SINGULAR CHARACTER. 221 



teer as second in command — was captured by a 

 50 gun ship — and incarcerated in the prison-ship 

 in New-York, where he lingered out years of 

 squalid wretchedness. On the return of peace, he 

 resumed his profession ; but being thrown out of 

 business by the system of commercial restrictions, 

 be turned his eyes to the regions of the west, and 

 procuring a batteau, he embarked with his wife, 

 family, and furniture, from a small port in Con- 

 necticut. Like our first parents — 



" The world was all before them, where to choose 

 Their place of rest, and Providence their guide." 



He sailed up the Hudson river to Albany, and 

 after conveying his boat and accompaniments by 

 land to Schenectady, he navigated the Mohawk 

 to Rome. After many unsuccessful attempts to 

 select a residence, he finally fixed his habitation 

 near the Oneida Creek. On the day of his arri- 

 val, he erected a shed with a bark covering, open 

 at the sides. In the centre he kindled a fire, and 

 committing themselves to the guardian care of 

 Providence, the family, after a homely repast, 

 spread themselves for sleep on the ground, sere- 

 naded by the growling of bears, the howling of 

 wolves, and the barking of foxes. The next day, 

 the bark shed was converted into a building called 

 a chanty, and the dwelling has since become a 

 single story frame house of humble dimensions. 



h 



