USA > Massachusetts > Our western border : its life, combats, adventures, forays, massacres, captivities, scouts, red chiefs, pioneer women, one hundred years ago, containing the cream of all the rare old border chronicles > Part 31
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To this it was answered that women were in the habit of bringing water every morning to the fort, and that if the Indians saw them engaged as usual, it would induce them to believe that their ambuscade was un- discovered, and that they would not unmask themselves for the sake of firing at a few women, when they hoped, by remaining concealed a few moments longer, to obtain complete possession of the fort; that if men should go down to the spring, the Indians would immediately sus- pect that something was wrong, would despair of succeeding by ambus- cade, and would instantly rush upon them, follow them into the fort, or shoot them down at the spring. The decision was soon over. A few of the boldest declared their readiness to brave the danger, and the younger and more timid rallying in the rear of these veterans, they all marched down in a body to the spring, within point blank shot of more than five hundred Indian warriors!
Some of the girls could not help betraying symptoms of terror, but the married women, in general, moved with a steadiness and composure which completely deceived the Indians. Not a shot was fired. The party were permitted to fill their buckets, one after another, without in- terruption, and although their steps became quicker and quicker on their return, and when near the gate of the fort, degenerated into rather an unmilitary celerity, attended with some little crowding in passing the gate, yet not more than one-fifth of the water was spilled, and the eyes of the youngest had not dilated to more than double their ordinary size.
Being now amply supplied with water, they sent out thirteen young men to attack the decoy party, with orders to fire with great rapidity, and make as much noise as possible, but not to pursue the enemy too far, while the rest of the garrison took post on the opposite side of the fort, cocked their guns, and stood in readiness to receive the ambus- cade as soon as it was unmasked. The firing of the light parties on the Lexington road was soon heard, and quickly became sharp and serious, gradually becoming more distant from the fort. Instantly Girty sprang up, at the head of his five hundred warriors, and rushed rapidly upon the western gate, ready to force his way over the undefended palisades. Into this immense mass of dusky bodies the garrison poured several rapid volleys of rifle balls with destructive effect. Their consternation may be imagined. With wild cries they dispersed on the right and' left, and in two minutes not an Indian was to be seen. At the same time, the party who had sallied out on the Lexington road, came 18
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running into the fort at the opposite gate, in high spirits, and laughing heartily at the success of the manœuvre.
A regular attack, in the usual manner, then commenced, without much effect on either side, until two o'clock in the afternoon, when a new scene presented itself. Upon the first appearance of the Indians in the morning, two of the garrison, Tomlinson and Bell, had been mounted on fleet horses and sent to Lexington, announcing the arrival of the Indians and demanding reinforcements. Upon their arrival, a little after sunrise, they found the town occupied only by women and children and a few old men, the rest having marched, at the intelli- gence of Holder's defeat, to the general rendezvous at Hoy's station. The two couriers instantly followed at a gallop, and overtaking them on the road, informed them of the danger to which Lexington was ex- posed during their absence.
The whole party, amounting to sixteen horsemen, and more than double that number on foot, with some additional volunteers from Boone's station, instantly countermarched, and repaired with all pos- sible expedition to Bryant's station. They were entirely ignorant of the overwhelming numbers opposed to them, or they would have pro- ceeded with more caution. Tomlinson had only informed them that the station was surrounded, being himself ignorant of the numbers of the enemy. By great exertions, horse and foot appeared before Bryant's at two in the afternoon, and pressed forward with precipitate gallantry to throw themselves into the fort. The Indians, however, had been aware of the departure of the two couriers, who had, in fact, broken through their line in order to give the alarm, and expecting the arrival of reinforcements, had taken measures to meet them.
RUNNING A BLOODY GAUNTLET-GIRTY CHAFFED BY REYNOLDS.
To the left of the long and narrow lane, where the Maysville and Lexington road now runs, there were more than one hundred acres of green standing corn. The usual road from Lexington to Bryant's ran parallel to the fence of this field, and only a few feet distant from it. On the opposite side of the road was a thick wood. Here more than three hundred Indians lay in ambush, within pistol shot of the road, awaiting the approach of the party. The horsemen came in view at a time when the firing had ceased and everything was quiet. Seeing no enemy, and hearing no noise, they entered the lane at a gallop, and were instantly saluted with a shower of rifle balls from each side, at the distance of ten paces. At the first shot, the whole party set spurs to
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RUNNING A BLOODY GAUNTLET.
their horses, and rode at full speed through a rolling fire from either side, which continued for several hundred yards, but owing partly to the furious rate at which they rode; partly to the clouds of dust raised by the horses' feet, they all entered the fort unhurt. The men on foot were less fortunate. They were advancing through the cornfield, and might have reached the fort in safety but for their eagerness to succor their friends. Without reflecting that, from the weight and extent of the fire, the enemy must have been ten times their number, they ran up with inconsiderate courage to the spot where the firing was heard, and there found themselves cut off from the fort, and within pistol shot of more than three hundred savages.
Fortunately, the Indian guns had just been discharged, and they had not yet leisure to reload. At the sight of this brave body of footmen, however, they raised a hideous yell, and rushed upon them, tomahawk in hand. Nothing but the high corn and their loaded rifles could have saved them from destruction. The Indians were cautious in rushing upon a loaded rifle with only a tomahawk, and when they halted to load their pieces, the Kentuckians ran with great rapidity, turning and dodg- ing through the corn in every direction. Some entered the wood and escaped through the thickets of cane, some were shot down in the corn- field, others maintained a running fight, halting occasionally behind trees, and keeping the enemy at bay with their rifles, for, of all men, the Indians are generally the most cautious in exposing themselves to danger. A stout, active young fellow, was so hard pressed by Girty and several savages, that he was compelled to discharge his rifle, (how- ever unwillingly, having no time to reload it,) and Girty fell. It hap- pened, however, that a piece of thick sole-leather was in his shot-pouch at the time, which received the ball, and preserved his life, although the force of the blow felled him to the ground. The savages halted upon his fall, and the young man escaped. ·
Although the skirmish and race lasted for more than an hour, during which the cornfield presented a scene of turmoil and bustle which can scarcely be conceived, yet very few lives were lost. Only six of the white men were killed and wounded, and probably still fewer of the enemy, as the whites never fired until absolutely necessary, but reserved their loads as a check upon the enemy. Had the Indians pursued them to Lexington, they might have possessed themselves of it without resist- ance, as there was no force there to oppose them; but after following the fugitives for a few hundred yards, they returned to the hopeless siege of the fort.
It was now near sunset, and the fire on both sides had slackened. The Indians had become discouraged. Their loss in the morning had beert
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heavy, and the country was evidently arming, and would soon be upon them, They had made no impression upon the fort, and without artil- lery could hope to make none. The chiefs spoke of raising the siege and decamping, but Girty determined, since his arms had been unavail- ing, to try the efficacy of negotiation. Near one of the bastions there was a large stump, to which he crept on his hands and knees, and from which he hailed the garrison. "He highly commended their courage, but assured them that further resistance would be madness, as he had six hundred warriors with him, and was in hourly expectation of rein- forcements, with artillery, which would instantly blow their cabins into the air; that if the fort was taken by storm, as it certainly would be, when their cannon arrived, it would be impossible for him to save their lives; but if they surrendered at once, he gave them his honor that not a hair of their heads should be injured.
"He told them his name, inquired whether they knew him, and assured them, that they might safely trust to his honor." The garrison listened in silence to this speech, and many of them looked very blank at the mention of the artillery, as the Indians had, on one occasion, brought cannon with them, and destroyed two stations. But a young man by the name of Reynolds, highly distinguished for courage, energy and a frolicsome gaiety of temper, perceiving the effect of Girty's speech, took upon himself to reply to it. To Girty's inquiry of "whether the gar- rison knew him?" Reynolds replied, "that he was very well known- that he himself had a worthless dog to which he had given the name of 'Simon Girty,' in consequence of his striking resemblance to the man of that name. That if he had either artillery or reinforcements, he might bring them up and be - - That if either himself or any of the naked rascals with him found their way into the fort, they would dis- dain to use their guns against them, but would drive them out again with switches, of which they had collected a great number for that purpose alone; and, finally, he declared that they also expected reinforcements -that the whole country was marching to their assistance, and that if Girty and his gang of murderers remained twenty-four hours longer before the fort, their scalps would be found drying in the sun upon the roofs of their cabins."
Girty took great offence at the tone and language of the young Ken- tuckian, and retired with an expression of sorrow for the inevitable de- struction which awaited them on the following morning. He quickly rejoined the chiefs, and instant preparations were made for raising the siege. The night passed away in uninterrupted tranquility, and at day- light in the morning the Indian camp was found deserted. Fires were still burning brightly, and several pieces of meat were left upon their
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THE DISASTROUS BATTLE OF "THE BLUE LICKS."
roasting sticks, from which it was inferred that they had retreated a short time before daylight.
Early in the day reinforcements began to drop in, and, by noon, one hundred and sixty-seven men were assembled at Bryant's station. Col- onel Daniel Boone, accompanied by his youngest son, headed a strong party from Boonsborough; Trigg brought up the force from the neigh- borhood of Harrodsburg, and Todd commanded the militia around Lexington. Nearly a third of the whole number assembled was com- posed of commissioned officers, who hurried from a distance to the scene of hostilities, and, for the time, took their station in the ranks. Of those under the rank of Colonel, the most conspicuous were, Majors Harland, McBride, McGary, and Levi Todd, and Captains Bulger and Gordon. Of the six last-named officers, all fell in the subsequent battle except Todd and McGary. Todd and Trigg, as senior Colonels, took the command, although their authority seems to have been in a great measure nominal: That, however, was of less consequence, as a sense of common danger is often more binding than the strictest discipline. A tumultuous consultation, in which every one seemed to have a voice, terminated in a unanimous resolution to pursue the enemy without delay.
It was well known that General Logan had collected a strong force in Lincoln, and would join them at farthest in twenty-four hours. It was distinctly understood that the enemy was at least double, and, accord- ing to Girty's account, more than treble their own numbers. It was seen that their trail was broad and obvious, and that even some indica- tions of a tardiness and willingness to be pursued had been observed by their scouts, who had been sent out to reconnoitre, and from which it might reasonably be inferred that they would halt on the way-at least, march so leisurely as to permit them to wait for the aid of Logan. Yet so keen was the ardor of officer and soldier, that all these obvious reasons were overlooked, and in the afternoon of the 18th of August, the line of march was taken up, and the pursuit urged with that precip- itate courage which has so often been fatal to Kentuckians. Most of the officers and many of the privates were mounted.
THE DISASTROUS BATTLE OF "THE BLUE LICKS."
The Indians had followed the buffalo trace, and, as if to render their trail still more evident, they had chopped many of the trees on each side of the road with their hatchets. These strong indications of tardi- ness, made some impression upon the cool and calculating mind of Boone, but it was too late to advise retreat. They encamped that night
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in the woods, and on the following day reached the fatal boundary of their pursuit. At the Lower Blue Licks, for the first time since the pursuit commenced, they came within view of an enemy. As the mis- cellaneous crowd of horse and foot reached the southern bank of Lick- ing, they saw a number of Indians ascending the rocky ridge on the other side. They halted upon the appearance of the Kentuckians, gazed at them for a few moments in silence, and then calmly and lei- surely disappeared over the top of the hill.
A halt immediately ensued. A dozen or twenty officers met in front of the ranks, and entered into consultation. The wild and lonely as- pect of the country around them, their distance from any point of sup- port, with the certainty of their being in the presence of a superior enemy, seems to have inspired a seriousness bordering upon awe. All eyes were now turned upon Boone, and Colonel Todd asked his opinion as to what should be done. The veteran woodsman, with his usual unmoved gravity, replied, " that their situation was critical and delicate-that the force opposed to them was undoubtedly numer- ous and ready for battle, as might readily be seen from the leisurely retreat of the few Indians who had appeared upon the crest of the hill; that he was well acquainted with the ground in the neighborhood of the Lick, and was apprehensive that an ambuscade was formed at the dis- tance of a mile in advance where two ravines, one upon each side of the ridge, ran in such a manner that a concealed enemy migh assail them at once both in front and flank, before they were apprised of the danger.
" It would be proper, therefore, to do one of two things : either to await the arrival of Logan, who was now undoubtedly on his march to join them; or, if it was determined to attack without delay, that one-half of their number should march up the river, which there bends in an elliptical form, cross at the rapids, and fall upon the rear of the enemy, while the other division attacked in front. At any rate, he strongly urged the necessity of reconnoitering the ground carefully before the main body crossed the river." Such was the counsel of Boone. And although no measure could have been much more disastrous than that which was adopted, yet it may be doubted if anything short of an im- mediate retreat upon Logan, could have saved this gallant body of men from the fate which they encountered. If they divided their force, the enemy, as in Estill's case, might have overwhelmed them in detail-if they remained where they were, without advancing, the enemy would certainly have attacked them, probably in the night, and with a cer- tainty of success. They had committed a great error at first in not waiting for Logan, and nothing short of a retreat, which would have been considered disgraceful, could now repair it.
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THE DISASTROUS BATTLE OF "THE BLUE LICKS."
Boone was heard in silence and with deep attention. Some wished to adopt the first plan-others preferred the second, and the discussion threatened to be drawn out to some length, when the boiling ardor of McGary, who could never endure the presence of an enemy without in- stant battle, stimulated him to an act which had nearly proved destruc- tive to his country. He suddenly interrupted the consultation with a loud whoop, resembling the war cry of the Indians, spurred his horse into the stream, waved his hat over his head and shouted, " Let all who are not cowards follow me !" The words and the action together, pro- duced an electric effect. The mounted men dashed tumultuously into the river, each striving to be foremost. The footmen were mingled with them in one rolling and irregular mass. No order was given and none observed. They struggled through a deep ford as well as they could, McGary still leading the van, closely followed by Majors Har- land and McBride.
With the same rapidity they ascended the ridge, which, by the tramp- ling of buffalo for ages, had been stripped bare of all vegetation, with the exception of a few dwarfish cedars, and which was rendered still more desolate in appearance by the multitude of rocks, blackened by the sun, which were spread over its surface. Upon reaching the top of the ridge, they followed the buffalo traces with the same precipitate ardor-Todd and Trigg in the rear ; McGary, Harland, McBride and Boone in front. No scouts were sent in advance-none explored either flank-officers and soldiers seemed alike demented by the contagious ex- ample of a single man, and all struggled forward, horse and foot, as if to outstrip each other in the advance.
Suddenly, the van halted. They had reached the spot mentioned by Boone, where two ravines headed on each side of the ridge. Here a body of Indians presented themselves, and attacked the van. McGary's party instantly returned the fire, but under great disadvantage. They were upon a bare and open ridge-the Indians in a bushy ravine. The centre and rear, ignorant of the ground, hurried up to the assistance of the van, but were soon stopped by a terrible fire from the ravine that flanked them. They found themselves enclosed as if in the wings of a net, destitute of a proper shelter, while the enemy were, in a great measure, covered from their fire. Still, however, they maintained their ground.
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BOONE'S SON KILLED-THRILLING INCIDENTS-REYNOLDS' CAPTURE.
The action now became fierce and bloody. The parties gradually closed, the Indians emerged from the ravine, and the fire became mutually destructive. The officers suffered dreadfully. Todd and . Trigg, in the rear-Harland, McBride, and young Boone, in front, were already killed. The Indians gradually extended their line, to turn the right of the Kentuckians, and cut off their retreat.
This was quickly perceived by the weight of the fire from that quarter, and the rear instantly fell back in disorder, and attempted to rush through their only opening to the river. The motion quickly communicated itself to the van, and a hurried retreat became general. The Indians instantly sprang forward in pursuit, and falling upon them with their tomahawks, made a cruel slaughter. From the battle ground to the river, the spectacle was terrible. The horsemen generally escaped, but the foot, particularly the van, which had advanced farthest within the wings of the net, were almost totally destroyed. Colonel Boone, after witnessing the death of his son Israel, and many of his dearest friends, found himself almost entirely surrounded at the very commencement of the retreat. Several hundred Indians were between him and the ford, to which the great mass of the fugitives were bending their flight, and to which the attention of the savages was principally directed. Being intimately acquainted with the ground, he, together with a few friends, dashed into the ravine which the Indians had occu- pied, but which most of them had now left to join the pursuit.
After sustaining one or two heavy fires, and baffling one or two small parties, who pursued him for a short distance, he crossed the river be- low the ford, by swimming, and entered the wood at a point where there was no pursuit, returning by a circuitous route to Bryant's station. In the meantime, the great mass of the victors and vanquished crowded the bank of the ford. The slaughter was great in the river. The ford was crowded with horsemen and foot and Indians, all mingled together. Some were compelled to seek a passage above by swimming-some, who could not swim, were overtaken and killed at the edge of the water. A man by the name of Netherland, who had formerly been strongly suspected of cowardice, here displayed a coolness and presence of mind equally noble and unexpected. Being finely mounted, he had out- stripped the great mass of fugitives, and crossed the river in safety. A dozen or twenty horsemen accompanied him, and having placed the river between him and the enemy, showed a disposition to continue their flight, without regard to the safety of their friends who were on foot and still
·
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THRILLING INCIDENTS-REYNOLDS' CAPTURE.
struggling with the current. Netherland instantly checked his horse, and in a loud voice called upon his companions to halt-fire upon the Indians, and save those who were still in the stream. The party in- stantly obeyed-and, facing about, poured a fatal discharge of rifles upon the foremost of the pursuers. The enemy instantly fell back from the opposite bank, and gave time for the harassed and miserable foot- men to cross in safety. The check, however, was but momentary. In- dians were seen crossing in great numbers above and below, and the flight again became general. Most of the foot left the great buffalo track, and, plunging into the thickets, escaped by a circuitous route to Bryant's.
But little loss was sustained after crossing the river, although the pur- suit was urged keenly for twenty miles. From the battle ground to the ford the loss was very heavy ; and at that stage of the retreat there oc- curred a rare and striking instance of magnanimity, which it would be criminal to omit. The reader cannot have forgotten young Reynolds, who replied with such rough and ready humor to the pompous summons of Girty, at the siege of Bryant's. This young man, after bearing his share in the action with distinguished gallantry, was galloping with sev- eral other horsemen in order to reach the ford. The great body of the fugitives had preceded them, and their situation was in the highest de- gree critical and dangerous.
About half way between the battle ground and the river, the party overtook Captain Patterson, on foot, exhausted by the rapidity of the flight, and, in consequence of former wounds received from the Indians, so infirm as to be unable to keep up with the main body of the men on foot. The Indians were close behind him, and his fate seemed in- evitable. Reynolds, upon coming up with the brave officer, instantly sprang from his horse, aided Patterson to mount upon the saddle, and continued his own flight on foot. Being remarkably active and vigor- ous, he contrived to elude his pursuers, and, turning off from the main. road, plunged into the river near the spot where Boone had crossed, and swam in safety to the opposite side. Unfortunately he wore a pair of buckskin breeches, which had become so heavy and full of water as to prevent his exerting himself with his usual activity, and while sitting down for the purpose of pulling them off, he was overtaken by a party of Indians and made prisoner.
A prisoner is rarely put to death by the Indians, unless wounded or infirm, until their return to their own country ; and then his fate is de- cided in solemn council. Young Reynolds, therefore, was treated kind- ly, and compelled to accompany his captors in the pursuit. A small party of Kentuckians soon attracted their attention, and he was left in
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charge of three Indians, who, eager in pursuit, in turn committed him to the charge of one of their number, while they followed their com- panions. Reynolds and his guard jogged along very leisurely-the for- mer totally unarmed, the latter with a tomahawk and rifle in his hands. At length the Indian stopped to tie his moccasin, when Reynolds in- stantly sprung upon him, knocked him down with his fist, and quickly disappeared in the thicket which surrounded them. For this act of generosity, Captain Patterson afterwards made him a present of two hundred acres of first-rate land.
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