capacities of spies, and who have been immortalized in the character of Harvey Birch.* This class of men in doing signal service to their country, were placed in situations most trying to their patriotism. They were usually suspected to be refugees, and as such were frequently exposed to the honest indignation of their whig neighbors, and indignities thus heaped upon them by those whom they served, could only have been allayed by the consciousness of the great benefits their services were conferring upon the patriotic cause. They usually went about as pedlars, and would pass through the enemy's lines, and even penetrate into the very presence of the British leaders, by means of their pursuit, with unsuspected impunity. This Kennicut was one of the most active men thus employed. Whenever any movement was in contemplation by the British army, he would adroitly manage to become possessed of all the particulars, and then pass through the line under the pretence of selling his articles, and meeting his accomplices in secret places, at night, in the depths of the wood, convey his intelligence to the American officers. Young Ferris was of those employed in receiving the intelligence thus gained by Kennicut; and he declared after the war that many serious consequences were averted from the American army, by means of the faithful services of the despised, but patriotic pedlar.

In one of the many interviews between Ferris and Kennicut, a bold plan was conceived by them for the surprise and capture of one of the principal British officers while in his own camp. The British army were encamped on Throg's Neck, and the quarters of the officer, whom they designed to capture, were in the house of Mr. Ferris. Two other enterprising patriots were engaged in

* Kennicut was the original of this celebrated character of Cooper's.

the attempt. On the evening fixed upon, Ferris and his two companions, Kennicut appointing to meet them on the Neck, cautiously approached the sentinels. Their manner of passing the guard, was ingenious and bold. It was done by crawling along the shore through the sedge, cautiously advancing as the sentinel's back was turned toward them, and when he advanced, they would lie close and still in the sedge. By this slow and critical means, they at last passed the sentinel, and got on to the Neck, and soon joined Kennicut at the place of meeting. A place of concealment was now found for them, and the plan for the capture arranged, which was to take place at midnight of the next evening. Young Ferris who was acquainted with the house, was to conduct the party to the apartment of the officer, whom they were to seize, gag, and muffle, and escape with him from the Neck as expeditiously and silently as possible. It was a daring plan, but its success would crown them with lasting honor. After the completion of all the arrangements, Kennicut left them. Some little time after his departure, Ferris becoming very thirsty, incautiously ventured to the well, near to the house, for the purpose of procuring water, when he was observed and recognized by one of the negro slaves belonging to the house. In a few minutes after this incident, Kennicut came to them hurriedly, and informed them that their presence on the Neck was known, that the guard was doubled all round the Neck, and that a thorough search was ordered to be made for them, at the first approach of daylight. They were now in a critical situation. To escape from the Neck in the same manner they reached it, was impossible, as at this point a vigilant watch would doubtless be stationed. Ferris proposed to escape by swimming, but his two companions could not swim, and they begged most earnestly not to be abandoned.

But the resources of men inured to danger, and familiar with stratagem, were not exhausted. Towards the lower end of the Neck there was an old stone wall, which had been built double, and which was surrounded by a thick and tangled mass of plumb bushes. The plan was to remove one side of the wall, and rebuild it in such a manner so as to afford hollow places for their concealment. Ferris and Kennicut first built in their two companions, and lastly, Ferris took his place, and Kennicut alone completed the entombment. These singular and ingenious cages having been finished, Kennicut surveyed them closely, and with scrutiny on all sides. The form of the wall was but little altered from its original shape, while the screen work of bushes effectually curtained it from observation. Assured of the completeness of the concealment, Kennicut, with a few words of caution, left Ferris and his companions in their voluntary imprisonment, with a promise to return to them whenever he might do so with prudence.

The situation of our heroes, must indeed have been trying. It was not long before daylight appeared, and then they could hear the search that was going on all around them. Presently the tramp of soldiers was heard, which grew nearer and nearer, and their hearts sank desparingly within them, as they could detect their approach directly to the spot where they were concealed. Two files of soldiers, one on each side of the wall, came along close by the side of the wall, and so near to them, that with a switch two feet long, the prisoners could have touched them. Suddenly, and to the great terror of the adventurers, the word of halt was given, and our heroes believed their discovery certain. The grass which had been trampled down by them in the process of erecting their prisons, arrested the attention of the soldiers, and a brief conference as to its cause, was held within hearing of the

captives. One remarked, that "there the dd rebels must have lain last night,”—but another was of opinion, that it was where the deserters, who had escaped the day previous, had lain during the night. Satisfied with this solution of the cause, the party resumed their march, much to the relief and delight of our incarcerated friends. They remained in their concealment the entire day, and much of the ensuing night, without food, and in a state of unceasing anxiety. Towards morning, Kennicut came and released them. They now abandoned their intention of securing the officer, and set about escaping from the Neck in the same manner they had come upon it.

Mr. Ferris was frequently engaged in enterprizes of a similar nature to this, during the period of the war. On one occasion, he accompanied an expedition in two whale boats, eastward, and approaching Stonington they resolved to cut out two vessels, a sloop and a schooner belonging to the British, which were lying at anchor in the harbor. At the hour of midnight, when all was hushed and still, they cautiously rowed towards the vessels, the one to which Mr. Ferris belonged approaching the schooner. But one man walked its deck, the others being asleep below, and he seemed to be unconscious of the danger which threatened the vessel. Not a sound denoted their approach, and the boat was by the vessel's side, and the assailants already pouring upon the deck, ere the sentinel was aware of the attack. A pistol at his head commanded immediate silence, or death the penalty, and in a moment the hatches and companion-way were secured, the cables cut, the sails hoisted, and they slowly moved from the shore. But at this juncture they were saluted by cannon from the battery on shore, the alarm having been given by the hoisting of the sails, and with balls ploughing the sea about them and occasionally

whistling through the rigging, they stood out to sea, but were soon out of sight and beyond the reach of the enemy.

Numerous adventures and "hair-breadth 'scapes" occurred to Mr. Ferris during the eventful period of the war, but the foregoing, from their daring and ingenuity particularly commend themselves to the admiration of the reader. The author is indebted to a son of Mr. Ferris, now residing in Westchester County, in this State, for the particulars of the above sketch.

EXPLOITS OF SERGEANT JASPER.

EVERY reader of American history is acquainted with the name of Sergeant Jasper. He served in "Marion's Brigade," and by his heroism and talents he won a reputation rarely acquired by one in so obscure a position. At the celebrated battle of Fort Moultrie, in the hottest fire of the battle, the flag of the fort was shot away, and fell without the fort. Jasper instantly leapt over the ramparts on to the beach, where he was fully exposed to a most terrific fire, and seizing the flag, bound it to a sponge staff, and stuck it on the rampart in the sand. This act was performed with the most undisturbed coolness, and received the acclamations of the soldiers. After the battle, Gen. Rutledge presented him with a sword as a token of esteem for his chivalrous bravery.

"Jasper possessed remarkable talents for a scout. He could wear all diguises with admirable ease and dexterity. He was a perfect Proteus, in ability to alter his appearance; perpetually entering the camp of the enemy, without detection, and invariably returning to his own with soldiers he had seduced, or prisoners he