"He didn't have no news very straight. He met an old trapper from the Miami, an' the trapper said that all the forts out in them western countries had been captured by the redskins, with some French traders a-helpin' 'em. We didn't have time to talk it over much, fer pap took to packin' up ez soon ez the news come. He wasn't goin' to be sculped, not if he could help it. An' I ain't goin' to be sculped nuther!" added Si Lee, and urged his cows along the trail faster than ever.
"I hope this news about the trading-posts isn't true," said Dave, to his uncle.
"Dave, we have got to take what comes," answered Joseph Morris, gloomily. "When we built that new cabin I fancied we should never have to leave it. But here we are going away, and the Indians may burn it down before another sunset. Perhaps, in view of all that is taking place, we can be thankful that our lives have been spared."
Si Lee drove his cows up to the cattle belonging to the Morrises, and it was not long before Mr. Lee and his son Dick came up, with big bundles on their backs. The man was a newcomer in that vicinity, and knowing little or nothing about Indian warfare, was much frightened over what he had seen and heard.
"You don't catch me goin' out thar ag'in," he said to Joseph Morris. "I'm goin' back to the James River, whar I come from. It ain't no fun tryin' to run a farm with the redskins watchin' fer a chance to sculp you!"
"That is true, Neighbor Lee," answered Mr. Morris. "But if there were no settlements on the frontier what would prevent the Indians from striking the places further eastward? The only way to get the best of the red men is to force them further and further to the west and the north."
"Well, I ain't goin' to be the one to do it," answered Nathan Lee, doggedly. He was a coward at heart, and had no desire to fight, no matter what was to be gained thereby.
When Fort Cumberland was gained, the Morrises found that seven families from the frontier had already arrived there, and also two children from a homestead three miles to the north of the fort. The children had lost their big brother, who had had them in charge, and could not tell what had become of their father and their mother.
Nearly everybody present had a tale of woe to tell. Some had been attacked by the Indians, although the majority had taken time by the forelock and hurried away before the arrival of the enemy. Not one had brought along all of his or her belongings, and many valuable things had been left behind. One settler had seen his cabin go up in flames while he was only a mile away, and another had hidden in the forest only a few minutes before the arrival of the Indians. This settler had propped up an old hat on a stick near an open window, and the red men, on their approach, had riddled the hat and stick with bullets and arrows.
With so many people coming in, it was utterly impossible to accommodate them within the stronghold, and many had to camp in the woods outside. Here the settlers put up a rude barricade, and all the men were formed into a company to do guard duty. As Dave had been a soldier, he was placed in charge of a part of this guard, something which pleased him not a little.