stratagems of Indian warfare, or bush-fighting, as it is more aptly
called. Long, however, before he was ready to take the field, the
French and Indians, made daring and audacious by their great victory
on the Monongahela, had crossed the mountains at several different
points in great numbers, and had already begun their bloody work. The
terrified and defenceless inhabitants dwelling in the distant parts of
the wilderness now came flocking to the Shenandoah Valley for
protection from the merciless enemy, some of them never stopping till
they had passed on over to the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge.

One morning, a rumor found its way to Winchester, that a large party
of Indians were within twelve miles of that place, pillaging, burning,
and murdering at a frightful rate. Straightway a great fear fell upon
the inhabitants. Little children ran, and hid their faces in their
mothers' aprons, crying piteously; women ran hither and thither,
screaming, and wringing their hands; and broad-shouldered,
double-fisted men stood stock-still, and shook in their moccasins.
Washington tried to prevail upon some of his soldiers to sally out
with him, and drive the enemy back from the valley; but, being
strangers to military obedience, not a leather-shirt of all the rabble
could he get to venture beyond the ditches. When he put them in mind
of what was expected of them as men and soldiers, they only answered,
that, if they must die, they would rather stay there, and die with
their wives and families. Having a lurking suspicion, that, after all,
there might be more smoke than fire in these flying rumors, he sent
out a scout to bring him some more certain tidings of the matter. In a
wonderfully short time, the scout came back, pale and affrighted, with
the dismal intelligence that he had, with his own ears, heard the guns
and yells of the Indians not four miles distant, and that Winchester
would be beset by the savages in less than an hour. Whereupon
Washington made another appeal to the courage and manhood of his men;
which proved so far successful, that a forlorn hope of forty finally
screwed up pluck enough to follow him to the scene of danger. Moving
with great caution and circumspection, and keeping all their ears and
eyes about them, the party came at length to the spot mentioned by the
scout; where, sure enough, they heard a somewhat scattering discharge
of fire-arms, and divers outlandish noises, that bore, however, but a
very