The army under the command of General Bacon had succeeded in
concentrating the confederated tribes of the Peninsula, which had so
long annoyed its flank and rear, at the falls of the Powhatan. Here they
had erected a rude fortification, composed of fallen trees, having an
entrenchment surrounding it, with the excavated earth thrown up as an
embankment. This was situated upon an eminence commanding the more even
ground on each side of a small stream, which ran nearly at right angles
with, and fell into the river below the falls. The army of the Colonists
arrived within sight of the Indian fires, just after the sun had sunk
behind the horizon. General Bacon's plantation[3] was situated but a
short distance from the very spot on which the savages had erected their
fort, and consequently he was well acquainted with the ground. After
halting a short time to examine the position of the enemy, he marched
his troops to the open plain beneath their strong hold, in perfect
silence. Here they bivouacked for the night, with the intention of
storming the intrenchments at the first dawning of the morrow. Every
thing was noiselessly put in readiness for this final struggle for
supremacy between the whites and the Aborigines. The latter had
collected in overwhelming numbers, and seemed determined to make a
desperate effort to regain their lost footing in the land of their
fathers, while the former, having daily improved in discipline, were in
high health, buoyant with the youthful hope and courage, and impatient
for the dawn, that they might strike a blow at once, to answer the high
expectations of their friends at home, and terminate the war. Little did
they imagine that an army of those very countrymen was treading in their
footsteps, under the command of Sir William Berkley, with the avowed
purpose of meting to them that chastisement which they were so impatient
to bestow upon the enemy before them.
[Footnote 3: Historical.]
Their commander was not long left in ignorance upon this point, however,
for scarcely had the columns made their arrangements for the night along
each side of the small stream, before a courier from the capital was
brought into his quarters, by one of the sentinels stationed upon the
outskirts of the encampment. He was the bearer of a proclamation, signed
by Sir William Berkley as Governor of his Majesty's Colony in Virginia,
in which Bacon and his followers were denounced as traitors and rebels,
and commanded forthwith to lay down their arms and return to their
allegiance, under pain of death, and confiscation of their property. The
surprise and indignation occasioned by this singular document had not
subsided, when another messenger was dragged into the presence of the
commander in chief. It was a negro, trembling from head to foot with
visible terror at the very uncivil treatment which he had received, and
more, perhaps, at the warlike preparations around, and the glaring
effects of the Indian fires on the hill. All attempts to gain an
intelligible account of his mission proved for a length of time, utterly
unavailing, until Bacon, recognising something of old acquaintance in
his features, dismissed his attendants. He then quickly disclosed, in
his mongrel dialect, that he had been ordered to deliver a letter into
the general's own hands, and when no person was present. A greasy and
rumpled document was then drawn from his pouch, which, notwithstanding
its hard treatment, and discoloured exterior, Bacon instantly recognised
as the writing of Harriet Harrison. The date was rather more remote than
seemed necessary for its regular transmission to its present
destination, which the sable messenger explained by stating that he had
been some days dodging in the footsteps of the army, but that as often
as he approached it he had been frightened back again by the flying
hordes of savages, hanging upon their skirts. If Bacon felt disposed to
indulge in merriment at the ludicrous detail of poor Pompey, the
contents of the note, which he now began to decipher by the light of a
lamp, speedily restored his gravity. Harriet briefly related to him the
nature of the conversation she had held with Sir William Berkley at his
own house, and the treatment which Virginia suffered at his hands; she
concluded by stating the preparations then making in Jamestown by the
Governor and his party, to pursue and capture, or cut them to pieces.
This information was truly startling to the youthful general; that
concerning Virginia was most moving; but the imminent peril of those
gallant spirits entrusted to his command required his immediate
attention. He despatched a chosen mounted band on the instant, to scout
along the late route of his army, far enough to ascertain whether that
under the command of Sir William was within such a distance, as to
enable him to interrupt the contemplated attack upon the savages at the
dawning of the coming day.
Bacon's character was eminently prompt and decisive. He determined,
should such be the case, to commence the attack upon the instant he
should receive such information.
Having provided for the safety and accommodation of Pompey, and ordered
the courier of the Governor into close but respectful keeping, he
sallied out along the outposts, to examine the scene of future
operations. The stars twinkled brilliantly in the heavens around the
horizon, but the glaring light of the savage fires upon the hill threw
the mellowed rays of the heavenly orbs into dim contrast immediately
round the two camps. As he walked along the margin of the little
stream, upon the borders of which his own troops were stationed, toward
the river, the night-scene presented to his view was reviving and
exciting to his imagination. The ascending columns of fire upon the hill
reflected the trees and other objects upon its brow in gigantic shadows
over the plain beneath. The bright red light fell upon the broad sheet
of water below the falls, in long horizontal rays, stretching far away
over its shining surface toward the opposite shore. The island in the
middle of the stream, a little higher up than the point at which he
stood, was clothed in verdant impenetrable shrubbery--the darkness
gathered around its shores more palpable from the contrast of the
neighbouring fires. The roar of the falls fell monotonously upon his
ear, ever and anon interrupted by the sharp shrill whoop of some
over-joyous savage, engaged in orgies within the fort surmounting the
hill. As he pensively stood upon the banks of the Powhatan, and surveyed
the illuminated scene immediately around, and the darker shadows of the
hills stretching away in the distance and skirting the margin of the
river, the shining waves beneath his feet, and the dusky outlines of the
rocks and islands beyond, it little entered his imagination that upon
that romantic spot, in future time, there should spring up a noble
city--the capital of an empire state--that the natural lawns upon which
he stood, would be exchanged for docks and quays--that the hills on his
right hand (which to a scholar might, even then, have recalled the
Acropolis) should support classic colonnades, and spires pointing to the
clouds; and that the diminutive stream upon the banks of which his
troops were bivouacked, should receive, from the sanguinary battle in
which he was about to engage, a name to outlive the very monuments of
his generation.[4] Without these deeply interesting associations,
however, the scene in its natural and unreclaimed features was eminently
captivating and romantic. No site in the country abounded more with bold
and enchanting objects. On the one hand were the picturesque hills,[5]
commanding a prospect seldom equalled, never surpassed, of landscape
varied with woodland, dell and meadow, through which the shining waters
of the Powhatan were now visible, glowing like a sheet of fire, and now
lost in the shadows of the towering forests, as it held its devious
course beyond the reach of the reflected fires in the back ground.
[Footnote 4: The little rivulet skirting the south eastern end of
Richmond is called "Bloody Run" to this day.]
[Footnote 5: On one of these the present capital of Virginia stands.]
Our hero might have stood gazing upon this enchanting scene until the
sound of the reveille in the morning had roused him from his revery, had
not his quick eye caught a glimpse of moving lights within the Indian
encampment. With hurried steps he retraced his way through the line of
sentinels, and issued immediate orders for his subordinates in command
to assemble in military council. He was satisfied in his own mind, as he
walked up the stream, that some unusual occurrence had taken place
within the palisade of the Indians--perhaps the presence of his own
stationary columns, as they stood in their dark frowning outlines, had
been discovered by the ever cunning and watchful enemy. He had more than
once stood in wonder at the apparent absence of their usual stratagems
and devices. He supposed, however, that, trusting to their immense
superiority of numbers, and the protection of their breastworks, they
had resolved to risk an engagement, in which courage and strength alone
should be the implements of victory.
The council of war had scarcely assembled, before they were astounded
with the report of musketry in answer to the usual accompaniments of a
savage sortie, in the most remote direction of the camp. General Bacon
issued his orders promptly and decisively. The columns whose rear had
been surprised by a sortie from the enemy, were, by a prompt movement,
instantly wheeled into line, changing their front so as to face the
assailants, while the mounted Cavaliers, under the command of young
Harrison, fiercely attacked them in flank. The desperate band of
warriors were speedily driven within their breastworks. It was doubtless
only their intention to harass the outskirts of the army, and then, by
retreating, draw their pursuers within reach of the ambuscade stationed
behind the breastwork. They were pursued by the mounted troops, who had
no sooner driven them within the palisade, than they in their turn
suddenly wheeled and retreated upon the main body.
These sallies were kept up through the first watches of the night, with
so much perseverance on the part of the enemy, and so much annoyance to
the ardent and impatient troops of the patriot army, that General Bacon
determined to give way to their martial ardour, and at once storm the
strong hold of the enemy.
The plan of battle in this straight-forward mode of warfare was simple
in the extreme. Seldom had the Aborigines given their white enemies a
chance of testing the relative valour of the two races; and protected as
they were even now by a formidable breastwork, General Bacon did not
hesitate as to the propriety of trusting to the discipline and skill of
his soldiers, and the immense superiority of their arms, against the
greater numbers and defensive preparations of the enemy.
The fires within the palisade were apparently flickering upon their
dying embers, and an unsteady flash, gleaming at intervals, was the only
light shed over the contemplated battle-ground. A profound quiet reigned
within the camp of the enemy, indicative to the mind of Bacon of some
new treachery or savage scheme. Having warned his officers against
these, he despatched mounted scouting parties to hover round both camps,
and took every other human precaution against surprise; orders were now
issued preparatory to a general attack upon the enemy's entrenchments.
By a prompt evolution, his battalions of foot were wheeled into a solid
column of attack on the northern side of the stream, while the mounted
Cavaliers were stationed as a reserve on the right. The former were
marched in compact order, directly up the face of the hill, not a
trumpet or a drum disturbing the silence of the funeral-like procession.
The various colours of their plumes, as they waved in the night breeze,
and the occasional glitter of burnished arms, as a flash of light fell
athwart the solid phalanx from the flickering fires above, presented one
of the most striking scenes imaginable.
General Bacon assumed the immediate command of his columns in person. He
sat upon his impatient charger on the right wing, and examined the
ominous appearance of the enemy's camp with intense interest. Not a
warrior's head was to be seen above the breastwork as they approached.
All was silent, gloomy, and portentous; not a sound was heard, save the
measured tramp of his own troops, as they moved through the bushes.
Once indeed he thought he heard the wild shrill scream of a female, very
different in its intonations from the harsh voice of the savage squaw.
But so many unearthly sights and sounds had haunted both his sleeping
and waking hours of late, that he drove the impression from his mind,
to rest with hundreds of others of like import.
When the front lines had arrived within some forty yards of the dark and
frowning breastwork, a sudden and momentary check was given to their
farther progress. A rushing sound, as of the flight of many birds, and
the clatter of Indian arrows against their arms and persons,
simultaneously struck upon their senses, followed by the fall of many
soldiers, and the short involuntary exclamations of pain, which, from
the impulse of the moment, escaped the unfortunate individuals.
Trumpets and drums instantaneously broke the stillness of the march.
Their martial notes reverberated over the surrounding solitudes in
enlivening peals. The ill-omened birds of night flapped their wings, and
swooped through the unsteady lights of the scene in utter dismay at this
untimely invasion of their prescriptive dominions. These were quickly
followed by a discharge of musketry, poured into the formidable
palisade. It was scarcely discharged, however, before Bacon discovered
the utter uselessness of such a waste of ammunition. He saw that the
breastwork was so constructed, that, while it admitted of the discharge
of missiles from within, it afforded a secure protection to its
occupants against the musketry of their assailants. In the mean time his
soldiers were exposed to the murderous discharges of poisoned arrows.
In this emergency no time was to be lost; placing himself, therefore, at
the head of his troops, he ordered the walls to be torn down. These, as
before related, were composed of large trees piled one upon another,
with their green boughs still protruding in many places over the shallow
intrenchment, and the earth excavated from the latter thrown up on the
outside against a rude wicker-work of fine bushes, filling up the
interstices of the trees. Trumpets sounded the charge, and the columns
moved at a quick pace to the onset. Still not a savage head was seen
until they had arrived at the very borders of the intrenchment. Here
some two hundred of the stoutest and ablest bodied of his soldiers were
marched up to the projecting limbs of the largest tree, forming the
basis of the breastwork. Bacon saw at a glance that if he could manage
to seize hold of these projecting arms and turn the tree across the
fosse, it would at once open the way for his mounted troops, and perhaps
carry with it some forty or fifty feet of the palisade, and thereby
bring the opposing armies face to face. They had already seized the
projecting limbs, and were shaking the frail protection of the savages
to its very foundations, when simultaneously a thousand lights gleamed
over forest, hill, and dale--A thousand voices united their shrill
clamours in one deafening yell of savage ferocity. The troops engaged in
tearing down the breastwork instinctively loosed their hold, and flew to
their arms, as they threw their eyes upward to the spot whence these
blinding lights and deafening noises came. It was but the work of an
instant, for little more time were they permitted to examine,--they were
called upon to act, and that vigorously, for their own preservation. In
a single instant, and apparently at a given signal, the whole of the
rude terrace surmounting the fortification literally swarmed with
painted warriors, each bearing in his left hand a pine torch, and in the
other, a tomahawk, a war-club, or a battle-axe.[6] They sprang from
their commanding position into the midst of their assailants, and
scattered themselves in every direction through that part of the army
already advanced to the breastwork.
[Footnote 6: These were made of stones ground into the shape of our axe,
with a groove round the centre for a handle made of withe.]
Human ingenuity could not have devised a mode of warfare better
calculated to suit their numbers, position, time, courage, and limited
means of resistance. It at once rendered the mounted troops
useless--prevented the colonists from using their fire-arms, because
those immediately engaged were at too close quarters, while those at a
greater distance were as likely to kill friends as enemies. The savages
dealt their murderous blows with wonderous rapidity and precision, and
though the hardy planters in the front ranks turned upon them with the
butt ends of their muskets, the savages had evidently the advantage. The
blazing fagots were often thrust into the very faces of their opponents,
and while writhing under the confusion and agony of the fire and smoke,
they were stricken down like helpless beasts.
Bacon saw the imminent peril of his troops, and though he was at first
astounded by the rapidity and daring courage with which the plan was
executed, he did not despair, nor yet sit listlessly upon his horse to
see his friends and countrymen slaughtered. He saw at a glance too that
only the front columns were engaged--that a part of these must now
necessarily fall, but he determined at the same time, that their deaths
should be dearly avenged, and his remaining troops brought off
victorious. He immediately placed himself between the forces already
engaged and those rushing to the rescue. The latter he wheeled into line
immediately in front of his mounted reserve, thereby changing their
front to the flank of the contending parties, while their own right wing
rested upon the top of the hill, and the left on the little stream
already mentioned. Having completed this evolution to his satisfaction,
the mounted Cavaliers were brought round to the position just occupied
by the foot, so that they immediately faced the struggling combatants,
and the latter were ordered to give way. The retreat was sounded from
the brazen mouths of the trumpets over their heads, and Bacon in person
and his mounted aids, rode furiously and recklessly among them, crying
for them to fall back toward the line stationed on the right.
These various movements were but the work of a few moments. Meantime the
painted and ghastly warriors, rendered still more horrible by the
flaring lights which they bore in their hands, and by the reeking
instruments of death which they swung over their head with such unerring
precision, were pouring over the walls upon the devoted band in
countless hordes. So intently were they engaged, that the evolutions of
their enemies had entirely escaped their attention; and indeed the
Colonists themselves, who were fighting hand to hand with the savages,
had not observed the movement, until the voices of their commanders
urged them to fall back upon the newly formed line. As Bacon had
calculated, no sooner were the engaged troops made to understand the
orders, and induced to recede, than a partial separation was effected,
which was fatal to the Aboriginals. The retreating Colonists were almost
immediately under the protection of the line already braced in solid
column, and standing to the charge[7] ready for the expected pursuers. A
company of the mounted Cavaliers was broken up into squads, and these
were actively engaged in hewing down the pursuers, or cutting off their
retreat to the protection of the fort. In a short time a complete line
of separation was formed between the two armies, save where, here and
there, two athletic men of the opposite races, both having lost their
arms in the contest, struggled in the death gripe. Here an iron handed
mechanist of the city clenched a warrior's throat--the eyes of the
victim protruding frightfully from his head in the glaring light, and
his tongue hanging from his mouth like that of a rabid animal, until he
fell as a lump of clay among the hundreds of both parties who had gone
before. There a grim warrior struggled with another, making desperate
efforts to reach his knife, which the soldier as constantly struggled to
prevent. Yonder among the heaps of slain, lay two of the differing
races, fallen to the earth in a mutual but deadly clasp, each holding
the other by the throat, until the struggle became one of mere
endurance, and, strange to say, the white man generally conquered.
[Footnote 7: The bayonet was just then coming into use, but was inserted
into a round piece of wood, which was thrust into the muzzle of the
musket.]
While, however, these desperate personal struggles were occurring, the
tide of battle was fast turning against the most numerous party. It was
with the greatest difficulty that Bacon could restrain the ardour and
impetuosity of the troops stationed in line for the protection of the
devoted corps which had led the van, the straggling members of which
were momentarily retreating behind the solid bulwark of their
countrymen's pikes and bayonets. But no sooner was this duty of humanity
performed, and a complete line of demarcation distinctly drawn, than all
restraints were removed. A volley of musketry was poured among the
scattering savages along the face of the hill, in order to convince
them that hereafter they would be kept at a respectful distance. A
simultaneous movement of horse and foot now swept the brow of the hill;
the horse charged immediately in front of the palisade, while the
infantry drove in the extended line of savages at the point of the
bayonet. The most inextricable confusion ensued in the ranks of the red
warriors. While the cavalry cut them down on one hand, and the bayonets
of the infantry transfixed them on the other, hundreds were tumbling
over hundreds as they tumultuously leaped over the palisade. Some hung
by the projecting bushes--others fell upon the terrace, and were cast
down and trodden under foot by their companions; while multitudes were
cut to pieces in making the attempt. In a short time the open field was
left in complete possession of the whites--the brow of the hill was
literally covered with the wounded and the slain, both of white and red.
Yet the battle was not ended; hundreds upon hundreds had escaped within
the fort. The savage force amounted at the commencement to something
like three thousand warriors of various tribes, and that of the
Colonists to about one thousand.[8] Bacon earnestly desired to spare the
effusion of human blood, and hazardous as the Indians were as
neighbours, either professing friendship or enmity, he resolved to send
them a flag of truce and propose a permanent peace upon condition of
their abandoning the Peninsula for ever. He knew that they understood
the sacred rights and privileges of that peaceful banner, for it had
already been recognised among some of their own tribes. Accordingly a
young and promising officer was thrust up to the top of the palisade. He
waved his flag and laid his hand upon his heart in token of friendship,
and grounded his sword in order to convince them that he came upon a
peaceful errand, but instead of sending out their interpreter or
prophet, he was treacherously murdered by a tomahawk--thrown some twenty
yards by the hand of a warrior, and buried in his brain. All hopes of
peace were now abandoned, and Bacon determined to complete the victory
which he had commenced, and won thus far at the expense of so many
valued lives.
[Footnote 8: Burke says 600.]
Orders were again issued for tearing down the palisade, while a chosen
band of prompt and expert marksmen were stationed at the distance of
some thirty yards, to shoot down the savages as they should show their
heads above the breastwork. Instead of the infantry being stationed to
protect the miners as before, the cavalry formed a column flanking the
marksmen, so that they could at a moment's warning, rush in between the
descending hordes and the corps engaged in pulling down the barricade.
Again the trees composing the palisade were seized by the projecting
limbs, and a sudden wrench brought the earth piled against its outer
side tumbling into the ditch beneath, and shook the whole fabric to its
foundation. Again an ominous and inexplicable silence prevailed within
the enclosure, which was the more remarkable, as there was left no known
method of escape, and by their own treachery to the officer who had
borne the flag of truce, they were reduced to the alternative of dying
in their ditches or desperately cutting their way through the solid
phalanx which enclosed them on every side. Hitherto the marksmen
stationed in front for the purpose of clearing the terrace of the
savages, as they should mount the breastwork from the inside, had little
to do. At length a group of savages displayed their painted faces above
the barrier, apparently endeavouring to drag some unwieldy burden to the
top of the works. They were instantly shot down, but their places were
as speedily supplied by others. A faint but piercing shriek rent the
air, which promptly arrested the attention of Bacon, Dudley, and young
Harrison, who sat upon their horses superintending the operations of the
miners, and holding an occasional discourse among themselves. The voice
came evidently from a female, and reminded Bacon that he had once before
during the night heard a like sound from the same direction. He waved
his sword to the marksmen stationed on his left, to withhold their fire,
while his own attention and that of his two associates were intently
rivetted to the occupation of the group ascending the wall from the
other side. At this moment the large tree which the troops in front had
been some time shaking loose, came crashing over upon its limbs, and
bringing with it those which had been piled above, thus exposing to view
the interior of the fort, but not yet affording an uninterrupted passage
for the besiegers. The battalions of foot, however, were tumultuously
rushing toward the breach, reckless of the interposing branches and
trunks of the prostrate trees, when Bacon, in a voice of thunder
commanded them to halt! The very moment the fort gave way a sight was
revealed to his eyes, and those of his two comrades, which made the hair
rise on end upon their heads, and the blood in their veins run cold with
horror. The Indians, who had so long struggled to ascend the fort some
twenty or thirty yards from the breach, had at length succeeded, bearing
one of the objects which so powerfully arrested the attention of the
officers on horseback. Two grim warriors supported between them the body
of a woman of the European race, while a third stood behind her, on the
top of the palisade with uplifted tomahawk. With one hand he held the
weapon suspended over the head of the drooping victim, while with the
other, he pointed to the neighbouring breach in the breastwork, with a
look and gesture that seemed to say, "advance, and her fate is sealed!"
Although the light from the smouldering fires was dim and unsteady,
enough was caught of the outlines of this figure to thrill to the very
heart-strings of the three spectators; she was upheld on either side by
the mere strength of her guards--her feet seemed to have sunk from under
her--but her head was erect and turning with wonderful rapidity from
side to side, as she gazed with wild and glaring eyes upon the scene
around her. Her fair silken tresses fell unrestrained upon her shoulders
or were blown about in fluttering streams, as the unsteady light fell
now in broad masses, and then in dim and shadowy rays. Her dress was
white, and fell in ample folds around all that was left of a once
symmetrical figure. Her features were ashy pale and attenuated to the
last degree of human wretchedness, her eye shot forth the wild flashes
of a frenzied mind. She was entirely unconscious of her danger, and
though she seemed to examine the wild scene around, it was not with fear
and trembling. A sickly smile played upon her death-like features, as if
she rather took pleasure than suffered pain in these unusual sights, or
saw embodied before her in palpable form somewhat of the fleeting
phantasmagoria which had so long eluded her senses, yet she was
speechless--and so were the late combatants.
A profound and solemn silence prevailed throughout the ranks of both
parties. The fate of battle, or the life of an individual, was suspended
upon the results of the moment. It was soon interrupted, wildly,
fearfully interrupted! The threatened victim burst into a convulsion of
frantic laughter, the wild unguided tones of a voice once rich and
musical, were borne along the still night air, and resounded through the
dark forest like some unearthly mockery of human merriment. As if a
thunderbolt from heaven had instantaneously stricken her dumb she
ceased. The sounds of her own voice startled and astonished her; perhaps
some dim rememberance of its former tones, as it rose and fell upon the
air, floated darkly through her mind. The grim old warriors who
supported her, were impressed with awe and fear, and the very
executioner was almost overcome with his native superstitious reverence.
The events we have just described occupied but a few moments of
time,--far less than we have taken to describe them. At this juncture,
and while the three stern Indians maintained their posts, Wyanokee
sprang upon the terrace, struck the tomahawk from the hands of the ready
executioner--pushed him backward over the palisade, and threw herself
recklessly upon the unfortunate lady, encircling her with her arms. At
the same instant her two astounded countrymen fell lifeless from the
terrace, pierced to the heart by the unerring balls of the sharp
shooters.
The Colonial army now broke tumultuously into the fort. Here another
threatened victim had been held as a suspended pledge over their fires,
for the safety of this their last strong hold, but so intense had been
the interest excited in behalf of the unfortunate Mrs. Fairfax, that
little attention was bestowed upon him. It was none other than Brian
O'Reily. When the breach was made in the fort, he was discovered in the
centre of the area, tied fast to a stake driven into the ground. A
quantity of resinous pine wood was built high up around his body, and
half a dozen torch-bearers stood ready to apply the flame. The report of
the muskets had no sooner announced the death of their comrades on the
wall, than this pile was fired in a a hundred places. Already the victim
began to writhe as the intolerable heat scorched his flesh, and the
smoke rushed into his eyes and throat. As the soldiers entered through
the breach with Dudley, who had dismounted, at their head, he rushed
toward the suffering victim, and, assisted by his followers, hurled the
burning brands upon the heads of those who kindled them.
Meanwhile Bacon had also dismounted. He saw that the contest would now
be short, and giving his orders to Dudley, he leaped upon the palisade
where Wyanokee was vainly endeavouring to support and restrain his
former patroness, who had repeatedly and fruitlessly endeavoured to
stand erect, and as often had fallen back into the arms of the Indian
maiden. As Bacon approached, his whole soul agitated with deep and
thrilling emotions, she was sitting upon the wall, forcing herself
farther and farther back, like a frighted infant, into the arms of her
protectress. Her eyes stared wildly upon the approaching youth, and the
lids fell not over the painfully distended orbs. She did not recognise
him, even when he approached within a few paces and kindly and
soothingly addressed her. At one moment she seemed about to make some
reply, but the half formed words died upon her lips--they moved as
though she held the desired discourse, but no sound was audible. The
wild noise and confusion of the onset, breaking upon her ears, she
started up and cried "Hah! see you not that the king's troops put those
of the commonwealth to the sword? Behold his giant form weltering in
gore! 'Tis gone! It was not he! No, no; I saw not the bloody hand. It
was merely one of these puppet warriors dressed out to frighten babes.
He lives! did he not tell me so, with his own lips? Do the dead tell the
living lies? That were a trick of the devil indeed." Again she burst
into a horrible and appalling laugh, fell back into the arms of
Wyanokee, and her mortal pains and sorrows were for ever ended.
The long-disputed contest was now drawing to a close; the Indians fought
desperately, as long as there was a hope left of repulsing the troops
which rushed in at the breach, burning with ardour and roused to
indignation by their wanton cruelties; but the superior arms and skill
of the Colonists rendered the contest in a short time utterly desperate
on the part of the besieged. When farther resistance was put out of
their power, by the besiegers closing in upon them on every side, and
thus confining their exertions within a narrow space in the centre of
the fort, the stern warriors threw away their tomahawks and war-clubs,
and fell prostrate on their faces. It was a moving sight to behold these
hardy veterans of a hundred battles, gradually encompassed by a more
skilful and powerful enemy, until they were forced to surrender this
last foothold upon the land of their fathers. Their prostrate attitude
was by no means intended to express an abject petition for mercy; it was
the custom established by their people, and its impulse was utter
desperation. They neither desired nor expected quarter, but threw
themselves upon the earth, to signify their willingness to meet the
tortures of their enemies. When placed under the vigilance of the troops
appointed to guard them until dawn, they sat like statues, not a muscle
or feature expressing emotion of any kind.
Bacon stood over the body of his late kind and unfortunate patroness, as
still and motionless as his own prisoners, contemplating the sad change
which a few short days had made upon her mild and benignant features,
until reminded by Dudley that he had other duties to perform. The latter
approached and informed him that the garrison had surrendered. He heeded
him not. He repeated his information, and touched the general upon the
shoulder. Bacon started wildly for an instant, but seeing who spoke, a
meaningless smile flitted across his features while he answered, "True,
true, Dudley, I will attend you in a moment;" and was about to relapse
into his former mood, but rousing himself, he issued orders for
pitching his own marquee, and then directed that the dead body of Mrs.
Fairfax should be borne thither and deposited under its shelter with all
due respect. Till now, Wyanokee had sat near the cold and lifeless form.
Not a tear was shed nor any other indication given that she had lost a
friend, esteemed by her one of the first of the earth. There was,
perhaps, just a perceptible expression of wildness and mystery in her
steady and abstracted gaze on vacancy, as if in thought she was
following the departed spirit to the verdant forests and blossoming
meadows of the happy hunting-ground beyond the sky. It is true that she
had been somewhat instructed in the doctrines of our religion, but he
has made little progress in the study of mankind who does not know that
the peculiar opinions--the forms of worship, whether of superstition or
religion, which have been infused into the mind in the tender years of
infancy, will ever after give a tinge to the views of the recipient. But
Wyanokee had by no means renounced the doctrines of her father's
worship, and however much her mind may have been worked upon while under
the influence of the whites, and of the imposing form and ceremonies of
the Established Church, since her abjuration of their friendship, she
had imperceptibly lapsed into most of her aboriginal notions.
When the body of Mrs. Fairfax was laid out under the marquee of the
commander in chief, and a line of sentinels was established around its
limits, Wyanokee was the sole living tenant of the apartment. She sat
by the corpse, in precisely the same state which we have before
described.
In a very short time from that in which Dudley announced the termination
of the conflict to his commanding officer, profound quietness reigned
over the fort and brow of the hill, so lately the scene of bloodshed and
strife, save where it was disturbed by the movements of those engaged in
burying the dead, and rescuing the wounded who lay suffering under the
weight of their dead comrades.
Never had such a battle been fought in Virginia, either as regarded the
number of Indians engaged, the consequences depending on the result, or
the sanguinary nature of the conflict itself. It was the last struggle
for supremacy between the whites and the Indians in the Peninsula.