out
against the attacks of the Delawares and the Shawnees. When the
commander-in-chief of the army learned of the distress of the fort he
sent a strong force under Colonel Bouquet to relieve it.

In August, when crossing the Alleghany Mountains, Bouquet's army was
assailed by a horde of Indians that had been lying in wait for them at
Bushy Run. The battle which followed was hot. The British were
courageous, but they fell in large numbers under the fire of the
Indians, who fled before every charge, only to return like infuriated
wasps at the moment the English fancied they had repulsed them. Night
brought relief from the galling fire. But the battle was not over.

The English were held penned up on the road without water till dawn,
when the charge was renewed with such zest that for a time it looked as
if there were no escape for the forces of Bouquet. The unusual boldness
of the Indians suggested to him a stratagem.

[Illustration: REDOUBT AT FORT PITT]

He feigned a retreat. Thus encouraged the Indians rushed upon the
British with war whoop and scalp cry. The forces of Bouquet divided; the
Indians filled the breach. Then at the word of command the troops closed
on them, charging with bayonets. Many of the Indians entrapped in this
way fell; the rest fled.

After that the English made their way to Fort Pitt without serious
interruption. In the battle of Bushy Run the loss on both sides was
heavy for an Indian battle. The English lost eight officers and over one
hundred soldiers; the Indians, several chiefs and about sixty warriors.
Though the English loss was greater than that of the Indians, it could
be more easily made up. For that reason, and because the English had
succeeded in reaching Fort Pitt, the expedition was regarded as a
splendid victory for the palefaces.

As winter advanced the Indians were obliged to desist from war and go
into the forest in small companies to hunt. During the winter that
followed the rebellion, the Indians had no help from the white people,
and the bitter hardships they suffered did much to put them into a
pacific frame of mind.

Sir William Johnson, the king's sole agent and superintendent of Indian
affairs, understood the red men better than most of his countrymen did.
He lived among them on a great estate in the Mohawk Valley. He spoke
their language and often dressed in Indian suit of slashed deerskin.

In his opinion it was wasteful and unwise to fight with the Indians. He