The Winning of the West, Volume Two | Page 6

first time the garrison was
taken by surprise; one man lost his scalp, and four were wounded,
including Boon himself, who had been commissioned as captain in the

county militia. [Footnote: Two of the other wounded men were Captain
John Todd and Boon's old hunting companion, Stoner.] The Indians
promptly withdrew when they found they could not carry the fort by a
sudden assault. On the second occasion the whites were on their guard,
and though they had one man killed and two wounded (leaving but
thirteen unhurt men in the fort), they easily beat off the assailants, and
slew half a dozen of them. This time the Indians stayed round two days,
keeping up a heavy fire, under cover of which they several times tried
to burn the fort. [Footnote: Clark's diary.]
Logan's Adventures.
Logan's [Footnote: Boon says July 19th, Clark's diary makes it May
30th: Clark is undoubtedly right; he gives the names of the man who
was killed and of the two who were wounded.] station at St. Asaphs
was likewise attacked; it was held by only fifteen gunmen. When the
attack was made the women, guarded by part of the men, were milking
the cows outside the fort. The Indians fired at them from the thick cane
that still stood near-by, killing one man and wounding two others, one
mortally. [Footnote: The name of the latter was Burr Harrison; he died
a fortnight afterward.--Clark.] The party, of course, fled to the fort, and
on looking back they saw their mortally wounded friend weltering on
the ground. His wife and family were within the walls; through the
loopholes they could see him yet alive, and exposed every moment to
death. So great was the danger that the men refused to go out to his
rescue, whereupon Logan alone opened the gate, bounded out, and
seizing the wounded man in his arms, carried him back unharmed
through a shower of bullets. The Indians continued to lurk around the
neighborhood, and the ammunition grew very scarce. Thereupon Logan
took two companions and left the fort at night to go to the distant
settlements on the Holston, where he might get powder and lead. He
knew that the Indians were watching the wilderness road, and trusting
to his own hardiness and consummate woodcraft, he struck straight out
across the cliff-broken, wood-covered mountains, sleeping wherever
night overtook him, and travelling all day long with the tireless speed
of a wolf. [Footnote: Not a fanciful comparison; the wolf is the only
animal that an Indian or a trained frontiersman cannot tire out in several
days' travel. Following a deer two days in light snow, I have myself
gotten near enough to shoot it without difficulty.] He returned with the

needed stores in ten days from the time he set out. These tided the
people over the warm months.
In the fall, when the hickories had turned yellow and the oaks deep red,
during the weeks of still, hazy weather that mark the Indian summer,
their favorite hunting season, [Footnote: Usually early in
November.--McAfee MSS.] the savages again filled the land, and
Logan was obliged to repeat his perilous journey. [Footnote: Marshall,
50.] He also continually led small bands of his followers against the
Indian war--and hunting-parties, sometimes surprising and dispersing
them, and harassing them greatly. Moreover he hunted steadily
throughout the year to keep the station in meat, for the most skilful
hunters were, in those days of scarcity, obliged to spend much of their
time in the chase. Once, while at a noted game lick, [Footnote: These
game licks were common, and were of enormous extent. Multitudes of
game, through countless generations, had tramped the ground bare of
vegetation, and had made deep pits and channels with their hoofs and
tongues. See McAfee MSS. Sometimes the licks covered acres of
ground, while the game trails leading towards them through the wood
were as broad as streets, even 100 feet wide. I have myself seen small
game licks, the largest not a hundred feet across, in the Selkirks, Coeur
d'Alenes, and Bighorns, the ground all tramped up by the hoofs of elk,
deer, wild sheep, and white goats, with deep furrows and hollows
where the saline deposits existed. In the Little Missouri Bad Lands
there is so much mineral matter that no regular licks are needed. As the
game is killed off the licks become overgrown and lost.] waiting for
deer, he was surprised by the Indians, and by their fire was wounded in
the breast and had his right arm broken. Nevertheless he sprang on his
horse and escaped, though the savages were so close that one, leaping
at him, for a moment grasped the tail of the horse. Every one of these
pioneer leaders, from Clark and Boon to Sevier and Robertson,