The Scouts of the ValleyAltsheler, Joseph A. (Joseph Alexander)
General
The Scouts of the Valley
Altsheler, Joseph A. (Joseph Alexander)
Chemung River Valley (N.Y. and Pa.) -- Fiction; Historical fiction; Wyoming Valley (Pa.) -- Fiction
They were driven steadily back toward the fort, and the little band
crumbled away beneath the deadly fire. Soon none would be left unless
they ran for their lives. The five drew away toward the forest. They
saw that the fort itself could not hold out against such a numerous and
victorious foe, and they had no mind to be trapped. But their retreat
was slow, and as they went they sent bullet after bullet into the Indian
flank. Only a small percentage of the Wyoming force was left, and it now
broke. Colonel Butler and Colonel Dennison, who were mounted, reached
the fort. Some of the men jumped into the river, swam to the other shore
and escaped. Some swam to a little island called Monocacy, and hid, but
the Tories and Indians hunted them out and slew them. One Tory found his
brother there, and killed him with his own hand, a deed of unspeakable
horror that is yet mentioned by the people of that region. A few fled
into the forest and entered the fort at night.
CHAPTER X. THE BLOODY ROCK
Seeing that all was lost, the five drew farther away into the woods.
They were not wounded, yet their faces were white despite the tan. They
had never before looked upon so terrible a scene. The Indians, wild with
the excitement of a great triumph and thirsting for blood, were running
over the field scalping the dead, killing some of the wounded, and
saving others for the worst of tortures. Nor were their white allies one
whit behind them. They bore a full part in the merciless war upon the
conquered. Timmendiquas, the great Wyandot, was the only one to show
nobility. Several of the wounded he saved from immediate death, and he
tried to hold back the frenzied swarm of old squaws who rushed forward
and began to practice cruelties at which even the most veteran warrior
might shudder. But Queen Esther urged them on, and “Indian” Butler
himself and the chiefs were afraid of her.
Henry, despite himself, despite all his experience and powers of
self-control, shuddered from head to foot at the cries that came from
the lost field, and he was sure that the others were doing the same. The
sun was setting, but its dying light, brilliant and intense, tinged the
field as if with blood, showing all the yelling horde as the warriors
rushed about for scalps, or danced in triumph, whirling their hideous
trophies about their heads. Others were firing at men who were escaping
to the far bank of the Susquehanna, and others were already seeking the
fugitives in their vain hiding places on the little islet.
The five moved farther into the forest, retreating slowly, and sending
in a shot now and then to protect the retreat of some fugitive who was
seeking the shelter of the woods. The retreat had become a rout and then
a massacre. The savages raged up and down in the greatest killing they
had known since Braddock's defeat. The lodges of the Iroquois would be
full of the scalps of white men.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account