Page:Old ninety-nine's cave.djvu/278

 "He was born in the present town of Mamakating, was reared in the midst of stirring scenes of frontier life and border warfare in which he afterward took a conspicuous part and was at last laid to rest in an unassuming grave in the vicinity where occurred the events which have caused his name to be handed down with some luster in the local annals. He lived on the west side of the mountain, a locality greatly exposed to Indian outrage, and his whole life was spent in constant danger. His knowledge of the woods and his intimate acquaintance with the haunts and habits of his savage neighbors rendered his service during the French and Indian War of inestimable value. He possessed many sterling qualities, not the least among which was an abiding devotion to the cause of his country. No risk of life was too imminent, no sacrifice of his personal safety too great to deter him from the discharge of his duty.

"When the treacherous Indian neighbor planned a sudden descent on an unsuspecting settlement, Sam Consawley, as he was called,