A NOVEL BATTLE.
It was yet so dark in the forest that one must needs strain his eyes to
distinguish objects ten paces in advance, therefore it can be readily
understood how near to us were the howling wolves, when I say that they
set up a shout of mingled triumph and menace as we thus brought the race
to a close.
It was evident they believed we were now in their power, and indeed
there was much the same thought in my mind when I had aroused from the
stupor of exhaustion sufficiently to take note of our surroundings.
Simon Kenton had led us into the midst of a pile of fallen timber
overgrown with vines and young bushes, which covered a space of perhaps
an hundred square feet. It was a place of refuge which stood in a
partially cleared spot, and might readily be surrounded, while, to make
our way out, it would be necessary to offer one's body as a target to
whomsoever might be on watch.
In the gloom of the morning it had appeared to be a better place for
defense than really was the case, and I question if the scout would have
halted here had he understood what it really was.
While we remained in the very center of the mass we were screened from
view, and could see a goodly portion of all that might be going on
around us; but when that has been said all the advantages of the place
have been described.
In order to get out of it, once we were inside, it would be necessary,
as I have already said, to expose ourselves to the fire of the enemy,
and before many hours should elapse we would be forced to take to our
heels unless we were minded to die of hunger or thirst.
We no longer had any food with us, and there was not a drop of water
nearer than the river. Already it seemed as if my mouth was parched to
the point of swelling, and because it was beyond my reach, I longed most
intensely for something to quench thirst.
The knowledge of our situation, as I have set it down here, came upon me
immediately after I recovered slightly from the effects of the fatigue
caused by the swift race, and, looking into Simon Kenton's face, I knew
full well he had become aware of our disagreeable situation.
Little Paul Sampson, plucky lad that he had proven himself to be, was
the only one who appeared indifferent to the danger.
When it was possible for him to sit upright, for he had been more nearly
exhausted than I was, instead of trying to discover all the
disadvantages of the place, he began to do his share toward the defense
by crawling beneath the fallen timber until he could command a good view
of that portion of the forest from which we had come, and at the same
time screen his own body from those who were most likely searching with
their keen eyes for a living target.
I believe Simon Kenton read from my face the thoughts which were in my
mind, for he said slowly, as if weighing well each word:
"It must be a battle rather than simply a time of defense. We can hold
our position without any great sufferin' for four-an'-twenty hours; but
at the end of that time there's bound to be a change if we count on
seein' Corn Island again."
"How will you bring about a battle unless the savages are disposed to
give us the chance?" I asked petulantly. "They can remain under cover
any length of time, and yet keep us in view. It isn't a case of
starvation with them."
"A man is never beaten until he loses hope," the scout replied cheerily,
and the words were no more than spoken before Paul's rifle rang out
sharply.
"There's one the less!" the lad cried triumphantly. "They're creeping up
to get a shot at us, an' we've only to keep our eyes open in order to
lessen their number greatly 'twixt now and sunrise."
These brave words brought me out of my fit of despondency in a
twinkling, and with a sense of shame that this lad from the east should
show himself more of a man than myself, I crept down to the edge of our
barricade.
Now we three lay where could be had a view of all our surroundings, and
during the next hour, at the end of which time the sun was sending long
shafts of light through the openings in the forest, we succeeded in
sending five of the scoundrels to their happy hunting-grounds, or back
under cover disabled by serious wounds.
Such a beginning gave me great courage, until I came to realize that it
was not probable the reptiles would expose themselves so readily after
having received such a sharp lesson.
Simon Kenton had evidently made up his mind to some course of action
which promised success, for he said cheerily when it was certain the red
snakes had withdrawn to a safe distance:
"You two lads are to bottle up some sleep now, for unless I'm mistaken
we shall make a change of quarters by sunset."
"There's little hope they'll let us go out of here with our lives," I
replied despondently, and the scout added sharply:
"Thus far we have no reason to complain, an' we won't prove ourselves
fools by lookin' into the future for trouble. Get to sleep, lads, for at
noon I shall claim the same privilege."
Weary as we were, it was not a difficult task to close our eyes in
slumber, and within five minutes from the giving of the order we were
sleeping soundly, not to awaken until the sun was directly overhead,
when the scout shook us into wakefulness.
"You've had a good six hours of rest, an' I'm countin' on scoopin' in
only three. Keep a sharp watch till the afternoon is half spent, an'
then rouse me."
"Why should you not sleep as long as we have?" I asked as Paul crept
through the logs to where he could best have a view of our surroundings.
"Because then will have come the time when we must make ready for such a
battle as will satisfy yonder brutes that it is not safe to run down
three white men with the idea of cornerin' them in a forest like this."
Without explaining what he proposed to do, Simon Kenton betook himself
to his well-earned rest, and we lads stood guard to the best of our
ability.
Three hours passed in silence, and during that time we had not seen even
a tuft of feathers to betoken the whereabouts of an enemy.
By allowing my mind to dwell upon the disagreeable fact that we were
without food or water, I was suffering intensely from both hunger and
thirst, and because of thus yielding free rein to imagination, I was
dispirited and hopeless.
Paul took it upon himself to arouse the scout, and once Kenton's eyes
were open he set about bringing on the battle of which he had spoken.
A few moments' work with our knives sufficed to provide each of us with
a long pole, and then he explained his plan.
According to his orders, we were to lie on the ground with our rifles
ready for use, and with the poles make such a rustling of the foliage as
would cause the enemy to believe we were creeping out.
It would be but natural the savages should fire whenever they saw a
swaying of the bushes or branches; but, because of the length of the
poles, we would not be near enough to the point of disturbance to run
any great chance of being hit by the bullets.
[Illustration: From out of our barricade whistled three bullets,
and every one found its mark. Page 259. _On the Kentucky
Frontier._]
Kenton had given the name of "battle" to this maneuver of his; but it
was neither more nor less than a trick, and such an one as the
savages themselves most delighted in.
They had no good cause to be joyous over this one, however, for it
worked as Kenton had counted on, and before the painted wolves
understood the game, they had received a lesson such as I warrant they
never forgot.
When the three of us were in position Simon Kenton gave the signal, and
we prodded vigorously with the poles.
In a twinkling half a dozen rifles were discharged from different points
amid the foliage, thus showing that the enemy was keeping sharp watch,
and we each had a target.
From, out of our barricade whistled three bullets, and every one found
its mark!
It was only with difficulty that I repressed a cry of triumph, for now I
began to understand that we might soon clear a way for ourselves, unless
this band of reptiles had more real courage than their race usually
displayed when pitted against white men.
After an interval of five minutes or more we repeated the maneuver,
receiving a similar reply as before, and were able to deal death or
wounds to another trio.
"Six wiped out or disabled in as many minutes!" Simon Kenton said in a
low tone of triumph. "What do you think now of my battle, lads?"
"If they will fall into the trap twice more, we can count on having this
bank of the river to ourselves," I replied incautiously loud, and the
scout said warningly:
"Have a care, Louis, have a care. If they suspect what kind of a game we
are playin' there'll be little chance of their doin' as we wish."
Well, lest I draw this poor tale out to such length as to weary him who
may read, it is enough if I say that three times more did we succeed in
finding targets for our rifles by using the poles vigorously, and I was
certain that from the moment the scout was awakened until the savages
refused to come out at our bidding, we had sent bullets into no less
than thirteen of them.
Considering the fact that their number could not have exceeded forty,
judging from what we had seen and heard, this work of ours was well
calculated to discourage them.
They had poured into the pile of logs no less than an hundred bullets,
and yet we had not received a scratch!
I almost forgot that I was hungry or thirsty, for the fever of killing
was upon me, and my one hope was that we might draw them two or three
times more in order to give the villainous brutes such a lesson in
blood-letting as they had never learned before.
In this I was disappointed, however, for the snakes had either come to
understand our game, or were drawn off to nurse their wounds, and we saw
no more of them.
At nightfall we stole cautiously out from among the fallen timber, and
not a shot was sent after us.
A mile or more from the scene of our greatest triumph we made a halt
that we might quench our thirst from the river, and during the night our
march was less hurried than when we began the race.
We stopped for breakfast next morning, after shooting a turkey, and by
this time it was certain that the painted reptiles who had relied on
spilling our blood, no longer retained such desire at the price we set
upon it.
After this we pushed forward at a leisurely pace, and in comparative
security, until we arrived at Corn Island, where my mother greeted Paul
and me as if we were come from the dead.
What we did there, or what further adventures befell Simon Kenton before
he was able to revisit his home in Virginia, is not for me to set down
here, since it forms a tale by itself. Neither can I relate how I made a
home for my mother in that new settlement which came to be known by the
name of Louisville; but it seems necessary I should copy from what
another has written, the story of how Major Clarke succeeded in
wresting the valley of the Mississippi from the clutches of the British,
and with such account I bring this writing to an end, hoping others may
find as much pleasure in the reading as I have in the writing of it.
* * * * *
"On the twenty-ninth of January, 1779, intelligence was received that
Governor Hamilton had marched an expedition against Vincennes, from
Detroit, nearly a month previously, and that the town was again in
possession of the enemy. It was also said that another and more
formidable expedition was to be sent out in the spring to recapture
Kaskaskia, and to assail the various posts on the Kentucky frontier.
With his usual promptness and energy Colonel Clarke (the Virginia
legislature had recently promoted him) prepared to anticipate the enemy,
and strike the first blow.
"He planned an expedition against Vincennes, and on the seventh of
February commenced his march through the wilderness, with one hundred
and seventy-five men. He had previously despatched Captain Rogers and
forty men, two four-pounders, and a boat, with orders to force their way
up the Wabash to a point near the mouth of White River, and there wait
for further orders.
"For a whole week Colonel Clarke's party traversed the drowned lands of
Illinois, suffering every privation from wet, cold and hunger. When they
arrived at the Little Wabash, at a point where the forks of the stream
are three miles apart, they found the intervening space covered with
water to a depth of three feet. The points of dry land were five miles
apart, and all that distance those hardy soldiers waded the cold
snow-flood, sometimes armpit deep.
"On the evening of the eighteenth they halted a little distance from the
mouth of Embarrass Creek, and so near Vincennes that they could hear the
booming of the evening gun. Here they encamped for the night, and the
next morning at dawn, with their faces blackened with gunpowder to make
themselves appear hideous, they crossed the river in a boat they had
secured, and pushed on through the floods toward the town.
"Just as they reached dry land, in sight of Vincennes, they captured a
resident, and sent him into the town with a letter demanding the
immediate surrender of the place and fort. The people, taken by
surprise, were greatly alarmed, and believed the expedition to be from
Kentucky, composed of the fierce and strong of that advancing
commonwealth. Had armed men dropped in their midst from the clouds, they
could not have been more astonished, for it seemed impossible for this
little band to have traversed the deluged country. The people were
disposed to comply with the demand, but Governor Hamilton, who commanded
in person, would not allow it.
"A siege commenced, and for fourteen hours a furious conflict continued.
The next day the town and fort were surrendered, and the garrison were
made prisoners of war. The stars and stripes took the place of the red
cross of St. George; a round of thirteen guns proclaimed the victory,
and that night the exhausted troops of Colonel Clarke reposed in
comfort."
THE END
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Boys reading the history of the Punic Wars have seldom a keen
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In this story the author relates the stirring tale of the Scottish War
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