“There are going to be terrible times around in the neighborhood of Ninety-Six, pretty soon, I think,” said Holden. “And it would be a good thing if General Greene came here.”
“He’d put a stop to the Injuns’ doin’s, mighty quick,” said another.
The others agreed that General Greene’s army would be able to put a stop to the depredations of the Indians, and then make it exceedingly hot as well for the redcoats in Ninety-Six and vicinity.
Then they ceased talking for a few minutes, while they watched the redskins, who had taken seats on the ground, with their faces toward the fort. They were about three hundred yards distant, and behind them, at about the same distance, was rough, broken country, with a deep gulch running through it, the mouth of the gulch being almost opposite the Indians’ backs.
Suddenly, one of the settlers, who happened to glance toward the mouth of the gulch, exclaimed, excitedly: “Look yonder! Look at the mouth of the gulch!”
The others turned their eyes in that direction, and saw a sight that made them all give vent to exclamations of astonishment. They saw, indeed, an avalanche of water at least ten feet in height coming sweeping down the gulch, foaming and, as it neared the end of the gulch, roaring at a great rate.
The Indians heard the sound, and leaped to their feet and turned, and when they saw the wall of water rushing toward the mouth of the gulch, they gave utterance to wild yells and started to run, to get out of the path of the flood.
They could not succeed, however, for the torrent came pouring out of the mouth of the gulch and dashing on across the level, spreading as it came, and before they could get out of reach, the water was upon them, and had them in its swirling embrace.
Some of them were struck by the logs and knocked senseless, and two or three were drowned. Others were swept onward and landed against the stockade-wall around the fort, while others still were carried past and went on across the valley, with the waters.
The settlers and the women and children, had watched this strange happening with wondering eyes, and with a kind of pleasure, too, for it had put an end to a problem that had been bothering them, had put the Indians to utter rout, at least for the time being.