Running Fox and his companions left the village in silence, for Black Panther had cautioned the Delawares against making a demonstration. The sun was low in the west, and the valiant company of fighters hurried through the woods in the hope of finding the Mohawks before it grew dark. Several of the scouts who had already located the enemy were sent on ahead, and three other scouts were sent across the river in a canoe to watch along the opposite shore.
By the time darkness finally closed down the Delawares had traveled a considerable distance along the river. Then they stopped, and waited to hear from the scouts. It was not long before one of them brought word that the main Mohawk war-party was close at hand. He said that they were following the Delaware hunting trail, and had sent a number of scouts ahead of them. The Delawares lost little time in concealing themselves along the sides of a narrow ravine. Then they waited anxiously for the Mohawks to blunder into the ambush.
A short time afterward the Mohawk scouts entered the ravine. The Delawares allowed them to pass through in safety. However, when the war-party attempted to follow, the Delawares rose from concealment and attacked them with great fury. The Mohawks were completely surprised, and for a time they were thrown into great confusion. The Delawares had little trouble in driving them from the ravine, and elated at their success they attempted to turn the surprise into a rout. It was only a few moments, however, before they discovered that they had made a serious blunder. What they had mistaken for the war-party was only an advance guard following the scouts. When the main war-party rushed up a few moments later, the Delawares found themselves outnumbered by four to one. Still Running Fox had no idea of retreating. He had been sent to delay the Mohawks as long as possible, and he determined to make them fight every stride of the way to the Delaware camp. Calling upon his war-leaders to follow him, the young warrior fought with a reckless fury that amazed his foes. Stimulated by his example, the Delawares not only held their ground, but actually forced the Mohawks to give way. The advantage was only temporary, however, for the Mohawks soon rallied, and attacked so fiercely that the Delawares in turn were compelled to yield. They retreated slowly, however, fighting so stubbornly that the Mohawks began to grow cautious.
Running Fox had many narrow escapes, for he threw himself into the thickest of the fighting. Twice he was compelled to fight desperate hand to hand encounters with his foes, and each time he came off victorious. At another time he was attacked by three Mohawks at once, but he succeeded in dodging behind a tree and killed two of his assailants, and wounded the third. The Delawares began to believe that the sacred white Medicine Owl had made him invincible. Running Fox himself believed it, and the thought gave him confidence.
The Delawares held back the Mohawks until daylight, and then the latter suddenly retired. Running Fox knew better than to attempt to follow them. He feared that the withdrawal was part of some clever stratagem, and he immediately called a council of his war-leaders.
“I believe the Mohawks will wait until it gets dark again, and then they will try to circle around us,” said Broken Hand. “I believe the best thing we can do is to go back to the village. We have held back the Mohawks until our women and children are safe. We can do no good by staying here and throwing away our lives. I believe we can make a better showing with our people at the village.”
“I feel strange about this thing,” declared Two Elks. “You have done some wonderful things, but if you stay here I believe you will be killed. I cannot help telling you this, because that is how I feel about it.”
“I feel like Broken Hand,” said Painted Dog. “I have not seen Standing Wolf in this fight. I believe he is somewhere about with another big war-party. I saw many Oneidas in this war-party. Yes, I believe I killed an Onondaga. Those people may be coming to help the Mohawks. Running Fox, you are a good leader. You have done some wonderful things. But there are only a few of us. Some of our friends have already been killed. The Mohawks are too strong for us. If we stay here they will come back and destroy us. I believe we must try to get away.”
“Well, my brothers, I have listened to your words, and I see that you all feel the same way about it. I would like to stay and fight some more, but I believe it would be foolish. We have done what we came here to do. We have held back the Mohawks so that our people can get ready to fight It is enough. Come, we will go.”