THE LAST STAND
Every one of the five felt an immense exhilaration as they drove the
Indians back into the town. They were not cruel. They did not wish to
exult over a defeated enemy, but they had witnessed the terrible
suffering of the border, and they knew from the testimony of their own
eyes what awful cruelties a savage enemy in triumph could inflict. Now
Clark and the Kentuckians had struck directly at the heart of the Indian
power in the West. Chillicothe was destroyed and Piqua was taken. The
arms and ammunition sent to them by the power, seated in Canada, had not
availed them.
Henry did not know until much later that it was the cunning and crafty
Girty who had given up first. He had suddenly announced to those near
him that Piqua could not be defended against the American army. Then he
had precipitately retreated to the other side of the town followed by
Braxton Wyatt, Blackstaffe and all the renegades. The Indians were
shaken by this retreat because they had great confidence in Girty. The
Delawares gave up, then the Ottawas and Illinois, the Wyandots,
Shawnees, Miamis and the little detachment of Mohawks, as usual, stood
to the bitter last. At the very edge of the village the great war
chiefs, Yellow Panther, the Miami, and Red Eagle, the Shawnee, fell
almost side by side, and went to the happy hunting grounds together.
Moluntha, the other famous Shawnee chief, received two wounds, but lived
to secure a momentary revenge at the great Indian victory of the Blue
Licks, two years later. Timmendiquas would have died in the defense, but
a half dozen of his faithful warriors fairly dragged him beyond the
range of the Kentucky rifles.
Yet Timmendiquas, although the Kentuckians were in the town, did not
cease to fight. He and a hundred of the warriors threw themselves into
the strongest of the houses, those built of timber, and opened a
dangerous fire from doors and windows. The woodsmen were ordered to
charge and to take every house by assault, no matter what the loss, but
Clark, always resourceful, sternly ordered a halt.
"You forget our cannon," he said. "Logan, do you, Floyd and Harrod keep
the riflemen back, and we'll drive the enemy out of these houses without
losing a single man on our side."
"Thar speaks wisdom," said Shif'less Sol to the other. "Now in all the
excitement I had clean forgot that we could blow them houses to pieces,
but the Colonel didn't forget it."
"No, he didn't," replied Henry. "Stand back and we'll see the fun. A lot
of destruction will be done soon."
The twilight had not yet come, although the sun was slowly dimming in
the East. A great cloud of smoke from the firing hung over Piqua and the
bordering fields that had witnessed so fierce a combat. The smoke and
the burned gunpowder made a bitter odor. Flashes of firing from the
strong houses, and from ambushed Indians here and there pierced the
smoke. Then came a tremendous report and a twelve-pound cannon ball
smashed through a wooden house. Another and another and it was
demolished. The defenders fled for their lives. Every other house that
could be used for shelter was served in the same way. The last ambushed
foe was swept from his covert, and when the twilight fell Piqua,
throughout its whole length of three miles along Mad River, was held by
the Kentuckians.
The Indian women and children had fled already to the forest, and there
they were slowly followed by the warriors, their hearts filled with rage
and despair. Beaten on ground of their own choosing, and not even able
to bring away their dead, they saw their power crumbling. Fierce words
passed between Timmendiquas and Simon Girty. The Wyandot chieftain
upbraided the renegade. He charged him with giving up too soon, but
Girty, suave and diplomatic, said, after his first wrath was over, that
he had not yielded until it was obvious that they were beaten. Instead
of a fruitless defense it was better to save their warriors for another
campaign. They could yet regain all that they had lost. There was some
truth in Girty's words. Blue Lick and St. Clair's terrible defeat were
yet to come, but Clark's blow had destroyed the very nerve-center of the
Indian confederacy. The Kentuckians had shown that not only could they
fight successfully on the defensive, but they could also cross the Ohio
and shatter the Indian power on its own chosen ground. Neither the valor
of the warriors, nor the great aid that they received from their white
allies could save them from ultimate defeat.
Henry, Paul, the officers, and many others felt these things as the
night came down, and as they roamed through Piqua, now deserted by the
enemy. Paul and Jim Hart went in one direction to look at the big
Council House, but Henry, the shiftless one, and Tom Ross remained with
Colonel Clark.
"We've won a great victory, though we've lost many good men," said the
Colonel, "and now we must consign Piqua to the fate that Chillicothe has
just suffered. It's a pity, but if we leave this nest, the hornets will
be back in it as soon as we leave it, snug and warm, and with a
convenient base for raiding across the Ohio."
"We'll have to give it to the flames," said Colonel Logan.
The other Colonels nodded. First they gathered up all the dead, whether
red or white and buried them. At Henry's instance the two old chiefs,
Yellow Panther, the Miami, and Red Eagle, the Shawnee, were laid side by
side in the same grave. Then he fixed a board at their head upon which
he cut this inscription:
In this grave Lie
Yellow Panther, the Miami,
And Red Eagle, the Shawnee;
They were great Chiefs,
And died fighting
For Their People.
Not a white man disturbed the epitaph. But as soon as the last of the
fallen were buried, and the soldiers had eaten and refreshed themselves,
the torch was set to Piqua, even as it had been set to Chillicothe. In
an hour the town was a huge mass of flames, three miles long, and
lighting up the neighboring forest for many miles. The Indian refugees,
thousands of them, from both towns saw it, and they knew to the full how
terrible was the blow that had been inflicted upon them. Timmendiquas
sought to rally the warriors for a daring attack upon an enemy who,
flushed with victory, might not be very cautious, but they would not
make the attempt. Timmendiquas then saw that it would take time to
restore their shaken courage and he desisted.
Henry, Shif'less Sol and Tom Ross watched the fire for a long time,
while the soldiers destroyed all the orchards, gardens and crops. They
saw the flames reach their highest until the country around them was as
bright as day, and then they saw them sink until nothing was left but
darkness made luminous by the coals. The great village was gone.
"I think we'd better get Paul and Jim and go to sleep," said Henry.
"So do I," said Shif'less Sol, and they looked around for the two. But
they were not found easily.
"Ought to have stayed with us," said Tom Ross.
"An' they'd have saved a lazy man a lot of trouble, lookin' through this
big place fur 'em," said Shif'less Sol.
Tom and Jim became still harder to find. The three hunted everywhere.
They hunted an hour. They hunted two hours, and there was not a sign of
their two comrades. They asked many about them and nobody could tell a
word. It was nearly midnight when they stopped and looked at one another
in dismay.
"They are not in the camp--that is sure," said Henry.
"And they've got too much sense to go out in the woods," said Sol.
"Which means that they've been took," said Tom Ross.
Tom's words carried conviction, sudden and appalling, to all three. Paul
and Jim Hart, going about the burning town, had been seized by some
lurking party and carried off, or--they would not admit to themselves
the dreadful alternative--but they hoped they had been merely taken
away, which they deemed likely, as hostages would be of great value to
the Indians now. The three sat down on a log at the northern edge of the
town. They saw little now but the river, and the clouds of smoke rising
from it.
"We'll never desert Paul and Jim," said Shif'less Sol. "Now what is the
fust thing fur us to do?"
"We've got to find this trail, and the trail of those who took them,"
replied Henry. "The army, of course, cannot follow all through the
northern woods in order to rescue two persons, and it's not fitted for
such a task anyhow. We three will do it, won't we?"
"Ez shore ez the sun rises an' sets," said Shif'less Sol.
"I reckon we will," said Tom Ross.
"And we must start upon the road this minute," said Henry. "Come, we'll
see Colonel Clark and tell him that we have to go."
They found the commander about a mile away, encamped as near the burned
town as the heat would allow. Logan, Floyd, Harrod, Boone, Thomas, and
others were with him. They were talking together earnestly, but when
Henry approached and saluted, Colonel Clark greeted him pleasantly.
"Why, it's young Mr. Ware!" he exclaimed, "the lad to whom we owe so
much. And I see two of your comrades with you. Where are the other two?"
"That is why we have come, Colonel Clark," Henry replied. "We do not
know where the other two are, but we fear that they have been taken by
the retreating Indians. The campaign, I suppose, is over. We wish
therefore to resign from the army, follow and rescue our comrades if we
can."
Colonel Clark sprang to his feet.
"Two of your friends taken, and we to desert you after what you have
done for us!" he exclaimed. "That cannot be. The army must march to
their rescue!"
The other officers raised their voices in affirmation. Henry and his
friends bowed. All three were affected deeply. But Henry said:
"Colonel Clark, you can't know how much we thank you for such an offer,
but we three must go alone. If the army followed into the woods, and
pressed the Indians closely, they would put their prisoners to death the
very first thing. They always do it. In a case like this, only silence
and speed can succeed. We must follow alone."
Daniel Boone spoke up in his gentle, but singularly impressive tones.
"The boy is right, Colonel Clark," he said. "If the job can be done it
is these three alone who can do it."
"I suppose you are right," said Colonel Clark regretfully, "but it does
hurt me to see you leave us, unhelped. When do you wish to go?"
"Now," replied Henry.
Colonel Clark held out his hand. There were actual tears in his eyes. He
shook hands with the three, one by one, and all the others did the same.
Boone and Kenton went with them a little distance into the woods.
"Now, lads," said Boone, "don't ever forget to be careful. You got to
get your friends back by stealth and cunnin'. Keep out of a fight unless
the time comes when everything depends on it. Then if you've got to
fight, fight with all your might."
The three thanked him. Last hand-clasps were given and then Boone and
Kenton heard for a brief second or two only faint and dying footfalls in
the forest. They went back quietly to camp ready for the return with the
army to Kentucky, but the three were already deep in the forest, and far
beyond the area of light.
"I'm thinkin'," said Sol, "that the Indians hev crossed the river. It's
likely that they'd want to keep the water between themselves an' us."
"Looks like good argument to me," said Tom Ross.
Henry being of the same opinion, they decided to cross Mad River also,
and approach as nearly as they could to the chief body of the Indians.
It was probable that many bands were wandering about and they would be
in great danger from them, but it was their business to follow the
advice of Daniel Boone and avoid them. They exercised now their greatest
skill and patience. At a distance of eight or ten miles from Piqua they
found two Indian camps, but, after a thorough examination, they became
satisfied that Paul and Jim were not in either of them. Just before
daylight they found a valley in which a great mass of warriors, women
and children were huddled. Evidently this was the chief point of
retreat, and creeping as near as they could, they saw Timmendiquas,
Moluntha, Girty and Braxton Wyatt passing about the camp.
The three lay close in the bushes and they observed Wyatt intently. Two
or three times he passed between them and a camp fire, and they studied
his face.
"Doesn't look like that of one who has lost," whispered Henry.
"No, it don't," said Shif'less Sol. "O' course he don't mourn much about
the Indians, an' I reckon he's got somethin' to make him happy."
"And what he's got is Paul an' Jim," said Tom Ross.
"No doubt you're right," said Henry. "I think it likely that they were
trapped by a band under Braxton Wyatt, and that they are his especial
prisoners. Look! There they are now, by the tree!"
Some shifting of the Indians gave a distant view of the two prisoners
bound securely and leaning against a tree. Wyatt passed by, and looked
upon them with an air of possession. They were sure now that it was he
who had taken them, and, drawing further back into the forest, they
waited patiently for the next move in the great game of life and death.
Indian scouts several times passed within a few yards of them, but they
knew that the minds of these men were upon the army not upon them. They
were scouting to see whether Clark would follow them into the forest
and, when they became certain about noon that he would not do so, they
gathered their own numbers together and started northward to the
villages of their brethren.
Henry, Shif'less Sol and Tom Ross followed closely enough to know what
was going on, but not so closely that they would walk into a trap.
Fortunately the country was heavily wooded with evergreen and there was
still an abundance of leaves on the trees. Fortified by such a long
experience as theirs it was not difficult to keep under cover, and when
the tribes went into camp that night, the three pursuers were not a
quarter of a mile away.
The three hung around the camp half the night, but they saw no chance to
rescue their comrades. The crowd about them was too great. They followed
in the same way the next day, and continued thus a week. Henry began to
feel sure now that Paul and Jim were in no immediate danger of death,
and he ascribed the fact to the influence of Timmendiquas. Even if they
were Wyatt's own prisoners, he would not dare to go directly contrary to
the wishes of the great Wyandot chieftain.
Now a change occurred, the motive of which baffled the three for a
while. Timmendiquas, Braxton Wyatt, about twenty warriors, and the two
prisoners, leaving the main body of the Indians, turned toward the
Northwest, following a course which would lead them around the lower
curve of Lake Michigan. The three sitting among the bushes debated it a
long time.
"I think," said Henry, "that Timmendiquas is making a last desperate
effort to lead a great force against us. He is going into the far
Northwest to see if he can bring down the Sacs and Foxes, and even the
Ojibways, Chippewas, and Sioux to help against us."
"Then why do they take Paul and Jim along?" asked the shiftless one.
"As trophies to impress the distant Indians or maybe as a sacrifice.
Braxton Wyatt goes, too, because they are his prisoners."
"It may be so," said Tom Ross. "The more I think about it, the more I
think you're right. Anyhow it'll give us a better chance to get at Jim
and Paul."
"But we've got to play the Injuns' own game," said Shif'less Sol. "We
must follow them a long time without lettin' them know we're on their
track. Then they'll begin to go easy and won't keep much guard."
Shif'less Sol was undoubtedly right, and for many days they followed
this band deep into the Northwestern woods. August passed, September
came. Whenever the wind blew, the dead leaves fell fast, and there was a
crisp touch in the air. The nights became so cool that they were
compelled to sleep between the two blankets that everyone carried at his
back. They were thoroughly convinced now that Timmendiquas was in search
of help in the far Northwest, and that Paul and Jim would be offered as
trophies or bribes. Several times the Indians stopped at small villages,
and, after a brief and hospitable stay, passed on. It became evident,
too, that neither Timmendiquas nor Wyatt thought any longer of possible
pursuit. Both knew how the five would stand by one another but it had
been so long since the battle at Piqua, and they had traveled so many
hundreds of miles from the burned town that pursuit now seemed out of
the question. So they traveled at ease, through an extremely fertile and
beautiful region, onward and onward until they began to near the shores
of the greatest of all lakes, Superior.
The cold in the air increased but the three pursuers did not mind it.
They were inured to every hardship of the wilderness, and the colder it
grew the more pleasant was the fresh air to the lungs. They felt strong
enough for any task. Now that the guard was relaxed somewhat they hoped
for a chance to save Paul and Jim, but none came. Three separate nights
they went near enough to see them by the camp fire, but they could not
approach any closer. Henry surmised that they would soon reach a large
village of the Chippewas, and then their chances would decrease again.
The attempt must be made soon.
It was now late October and all the forests were dyed the varied and
beautiful colors of an American autumn. The camp of Timmendiquas was
pitched on a beautiful stream that ran a few miles further on into an
equally beautiful little lake. Food had become scarce and that morning
he had sent most of the warriors on a hunting expedition. He sat with
Braxton Wyatt and only two warriors by the side of the small camp fire.
The two prisoners were there also, their arms bound, but not in a manner
to hurt. Motives of policy had compelled Timmendiquas and Wyatt to be
seeming friends, but the heart of the great chief was full of
bitterness. He had not wanted to bring Wyatt with him and yet it had
been necessary to do so. Wyatt had taken the two prisoners who were
intended as offerings to the Northwestern tribes, and, under tribal law,
they belonged to him, until they were willingly given to others. His
presence would also convince the Ojibways, Chippewas and others that
white men, too, were on their side. Yet nothing could make Timmendiquas
like Wyatt. It seemed unnatural to him for a man to fight against his
own race, and he knew the young renegade to be treacherous and cruel.
They were sitting in silence. Wyatt spoke once or twice to Timmendiquas,
but the chieftain made no reply. Timmendiquas stared into the fire, and
planned how he would bring down the Northwestern tribes. The two
warriors were as still as statues. Paul and Long Jim were leaning
against the fallen tree, and Braxton Wyatt's eyes wandered over them. He
sneered at Paul, but the boy took no notice. Wyatt had often tried to
annoy the two prisoners on the march, but he was afraid to go very far
because of Timmendiquas. Yet he remembered with great satisfaction how
he had trapped them that night after the battle of Piqua, when they
wandered too near the edge of the forest.
His eyes passed from them, wandering around the circle, and came back to
them again. Did he see Long Jim start? Did he see a flash of
intelligence appear in the eyes of the hunter? Could he have heard
something? He looked again. Long Jim Hart's face expressed nothing.
Braxton Wyatt felt that he was growing nervous, and the next instant he
sprang to his feet with a shout of alarm. Three figures sprang from the
undergrowth and, with leveled weapons, commanded the four unbound men
who sat by the fire to throw up their hands. Up went the hands of the
four, and Timmendiquas smiled sadly.
"Your patience has been greater than ours," he said, "and the reward
that you are about to take belongs to you."
"We could fire upon you, Timmendiquas," said Henry, "and for the moment
the advantage is ours, but even if we should win the victory, in the end
some of us would fall. Those who are bound, and for whom we have come,
would surely be slain. Then, I say to you, mighty chief, give us our
friends, promise that you will forbid pursuit, and we go."
Timmendiquas stood up and his face bore a singular look of dignity and
kindness.
"You speak fairly," he said, "and I wish, Ware, that we could be friends
in peace. Cut the bonds of the prisoners."
He spoke to the two warriors, but at that moment some demon leaped up in
the soul of Braxton Wyatt. "I will do it," he said. But his rage and
disappointment were so great that they nearly blinded him. He snatched
out his knife and rushed at Paul Cotter, but the blade was turned toward
the bound boy's throat, and not toward the thongs.
Henry uttered a cry and sprang forward, but the great war tomahawk of
Timmendiquas left his hand, and flew through the air so swiftly that the
eye saw only a flash. The glittering edge struck the head of Braxton
Wyatt, and he fell, cloven to the chin. He was dead before he touched
the ground.
"We keep faith," said Timmendiquas.
The five bade the great Wyandot chieftain farewell and ten minutes
later were on their return journey. They knew that they were safe from
any pursuit by the band of Timmendiquas. They returned to Wareville and
they fought always with distinction throughout the border wars. They
were at the Blue Licks that dreadful day when Timmendiquas and Moluntha,
Caldwell and Girty, who finally came, with the Wyandots and Shawnees
destroyed more than half of the Kentucky force. Strangely enough they
went with Clark from the mouth of the Licking just two years after the
first expedition, again with a thousand riflemen against Piqua which had
been rebuilt, and they destroyed it, as before, in revenge for Blue
Licks.
Years later they were in the terrible slaughter of St. Clair's army, and
they were with Wayne when he inflicted the crushing and final defeat
upon the allied tribes at the Fallen Timbers. After the peace all the
five, every one of whom lived to a very great age, became the fast
friends of Timmendiquas, famous war chief of the Wyandots, the nation
that knew no fear.
THE END
Transcriber's Notes:
Page 59, "tattoed" corrected to "tattooed". (bear tattooed upon his
chest)
Page 69, removed duplicate "to". (large enough to keep three men)
page 77, a comma is presumed as text is unclear. (Fowler, and six savage)
Page 84 and 97, spelling "hare lip" retained. Elsewhere in text it is
spelled "harelip". (a hare lip. Then he)(wrinkled his ugly hare lip)
Page 90, "dear" corrected to "deer". (of buffalo, deer, bear)
Page 97, retained comma although question mark probably more
appropriate. (South with you," he said)
Page 100, and Page 156, "Kentucy" corrected to "Kentucky". (prospect of
victory. The Kentucky) (doubtless had reached Kentucky)
Page 130, inserted missing period. (watched him shrewdly.)
Page 163, a colon is presumed as original is unclear. (flushed, but he
continued:)
Page 196, a character named "Tom" is addressed in dialogue. Context
shows it should be the character "Sol" instead. Original text retained.
("Tom, that can be)
Page 240, unusual word "sidewiping" retained. Author possibly meant
"sideswiping". (a glancing blow, sidewiping it)
Page 241, a comma is presumed as text is unclear. (come to them through
the woods,)
Page 271, "house" corrected to "houses". (houses, built of solid logs,
stood in ordered rows)
Page 279, inserted missing period. (toward the little settlement.)
Page 293 and 317, "Black Panther" (name of a chief) probably refers to
"Yellow Panther", a name which occurs more frequently in the text.
Original text retained.
Page 295, "menancing" corrected to "menacing". (like a menacing
under-note)
Page 313, inserted missing period. (sound of oars became fainter and
fainter.)
Page 335, removed duplicate "the". (cracks between the timbers)
Page 353, inserted missing period. ( the army to envelop it.)
Page 365, a dialogue attributed to character "Ross" should probably be
"Sol" since in the next paragraph "Tom Ross" answers. However the
original text has been retained. (said Ross, "that the Indians hev
crossed)