"Stow it forward, son." "All right, father." "Make it fast, my boy." "Yes, father." "Reel her through the back, alan." "Yes, father." "Must be 5:00, father." "There's the boston stage." "Cap huff, where you going?" "Can't stop now." "I'm on an errand of mercy." "When did you start tending bar?" "Why, langdon!" "Hello, son." "The day you left for harvard, i started my education at studely's tavern." "Hunk marriner's in sore need of this." "Where is hunk?" "On public exhibition." "Bring that tankard here and let me hide my face in it in shame." "Well, if it ain't langdon towne, my educated friend." "Why, you old possum." "Go over there and shake hands with me." "I'm glad to see you." "Let me give him that." "Sure this is good for him?" "This ain't the silly season." "You give it to him." "I'd as soon try to fill a sieve." "What put him in here this time?" "Clagett the king's attorney." "Clagett?" "Did you bite him or just kick him?" "No." "I'm in for public speaking." "What brought you home in time for deer season?" "You might call it public speaking." "Pictures speak louder than words." "The puritan or the pie?" "The pie... harvard pie." "Who's the puritan?" "The president of harvard." "Now the president can't stand the smell of you." "He asked me to go far, far away." "You ought to know better than that." "Whiskers on a skunk grow up, not down." "Well, i've never been on intimate terms with a skunk." "Does your father know about this, langdon?" "No, and is not going to be easy to tell him i've been sacked from harvard." "Drop over to the tavern afterwards." "I'll be there, too." "They lock me up about sundown." "I usually break out around 8:00." "Here, here." "Mind your step." "Mind my step?" "Clages a tyrant and thief!" "I wouldn't be here if he hadn't tried to tax my old father of half his fish catch!" "Save it, hunk." "The time will come." "A hundred years the townes have rigged-out ships." "They had hoped to bring into port a professional man... a lawyer, a clergyman." "And now their first great venture is dashed on the rocks of youthful folly." "I ask your forgiveness for disappointing you and mother." "I ask my brothers to forgive me for throwing away my chance." "Aw, langdon." "I want my sons to take up for their rights, but i hate for my boy to go around with his heart on his sleeve." "Yes, mother?" "I'm sorry langdon's lost his chance to be a clergyman." "He's always shown his feelings." "Clergymen show their feelings on all occasions." "Well, thats a clergyman's privilege." "Artists should show their feelings, too." "And if he's going to be a painter, he's got to feel about things." "Yes." "If he felt that way, he felt that way." "We'll have to make the best of our disappointments." "Oh, father!" "Son, what was in that pie?" "I never got that far, sir." "May langdon borrow a sunday shirt to call on elizabeth tonight?" "Of course, but remember... keep our disappointments within the family." "I don't want langdon to bow his head to reverend browne." "The townes have been rigging ships just as long as the brownes have been sending sinners to... hades." "I declare!" "Langdon." "Elizabeth." "I can't believe it." "What can't you believe?" "You're more beautiful than ever." "Oh, no." "Langdon, are those the manners they teach you at harvard?" "I thought of you all the time, made a thousand sketches of the way you'd look when i saw you again." "I'm sure you never gave me a thought with all those lovely ladies in boston." "I made one good sketch." "You're looking at me over your shoulder." "Every time i see it, my heart comes into my throat." "[Knocking]" "But... we don't have to see your father just yet, do we?" "That horrid hunk marriner's told everybody in portsmouth." "Good evening, mrs." "Browne." "Good evening, jane." "Hi, sam." "Reverend... now that you have willfully thrown aside an education at harvard and a career in the ministry, how do you propose to support yourself in life?" "I want to be an artist, an american artist..." "a painter." "A painter?" "Heaven forbid!" "Painters, actors, mountebanks... drunkards rolling in the gutter." "Not all artists are like that." "Rubens and velásquez were great gentlemen." "Sir joshua reynolds is the toast of london." "I mean no offense, my boy, when i say that you are not exactly a velasquez or a rubens." "I can only say that if you persist in this career, then nothing can save you." "And i am sure my daughter thinks as i do." "Don't you, elizabeth?" "Father's usually right, langdon." "Then i suppose there's nothing left for me to say." "Langdon." "Let him think it over, elizabeth." "He'll feel differently, sir." "Depend on me." "[Fiddle playing sprightly tune]" "[Whistling same tune]" "Hey, cap." "One minute, jonathan." "Mr. Studely, you always do well by your patronage." "Very well, indeed." "Some girl came from london." "Oh, it isn't elizabeth's fault." "Is that pompous old... parson." "I've learned not to argue with him." "I can't afford to if i expect to marry one of his daughters." "If you're trying to drink yourself out of lovesickness, we've got some rum that will burn the knots out of a pine plank." "Bring it in." "I wouldn't drink any more." "Why shouldn't i drink?" "Browne said all painters are drunkards." "The old hypocrite wouldn't care if he thought they'd be rich." "Money and power..." "thas all he cares about, hobnobbing with rich scoundrels that put poor woodsmen like hunk in jail." "Hunk got himself in jail for talking against wiseman clagett." "It was hunk's own fault for talking." "It was clages fault for deserving to be talked against." "Oh, claptrap." "Claptrap?" "Wiseman clages the biggest thief in this province." "Shh." "Not so loud." "Oh, i mustn't talk, or i'll get put in jail?" "I wouldn't be surprised." "Clagett can steal 100,000 acres of land from this province, but nobody must talk about it." "And he's hand-in-glove with that indian agent, sir william johnson." "They let men like hunk clear the land and risk being scalped by indians, then take it away from them." "Be quiet, langdon." "They'd steal the pennies off a dead man's eyes, but elizabeth's father wouldn't care." "Well, gentlemen... to what are we indebted for this pleasure, mr." "Clagett?" "Mr. Livermore, i find you in dangerous company." "You may withdraw." "Langdon towne is my guest." "If you're here to say something to him, say it to me also." "You wish to defend libels against his majesty's representatives?" "Certainly not." "Then you've no business here." "I bid you good evening." "Packer, open the door and give mr." "Livermore any necessary assistance." "Get out!" "Now, sir, do you wish to make a statement?" "Why should i make any statement?" "You've made yourself liable to very dangerous charges." "You've slandered me, libeled that good man sir william johnson, repeated shameful rumors, lies, calumnies." "I'd never repeat calumnies about innocent men." "What's that you said?" "I don't believe they're lies." "Langdon, no." "He's dangerously intoxicated, a threat to the safety of the community." "Take him aboard the battleship in the harbor." "You can't shanghai me!" "I demand that word be taken to my family." "Raving from the effects of drink." "Raving." "Who's the one raving, packer or clagett?" "Take them both!" "Langdon, you're in bad company... the lowest scoundrels in portsmouth." "Why, you... [hunk marriner] Out the window, langdon!" "Take to the woods and keep going." "Oh, your excellency!" "They went that way!" "That way!" "see any redcoats?" "No, but there's a fella inside in some green outfit." "54's a lot of miles without no rum." "Shall we risk it?" "¶ and such great names as these ¶" "¶ but of all the worlds great heroes ¶" "¶ there's none that can compare ¶" "¶ to the toh-roh toh-roh toh-roh-toh ¶" "¶ to the british grenadier ¶ here, you." "Whas the matter?" "We ain't busted no laws." "You can sing, can't you?" "We haven't got time." "No?" "Why'd you come in here?" "Rum." "Where you headed for?" "West." "Makes no difference when a man gets west." "Help me get this indian on his feet, i'll buy you rum." "This indian wants to sing." "We can't seem to suit him, so he's dissatisfied." "Whenever he's dissatisfied, he won't drink anything but rum." "Unless we get him to drink beer so he'll get sick, he won't be fit to travel, and he's got to travel." "We'll sing some beer into him." "All right." "Give us the pitch." "you my sweet brudder." "Your sweet what?" "Your his sweet brother." "Don't worry." "He won't kiss you." "These indians haven't learned that yet." "He's climbing a mountain now." "When he gets to the top, he'll fall off the other side." "There he goes, into the valley." "When he comes to, he'll be sober enough to travel." "Gentlemen, i'm obliged." "I need that indian." "What for?" "Bring some hot water, rum, sugar, and butter." "Tout suite." "I owe these gentlemen something special and permanent." "Where'd you say you're going?" "I didn't say, but we're going to albany." "You're taking a roundabout way." "Aren't you afraid of getting lost in the woods?" "Not with the maps he makes." "You make maps?" "You can go anyplace with his maps." "I've always been interested in maps." "Ever since i've been a little boy, i..." ""langdon towne." "Harvard college."" "Hmm." "Quite an eye for detail." "Ah." "Thank you, flint." "Cold rum is just a temporary drink." "Ill wear off in a day or two, but hot rum will last you as long as a coonskin cap." "Whas, uh, whas this map?" "Oh, thas the northwest passage." "What do you know about the northwest passage?" "All they know at harvard." "All they know at harvard." "Where'd you hear about it?" "Oh, tall tales, trappers' stories." "Whas a harvard fella like you aim to do in albany?" "We aim to join dutch traders and go west." "What for?" "Well, paint indians." "Indians?" "Paint indians?" "As long as we got..." "long as we're going, i could paint them as they really are." "Smart fella like you..." "can make maps, drink rum." "I'm surprised you're not in the army." "I'd be more surprised if i was." "Well, you never can tell nowadays whall surprise a man next." "We've got enough sense not to join the army." "We don't aim to dig ditches and chop down trees and get shot at in a red coat that stands out like a house on fire." "Might as well be back in jail." "Well, maybe you're right." "Maybe what you're saying is just plain common sense." "Anyway, i wouldn't recommend the british." "Maybe those dutch up in albany might just suit you." "Here's to them." "Makes me want to shoot a panther." "Two or three drinks of this, you won't have to shoot the panther." "Just walk up to him, kiss him once, and put him in your bag, all limp." "[Snoring]" "[Fife and drums playing]" "What the heck was that?" "On your feet." "Come on, on your feet." "John, take that shirt off." "We're military." "Where are we?" "Crown point." "Get over with the scouts." "Kankaba sick indian." "Kankaba so, so sick." "Of course you're sick." "I've never seen an indian need a coat of paint worse than you do." "Where are my maps?" "Major rogers took care of them for you." "Major rogers?" "The indian fighter?" "Say, is he the fella that mixed that panther juice?" "He brought you here with that indian scout." "That indian got drunk and went over the hill." "If you let one indian get away, they'll all get away." "So major rogers went after that indian hisself." "The smartest indian alive can't think half as much like an indian as major rogers can." "We're going to albany, and i want those maps." "All right." "Come along, and we'll get them for you." "Rogers thinks we're drunk enough to join those redcoats, he's crazy." "You mean them clay dolls?" "No." "Major rogers ain't no redcoat." "Haven't you heard of rogers' rangers?" "They fight indians mostly, don't they?" "Indians?" "Hah!" "They do everything mostly." "Look over there." "Mcneil, where do you think major rogers will take us?" "One man's guess is as good as another's." "Well, here we are." "Wait outside, sergeant." "Yes, sir." "Good morning, gentlemen." "Anything more i can do for you, command me." "You can return my maps and sketchbook and explain why we're here." "I owed you both a good turn." "Is no good turn i can make out." "Don't you know we're fighting a war?" "The woods are full of indians who'd enjoy using your hair to make their girls look up to them." "I see you've left a girl at home." "It wouldn't be right for you to go home without your hair." "There are no hostile indians between here and albany." "Well, suppose there aren't." "I need a man who can make maps." "I need him bad." "If you'd join my rangers and make a map for me now and then, i'd show you all the indians you could paint." "Of course, my rangers are a pretty rough lot, maybe too rough for an educated man." "He ain't that educated, and we can take care of ourselves." "Then you'll take to my rangers like a duck to water." "They wear fancy uniforms and eat like major generals." "Sometimes there's quite a spell between meals, but that only whets your appetite." "Now and then they have to kill an indian or two." "I want to paint live indians." "All right." "When you see an indian, you paint him alive as long as you feel safe." "When he gets too close, let him have it and then finish him with a hatchet." "Well, thas just plain common sense." "We're going out tonight and in whaleboats." "You won't even have to walk to start with, just a pleasure boat ride on the lake." "You can come along as mapmaker in boat number one with me." "How about it?" "Good." "We'll endeavor to teach you things that harvard college overlooked." "Your orders, major." "I presume you've planned your movement." "We go up the lake far as we can with the boats." "The enemy will be watching the lake, but we'll row by night and hide by day." "When we leave the boats, we'll take our chances." "If we move fast we can do whas got to be done." "Sir william johnson thinks you ought to wait until spring." "General amherst, they expect me next spring." "That's why i want to move now." "As his majesty's superintendent of indian affairs, i speak with some authority." "In my opinion, you haven't a chance now." "General amherst, speaking for my men and for myself, those red hellions up there have come down and hacked and murdered us, burned our homes, stolen women, brained babies, scalped stragglers, and roasted officers over slow fires for five years." "If you were in our place, what would you do?" "By jove, i'd go after them." "Thank you, sir." "Well, then, inspection." "I've made it appear the usual thing in case enemy spies are watching the fort." "Prepare for inspection!" "Present your firearms!" "Your scouts seem anxious enough to hit the trail." "Where did these mohawks come from, sir?" "Sir william's offered them as scouts." "Are they scouting for me or for sir william?" "Do you imply my mohawks aren't loyal?" "They're loyal to you, and you and i have never agreed upon the best way to deal with indians." "Is crown policy." "Take them along." "Yes, sir." "Mr. Ritchie, my compliments to the command." "Dismissed." "Dismiss the battalion." "Colors, right wheel!" "Shoulder your firearms!" "To the right, face!" "Forward harch!" "Number three company, to the left, face!" "My compliments to your men, major." "Dismissed." "I shall be sorry to lose them." "We'll be back in october." "When do you start?" "When the last glow of the sun has left the western sky." "Rangers." "Number six boat." "Number four boat." "Number six." "Number seven." "Number seven." "Come on, number seven." "Where we going?" "Think the major tells before starting out?" "He ain't a fool." "We're in number one boat." "There it is." "Get in." "Take your places, men." "Number 13 filled and ready." "Number 16 filled and ready." "Number 14 filled and ready." "Number 12 filled and ready." "Number 10 filled and ready." "Number one filled and ready." "Anybody dead in number 17?" "Maybe they aren't going." "Number 17 filled and ready." "All right." "Send them off." "Push off, men." "Up oars, men." "Buttonmould bay." "Turn in here." "Captain, you'll post sentries on the ridge." "Four to watch and two to sleep by turn." "No fires, no cooking, no smoking." "Have the men get some sleep." "We won't move till dark." "Does anyone know where we're going?" "Hard to say, son." "Suogataw." "Where's that?" "Is as good a name for nowheres as any." "Webster got a letter yesterday." "His wife died." "He's not feeling very good." "Oh, that's too bad." "Yes, i suppose a man does get attached to a woman after he's lived with her a few years." "Where'd you come from?" "Portsmouth." "Is funny i never seen you before." "I was born in portsmouth." "I been away to harvard college." "Harvard?" "No wonder you don't sound right." "How'd you come to join the rangers?" "Wiseman clagett." "Who?" "That skunk clagett, you know him?" "He tried to put me in jail." "Then when you go home, some of us better go with you." "If clagett says anything, we'll take his jail to pieces, just to give him the idea." "Yeah." "You say when." "These fellas aren't so bad, after all." "Towne." "Major wants you." "Got buzzards bay there?" "We'll make it tonight." "That isn't very far, sir." "Better to take your time going 10 miles and make it than it is trying to go 30 is such a hurry that you don't." "These frenchmen pop out of the water like frogs." "Want to paint some indians?" "I don't see any indians, major." "Then you'd better keep looking." "If they see you first, you'll lay where they leave you." "We don't stop for funerals." "Just what did they teach you at harvard about a northwest passage?" "Why, how the early explorers looked for a shortcut by water through america to japan, but they all failed." "Of course." "There is no shortcut." "The only true route to the western ocean will be found by men who break trails and fight indians." "That's my aim when all this is over." "There." "Now you can see what the enemy looks like." "Are those frenchmen?" "They look like toy soldiers." "They see our boats, you'll find out different." "Get down, men." "Keep your fingers on your triggers." "Don't fire unless they see us." "Better get some sleep." "Yes, sir." "Don't you ever sleep?" "Uh-huh, sometimes." "On your feet." "Come on, men." "Come on." "We're moving out." "Muffle your oars and oarlocks." "Come on, towne, get up." "On your feet." "Muffle oars and oarlocks." "Muffle that oar tight, jesse, so the leather doesn't slip." "Can't have any squeaks tonight." "We're slipping by the french, eh, major?" "They're camped ahead somewheres." "The lake's as narrow as the neck of a gin bottle." "We've got to sneak by without the rattle of a button." "We mustn't even hear ourselves breathe." "Put some grease on that leather." "Yes, major." "Wrap wool around that." "Leather against leather squeaks." "We can breathe easy now." "We're safe." "Safe?" "Yeah." "Like rats in a trap." "On your feet, men." "On your feet, men." "Come on." "We're moving out." "Come on." "Wake up, men." "On your feet, men." "We're moving, men." "On your feet." "Come on." "Get up." "Uncover your boat." "[Speaking mohawk]" "He say mohawk saw no frenchmen ahead on lake." "Way is clear for you." "[Speaking mohawk]" "Put them in the boat." "I don't know." "There were frenchmen in that camp we passed last night." "There must be more frenchmen ahead of us." "Perhaps our friends just went out to take a good sleep." "Thas just what i was thinking." "Well, we'll know before morning." "All right, men." "Push off." "Push off." "Let's get moving." "French gunboats at the mouth of the river." "We can move around them tonight." "No, the lake's too narrow." "We'll have to get around them some other way." "Turn in here." "Men, some french sloops are anchored ahead just beyond the point." "Now, with their lookouts, we won't get by unnoticed." "We can wipe them out." "Give us a chance." "No, no." "Somebody would be sure to get away and announce our coming." "Now, uh... the only thing to do is to go where they can't." "Men, if you found yourselves stopped by the dirty enemy and you had to get around him and you were going to need your boats again bad, what would you do?" "Major, i'd take the boats with me over that hill." "Webster, so would i." "And with as little noise as possible." "Uhh!" "Arggh!" "Good work, men." "All we have to do now is get down to the bottom." "Funny thing about a boat... it's no good to you on the top of a hill." "Good work, men." "I'm proud of you." "Did you hear that?" "Now bring those mohawks to me." "Keep a report of this, towne." "Our friends the mohawks are known throughout the world as great warriors." "They've come a long journey from their homes in the mohawk valley, and we, their friends, thought they had come to raise their hatchets for the great king their father." "We trusted them to find the french's hiding place." "They returned saying they'd seen nothing, yet three french war boats were in the way, enough to kill us all." "It is impossible to make war if you are dead." "Tell them that." "He say their father, sir william johnson, understand there is time make war and time not make war." "This is not time make war." "Ohh." "Well, now we understand why sir william johnson sent our brothers the mohawks to join us." "He sent them to drink our rum, eat our food, and do nothing." "Since they won't obey orders, they must return to crown point." "If they tell the real reason they came back, general amherst might have them shot, so they'll say they became sick." "It may seem remarkable that all of the mohawks became sick." "They may be called old women for doing so." "Better to be called old women than to be shot." "They will return at once by land." "Let's move." "Get their belongings from the boat." "I'm going to see what those sloops are doing." "Them mohawks had pelts half as good as a weasel, they'd be worth shooting." "I'd burn them alive." "Injuns is peculiar people." "You can't judge them like white folks." "Those mohawks are snakes." "Hey, put that down!" "What's going on here?" "Captain, you can't do that." "Can't?" "What can't i?" "These red skunks stole the powder out of the boat." "Blow his head off!" "Step aside." "Let this indian through." "I won't back down for that dirty skunk." "Follow orders." "Go jump in the lake." "You can't throw us orders." "We've got more brains than you." "You dirty provincial." "Dirty provincials?" "That's what you think." "You and your highlanders and your black irish." "You ain't rangers." "Your brass-button soldiers filled up with poisoned skunk water and sawdust!" "Major, we needed that powder." "If captain williams hadn't interfered, none of this wouldve happened." "You can't take liberties with an indian." "No matter how these indians behave, you've got to keep them friendly." "We've got enough unfriendly ones." "But that's beside the point." "You didn't maintain discipline." "The moment discipline's gone, everything's gone." "Major, i thought... captain butterfield, you're going back." "Report to general amherst that you got sick, too." "You're sick, and so is every man with a powder burn who goes back with you." "Captain williams... captain williams, i'm putting you in charge of all these sick men." "You'll start back at once." "Major, i'd like to say a word." "Say it." "Counting the mohawks, you're sending back 40 men." "That's 20% of your command." "You can't afford to lose that many, major." "Couldn't you... reconsider those orders?" "I can still see out of one eye." "Captain williams, you're going back because you're in no condition to go on, but most of you are going back because you can't maintain discipline." "I'd make this expedition with 50 men." "Yes, with 10 men." "I'd do more with those 10 than i could with 200 who didn't obey orders." "All the men in this detachment are rangers." "Do you understand?" "They're not englishmen or highlanders or irishmen." "They're rangers." "And if i find two men leading together as americans or englishmen, by heavens, i'll send them back if we're within 20 feet of where we're going." "Dismissed." "Injured men fall in there." "The rest of us will push on." "We can't risk being bottled up in a little stream." "Fall in!" "Follow me to the boats!" "Any orders, sir?" "Have them cover the boats well." "Yes, sir." "Well, captain, this is as far as we can go with the boats." "Have every man fill his meal bag." "Assemble all ranks at the base of split rock in full marching kit." "Very good, sir." "Captain jacobs, kankaba." "Men, you've followed me faithfully and without questions, and i appreciate it." "Now the time has come for you to know where we're going, although some of you probably have already guessed." "Here's general amherst and our forces at crown point." "Here's lake champlain and missisquoi bay where we are now." "Up here is the st." "Lawrence river and canada." "And right there is the spot we're headed for... the abanochi indians at st." "Francis." "Thas where we wanted to go, major." "I don't have to tell you who the abanochis are." "Most of you have lost folks and friends in indian raids since '57." "You'll find their scalps at st." "Francis." "Some of you men fought in the battle on snowshoes last year." "Ask joe turner." "He was there." "He'll tell you." "They captured lieutenants crofton and phillips and 20 other rangers." "Lieutenant crofton's brother is here." "He can tell you what happened to them." "Yes, major." "I can tell you." "Phillips had a strip of skin torn upward from his stomach." "They hung him from a tree while still alive." "They chopped his men up with hatchets and threw the pieces into the pine." "They tore my brother's arms out of him." "They chopped the ends of his ribs away from his backbone and pried them out through his skin one by one." "That's what happened to crofton and phillips." "But they were soldiers." "Tey had to take their chances." "But your folks on the border farms, they weren't fighting anybody." "They were clearing woods and plowing and raising children, trying to make a home of it." "And then one night, abanochi tomahawks at the door." "If it was over quick, they were lucky." "Now, if there's any man here who doesn't want to follow me against these indians, he can step out now." "Destroy that map." "We'll leave provisions here for our return." "Take two indians and watch the boats." "If the french find them, notify me quickly." "Well, men, you won't have any boats to row, and you won't have any time to sit down." "You won't be bothered with blisters where you got them now." "We're going through the swamps so we won't leave any tracks." "Number one squad!" "Till we're out of the bog, we'll march three abreast." "Straighten that line!" "We'll stop every hour to save straggling." "We can't afford to lose anybody on this trip." "All set?" "Yeah!" "Yeah!" "Forward!" "We'll go north all afternoon." "Should strike some shallow water by evening." "Mosquitoes don't bite you, do they?" "Nope." "You put something on to keep them off?" "Rancid bear's grease." "They hate the stink worse than i do." "Thanks." "I'll keep the mosquitoes." "Get off that dry land." "No tracks." "Where does he get that energy?" "Don't you wish you were like him?" "Heck no." "I'd rather be like me." "Captain ogden?" "Captain ogden." "Travel north by northeast today." "I don't see any reason to dillydally here any longer." "Very good, sir." "Tell the men we'll eat breakfast on the move." "Come on." "Hit the trail." "We'll eat on the march." "Come on, men." "Ohh." "I've slept in a lot of worse places, but right now, i can't recall just where they was." "All right, men!" "On your feet!" "Get that column formed!" "Come on." "Keep moving, men." "Too bad this bog isn't rum and eggnog." "We'd all be mellow as horse apples." "Here." "Save that stuff, man." "Learn to keep going on a mouthful a day." "Yes, sir, major." "Keep going." "Break your leg, webster?" "Yeah, in two places." "Rest here a while?" "Thought i would." "Well, you'll want some tobacco." "Won't need all that, major." "Oh, you better keep it, anyway." "Good luck, webster." "Get a redskin for me, won't you?" "Better than that, major." "I've got her loaded with buckshot." "That's the spirit, webster." "You can't leave a man behind like this." "Webster knew what would happen if he couldn't keep up." "And he understands that you'd like to help him, too, that we all would." "He understands the same as i would myself." "Keep going." "Keep going, men." "We'll rest here a while." "I've sent jacobs on ahead." "Should be near the st." "Francis river." "Have the men fall out." "Fall out, men!" "Fall out!" "Fall out!" "Ain't you sick of sausage and cornmeal?" "No, can't say i am, seeing this is all we got." "Now, if i had been led to expect roast turkey, i'd be sick of sausage and cornmeal, but not otherwise." "Major!" "Major rogers!" "Kankaba!" "Major!" "The boats!" "The boats!" "What about the boats?" "The french found our boats!" "Quiet." "Captain ogden, wait a minute." "This concerns all of us." "When did it happen?" "Sundown, three suns ago." "How many french and indians?" "Maybe 500." "500?" "500?" "500?" "500?" "Well, men, the french think they've trapped us." "They think they've cut us off and that this is the end of rogers' rangers." "They've been trying for five years to wipe us out." "Now they think they'll have our scalps." "They're probably counting the money." "1,000 pounds for my head alone." "They want us pretty bad, the french do." "Want to know how i feel, i'll tell you." "We've always done things they thought were impossible, and i don't propose to stop now." "No!" "No!" "They think they've got us." "They think we're as good as dead." "They haven't got me, and they haven't got you." "Not yet, they haven't." "I don't think they ever will, if we continue to fight as we have in the past." "Get out your maps." "Yes, sir." "Lieutenant mcmullen... that's a bad knee, lieutenant." "You'll never make it." "There's nothing the matter with my knee." "Good." "I'm sending you back to crown point with a message." "Remember this map is a big inverted "v."" "We're going up to st." "Francis." "Then we'll start down past lake memphremagog." "Tell general amherst to send food for 150 men to old fort wentworth or where it was if it's fallen down." "Circle around the french, even if you have to make a 50-mile detour." "They'll be following us." "Take keely and wilson with you." "They're too sick to go on." "Don't tell them the message unless you have to." "If the french take you, don't let them know how we plan to get back no matter what they do." "You've got to get through." "Provisions for 150 men at fort wentworth." "You're coming back the eastern leg past lake memphremagog." "That's right." "That's how we'll come back if we come back." "Good luck." "Goodbye, major." "Keely!" "Wilson!" "We're moving!" "Big river." "That'll be the st." "Francis." "Tell captain ogden to have the men fall in." "We'll cross at once." "Yes, sir." "Forward, men!" "Forward!" "We ought to be about 15 miles above town." "How many rafts shall we make, sir?" "We got no time for rafts." "Have the men plug their muskets." "We'll wade it." "How can we wade that?" "Well... you could, couldn't you, if you had a good stout chain stretched across to hang on to?" "Sure, major, but we ain't got no chain." "Well, we'll make one." "We'll make a human chain, man by man." "I don't know that it's ever been done before, but that's no reason why it can't be." "I'll see what it's like." "Now, ain't he a caution?" "We ferry boats over a hill where a panther couldn't crawl." "Now we make a chain across a river where a fish couldn't swim." "All right." "Take your indians downstream." "If anybody drowns, get them." "Can't have any bodies floating down the st." "Francis to give warning." "Ogden!" "Yes, sir!" "Pick your best men." "Come on, men!" "Grab a hand!" "Take a good hold, men." "Now, don't let go." "How about you, towne?" "Do you feel husky enough to be the first man over?" "Yes, sir." "When you get on the other side, get out your notebook and keep count." "Yes, sir." "Keep your feet, men!" "Get that man!" "Fill it in, men!" "Fill in that break!" "Come on." "We got to keep moving." "It's boyle." "He's sick." "I'll go and get him." "Stay where you are." "We'll have to leave him." "Boyle, keep traveling east, try to keep out of the way of the french." "They'll be following us." "Good luck!" "Come on, avery." "We've got to keep moving." "When you get across, tell the men to pull us over." "Well done, major." "Well done, major." "Nice work, major." "Shall we bury the dead, sir?" "No time for funerals." "Hide them in the bushes." "Yes, sir." "What do you make of it?" "142... 5 are without muskets." "Not bad." "Could be worse." "I could take quebec with 142 men like these." "Now draw your loads and reload with buckshot." "We're heading for st." "Francis." "Forward, march!" "Let's see now." "Bayonet... bullets... powder... hatchet, and... i've been saving this here for the fireworks." "They're having some sort of celebration." "They're probably all drunk, but we can't count on it." "Every man must get some sleep." "You're going to need it." "You asleep, langdon?" "No." "Are you?" "What are you thinking about?" "Oh, just things." "Sunday at home." "My mother in the kitchen pouring flapjack batter." "Firelight at studely's tavern." "Elizabeth browne." "The way her hand touched mine when we held the hymnbook in church." "The major's back, and everything's all right." "All right?" "Yes." "We're going to attack at dawn." "Come on, men." "Come on!" "You sure you got everything?" "Hatchet, boots, bullets, powder?" "Kind of wish i was back in jail now." "Yeah." "Now pay attention." "I've just had a look at the town." "They've been having a whale of a time all night." "Haven't left a sentry out." "The wind is in our favor." "Even the dogs can't smell us." "Lucky thing for the dogs." "We're to wipe out this town, so see that you do it." "Kill every fighting indian quick and kill them dead." "Don't kill our own indians or the white captives." "Our indians will have white crosses on their backs." "Remember this... down there is the food we've dreamed of... and we're going to need it if we expect to stay alive." "We'll get it, too." "All of it." "Towne, you and marriner go with me." "You, too, mcnott, and sergeant lucas." "All right." "Now listen to your company commanders." "Repeat what you're going to do." "I'll advance with 50 men and torches." "We'll fire the village, then move to the river's edge and hold the beach." "Right." "Dunbar?" "Hold the ridge and kill them if they try to escape this way." "I'm to barricade the river road above the village." "I'll block the downstream end." "Shoot down the dogs that tortured my brother." "Right." "Attack when you hear me give the cry of the loon." "All right." "Fix your bayonets." "Report to your stations." "Good luck." "Thank you, sir." "Come on, towne." "Cold?" "I never shot a man before." "I know just how you feel." "It's nothing to be ashamed of." "I was paralyzed all through my first fight." "Like getting buck fever, just stood there." "But my old musket was so well-trained that it kept firing and reloading all by itself." "I killed six indians and never pulled the trigger." "If i had that gun, i'd be all right." "When things start popping, maybe you'll find it." "Under cover, men!" "Don't fire till you hear the command!" "Here they come, men!" "Stand by!" "Fire!" "Fire!" "Prettiest shot i ever made." "Aah!" "Getting any pretty pictures?" "Looks like you found that gun all right." "Come on!" "Come get 'em." "Drive them back!" "Kill them!" "Kill them all!" "Ogden!" "Come on, men!" "Come on, white men!" "Dunbar, come in!" "Come in!" "Charge!" "Aah!" "Aah!" "Some are getting away!" "Go on over and get them!" "Aah!" "Too young!" "Prisoner!" "Oh!" "Crofton!" "Crofton, haven't you had enough?" "Ha ha ha ha ha!" "Tally our losses and get the men together." "We haven't got time to waste." "I want towne to make a report." "Let me go!" "You let me go!" "Watch it!" "What about provisions?" "None, sir." "The french took them." "There's nothing left but a few baskets of parched corn." "Put them in the canoes." "We've got a long way to go on that corn." "Divide it up and tell every man to fill his knapsack." "Bring those white prisoners here." "Move on." "Get up here." "What's your name, ma'am?" "Sarah hatten from new hampshire." "They took me seven years ago." "Killed my husband and knocked my baby's head against a tree." "My husband's scalp is over there with 700 others." "Oh, don't..." "don't leave me here." "I'll look out for you." "The french will be back." "They'll see the smoke." "How many?" "About 400 and a band of braves from here." "It's the truth, all right." "They'll be back and put up their stakes again, and your ugly head will be the first on the pole." "What's your name?" "Jennie colt." "She's been living here so long she's worse than these red rips." "Ah, rip yourself, you old hag." "She's white." "She goes back." "Lieutenant dunbar, get them started across the river." "I stay here where i belong!" "You white devil!" "Go on!" "Get her moving!" "Hurry up!" "She gives you any trouble, stick her in the rump with a bayonet." "What do we do with those?" "Let them go." "Tell them i'm letting them go so they can give a message to their people." "Say that i destroyed their town as a lesson." "Tell them if they ever send their warriors to take the scalps of our people, i'll have no mercy next time." "We attacked at 5:17." "It's 6:10 now, and we're still here." "Assemble the men." "We've got to get moving." "Where's towne?" "Have you seen towne?" "Langdon towne!" "Take two men and burn the fort." "Slim!" "You can't use all those moccasins." "I'll keep them for you." "Langdon!" "Langdon!" "Crofton, have you seen langdon towne?" "No!" "Langdon!" "Langdon!" "Langdon." "I let him see me first." "How does it feel, son?" "Well, sort of like... i spilled hot soup on myself." "We got to travel." "Come on." "Ow!" "Put your weight on me now." "We won't say nothing to the major about this." "Come in here!" "All right!" "Get them in the boats!" "We're ready to go, major." "Don't any of these red hellions have man-sized feet?" "Lieutenant avery!" "Captain ogden!" "All right." "Shove off." "When we get on the other side, i'll build a stretcher for you." "Be careful of him." "He's pretty bad wounded." "I'll be right behind you, langdon." "Assemble all the men over here." "Line them up, sergeant." "Here we go." "Line up!" "Captain's orders!" "Over here!" "Get out of the water!" "Out of those canoes!" "Out!" "Out!" "Out of those canoes!" "Hurry up, men." "Join your companies and report at once." "Assemble over here." "How many men missing?" "Seven, sir." "Two." "Three, sir." "Four." "16." "It might be worse." "Towne's wounded." "He's lying there, sir." "Now pay attention." "Pretty soon there'll be 500 frenchmen and indians back here looking for their silverware and sunday britches." "We've got to keep ahead of them, and we've got to get to food." "How do you aim to get us back, major?" "Go any way but that swamp again." "Then we'll strike out for lake memphremagog." "Then we'll go to old fort wentworth and food." "Did you say food?" "How far is it, major?" "We ought to be able to step into the lake in 10 days." "You can rest your stomachs all the way." "When we get there, maybe we can stop to hunt and fish." "Salmon, trout, and deer steaks." "Will that suit everybody?" "Oh, yeah." "All right." "Before we start, every man eat a handful of corn." "That's a banquet." "What do you think the french will eat at st." "Francis?" "Nothing but roast indians." "All right, ogden!" "Start them south!" "Right... face!" "Right face!" "Right face!" "Right face!" "Forward!" "Forward!" "Forward!" "Forward!" "March!" "Didn't you hear assembly?" "Join your company, marriner." "Langdon's wounded." "I'll look after him." "I ain't going to leave him." "Another word and i'll have you shot." "Join your company." "Yes, sir." "Don't give up, son." "Are you hurt bad?" "That's the first thing i've had in my stomach in days." "Oh!" "Can you walk?" "You know my orders." "I can't let the men carry extra burdens." "Have you tried to walk?" "How do you know you can't walk unless you've tried?" "You know, when people want to badly enough, they do all sorts of things they didn't know they could do." "What's a little piece of lead to a great big husky fellow like you?" "Say... you've got a sweetheart at home, ain't you?" "Well, now, what are you going to do, lie here and rot and let some other fellow take her away from you?" "Hmm?" "Where's that book of yours?" "Let's see." "Didn't i see the picture of a pretty girl in here?" "Why, sure i did." "My, my, my." "Do you think i'd lie here like a newborn calf if i had a girl like that?" "Not me." "Is she really as pretty as that?" "Prettier." "Come on." "Come on!" "Now, i'll help you this far but no farther." "A ranger puts his left foot forward." "Now your right." "That's the spirit." "Left!" "Right!" "Left!" "Right!" "Left!" "Here, you!" "Whatever your name is, come over here!" "Bring that little indian boy." "Right!" "Left!" "Right!" "Your name is billy." "Get over here." "Give this soldier a little support until that blood stops running." "That's it." "Left!" "Right!" "In a few days, you'll lick any man in the outfit." "Left!" "Right!" "I'll see you at sundown, harvard." "Left!" "Right!" "Keep on your feet, turner." "They're all you've got between you and bread and molasses." "I'm glad you can't see yourself in those beads, mcneal." "Ha ha ha!" "What have you got in that knapsack, crofton?" "Souvenir." "You better throw it away if it's heavy." "It's not heavy." "It's light." "Ha ha ha!" "Rangers... fall out!" "Make camp!" "Marriner!" "Beacham!" "Yes, sir." "Come on, son." "How are you feeling?" "I'm all right." "Ah!" "I'm first-rate." "That's good." "Don't you think you better sit down?" "No, i better not." "If i sat down, it might be pretty hard to get up again." "No, i'd better not." "You sure ought to be glad that hole isn't in you." "I guess you're right." "But that's as nice a place for a hole as i could think of if i thought all day... if you have to have a hole." "How far have we come?" "Oh, about 15 miles, as near as i can figure." "It's almost sundown, isn't it?" "Yeah." "Jesse and me will take you into camp." "You go with the women where you belong." "I'm fixing his bandage." "I'll tend to that." "Go on!" "Do like i tell you." "Go on!" "Get out of here!" "No!" "Leave me alone!" "Here, you mink." "Don't you start raising cain with these men or i'll turn you loose in the woods." "Soldier." "Go ahead." "Turn me loose." "I didn't ask to come, did i?" "Turn me loose, why don't you?" "Some of us could carry him, sir." "Got a couple of poles i can fasten a blanket between." "Like a hammock." "I won't do it." "I'm all right, i tell you." "As long as i can stay on my feet." "He's right." "If we carried him, he'd be like a baby for weeks." "If you can go 15 miles today with that hole in you, you can go anywhere." "How far is it to lake memphremagog?" "It's about..." "ask her." "It looks like she's going to take care of you." "Harvard, i'm proud of you." "You've been eating too much." "How much of that corn have you eaten today?" "I had two handsful." "I got pretty hungry." "Guess i must be feeling better." "Well, you can't have it." "You'll walk 10 days on 1 handful a day." "You're not going to get more now." "Are we almost to memphremagog?" "Ask that big moose up ahead." "There's the lake, boys!" "Memphremagog, plenty of fish there!" "We're going to eat!" "Food!" "There's the lake." "This way!" "Wait." "Where do you think you're going?" "A mess of trout for supper." "A mess of french lead and hatchets for supper, more likely." "What's the matter with you men?" "But, major, you said when we reached the lake, we could stop to hunt and fish." "Sure you did." "Yeah." "Put yourselves in the shoes of that french commander that found our boats." "If he's guessed we came to memphremagog, he came here, too." "I'm going down with the indians to look." "The rest of you, stay here until i get back." "Major, my men are mighty hungry." "Yes." "Yes." "Yes." "They've got corn, haven't they?" "Captain jacobs, kankaba." "If you fellas were smart, you wouldn't have to eat corn." "Hey, there." "Hey, there." "Don't take the red one." "I'm saving that for dessert." "Where's the food?" "Didn't we make it?" "Langdon, you're just in time for a little corn with the rest of us roosters." "See the patch in that moccasin?" "That moccasin belonged to webster, the man we left in the swamp." "Same french indian who killed webster." "They come here, too." "You can't expect the men to keep going day in and day out without food." "A few grains of corn won't keep their bodies in condition." "You said when we got to lake memphremagog, we could hunt and fish." "We've been talking things over." "If we can't hunt here, we think we should hold an officers' council and take a vote on what's the best thing to do." "That's regulations, if you want to do it that way." "I vote to get to wentworth as soon as we can." "But, major, my men are starving." "If we don't find something to eat, we won't go anyplace." "That's right." "What do you want to do?" "Stay here and fish and get roasted alive?" "No, sir, but the men feel they'll be all right if they could split up into hunting parties and look for game." "That's what my detachment thinks." "We could hunt, then join up together again and meet anyplace you say." "Your men grumbling, too?" "Not grumbling, they just want a little food." "Game's as scarce as hen's teeth." "Gone out of the woods, i guess." "A big party like this will drive away what's left." "Captain ogden, what's your idea?" "Well, sir, it's pretty hard to drive hungry men, but i think we'd be better off if we stick together." "Now, wait a minute." "I agree with ogden." "We're all pretty hungry, but a hungry man can go on a lot longer than he thinks he can if he keeps his courage." "You know, i'm pretty hungry myself, but it's better to be hungry than to be cut up alive with hatchets." "We'll be safe when we get to wentworth." "That's only 100 miles from here, as the crow flies." "But, major, we ain't crows." "Wait a minute." "You know, this is tricky country." "It would be a mighty easy place for a small party to get ambushed in." "We'd better vote, major." "Yeah." "Yeah." "All right, we'll vote." "Aye." "Aye." "Aye." "Aye." "Aye." "Aye." "Aye." "Well, that settles it." "We'll split up into four parties." "All detachments will meet here at eagle mountain." "I'll have maps for you before you leave." "And don't miss me at eagle mountain because you'll never find wentworth by yourselves." "All right, get ready to go." "Number one company, form over here." "Number two company, form over here." "Number three company, over here." "Sergeant mcnott." "Yes, sir." "Send the white women with captain jacobs, sergeant clark, and half of our scouts straight across to crown point." "Sergeant clark." "Yes, sir." "If them french and injuns would lend me a boat and bait, i'd go catch me a trout." "You ain't hungry, are you?" "I'd rather not discuss it." "You won't starve." "I'll see to that." "Say, if you got food, fetch it out." "No." "You ain't hungry enough yet." "Ha ha ha." "What's the matter with crofton?" "I don't know, sir." "Crofton!" "No, no, no, no!" "That's mine!" "That's mine!" "I'll kill you." "I'll kill you, and i'll eat your head, too." "Crofton." "No, no, no, rogers!" "No, no, no!" "Aah!" "What did he have in that sack?" "The head of an abanochi indian." "I'm sending you with farrington." "Why, sir?" "Because you've got an education and farrington hasn't." "A man with an education isn't apt to get discouraged and quit as quickly as one without." "Don't worry." "You've got one advantage over the rest." "They just want to stay alive, but you want to stay alive and paint pictures." "It's pretty hard to destroy a man who's got a real incentive to live." "Yes, sir." "Give one of those maps to each of the detachment commanders and tell them, above all, to watch out for ambush." "I'll tell them, sir." "We'll make a ranger out of you yet." "Major." "Well?" "I'd like to go and look after langdon towne." "You can help towne more by fighting off the french than by trying to look after him when he can look after himself." "You're right." "But i'd hate to be a man and always be as right as you are." "I'm not a man now." "I'm a soldier in command of men." "If you ever meet me when i'm just a man, you may have to use a little charity." "I'm sorry, major." "We'll meet towne and everybody at eagle mountain." "Thank you." "Let's get those lizards." "Water's hot, major." "Good." "What have you got to put in it?" "Four hawks, five squirrels, eight frogs, three partridges, a wood sparrow, a blue gingky, 27 lizards, and a hat full of minnows." "Well, it won't taste like roast goose, but it will take the hunger cramps away." "Ogden, we're ready for that rock tripe." "It will kill the taste of the lizards." "Yes, sir." "Come on, dump them in, men." "There's more hungry rangers on the way." "Jesse, you can have my share of the stew." "Ain't you feeling well, son?" "I don't want it." "I'm going home." "Home?" "What are you talking about?" "I'm going home for supper... in concord." "Where do you think concord is?" "Right over there." "Look, avery." "Right over there!" "Avery!" "Let him go." "You can't catch him, and i won't shoot him." "Where do you think he'll land?" "Right in the middle of those hills." "Maybe next summer, somebody will find a leather hair ribbon and be christian enough to bury whatever they find with it." "Don't swallow those bones, men." "If you're stomach's empty, they'll cut right through you." "Be at fort wentworth before long." "We'll get some real food." "Be careful, now, men." "Just a little bit." "I know it's not chicken broth, but get it down and keep it down." "Whatever it tastes like, boys, it's food." "Hold your nose, son." "Your stomach will never know the difference." "It will get you to wentworth." "Yo, rangers!" "Yo, rangers!" "Grant's detachment, sir." "Where are the rest?" "Captured." "We shot a moose." "We were hungry enough to eat it raw, but mcneal started yelling about stopping to cook it." "I guess the french heard our shot." "They made us carry it back to camp." "Then they tied us up until they started killing..." "Go on." "Well, they gave us a bone apiece to gnaw on, but mcneal here sawed his thongs in two in the night, and he let me loose, too." "Good work, mcneal." "Yes, sir." "Skunk!" "Aah!" "If you'd eaten that moose raw, we'd have something inside us!" "Come on!" "Stop that!" "Rangers don't act like that!" "Get up!" "Get up!" "Beats all how many people there are that don't know enough to thank god they're still alive!" "See anything of dunbar's men or farrington or towne?" "No, sir, not a thing." "Eat some of that stew." "You'll feel better." "Yes, sir." "Come on." "I wonder what kind of food amherst has sent to fort wentworth." "I don't know, but i wished he sent old cap huff from studely's tavern back in portsmouth." "He's a friend of mine and langdon towne's." "He'd bring them big sausages and hams cured almost black, chocolate cakes and ripe cheeses and cigars from the sugar islands." "Yeah." "That pale brown rum that makes a man feel like he was half moose, half panther in a touch of an earthquake." "You know what we used to call them minnows like we threw in the stew last night?" "Little stinkpins." "Aw... you always spoil everything." "Rogers' rangers!" "Farrington's detachment, sir." "Glad to see you, captain." "Carry on, men." "Carry on." "Where's towne?" "He went back to see that dunbar didn't get lost." "Didn't you wait for him?" "We waited 12 hours." "Had these men to think of." "Yeah, but... that's quite right." "Give him some food." "Yes, sir." "Come along, captain." "Marriner." "You want to look for towne, your duty's done here." "Thank you, sir." "I'll get my musket." "Major rogers!" "Ranger towne!" "Langdon!" "How are you, son?" "I was worried about you." "Glad to see you, my boy." "Where's dunbar?" "Ambushed." "I saw what happened, but i couldn't help him." "When they cut up dunbar, he was still alive and screaming." "Any of them get away?" "No." "They killed them all." "They were playing ball... with their heads." "Playing ball with their heads?" "You men better dry your blankets." "If the weather changes, we might have a little trouble." "We might have a little trouble." "We might have a little trouble." "I don't know but what is right." "Come on, son." "Towne, you can take over the orderly book again." "When did you make these pictures?" "On the way to st." "Francis... about 100 years ago." "Mcnott." "Kankaba." "Mmm." "I can smell him." "Major robert rogers." "No flattery either." "My boy, you're quite an artist." "Oh, here's the lady again." "Who is she anyway?" "She lives in portsmouth." "By jove, she is beautiful." "Make a man swallow his tobacco just to look at her." "She's proud, though." "Ambitious." "She knows what she wants, and she's going to get it." "Well, men, we've come all this way, and there's still 50 of us left." "That's 50 more than general amherst expects." "Now on we go to fort wentworth." "Only three days away, then all the things we've dreamed about... roasted beef, ham, bacon, chocolate, coffee, and plenty of hot buttered rum." "Does that sound good?" "Yes, sir." "Yes, sir." "Then form ranks." "Number one company, on your feet." "Number two company, fall in." "Fall in." "Hurry it along." "Forward!" "Right, left." "Right, left." "Right, left." "Right, left." "Right, left." "Right, left." "Right, left." "Right, left." "Right... left." "Right." "We'll get... army rations... coffee, sugar... come on, men, keep moving." "Stay on your feet, men." "Come on, men, come on." "Keep moving, men." "Stay on your feet, men." "Come on, keep moving." "Keep moving." "Keep moving." "We're almost there." "Right, left." "Right, right." "Left, right, left." "Shut up!" "Left, right." "Left, right." "1, 2." "1, 2." "1, 2." "We're almost there." "1, 2." "1, 2." "Wentworth!" "Fort wentworth!" "There she is, men, just as i told you." "Only two miles more, then food." "Come on, now." "Quick on your feet." "No falling behind, men." "Fort, it's rogers!" "Put it on the table." "We're all ready." "Come on, redcoats, bring out the roast beef!" "It's rogers!" "Fort wentworth, it's rogers!" "Rogers' rangers!" "Fort wentworth... fort, it's rogers." "Rogers' rangers, back from st." "Francis!" "Where is everyone?" "Fort... fort, it's rogers!" "Rogers' rangers from... hey, we're back." "Almost there." "I never thought we would eat again." "Hope there will be some steak." "I'll take gravy." "Rangers... attention." "Come on, men, fall in." "Press it up, press it up here." "Listen up." "Forward." "March." "Steady, men." "Take care." "Steady." "Take care, men." "Rangers... halt." "Left face." "Quarter arms." "The first thing we've got to do is get this fort in shape for amherst and his men when they arrive with the food." "Farrington's men will clean up the grounds." "Rogers' men will look for roots and fish." "Lots of roots here." "Good to eat, too." "Marriner, take some men and burn this litter." "Fall out and get to work." "You heard the order, men." "Get to work." "Major, in the name of god, let them rest." "Let them die!" "We've lived on your promises long enough!" "We can't stand anymore!" "They're right, major." "We won't do it." "Get up." "Get up and start your fires." "Fires and warm shelter, that's something, isn't it?" "Get up." "Stand on your feet and do what's to be done." "You're going to act like rangers." "They'll be here with the food." "I've never promised you anything that you didn't get." "Until they get here, you've got to make this place fit to live in." "Why?" "Because you're not fit to go on any farther, and when that happens, you've got to stop and live here where you are." "You know, you could be a lot worse off." "Towne..." "towne's an educated man." "Wasn't there somebody in the bible who went without any food for 40 days?" "40 days?" "I think there was someone in the bible who fasted for 40 days." "Uh, moses, i think." "There." "Do you hear what towne says?" "Moses went without the slightest taste of food for 40 days." "He didn't have any good cooked roots." "He didn't have a single bite, did he, towne?" "No, not a thing." "No food, no water." "There." "Do you hear that?" "No food and no water." "Look at the water we've got." "Good, clean, fresh water." "What do you suppose moses would have given for a mug of it, let alone buckets-full like we've got?" "Instead of lying here, doing nothing, giving up, we should be giving thanks for what we've got." "Men... i'm not much of a hand at prayer, but maybe i can remember a few bible verses that i've always believe in and that have helped me." ""The voice of him that cryeth in the wilderness..."" ""prepare ye the way of the lord," ""make straight in the desert a highway for our god." ""Behold, i will do a new thing," ""shall ye not know it." ""I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert..."" ""and a highway shall be there" ""and a way..." ""and wayfaring men, though fools, shall not go astray therein."" "Rangers... form ranks." "Form ranks!" "Rangers, attention!" "I remember when that gun used to be spotless." "You're getting careless, aren't you?" "You know that's against regulations." "Keep that under your shirt." "Shoulders back, shoulders back." "Eyes, front." "Your daughter ought to be quite a lady by now." "How many children have you?" "Five, sir." "Be glad to get home, won't you?" "How's the arm?" "Better, sir." "Shoulders back, eyes front." "Shoulders back." "Get that gun up." "Shoulders back, eyes front." "Eyes front." "Marriner, you look better than when you left." "Steady, men." "Steady, men." "Back in the ranks." "Eyes front." "Batallion, halt!" "Steady." "Sir, i have the honor to report the abanochis are destroyed." "Rangers, present... gentlemen, may i have the honor?" "Detachment, present arms." "Hip, hip, hooray!" "Company... halt!" "Left... face!" "Company... halt!" "Left face!" "Present your firelocks." "Shoulder your firelocks." "Here are your warrants and orders, major." "I suggest you read them yourself to your rangers." "Rangers... at ease." "Pay attention to orders." ""Know all men by these presents" ""that i, george ii, by grace of god," ""king of great britain and ireland, do hereby authorize and entrust..."" ""my devoted liege..." ""major robert rogers, whose stout arm and brave heart..."" ""Whose stout arm and brave..." ""heart, by his unswerving devotion to duty and..."" "i'll tell you where we're going in plain language so you'll know where we are when we get there." "You think you're going on a duck hunt like that st." "Francis expedition?" "Oh, no." "It's all signed, sealed, and delivered." "We're taking a walk first for our appetites, about 1,000 miles to a little fort called detroit, but that's just the jumping-off place." "Why, you rangers haven't seen any indians yet." "You're going to see the plains indians." "You're going to see the red men of the shining mountains and those men along the mighty river oregon... red men white men have never seen before." "Because we're going to end up by the great western ocean itself." "You're going to find a way across this continent, a northwest passage." "You'll see hardwood groves like cathedrals, corn stalks as tall as elms, rivers packed with salmon trout, and grass so high the cows stand knee-deep in it and give nothing but cream." "Just think of all the lands and the peoples you're going to see, and all at the king's expense." "Just think of it." "A trip any man would give his soul to make, and you're going to get it all free." "Oh, i forgot to tell you, you won't have any boats to row." "All you have to do is just walk along through ottawas, chipewyans, wyandots, miamis, sauks, shawnees, sioux." "Well, i'll sort them all out to you when we get to them." "Rangers, attention!" "Left step, march." "Forward, march." "Ain't you going?" "I've been." "All your life, langdon, are you going to be sorry you didn't go?" "No." "I've made my choice, but before i'm done, his face will look down from the art galleries of the world on the history he's made... the history he's going to make." "Eyes left!" "Too bad your sweetheart won't let you out of her sight." "She's not holding me back." "Yes, she is." "She wants you to stay at home." "Isn't that right?" "No." "I don't want him to stay at home." "We're going to london." "London?" "Yes." "I want him to be a great painter." "There you are." "I told you she was ambitious." "You'll never end up an amateur mapmaker who gets himself shot every time he looks at an indian." "This passage you hope to find, major." "Is there such a thing?" "There's bound to be." "Before i'm done, i'll load a canoe with the goods of japan and end by coming down the hudson river to new york." "I'll see you at sundown, harvard." "Is there, langdon?" "Is there a northwest passage?" "Who knows?" "It's every man's dream to find a short route to his heart's desire." "If the major dreams long enough, he'll find it." "Will we hear from him?" "Hear from him?" "Every time we look across a river, we'll hear his voice, calling us through the wind." "But he'll be within us, elizabeth, no matter where we are or he may be... for that man will never die."