If we thought the time long, it was not from want of occupation. During
the day, the Indians at intervals renewed their attack; and
notwithstanding all our vigilance, we had another man killed, and
several slightly wounded.
In these skirmishes, the savages showed a determination to get nearer
our line, by making their advances from tree to tree.
We perfectly understood their object in this. It was not that they had
any design of closing with us, though their numbers might have justified
them in doing so. They were now far more numerous than at the beginning
of the fight. Another fresh band had arrived upon the ground--for we
had heard the shouts of welcome that hailed their coming.
But even with this accession of strength, they did not design to come to
the encounter of sharp weapons. Their purpose in advancing was
different. They had perceived that by getting close to our convex line,
they would be near enough to fire upon those on the opposite side of the
glade, who, of course, were then exposed to their aim.
To prevent this, therefore, became our chief object and anxiety, and it
was necessary to redouble our vigilance.
We did so, regarding with scrutinous glances the trunks behind which we
knew the savages were skulking, and eyeing them as keenly as the ferret
hunter watches the burrows of the warren.
They had but slight success in their endeavours to advance. It cost
them several of their boldest men; for the moment one of them essayed to
rush forwards, the cracks of three or four rifles could be heard; and
one of these was sure to deliver its messenger of death. The Indians
soon became tired of attempting this dangerous manoeuvre; and as evening
approached, appeared to give up their design, and content themselves by
holding us in siege.
We were glad when the sun set and the twilight came on; it would soon
pass, and we should be able to reach the water. The men were maddened
with thirst, for they had been suffering from it throughout the whole
day. During the daylight many would have gone to the pond, had they not
been restrained by the precepts of the more prudent, and perhaps more
effectually by an example of which they had all been witnesses. One,
more reckless than the rest, had risked the attempt; he succeeded in
reaching the water, drank to satisfaction, and was hastening back to his
post, when a shot from the savages stretched him dead upon the sward.
He was the man last killed; and his lifeless body now lay in the open
ground, before the eyes of his comrades.
It proved a warning to all; for, despite the torture of thirst, no one
cared to repeat the rash experiment.
At length the welcome darkness descended--only a glimmer of grey light
lingered in the leaden sky. Men in twos and threes were now seen
approaching the pond. Like spectres they moved, silently gliding over
the open ground, but in stooping attitudes, and heads bent eagerly
forwards in the direction of the water.
We did not all go at once--though all were alike eager to quench their
thirst--but the admonitions of the old hunter had their effect: and the
more continent agreed to bear their pangs a little longer, and wait till
the others should get back to their posts.
It was prudent we so acted; for, at this crisis, the Indians--no doubt
suspecting what was going forward--renewed their fire with fresh energy.
Whole volleys were discharged inwards and without aim, the darkness must
have hindered an aim, but for all that, the bullets buzzed past our ears
as thickly as hornets upon their flight. There was a cry raised that
the enemy was closing upon us; and those who had gone to the water
rushed rapidly back--some even without staying to take the much desired
drink.
During all this time I had remained behind my tree. My black follower
had also stuck to his post like a faithful sentinel as he was. We
talked of relieving one another by turns. Jake insisted that I should
"drink first."
I had partially consented to this arrangement, when the fire of the
enemy suddenly reopened. Like others, we were apprehensive that the
savages were about to advance; and we knew the necessity of keeping them
back. We agreed to keep our ground for a little longer.
I had "one eye round the trunk of the tree, with my rifle raised" to the
level--and was watching for a flash from the gun of some savage, to
guide me in my aim--when, all on a sudden, I felt my arm jerked upwards,
and my gun shaken out of my grasp.
There was no mystery about it. A bullet had passed through my arm,
piercing the muscles that upheld it. I had shown too much of my
shoulder, and was wounded--nothing more.
My first thought was to look to my wound. I felt it distinctly enough,
and that enabled me to discover the place. I saw that the ball had
passed through the upper part of my right arm, just below the shoulder,
and in its further progress had creased the breast of my uniform coat,
where its trace was visible in the torn cloth.
There was still light sufficient to enable me to make these
observations; and furthermore, that a thick stream of blood was gushing
from the wound.
I commenced unbuttoning my coat, the better to get at the wound. The
black was ready by my side, rending his shirt into ribbons.
All at once I heard him uttering an exclamation of surprise followed by
the words, "Gorramighty! Mass George--dat shot come from ahind!"
"From behind?" I shouted, echoing his words, and once more looking to
the wound.
"Yes, mass, yes--sartin he come from ahind."
Some suspicion of this had already been in my thoughts: I fancied that I
had "_felt_" the shot from that quarter.
It had been no fancy. On a more minute examination of the wound, and
the torn traces upon the breast of my coat, the direction of the bullet
was plainly perceived. Undoubtedly it had struck me from behind.
"Good God, Jake!" I exclaimed, "it is so. The Indians have advanced to
the other side of the glade--we are lost!"
Under this belief, we both faced towards the opening, when at that
moment, as if to confirm us, another bullet whistled past our ears, and
struck with a heavy "thud" into the tree by which we were kneeling.
This one had certainly been fired from the other side of the glade--we
saw the flash and heard the report of the gun that had sent it.
What had become of our comrades on that side? Had they abandoned their
posts, and permitted the Indians to advance? Were they all by the pond,
and thus neglecting their duty?
These were the first conjectures both of my companion and myself. It
was too dark for us to see our men under the shadows of the pines, but
neither did they appear in the open ground. We were puzzled, and
shouted aloud for an explanation.
If there were replies, we heard them not--for at that moment a wild yell
from our savage enemies drowned all other cries, and a sight burst upon
our eyes that caused the blood to curdle within our veins.
Directly in point of the position that Jake and I held, and close to the
Indian line, a red flame was seen suddenly springing up from the earth.
It rose in successive puffs, each leaping higher and higher, until it
had ascended among the tops of the trees. It resembled the flashes of
large, masses of gunpowder ignited upon the ground, and such in reality
it was. We read the intention at a glance. The Indians were attempting
to fire the forest!
Their success was almost instantaneous. As soon as the sulphureous
blaze came in contact with the withered fascicles of foliage, the latter
caught as though they had been tinder; and with the velocity of
projected rockets, the flames shot out in different directions, and
danced far above the tops of the tree. We looked around; on all sides
we beheld a similar spectacle. That wild yell had been the signal for a
circle of fires. The glade was encompassed by a wall of flame--red,
roaring, and gigantic. The whole forest was on fire. From all points
the flame appeared closing inwards, sweeping the trees as if they had
been withered grass, and leaping in long spurts high into the heavens.
The smoke now came thick and heavy around us--each moment growing denser
as the fire approached--while the heated atmosphere was no longer
endurable. Already it stifled our breathing.
Destruction stared us in the face, and men shouted in despair. But the
roar of the burning pines drowned their voices, and one could not hear
even his comrade who was nearest. Their looks were significant--for
before the smoke fell, the glade was lit up with intense brilliance, and
we could see one another with unnatural distinctness. In the faces of
all appeared the anxiety of awe.
Not long continued I to share it. Too much blood had escaped from my
neglected wound; I tried to make into the open ground, as I saw others
doing; but, before I got two steps from the tree, my limbs tottered
beneath me, and I fell fainting to the earth.