"'Well, captain! said Crosby, 'if I'm a scare-crow, I can frighten the enemy, if I cannot fight them—so I shall be of some service.'"
John. "Well, father, did they hang up Crosby for a scare-crow?"
Henry. "Why, you simpleton, John, don't you know better?"
Gen. P. "Crosby was quite ill, but his resolution made him forget how feeble he was. He was a scare-crow to the enemy in a different way from that which Capt. Benedict meant. A battle soon came on, and before night Enoch Crosby was marching into the enemy's fort to the tune of Yankee Doodle, to assist in taking care of the prisoners."
John. "But, I thought he was too ill to fight."
Gen. P. "A soldier, at such a time, and such a soldier as Crosby, would be likely to forget his weakness. He went bravely through the day; and from that time rapidly regained his health.
"Success now followed the American troops, and in November, Montreal was taken.
"The time, for which Crosby had enlisted, had now expired, and he concluded to return home. Accordingly, he embarked with several others, in a small schooner, for Crown Point, twelve miles north of Ticonderoga. Thence they came by land to this latter place; from which they proceeded home ward for some distance by water, and then by land. Their rout lay through a wilderness. It was now winter, and the cold was intense. Provisions were scarce. Comfortable lodgings were not to be found. Their prospects were often gloomy, and their distress indescribable.
"At length, however, they reached their respective homes. After a short stay with his friends, Crosby once more returned to Danbury, and again betook himself to the peaceful occupation of shoemaking."