nt
could be passed without mishap, the rest of the way could
be easily won.

At daylight the troops were up and off. It was an
oppressively hot August morning, and no breath of wind
stirred the forest. Over the rough road trudged the long
line of sweltering men. In advance were the scouts; then
followed several light companies of the Black Watch; then
the main body of the little army; and in the rear came
the toiling pack-horses. Until noon the soldiers marched,
panting and tortured by mosquitoes, but buoyed up by the
hope that at Bushy Run they would be able to quench their
burning thirst and rest until nightfall. By one o'clock
in the afternoon they had covered seventeen miles and
were within a mile and a half of their objective point.
Suddenly in their front they heard the sharp reports of
muskets; the firing grew in intensity: the advance-guard
was evidently in contact with a considerable body of
Indians. Two light companies were rushed forward to their
support, and with fixed bayonets cleared the path. This,
however, was but a temporary success. The Indians merely
changed their position and appeared on the flanks in
increased numbers. From the shelter of trees the foe were
creating havoc among the exposed troops, and a general
charge was necessary. Highlanders and Royal Americans,
acting under the directing eye of Bouquet, again drove
the Indians back with the bayonet. Scarcely had this been
accomplished when a fusillade was heard in the rear. The
convoy was attacked, and it was necessary to fall back
to its support. Until nightfall, around a bit of elevated
ground--called Edge Hill by Bouquet--on which the convoy
was drawn up, the battle was waged. About the pack-horses
and stores the soldiers valiantly fought for seven hours
against their invisible foe. At length darkness fell,
and the exhausted troops could take stock of their losses
and snatch a brief, broken rest. In this day of battle
two officers were killed and four wounded, and sixty of
the rank and file were killed or wounded.

Flour-bags were piled in a circle, and within this the
wounded were placed. Throughout the night a careful watch
was kept; but the enemy made no attack during the darkness,
merely firing an occasional shot and from time to time
uttering defiant yells. They were confident that Bouquet's
force would be an easy prey, and waited for daylight to
renew the battle.

The soldiers had played a heroic part. Though unused to
fores