Dyckman was not much above the middle size, but square built, and possessed of extraordinary muscular powers, with a large trunk, and shoulders of unusual breadth. Odell was about six feet in height and robust, and although long limbed and apparently heavy moulded was capable of great and rapid exertion. Oakley was thin, tall, straight and of uncommon activity. A similar difference extended to their characters. Dyck-man was of a frank and joyous temperament, and possessed

THE WESTCHESTER GUIDES 85 the generous deportment that makes quick and lasting friends. Feeling always assured of success, he embarked in the revo-lutionary contest with a sanguine enthusiasm that was con-stitutional, and during the whole struggle, it is said that he was never once dispirited and never doubted for a moment that the American arms would ultimately be triumphant, From the commencement of the war he continued steadily in the service of his country, always prepared to conduct a detachment, or to join or lead a scouting party, and always ready to encounter peril, often apparently for peril's sake. Danger seemed to be the element in which he delighted to move. This characteristic often led him to unnecessary per-sonal exposure, and sometimes subjected him to reproach by the officers under whom he acted, who more than once, were compelled to remonstrate, and put before him its liveliest form the fact, that his life belonged not to himself, but to his country, and that the safety of the detachment he was guid-ing, depended upon his well-being. In the last days of his life, after his wound had been pronounced mortal, he lamented that he could not live to witness the prosperity of his country under her new institutions, and a similar feeling of regret pre-vailed among his friends and acquaintances for many years afterward. Like the great leader and lawgiver of the Jews, he had a glimpse of the promised land, but was not allowed to tread upon its confines.