as its guide, and every man in the party knew that Tandy was not
likely to be long in leading them to a place where Indians were
plentiful. He knew every inch of country round about, and nothing
pleased him so well as a battle in any shape. The day after they left
Fort Glass, Dale's men reached the river at a point eighteen miles below
the present town of Clairborne, and about fifteen miles below the root
fortress. Here they crossed, in two canoes, to the eastern shore of the
river, and spent the night without sleep. The next morning Austill, with
six men, ascended the river in the canoes, while Dale, with the rest of
the party, marched up the bank. About a mile below the root fortress,
Dale who was marching some distance ahead of his men, came upon some
Indians at breakfast, and without waiting for his men to come up, shot
their chief. The rest fled precipitately, leaving their provisions
behind. Pushing on, Dale reached a point about two hundred yards below
the root fortress, and there determined to recross the river. The canoes
transported the men as rapidly as possible, but when all were over
except Dale and eight or nine men (among whom were Smith, Austill and
Caesar), and only one canoe remained at the eastern side of the stream, a
large party of Indians, numbering, as was afterwards ascertained, nearly
three hundred, attacked the handful of whites still remaining. These
retreated from the field, where they were breakfasting, and keeping the
Indians in check by careful and well-aimed firing, were about to get
into the canoe and escape to the opposite bank, about four hundred yards
away, when they discovered that their retreat was cut off by a large
canoe full of Indians, eleven in all, which had come out of the mouth of
the creek just above. The savages tried to approach the shore, but, in
spite of the fact that by careening the canoe to one side and lying down
they were able to conceal themselves, they were prevented from landing
by Austill and one or two other men. Two of the Indians jumped into the
water and tried to swim to the shore, while the others, firing over the
gunwale of the boat, were sorely annoying the whites. Austill shot one
of the swimmers but the other escaped to the shore, and joined the
savages there, informing them, as Dale supposed, of the weakness of his
force, which they had not yet discovered. Dale called to the men on the
other side of the river to cross and assist him, but they, after maki