Between these two, or rather, because of their large number, surrounding
them, was the great neutral party, who were chiefly concerned to so trim
their sails that they should ship no water whichever way the wind blew.

Up to the time of the Declaration of Independence these peaceful people
had leaned rather toward the Whigs. But when General Washington evacuated
Long Island, and the Continental prospects seemed to dwindle, it was
wonderful to note how these same trimmers began again, first furtively,
then with less concealment, to drink the King's health.

Roughly speaking, the majority of the avowed Tories were in the lower
district of Tryon County, that called the Mohawk district, embracing all
east of Anthony's Nose, including Johnstown, Tribes Hill, and Caughnawaga.
They had, indeed, out-numbered the Whigs by five to one before the flights
to Canada began; and even now enough remained to give a strong British
color to the feeling of the district. In the western districts of the
county, where the population was more purely Dutch and Palatine, the Whig
sentiment was very much stronger. But here, too, there were Tories,
confessed and defiant; and everywhere, as time passed, the dry-rot of
doubt spread among those who were of neither party. It came at last that
nearly every week brought news of some young man's disappearance from
home--which meant another recruit for the hostile Canadian force; and
scarcely a day went by without the gloomy tidings that this man or the
other, heretofore lukewarm, now spoke in favor of submission to the King.

It was my function to watch this shifting public opinion, to sway it where
I could, but to watch it always. No more painful task could have been
conceived. I lived in an atmosphere of treachery and suspicion. Wherever I
turned I saw humanity at its worst. Men doubted their brothers, their
sons, even their wives. The very ground underneath us was honeycombed with