always placed in
positions of danger, requiring brave, cool, determined men, and it
was then that Captain Martin Scott poured out his heart's blood in
defense of his country. Who has not heard of him and his indomitable
courage? Some of the most pleasant recollections of my childhood are
associated with that brave, true man, who was a member of our family
for many years, and was dearly beloved by us all. His eccentricities
were numerous, but did no one any harm, while his fondness for
hunting, his love for his dogs (of which I can clearly recall by name
eight or ten), his almost incredible skill as a marksman, and his
unvarying success as a hunter, made him the hero of our childish
admiration, and won for him the reputation of a veritable Nimrod. I
remember very clearly his habit of asking my mother what and how much
game she would like for the table, and invariably bringing her just
what she named. He was an admirable purveyor, and we lived on the fat
of the land, for there was no delicacy in the way of wild game which
he did not, in its proper season, bring from the forest and wild-wood
to make savory meat which, like old Isaac, we all loved. He had the
reputation at one time of being parsimonious, and some were inclined
to treat him coldly on that account; but in time it was found that out
of his small pay he maintained his widowed mother and a lame sister in
their New England home, and that while niggard in regard to his own
personal wants, the dear ones at the old home were generously provided
for. So, although at first the West Point graduates were disposed to
treat with contempt the Green Mountain boy who had entered the army as
a volunteer in the war of 1812, and had been retained in the service,
his sterling qualities and his dignified self-respect won for him
finally the regard of all who knew him. Indeed, it was found out very
soon that it would not do to slight or insult "Scott," and he gave
some practical lessons on that point that were never forgotten. He was
a thorough-going total abstinence man, a "rara avis" in those days. He
seldom drank even of "the cup that cheers and not inebriates," never
anything stronger; and my impression is that one great reason for his
extreme temperance was that his aim as a marksman might be perfect and
unerring. He did not marry till somewhat late in life, owing to his
inability to support a wife in addition to the care of his mother and
sister, although I have heard my fath