The commander was equal to the emergency! The confidence of the foe had grown so overbearing that Bouquet determined to stake everything upon the very recklessness of his enemies. The portion of the circle which immediately fronted the Indians, and which was composed of light infantry, was ordered to feign retreat. As this movement was accomplished, a thin line of men was thrown across the deserted position from the sides, drawing in close to the convoy. Thinking this to be a retreat, which the new line had been summoned to cover, the Indians, with cutting screams, jumped out from every side and rushed headlong toward the centre of the circle. Then, suddenly upon their rear poured the light infantry, which had made a marvelous detour through the woods. With a frightful bayonet charge and with highland yells as piercing as those of the Indians, the grenadiers, flushed with victory, drove the terrified savages through the forests. In the twinkling of an eye the outcries of the savages ceased altogether and not a living foe remained. Sixty Indian corpses lay scattered about the camp. Only one captive was taken and he was riddled with English bullets. The loss of the English amounted to eight officers and one hundred and fifteen men. This was the first English victory over the Indians of the central West. Fort Necessity, Braddock's Field, and Grant's Hill were now avenged. It was a late victory but was far better late than never. Fort Pitt was relieved. [Illustration] What Forbes's Road was to Pittsburg and the West in the Old French War and in Pontiac's Rebellion it was in the Revolutionary days, 1775-83. For thirty years after it was built it was the main highway across the mountains. It is impossible to estimate the worth of this straight roadway to the Ohio; had Forbes followed Braddock's Road to Fort Pitt, western travel ever after would have been at the mercy of the two rivers, the Youghiogheny and Monongahela, which that road crosses. In the winter months it would have been difficult, if not impossible, to have kept open communication between a line of forts and blockhouses on Braddock's Road. This was done on Forbes's Road throughout the half century of conflict.