thing. She then took her children and went to the Mohawk
river, where they planted corn and potatoes; and in the fall the
commander of the British forces at Niagara, hearing of their destitute
situation, sent a party with some Indians to bring them in. They brought
in five families: the Nellises, Secords, Youngs, Bucks, and our own
family (Bowman), five women and thirty-one children, and only one pair
of shoes among them all. They arrived at Fort George on the 3rd of
November, 1776; from there they were sent first to Montreal, and then to
Quebec, where the Government took care of them--that is, gave them
_something to eat_ and barracks to sleep in. My grandmother was exposed
to cold and damp so much that she took the rheumatism, and never
recovered.

"In the spring of 1777 my father joined Butler's Rangers, and was with
Colonel Butler in all his campaigns. His brother, only nine years old,
went as a fifer.

"But to return to my grandfather, Jacob Bowman: his captors took him and
his son to Philadelphia, where he was confined in jail eighteen months.
An exchange of prisoners then took place, and they were sent to New
York; from there he, with his son and Philip Buck, started for their
homes, not knowing that these homes they never would see again, and that
their families were far away in the wilds of Canada. The third evening
after they started for their homes, they came to a pond, and shot some
ducks for their supper. The report of their guns was heard by some
American scouts, who concealed themselves until our poor fellows were
asleep, when they came stealthily up and fired. Six shots took effect on
my uncle, as he lay with his hat over his ear. Five balls went through
it, and one through his thigh. My grandfather and Buck lay on the
opposite side of the fire. They sprang into the bushes, but when they
heard the groans of my uncle, grandfather returned and gave himself up.
Buck made his escape. They then marched off, carrying the wounded boy
with them.

"They were taken to the nearest American station, where grandfather was
allowed the privilege of taking care of his wounded son. As he began to
recover, grandfather was again ordered to abjure the British Government,
which he steadfastly refused to do. He was then taken to Lancaster jail,
with Mr. Hoover. They were there fastened together by a band of iron
around their arms, and a chain with three links around their ankles, the
weight of which was ninety-six pounds;