Still later he had been a harpooner in a whale boat, and in his young manhood, one of those who had escaped the infamous massacre at Fort William Henry when English forces, having been captured and disarmed, were turned loose and set upon by the savages.

He was a tall, brawny, broad-shouldered, homely-faced man of thirty-eight with a Roman nose and a prominent chin underscored by a short sandy throat beard.

Some of the adventures had put their mark upon his weathered face, shaven generally once a week above the chin.

The top of his left ear was missing.

There was a long scar upon his forehead.