In his self-contained way Boone mourned many months for his brother. But this severe blow was soon followed by a heavier one.
[XVIII.]
“THE BLOODY YEAR”
Whitaker and his men fall into an ambush—A number are killed but the remainder rally and beat off the Indians—Colonel Floyd goes in pursuit—He has a fight with the savages—His force is put to flight with the loss of half its number—Captain Wells rescues his commander—The McAfee brothers, noted Kentucky backwoodsmen—They have an exciting adventure with a band of Indians—The “bloody year” is ushered in by the loss of Laughrey’s party—One hundred and seven men are killed or captured—Estill’s battle with the Wyandots—Another defeat for the whites—The Indian tribes gather and plan a great invasion of Kentucky under the leadership of two white men.
The winter of 1780-81 was long remembered in Kentucky as the “hard winter.” The intensity of the cold confined the Indians more closely than usual to their villages. But though the settlers were thus exempted from the annoyance of marauding parties, they suffered severely on account of the insufficiency of food. The crops of the previous autumn had been in large part destroyed, and many immigrants had arrived too late in the year to plough and sow. Buffalo meat, and a scanty allowance of that, formed the main subsistence of the people for several months.
With the opening of spring a number of Indian parties crossed into Kentucky. One of these ambushed a body of men under Colonel William Linn and killed four of the number, including the leader. Captain Whitaker, with fifteen “guns,” pursued the Indians and trailed them to the Ohio. Supposing them to have crossed the river, Whitaker commenced to embark his men in canoes, with the object of following. Whilst thus engaged, the whites were suddenly attacked in the rear by the redskins who, instead of taking to their canoes, had stepped into the water and walked some distance through it, returning finally to the bank, where they formed an ambuscade.
It was a very pretty trap and the whites were completely caught in it. Nine of their number fell in the course of a few minutes, but the remainder rallied and attacked the Indians with such spirit that they fled into the forest.
In the next month—April—the settlers at Shelbyville, a station that had been established by Squire Boone, were warned by a scout of the approach of a strong body of redskins. There were few men in the place and the stockade was not in a fit condition for defence. It was determined, therefore, to remove to a nearby settlement on Bear Creek. This proved to be an unfortunate step, for the Indians assailed the party en route, dispersing it and killing more than half its number.
Colonel Floyd hastily collected twenty-five men and went in pursuit of this body of warriors, which numbered two hundred.