CHAPTER II
Peaceful Valley
In a beautiful little valley of some three miles in length by perhaps alittle less width, several farmers were at work. They were plowing upthe ground and getting ready to plant a crop.
Over at one side was a little group of log houses, ten in number, thesebeing the homes of the families living in Peaceful Valley. The settlershad built the houses near together, for protection against the Indians.And in the center of the settlement was a very strong log building,surrounded by a thick stockade wall, with a strong gate, and thebuilding in question was intended as a sort of fort, to retreat to, incase of an overwhelming attack by Indians. In the building there waskept constantly a goodly supply of provisions, so that it would havebeen possible to stand quite a siege.
When we introduce the scene to the reader's notice, the farmers wereworking steadily, and quietly, and while they were on the alert, as wastheir custom, they were not expecting trouble, for they had not heard ofany Indians being in their immediate vicinity, though there had beendepredations fifteen or twenty miles farther south.
But suddenly a party of Indians numbering thirty or forty put in anappearance and made an attack on the settlers, who seized theirrifles--which they always took to the field with them--and firing at theredskins a few times, they ran to the settlement as fast as possible,the Indians following, yelling in a blood-thirsty manner.
The women and children at the houses had seen what was going on, and hadhastened to the fort, carrying such of their household goods as theycould manage handily, and they held the gate open for the men to enter.Then, when all were within, the gate was closed quickly, and fastened.The women and younger children entered the building, while the menclimbed to a platform that was built along the stockade-wall, on theinside, and perhaps five feet from the top of the wall. From here theycould fire over the top of the wall, at the redskins, and then drop downto avoid the arrows of the Indians.
The redskins, finding that to attempt to break down the gate, or toscale the wall would be to lose a number of their braves, turned theirattention to the houses, and began helping themselves to the contents.When they had taken everything that they cared for, they set the houseson fire, and the settlers were forced to stand there and see their homesgo up in flames.
"The fiends!" growled James Holden, the leader of the colony. "Whycouldn't they have let the houses stand? They got most of our goods.They might have been satisfied with that."
"They'll stay till after dark and try to get in here at us, likely,"said Henry Perkins. "I know these Cherokee Injuns. They are mean whenthey get their mad up, and these seem to be very much in earnest."
"Yes," said Holden. "We wounded several of them when they were chasingus into the settlement. This naturally aroused their anger."
"It was bad enough to have to live in a neighborhood where there are agood many Tories, without having to be bothered with the Injuns too,"said another of the settlers.
"The redcoats have put them up to going on the war-path," said Perkins."It was a mean trick to do, to get them started."
"You're right," agreed Holden, "but look at that terribly black cloudover to the north. There is going to be a storm and that right quick orI miss my guess."
The Indians, having finished setting fire to all the houses, retired toa little distance, squatted down on the ground, and watched thestructures burning.
Then, when the buildings had burned down, the redskins began dividingthe plunder they had secured from the houses, and when this wasfinished, they advanced as close to the fort as they dared. Here theystopped and held a council, of some sort, evidently trying to decideupon some plan for getting into the fort and at the settlers.
They talked and gesticulated at a great rate, and were apparently notagreed, or at a loss to determine upon any further procedure.
"I don't think there is much danger of their making an attack duringdaylight," said Holden, when they had watched the redskins a while.
"No, but they'll try to get into the stockade to-night, without anydoubt," said Perkins. "Unless," he added "that storm drives them away.Somehow the Indians don't seem to notice its coming at all."
"They are lower down in the gulch and perhaps do not see about as wellas we do up here," said another.
The other men all thought the same, but while they did not expect anattack before nightfall, yet they did not relax their vigilance. Theykept their eyes on the enemy.
"I wish that General Greene would come down this way, with his army,"said another of the settlers.
"Mebby he will come down here," said another. "I heerd that he is up inNorth Caroliny."
"There are going to be terrible times around in the neighborhood ofNinety-Six, pretty soon, I think," said Holden. "And it would be a goodthing 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 stopto the depredations of the Indians, and then make it exceedingly hot aswell for the redcoats in Ninety-Six and vicinity.
Then they ceased talking for a few minutes, while they watched theredskins, who had taken seats on the ground, with their faces toward thefort. They were about three hundred yards distant, and behind them, atabout the same distance, was rough, broken country, with a deep gulchrunning through it, the mouth of the gulch being almost opposite theIndians' backs.
Suddenly, one of the settlers, who happened to glance toward the mouthof the gulch, exclaimed, excitedly: "Look yonder! Look at the mouth ofthe gulch!"
The others turned their eyes in that direction, and saw a sight thatmade them all give vent to exclamations of astonishment. They saw,indeed, an avalanche of water at least ten feet in height comingsweeping 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, andwhen 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 thepath of the flood.
They could not succeed, however, for the torrent came pouring out of themouth of the gulch and dashing on across the level, spreading as itcame, 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 orthree were drowned. Others were swept onward and landed against thestockade-wall around the fort, while others still were carried past andwent on across the valley, with the waters.
The settlers and the women and children, had watched this strangehappening with wondering eyes, and with a kind of pleasure, too, for ithad put an end to a problem that had been bothering them, had put theIndians to utter rout, at least for the time being.
"There must have been a cloud-burst up the gulch," said one of the men.
"Yes, that was what happened," said Holden. "Well, it was a good thingfor us, for it has put the redskins to flight."
"It has put some of them to death," said Perkins. "I see three bodies,yonder."
"They were hit by the logs, and then drowned afterwards," said another.
"Yas. Well, it saved us the trouble of shooting them."
"So it did," said Holden.
"But, our houses are burned down!" murmured one of the women. "They haveburned our homes, and the flood has spoiled the ground that had beenfixed for planting."
"Oh, well, we can do the work over again," said Perkins. "And we canbuild new houses."
"Yes, that's so," said Holden. "I'm mighty glad the flood happened alongand drowned a few of the redskins and scared the others away."
By the middle of the afternoon the ground was dry again, the sun havingcome out and shone brightly, and the settlers went out and buried thethree dead Indians. Then they returned to the fort, and when nightfallcame, they placed two men on guard, for they thought it possible thatthe Indians might come
back again.