ginians to avenge the death of their comrades that they could scarcely
wait till the lieutenant gave the word of command to fire--then they rose
in a body, and before the Chippewas had time to draw their arrows or seize
their tomahawks, more than half their number lay dead upon the plain. The
rest fled to the forest, but the riflemen fired again, and killed or
wounded several more of the enemy. They then returned in triumph to relate
their exploits in the camp.

Ten chiefs fell that night, and their fall was, undoubtedly, one principal
cause of the French and Indian wars with the English.

Lieutenant Morgan rose to be a captain, and at the termination of the war
returned home, and lived on his own farm till the breaking out of the
American war. And then, at the head of a corps of Virginia rifleman,
appeared our hero, the brave and gallant Colonel Morgan, better known by
the title of general, which he soon acquired by his courage and ability.

[Illustration: BLACKBIRD.]

BLACKBIRD.

Among the first tribes of the Great Oregon Territory, which established
friendly intercourse with the United States traders, were the Omahas. The
boast of these Indians was a chief named Blackbird, who was a steadfast
friend of the white men and the terror of the neighboring hostile tribes.
Such were his skill, courage, and success in war, that friends and foes
regarded him as enchanted. He delighted in trials of strength or agility,
in which he always came off victorious. In addition to these qualities, he
possessed a secret which rendered him more than human in the eyes of his
barbarous followers. This was an acquaintance with the properties of
arsenic, which he had obtained from a white trader. Whenever he was
displeased with an Indian, he prophesied his death before a certain day,
and the sure accomplishment of the prophecy rendered Blackbird an object
of terror and reverence.

On one occasion, the Poncas made an incursion into Blackbird's territory,
and carried away a number of women and horses. He immediately collected
his warriors and pursued them. The Poncas sheltered themselves behind a
rude embankment, but their persevering enemy, gaining a good position,
poured upon them a well-directed fire, which did fearful execution. The
Ponca chief dispatched a herald, with the calumet, but he was immediately
shot; a second herald experienced the same treatment. The chieftain's
daughter, a young maiden of much personal beauty, the