Page:Tomlinson--The rider of the black horse.djvu/13

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PREFACE

The incidents incorporated in this story are true. Some of them have been taken out of their exact setting; but as they serve to show forth the experiences of the people in the trying days of the Revolution, the writer has taken the liberty to make use of them in this tale.

The peril of the couriers as they rode between the armies, and the part they played in the struggle, has never been fully recognized; and the writer trusts that the adventures of Robert Dorlon may serve in a degree to interest his young leaders in some of the ignored or forgotten elements that aided in winning the independence of the United States.

"The Public Papers of George Clinton, First Governor of New York," has been of great service in the preparation of this book, and the various local and early histories of the counties and towns wherein the events