There had been much discussion of
the possible war between the British and the Yankees. The Mohawks
announced their intention to fight for the British, which was a
sufficient reason for Quonab as a Sinawa remaining with the
Americans; and when he left the St. Regis reserve the Indian was
without any desire to reenter it.
At Plattsburg Rolf and Quonab met with another Albany
acquaintance in General Wilkinson, and from him received
despatches which they brought back to Albany, having covered the
whole distance in eight days.
When 1812 was gone Rolf had done little but carry despatches up
and down Lake Champlain. Next season found the Americans still
under command of Generals Wilkinson and Hampton, whose utter
incompetence was becoming daily more evident.
The year 1813 saw Rolf, eighteen years old and six feet one in
his socks, a trained scout and despatch bearer.
By a flying trip on snowshoes in January he took letters, from
General Hampton at Ticonderoga to Sackett's Harbour and back in
eight days, nearly three hundred miles. It made him famous as a
runner, but the tidings that he brought were sad.
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