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History of Westchester County, New York — Passage 49 (part 2)

Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900) 237 words View original →

[Frederic Shonnard & W.W. Spooner (1900)] At eight o'clock in the evening they halted within a few miles of the village, " which had been carefully CAPTAIN JOHN UNDERBILL 101 arranged for winter quarters, lay snugly ensconced in a low moun-tain recess, completely sheltered from the bleak northerly winds, and consisted of a large number of huts disposed in three streets, each about eighty paces long." After allowing his men two hours of rest and strengthening them with abundant refreshments, Underbill gave the word to resume the march. The enterprise, attended by extreme hardships up to this time, was now, in its final stage, favored by peculiarly satisfactory conditions. It was near midnight, the snow completely deadened the footsteps of the avenging host, and a bril-liant full moon was shining — fc* a winter's day could not be brighter.'' O'Callaghan, in his " History of New Netherland," gives the follow-ing account of the resulting conflict: The Indians were as much on the alert as their enemy. They soon discovered the Dutch troops, who charged forthwith, surrounding the camp, sword in hand. The Indians evinced on this occasion considerahle holdness, and made a rash once or twice to hreak the Dutch lines and open some way for escape. But in this they failed, leaving one dead and twelve prisoners in the hands of the assailants, who now kept up such a hrisk fire that it was impos-sihle for any of the besieged to escape.