s of
the men, so as to be prepared for what they were about to do. The boat
lay motionless on the water. If I hesitated I was lost.

"Take to your oars and give way, or I will cut you to pieces, you
scoundrels!" I shouted, springing up and making a cut with my hanger at
the hands of one of the most mutinous. "If you won't use your bands,
I'll chop them off. Pull, I say!"

I should have been as good as my word had not the fellow taken to his
oar, while my blade struck the gunwale of the boat, by which the point
was broken. The mutineers now rose in a body and seemed about to make a
rush on me. On this, I began slashing away to keep them at bay, cutting
them over the hands and arms pretty severely.

The two men, one of whom pulled the stroke-oar and the one next him, now
sang out that they would obey my orders.

"Then we'll heave you all overboard together!" cried the most drunken of
the mutineers.

"Will you, my man?" I exclaimed, making a cut at him with my hanger.
"Then take that first!"

He stumbled and fell with his face aft, thereby saving his life, though
I again broke the blade of my hanger almost up to the hilt. The other
men, fancying he was killed, hung back, while I dragged his senseless
body into the stern-sheets and stowed him away, for he was stunned with
the effect of his fall and his drunkenness. The men forward sat sulkily
down, perhaps they would not have remained quiet had they known I had
broken my hanger. They refused however to pull, and one after the other
dropped off into a drunken sleep. The two more steady ones did their
best to pull on, and the tide fortunately favoured us, or I do not know
where we should have got to. I have seldom been placed in a much more
fearful position. Any moment the mutineers might wake up and,
remembering the consequences their conduct was sure to bring on them,
might again attempt to overpower me and carry off the boat to the enemy.
I was weary and hungry, and in the darkness of night all sorts of
dreadful thoughts occurred to me as I slowly floated over those perilous
waters. I felt a strong inclination at times to run into New York to
try and get aid; but I thought if I did the men would certainly escape
and hide themselves before I could find any of the military authorities
to afford me assistance. New York by this time was entirely in the
hands of the British. On the day we landed at Kip's Bay General Howe
pushed forward part of his troops