The first military report of Capt. Downing to the
President.

Madawaska, Nov. 15, 1831.
To his Excellency, Gineral Jackson, President of the
United States, &c.

My good old Sir.—The prisoners are out and no
blood spilt yet. I had prepared to give the British a
most terrible battle, if they had n't let' em out. I guess
I should made 'em think old Bonapart had got back
among 'em again, for a keener set o fellows than my

[figure description] Page 077.[end figure description]

company is made up of never shouldered a musket or
trod shoe-leather. I was pesky sorry they let'em out
quite as soon, for I really longed to have a brush with
'em; and how they come to let 'em go I dont know,
unless it was because they heard I was coming. And I
expect that was the case, for the prisoners told me the
British Misnister at Washington, sent on some kind of
word to Governor Campbell, and I suppose he told him
how I had got a commission, and was coming down
upon New Brunswick like a hurrycane.

If I could only got down there a little sooner and fite
sich a great battle as you did at New Orleans, my fortune
would have been made for this world. I should
have stood a good chance then to be President of the
United States, one of these days. And that's as high
as ever I should want to get. I got home to Downingville
in little more than a week after I left you at Washington,
for having a pretty good pocket full of money,
and knowing that my business was very important, I
rid in the stage most all the way. I spose I need n't
stop to tell you how tickled all my folks were to see me.
I did n't know for awhile but they'd eat me up. But I
spose that's neither here nor there in making military
reports, so I'll go on. I found no difficulty in getting
volunteers. I believe I could have got nearly half the
State of Maine to march if I had wanted 'em. But as
I only had orders to list one good stout company, I took
'em all in Downingville, for I rather trust myself with
one hundred ginuin Downingville boys, than five hundred
of your common run. I took the supernumerary
however, when I got to Bangor. The editor of the
Bangor Republican was so zealous to go, and said he'd
fight so to the last drop of his blood, that I could n't
help taking him, so I appointed him supernumerary
corporal. Poor fellow, he was so disappointed when he
found the prisoners were out that he fairly cried for
vexation. He's for having me go right on now and give
all New Bruaswick a real thrashing.

But I know what belongs to gineralship better than

[figure description] Page 078.[end figure description]

that; I have n't had my orders yet. Well, after we
left Bangor we had a dreadful rough and tumble sort of
a journey, over rocks and mountains and rivers and
swamps and bogs and meadows, and through long pieces
of woods that I didn't know as we should find the way
out. But we got through at last, and arrived here at
Madawaska day before yesterday. I thought I better
come this way and make a little stop at Madawaska to
see if the prisoners' wives and little ones were in want
of any thing and then go down to Fredericton and blow
the British ski high.

When our company first came out in sight in Madawaska,
they thought it was the British coming to catch
some more of 'em; and such a scattering and scampering
I guess you never see. The men flew into the
woods like a flock of sheep with forty dogs after 'em,
and the women catched their babies up in their arms
and run from one house to another screeching and
screaming enough to make the woods ring again. But
when they found out we were United States troops
come to help 'em, you never see any body so glad.—
They all cried for joy then. The women run into the
woods and called to their husbands to come back again,
for there was nobody there that would hurt them, and
back they came and treated us with the best they had in
their houses. And while we sot chatting, before the
women hardly got their tears wiped up, one of 'em
looked up towards the woods and screamed out there
comes the prisoners. Some turned pale a little, thinking
it might be their ghost, but in a minute in they come,
as good flesh and blood as any of us, and then the women
had another good crying spell.

I asked one of the prisoners how they got away, for
I thought you would want to know all about it; and says
he we come away on our legs. Did you break out of
jail, said I? I guess there was no need of that, said he,
for we want locked in half the time. Did you knock
down the guard, said I, and fight your way out?—
Humph! said he, I guess we might have hunted one

p378-094 [figure description] Page 079.[end figure description]

while before we could find a guard to knock down.
Nobody seemed to take any care of us, if we wanted a
drop of grog we had to go out and buy it ourselves.—
Well but, said I, it you were left in such a loose state
as that, why did you not run away before? Tut, said
he, shrugging up his shoulders, I guess we knew what
we were about; the longer we staid there the more land
the state of Maine would give us to pay us for being
put in jail, but when they turned us out of jail, and
would n't keep us any longer, we thought we might as
well come home.

And now, my good old sir, since matters are as they
are, I shall take up my head quarters here at Madawaska
for the present, and wait for further orders. I shall
take good care of the people here, and keep every thing
in good order, and not allow a single New Brunswicker
to come any where within gun-shot. As for that Leftenant
Governor, Mr. Archibald Campbell, he better
keep himself scarce; if he shows his head here again,
I shall jest put him into a meal bag and send him to
Washington. I shall expect to hear from you soon, and
as I shall have to be here sometime, I dont know but you
had better send me on a little more money. My uniform
got rather shattered coming through the woods,
and it will cost me something to get it fixt up again.