Note 60 — A CATALOGUE of REVOLUTIONARY ARTICLES in THE POUGHKEEPSIE MUSEUM.

Footnote 60: The Indian who seized Putnam tied him to a tree, and for a time he was exposed to the cross-fire of the combatants. His garments were riddled by bullets, but, strange to say, not one touched his person. He was carried away in the retreat, his wrists tightly bound with cords. The Indians rejoiced over the capture of their great enemy, and he was doomed to the torture. In the deep forest he was stripped naked, bound to a sapling, wood was piled high around him, the death-songs of the savages were chanted, and the torch was applied. Just then a heavy shower of rain almost extinguished the flames. They were again bursting forth with fiercer intensity, when a French officer, informed of what was going on, darted through the crowd of yelling savages, and released the prisoner. He was delivered to Montcalm at Ticonderoga, then sent to Montreal, and, after being treated kindly, was exchanged for a prisoner taken by Colonel Bradstreet at Frontenac.(Back)