cupied by Drummers and Fifers, and the other two were used as guard-houses. At the distance of about a half a mile stood the barracs in which the American soldiers were stationed.

The British officers (many in number) who were prisoners of war at Lancaster, were permitted to wear their swords. These officers were full of cash, and frolicked and gamed much. One amusement in which they indulged much, was playing at ball. A Ball-Alley was fitted up at the Court House, where some of them were to be seen at almost all hours of the day. When I could beg or buy a couple of old stockings, or two or three old stocking-feet, I would set to work and make a ball. After winding the yarn into a ball, I went to a skin-dressers and got a piece of white leather, with which I covered it. When finished, I carried it to the British officers, who would "jump at it" at a quarter of a dollar, Whilst they remained at Lancaster, I made many balls in this way, and sold them to the British officers, and always received a quarter a-piece.

Some of these officers (the British field-officers) had several very fine English horses, and that were good runners too. Our officers used to run American horses against theirs upon small bets, and would so manage it as that the English horses won the stakes. The American officers by a little management in this way, soon found out the bottom of their own horses, as well as that of the English ones. The American officers would get the English officers to run their horses against time on small bets, and when they found out the greatest speed of the English horses, they then went off some little distance where they would be out of the view of the English officers, and ran their (American) horses a like distance, and against the same time. After they had done this, they would know what the English horses could do, and what their own could do also. The American officers would then take on heavy bets and win them. At last they made up large purses to be run for. The British officers depending upon the bottom of their horses, which they

still thought could not be beaten, "forked over" their yellow-boys (gold) largely into the purses. I recollect that our officers, by their Yankee Jonathan management, were always able to beat John Bull with their American chargers. Major Varnum's (American) horse came out first, and won the first purse, and Major Greer's (American) horse came out second and won the second purse, whilst John Bull came out last and among the missing, or at least his shiners (guineas) were missed, and a good many of them too, they having absquatulated, and sought refuge in the pockets of the American officers (as the transferred captives of the captured,) to whom they were of signal service. This was fine fun for the American soldiers and the citizens of Lancaster, for they (the soldiers) laid claim to the merit of their horses in mettle and speed, as they were able to do to the merit of their own bravery upon the battle-fields of their country. If the American soldiers were proud of this, and exulted therein, it was a source of great humiliation to the British officers and soldiers that were possessed of a too boastful a nature at best. The British officers having been permitted to wear their swords, and to associate with the American officers, caused them to become haughty and turbulent. This very honorable indulgence extended to them upon the part of the American officers, they could not stand, they therefore became saucy, and this led to an end of such privileges. Whilst the game of ball was coming off one day at the Court House, an American officer and a British officer, who were among the spectators, became embroiled in a dispute. The British officer priding himself (and putting himself) upon the use of the sword, appealed to it, and instantly drew it. The American officer upon seeing this, instantly thrust his hand into his pocket, in order to draw out a pistol. The moment the British officer perceived this, he took to his heels, and ran. When the American officer was taking the pistol from his pocket, it caught in some way in the lining, and before he succeeded in getting it out, the British officer had gained the door of the public house in which

he boarded. Just at the instant he was entering the door, our officer drew upon him, and the ball struck the cheek of the door near to his head. An inch or two lower down and further towards the centre of the passage, would have laid him sprawling over his boasted

weapon.

This caused a mighty uproar in the town, and this British officer, with several other British officers that backed him as their modern Don Quixote, (that found that he was not engaging a Wind-Mill,) were immediately arrested, disarmed and imprisoned in Lancaster jail. They were released, however, from confinement in the course of two or three days, and their liberties restored to them again, but with this exception, that they were not allowed to wear their swords. This, none other of the British officers was permitted to do again, whilst they remained at Lancaster.

There was a young Indian of the tribe of friendly Indians, who had a kind of straggling quarters amongst us; he was passionately fond of music, but good for nothing but to steal, lie and to do mischief of all kinds.He came very near being the instrument to deprive me of my right arm all my life, if not of my life itself. I and another Fifer had gone into Lancaster one night and did not return until a late hour. As we were returning to our quarters, this Indian came running after us, and had a box of case-knives and forks, which he had stolen out of a gentleman's house in Lancaster. We knew they were stolen, and we began to scold him, order to make him carry them back again. He went off from us, and we thought he had gone to do as we had bid him; but, it appeared, he carried them into the barracs and hid them under the floor. On the next morning a complaint was made, and at roll call a search was instituted. In making the search, the box was found hidden under the floor. This Indian was immediately arrested and put into the guard-house. We having had to pass the sentinel late the night before, were of course known by him, and he had named us as having come in

in

at a late hour the night previous, and about the same time that the Indian had returned. We were consequently arrested and placed in the guard-house also. We being put into the same guard room with the Indian, I began to curse him, and perhaps struck him or struck at him, for bringing us into the difficulty and for causing us to be thus unjustly dealt with, and unhappily situated. He snatched up his tomahawk and "let slip" at me, and sunk it into my right arm at the elbow-joint. Some of the prisoners caught hold of his tomahawk and wrested it out of his hand, or likely he would have repeated the blow. The prisoners pulled off my coat quickly, and when they stripped up my shirt sleeve in order to look at the gash, they found that he had sunk the tomahawk into the joint and severed it, and discovered also that the joint water was running out of the wound. A chain and a fifty-six was immediately fastened to one of his legs, and this he had to carry about with him wherever he moved to, within the room or out of it.

In the course of a few days we had our trial, and as nothing could be proved against us, and in consequence of his having confessed that he had stolen them himself, and said we had not been with him, we were both acquitted and discharged immediately. This Indian thief was then tried and sentenced to receive fifty lashes on his bared back and to be drummed out and away from the barracs. The first part of his sentence was execu ted, and then the guard, with Fifers and Drummers led by a Corporal, escorted him out and off some distance, playing and beating the Rogue's March after him.

I recollect that sometime previous to his having stolen the box of knives and forks, he had been caught stealing chickens from a man that lived in Lancaster. This man missed chickens often, and in order to detect and secure the thief, he had conceived the idea of doing so by the use of the following means:

He fastened the one end of a cord to the legs of one of the fowls in the hen-roost and passed the cord into his bed-room, and attached a bell to that end at the

head of his bed. Hearing the bell jingle very loud one night, he jumped out of his bed and ran to his hen-roost and captured our Indian, who turned out to be the thief that had so often borne away his chickens. As soon as he caught him, he commenced giving him a most unmerciful flogging, which he had to stand and take, after which he drove him off. In a few days after, the officers heard of it, and would have flogged him for stealing, but considering that the owner had constituted the whole court witness, judge, jury and executioner, and had let him off and had not come to the barracks to complain against him they let him slip at that time. I saw this Indian after the revolutionary war was ended, in Philadelphia, where he was acting in the capacity of a boss or journeyman chimney sweep.

Having caught cold in my arm it swelled to an enormous size, and until it caused the right breast to be very much swollen also; the doctors ordered it to be poulticed often. They would come and look at it, but they did nothing for me. It became worse instead of better. They came one evening and consulted with one another, and the result of their conference was, that my arm must come off. They agreed to meet next morning for the purpose of cutting it off.

An elderly lady who was present, and who lived not far off, expressed her regret that a hearty young lad such as I was, should lose my arm, pursuaded me to go home with her, promising me at the same time, that she would take care of me and do all that she could for me, stating also, that she knew she could cure it.

I went home with her that evening, which, had I not done, would have undoubtly subjected me to the loss of an arm, on the next morning. The first thing she did was to get water, and filled a large kettle and brought it to a boiling heat with which she filled a large tub, and steeped a parcel of herbs in it and then placed me in a sitting posture over the tub, covering me well with blankets. After steaming and sweating me in this way for a long time, she then put me to bed.