boats, and did better than in the wagons. At a village on the lake shore,
the people were very bitter against us, and we had some difficulty. The
word went among us they were Scotch, from the Canadas, but of this I know
nothing. We heard in the morning, however, that most of our officers were
in limbo, and we crossed and marched up a hill, intending to burn, sink,
and destroy, if they were not liberated. Mischief was prevented by the
appearance of Mr. Mix, with the other gentlemen, and we pushed off without
coming to blows.

It came on to rain very hard, and we fetched up at a solitary house in the
woods, and tried to get quarters. These were denied us, and we were told
to shift for ourselves. This we did in a large barn, where we made good
stowage until morning. In the night, we caught the owner coming about with
a lantern to set fire to the barn, and we carried him down to a boat, and
lashed him there until morning, letting the rain wash all the combustible
matter out of him. That day we reached Oswego Falls, where a party of us
were stationed some time, running boats over, and carrying stores across
the portage.

When everything reached Oswego, all hands turned to, to equip some lake
craft that had been bought for the service. These were schooners, salt
droggers, of about sixty or eighty tons. All we did at Oswego, however,
was to load these vessels, some six or eight in all, and put to sea. I
went off in one of the first, a vessel called the Fair American. Having no
armaments, we sailed in the night, to avoid John Bull's cruisers, of which
there were several out at the time. As we got in with some islands, at no
great distance from Sackett's Harbour, we fell in with the Oneida's
launch, which was always kept in the offing at night, rowing, or sailing,
guard. Bill Swett was in her, and we then met for the first time on fresh
water. I now learned that Jack Mallet was on the station, too, whom I had