Retreating slowly and in as good order as they could, the British got beyond the range of the Carolina's guns by nine o'clock, and finding a position where a bank of earth served for a breastwork, they made a final stand there. It was impossible to drive them from such a position, and so, little by little, the Americans withdrew, and at ten o'clock the Battle in the Dark was at an end.
Now let us see what Jackson had gained or lost by this hasty attack. The British were still in a position to threaten New Orleans. They had not been driven away, and the rest of their large army, which had not yet come up, was hurrying forward to help them. They had lost a great many more men than Jackson had, but they could spare men better than he could, and they were not whipped by any means. Still, the attack was equal to a victory for the Americans. It is almost certain that if Jackson had waited another day before fighting he would have lost New Orleans, and the whole Southwest would have been overrun.
For by making this night attack he showed the British that he could and would fight, and they, finding what kind of a defense he meant to make, made up their minds to move slowly and cautiously. They waited for the rest of their force to come up, and while they were waiting and getting ready, Jackson had more than two weeks' time in which to collect troops from the country north of him, to get arms and ammunition, and to throw up strong fortifications. When the British made their grand attack on the 8th of January, 1815, they found Jackson ready for them. His army was increased, his men were full of confidence, and, best of all, he had a line of strong earth-works to fight behind. It is commonly said that his fortifications were made of cotton bales, but that is an error. When he first began to fortify, he used some cotton bales, and some sugar which it was thought would do instead of sand; but in some of the early skirmishes it was found that the sugar was useless, because it would not stop cannon-balls; while the cotton was worse, because it took fire, and nearly suffocated the men behind it with smoke. The cotton and sugar were at once thrown aside, and the battle of New Orleans was fought behind earth-works. In that battle the British were so badly worsted that they gave up all idea of taking New Orleans, which, a month before, they had believed it would be so easy to capture.
["TO COVENTRY."]
BY ADA CARLETON STODDARD.
It was down at the old Towle dam that the trouble began, on a still Saturday when the clouds hung close and soft and gray, threatening rain. It was just the right kind of an afternoon for fishing, so the four lively boys who went climbing about over rocks and decaying timbers to drop a line every now and then in some dark, inviting nook, agreed without a shadow of doubt.
"There ain't a place on the Duxnekeag stream where the trout like to stay so well," remarked Wat Emerson, in a satisfied under-tone.
Mel Berry glanced fondly toward the edge of the stream where a dozen nice trout strung on an alder twig were anchored in a shallow pool.
"We never come here that we don't get a good mess," said he. "See, Wat, I'm going to try 'em down there."