ed
pace, to the valley. The scarlet uniform of the younger horseman,
conspicuous through the foliage some distance up the mountain, showed
that he had escaped. His elder comrade, when the smoke cleared away, was
seen also beyond the reach of Cleveland's fire; but his altered pace and
his relaxed seat in his saddle, made it apparent that he had received
some hurt. This was confirmed when, still nearer to the summit, the
stranger was seen to fall upon his horse's neck, and thence to be lifted
to the ground by three or four soldiers who had hastened to his relief.

These incidents scarcely occupied more time in their performance than I
have taken in the narrative; and all reflection upon them, for the
present, was lost in the uproar and commotion of the bloody scene that
succeeded.

Meanwhile, Campbell and Shelby, each at the head of his men in the
centre division of the army, steadily commenced the ascent of the
mountain. A long interval ensued, in which nothing was heard but the
tramp of the soldiers and a few words of almost whispered command, as
they scaled the height; and it was not until they had nearly reached the
summit that the first peal of battle broke upon the sleeping echoes of
the mountain.

Campbell here deployed into line, and his men strode briskly upwards
until they had come within musket-shot of the British regulars, whose
sharp and prolonged volleys, at this instant, suddenly burst forth from
the crest of the hill. Peal after peal rattled along the mountain side,
and volumes of smoke, silvered by the light of the sun, rolled over and
enveloped the combatants.

When the breeze had partially swept away this cloud, and opened glimpses
of the battle behind it, the troops of Campbell were seen recoiling
before an impetuous charge of the bayonet, in which Ferguson himself led
the way. A sudden halt by the retreating Whigs, and a stern front
steadfastly opposed to the foe, checked the ardor of his pursuit at an
early moment, and, in turn, he was discovered retiring towards his
original ground, hotly followed by the mountaineers. Again, the same
vigorous onset from the royalists was repeated, and again the shaken
bands of Campbell rallied and turned back the rush of battle towards the
summit. At last, panting and spent with the severe encounter, both
parties stood for a space eyeing each other with deadly rage, and
waiting only to gather breath for the renewal of the strife.

At this juncture, the distant