded them as Fenians, and would treat them as such if an
opportunity was afforded them to do so.

During the day nothing of interest transpired, until towards evening,
when Barry, with two of his old comrades and four others of his
company, who were thoroughly acquainted with the locality, were
despatched from the camp, as were similar squads in other directions,
to make reconnoissances of the enemy, if they were anywhere near the
main body of the army. After proceeding cautiously for a couple of
miles, and pausing, from time to time, to reconnoitre, on gaining the
verge of a small piece of wooded land, they suddenly found themselves
almost face to face with ten or twelve armed soldiers, in British
uniform, who seemed to be an outpost lying in wait among some pine
shrubs, on the opposite side of a narrow ravine. Fortunately for our
hero, he was the first to discover the red coats, upon whom the sun
was pouring its declining rays, revealing them to the green coats,
while at the same time it dazzled and obscured their vision, from the
fact that the light flashed full in their faces, while it fell on the
backs of their advancing adversaries. A few hundred yards towards the
upper end of the ravine, there was a small patch of wood, through
which Barry instantly determined to move towards the point occupied by
the enemy; hoping to be able to surprise them before they were aware
of his proximity. This manoeuvre was accomplished rapidly, and with
the utmost caution; but as an open space yet intervened between him
and them, when he had gained the verge of the grove, he determined to
remain under cover, with a view to ascertaining the strength of the
force he might have to cope with; not knowing but it was larger than
it seemed to be from the opposite side of the glen.

Here, however, he had scarcely halted when he was discovered by the
enemy, who took alarm; but, after a moment's pause, during which a
good deal of coolness was observed amongst their ranks, they
deliberately poured a volley into the grove where he and his little
band stood under shelter, although discernible among the trees. No
sooner had the music of the bullets ceased, and as a full view was had
of the force of the enemy, than the Fenians dashed across the open
space already mentioned, and charged in a spirited manner, although
received by the foe with the utmost intrepidity, and an evident
intention to work some mischief before they retired from the spot.
Barry, however, instructed his little band not to fire until within a
few yards of their antagonists, who were now coolly reloading; so,
before the redcoats were again prepared to give another volley, one
simultaneous crash of the Fenian rifles threw them into momentary
confusion; and, the next instant, both parties were closely engaged in
a life and death struggle.

The fire of the Fenians had made sad havoc amongst the small force,
which was now cut down to the proportions of that of their own; still
those that remained never swerved an inch, but joined with their
adversaries, hip and thigh. There was but one volley fired on either
side; and, now that the shrubbery was so thick and withal so
inconveniently high, both parties had recourse to their side arms to
decide the day. Hand to hand, and desperately they fought, without
much indication of the mortal strife, save the low groan of the dying
and the thick breathing of those who struggled upon the green sward
among the roots of the young pines that so thickly studded the place.
Already had Barry silenced forever the pulses of more than one of his
antagonists, when their leader, a powerful man of about thirty-five,
made a sudden bound towards him, after having in turn brought his own
assailant to the ground, and instantly both their swords were crossed,
as they stood, alone, in an open space of a few feet square, while the
deadly conflict still half silently raged around them among the three
or four who now survived to battle for their respective flags.

Barry, although but a private soldier when in the British service, was
regarded as one of the best swordsmen in his regiment. In fact, he was
that sort of person who took delight in excelling in every military
exercise, so that his task-masters should have no grounds for wounding
his feelings or his pride in any matter connected with the discipline
of a soldier. So skillful was he in this connection, that the moment
he caught sight of the manner in which his enemy grasped his weapon,
he looked for but one issue touching the encounter, and that was, the
probable destruction of both. He felt that he had an antagonist before
him worthy the occasion, and braced himself for the work with all the
energy of his being. Swift as lightning, both weapons flashed in the
sunlight, and the next instant lay pressing uneasily against each
other in mid-air; forming a shifting and glittering arch of death,
beneath which either its crimson or emerald pillar was soon to fall in
ensanguined ruins. Not a word was spoken on either side; each
believing that his hour or that of the other had come! The conflict in
the surrounding shrubbery had already almost ceased. Brief as the
period was, the remaining few of the enemy were vanquished and soon
had fled, pursued by a victorious two or three, being scarcely
themselves more than that number, having suffered severely, although
they fought with great bravery. It was the seven hundred years of hate
and the red blood of Ireland, that decided the conquest for so far in
favor of the green; and now, face to face, with lips compressed and
glaring eye, stood the two representatives of the individual
antagonisms, which had been pitted against each other for ages, and
which never can breathe in peace the same vital air. As if
understanding, thoroughly, the power, agility and skill of his
antagonist, the opponent of Barry, who was an Englishman by birth, and
had been in the British service, never sought for a moment to gain any
advantage of the ground. In this relation, he seemed satisfied to
fight his adversary on equal terms; being well aware that a single
move might be fatal, inasmuch as it could not fail to distract his
attention to some extent from his watchful enemy. The sward sloped
down rapidly to the ravine; so that he who occupied the most elevated
position would have his adversary at an advantage; but, although this
conviction was impressed upon the minds of both, neither seemed
anxious to avail himself of it; and thus they stood upon equal terms,
in every way antagonists worthy of each other. In height, the
Englishman had it somewhat in his favor; but, then, not above an inch
or so; while Barry, in agility and compactness, seemed to be vastly
his superior. And such they were, when the first thrust and parry told
that the work had begun. This was immediately succeeded by a furious
clashing, that evidenced a rising tempest of anger in the breast of
either, or both, and which gave promise of being speedily followed by
some fatal stroke that was sure to terminate the encounter. During
this ominous flurry, Barry stood on the defensive, coolly eyeing his
brave adversary, and watching for the unguarded moment when he could
either kill or disarm him; but this was not so easily found, as the
Englishman was every inch a soldier and a superb swordsman; and Barry
knew it well.

Notwithstanding the violence of the attack, so adroitly was it met,
and so firmly was it withstood, that our hero never gave way a hair's
breadth of ground, or suffered a single scratch; and now only, in
reality, the murderous conflict commenced. The Englishman perceiving
that our hero was not to be moved or thrown off his guard for an
instant, became more fully satisfied that he had a dangerous
antagonist to deal with, and so commenced to be himself more cautions
and guarded. Seeing that mere personal strength availed him but
little, he fell back on his admirable swordsmanship and fought with
coolness the most undaunted. Barry now, in turn, became the assailant,
and pressing his antagonist with great skill and courage, gave him a
slight flesh wound, followed rapidly by another in the sword arm, from
which the blood began to flow copiously. Perceiving that the conflict
must be decided at once, as he should soon become faint from loss of
blood, once more the red coat became the assailing party; but this
time, as he was pressing our hero, but somewhat more feebly than
before, his foot caught beneath the tough, fibrous roots of one of the
pine shrubs by which they were surrounded, and the next instant he was
thrown headlong towards Barry, while his sword flew out of his hand
far beyond his reach.

The fight was over; and fortunate it was for the prostrate soldier
that it was brought to so singular a determination; for, from the
manner in which he was bleeding, if from nothing else, the day was
sure to be decided in Barry's favor. Regaining his feet, as soon as
possible, he looked aghast for a moment, as if expecting his death
blow; but found his antagonist not only presenting him his sword, but
begging him not to continue the conflict, as from his wound he was in
no situation to keep it up longer with any show of success.

"By my faith," he replied in return, "I believe, under any
circumstances, the fates were against me; so, understanding what is
due to a brave man, keep my sword and find me some water, as I begin
to feel a little shakey about the knees."

Just at the foot of the slope, and but a few yards distant, there was
a brook, to which our hero now led his prisoner, and where, after
bathing his temples and bandaging his wound with a handkerchief, he
left him for a moment to look after those who might need his aid more
urgently, hard by. He found, after all, that but one of his party was
killed, although two others, who managed to creep in amongst the
shrubbery, were severely wounded. Not knowing how the contest was
going, and seeing themselves completely _hors de combat_, they waited
in silence the result, fearing to call out, lest the enemy might be
upon them and despatch them. The red coats suffered most severely; six
of their number having been killed outright. Strange to say, however,
that there appeared to have been none of them simply wounded; for,
although groans were heard to proceed from the point where they lay,
they must have been uttered in their death agonies, so mortal was the
damage dealt them.

When this much was ascertained, Barry was deliberating as to what had
become of the remaining three of his party, when they returned to the
scene of conflict, weary with a fruitless chase. These men instantly
took up their comrades and bore them down to the brook, where they
were refreshed with a cooling draught. Barry, finding that it would be
dangerous for them to remain to bury the dead, as the noise of their
rifles might have attracted the attention of some other body of the
enemy that might possibly be somewhere in the vicinity of the ravine,
determined to retrace his steps at once. His two wounded companions,
like his prisoner, were able to walk slowly towards the camp; so,
collecting the enemy's dead into one place, and covering them with
branches of evergreens, they took up the body of their fallen comrade
and, placing it on a litter hastily formed of boughs gathered on the
spot, slowly wended their way with it towards the point occupied by
the main body of the army--Barry and his prisoner moving in the same
direction, some distance in the rear.




CHAPTER XIII.


In the morning that Greaves visited the Fort in Canada, garrisoned by
Barry's regiment, it will be remembered that he had a brief interview
with the Colonel. Momentary as it was, however, it was sufficient to
prevent Barry from getting his discharge; for the Colonel was then and
there apprised that our hero sought to leave the army for the purpose
only of joining the anticipated Fenian invasion, giving it the
advantage of his military skill, and aiding it with his knowledge of
the fortifications that the invaders might attempt to posses
themselves of. On being persuaded, through a glance at a certain
document placed in his hands, that Greaves was to be trusted, he at
once decided as to the course that he himself ought to pursue, and the
reader has already seen the result. Strange as it may appear for the
present, it was Greaves' object to induce Barry to desert, and thereby
shut himself out from ever revisiting the British dominions again. He
felt that it would be better, too, that he should not be taken while
in the act of deserting; as his punishment could be but light, owing
to the circumstance, that he had endeavored, though in vain, to obtain
his discharge honorably; so he determined to aid his escape from the
Fort, and secure his outlawry beyond any possibility of mistake. Why
he was prompted to an act so gratuitous and so apparently undeserved,
remains for future explanation; but, at present, all we have to do
with is the simple fact, that owing to his mysterious machinations,
our young hero was driven to the step he had taken.

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