m to fall back. At first they were
slow to understand, thinking, as Sevier told me afterward, that I was
pointing out some game. Then they turned to run, Robertson and Sevier
firing their rifles to the woods to the north of us.

These were the first guns fired in the battle of Point Pleasant. From the
woods came the noise of a large body of men advancing. A ripple of shots
was sent after the hunters. Hughey and Mooney halted and returned the
fire. A streak of red some distance ahead of the Shawnees' position, and
close to the river-bank, dropped Hughey dead. This shot was fired by
Tavenor Ross, a white man, who was captured by the Indians when a boy and
who had grown up among them.

Mooney, Robertson and young Sevier were now running for the camp, passing
between the Ohio bank and the marsh. We raced after them just as a man
named Hickey ran from the bushes and joined them. The Indians kept up a
scattering fire and they made much noise as they spread out through the
woods in battle-line. They supposed we were the scouts of an advancing
army.

It is the only instance I know of where insubordination saved any army
from a surprise attack, and possibly from defeat. To escape detection
while breaking the orders against foraging, the five men named had stolen
from the camp at an early hour.

By the time Cousin and I passed the lower end of the marsh small bodies of
Indians were making for the hills along Crooked Creek; others were
following down the Ohio inside the timber, while their scouts raced
recklessly after us to locate our line of battle. The scouts soon
discovered that our army was nowhere to be seen. Runners were instantly
sent back to inform Cornstalk he was missing a golden opportunity by not
attacking at once.

Mooney was the first to reach Colonel Lewis, who was seated on a log in
his shirt-sleeves, smoking his pipe. Mooney shouted:

"More'n four acres covered with Injuns at Old Town Creek!"

Rising, but with no show of haste, Lewis called to Cousin and me: "What
about this?"

"An attack in force, sir, I believe," I panted.

He glanced at Cousin, who nodded and then ducked away.

"I think you are mistaken," the colonel coldly remarked. "It must be a big
scouting-party." I tried to tell him what Cousin and I had seen and heard.
But he ignored me and ordered the drums to beat To Arms. But already the
border men were turning out and diving behind logs and rocks even while
the sleep still blurred their e