Daniel Boone, Backwoodsman

by C. H. Forbes-Lindsay

Having gained all the information that he sought, Hardy made his way back to the place where he had left his horse and rode away. He reached Bryan’s in the evening and learned that, whilst Indian scouts had been observed in the vicinity, no large body of savages had made its appearance. The little garrison was filled with anxiety on learning the strength of the attackers and began to look eagerly for reinforcements. As soon as Hardy had allowed his horse a few hours’ rest, he started for Boonesborough, fifty-five miles distant, to summon assistance.

Bryan’s Station was a little more than five miles from the larger settlement of Lexington. It was situated on the southern bank of the Elkhorn, one side of the stockade being within a few hundred feet of the river. The fort was formed of two parallel rows of cabins, containing forty in all, connected by strong palisades and reinforced by blockhouses at each end. The garrison consisted of fifty men at this time, besides whom there were at least an equal number of women and children in the place. There was a good supply of ammunition and provisions on hand, and the general conditions favored the ability of settlers to stand a lengthy siege, provided they should not be overwhelmed by weight of numbers.

On the morning following the alarm the scouts from the garrison reported large bodies of the Indians to be in the neighborhood, and the settlers stood to their arms in expectation of the attack. Girty did not disclose the strength of his force, of which he believed the garrison to be in ignorance. Instead, he secreted his main body in some neighboring thickets and attempted a ruse.

A party of about fifty warriors was advanced against the fort with instructions to feign a determined assault but after a while to retreat as though in flight. Girty hoped by this stratagem to induce the defenders to issue in pursuit, when he would advance at the head of four hundred Indians, seize the stockade, and take the settlers in the rear.

Had the garrison not been forewarned by Hardy of the number of the attackers, the plan of the wily renegade might have succeeded. As it was, the settlers suspected the object of the feint and met it with a counter-stratagem. Thirteen active young men were sent out in pursuit of the retiring warriors, whilst the remainder of the garrison stood ready to repel the attack which they expected upon the other side of the stockade.

Girty heard the firing and the designedly loud shouts of the young men as they followed the redskins towards the woods. He supposed that the garrison had left the fort and confidently advanced to the nearest gate, anticipating easy possession. There was nothing in the appearance of the place to undeceive him as he approached, followed by a horde of painted savages. Not a head was visible; not a muzzle showed from port-hole.

The redskins were allowed to advance to within fifty yards of the palisades. Then a staggering fire was poured upon them. They stopped, amazed, and aimlessly discharged their guns in the direction of the fort. The garrison replied with another well-directed fusillade, and as the savages broke and began to run, volley after volley was poured into their panic-stricken ranks.

The thirteen men who had been despatched in pursuit of the former party of Indians, now reëntered the stockade. Their presence was needed, for after a brief interval the main body of the redskins returned in an attack better sustained than their first essay. The onslaught was maintained for several hours with a vigor that taxed the defenders to the utmost. Urged on by Girty and McKee, the redskins rushed upon the stockade again and again. But the garrison always reserved its fire until the assailants were so near that every shot told. Never an Indian passed that fifty-yard line but met his death. Now and again, one, more determined than his fellows, gained to the palisade and clambered upon it, only to be stricken down by the tomahawk of the nearest backwoodsman.

At about one o’clock in the afternoon the redskins withdrew on hearing from their scouts that a reinforcement was approaching. This timely succour consisted of a body of fifty men from Lexington. The force was about equally composed of horsemen and others on foot. When they approached the station, it was agreed that the mounted contingent should keep to the beaten trail and charge through the besiegers, whilst the men on foot should make their way to the fort under cover of some favoring cornfields.

The former party rode through the waiting Indians under a shower of bullets and entered the stockade without the loss of a man. They had succeeded in diverting attention from their companions, who were well hidden by the standing corn and should have arrived at their destination with equal safety. By some mischance, however, they blundered on to the road and were discovered by the savages. Fortunately the fort was near at hand, but in the rush to that refuge six men fell.