THE RESCUE.

Cromwell Argus, Volume I, Issue 28, 25 May 1870, Page 2

THE RESCUE.

In the spring $f 1794, while GenerafWayne, in command bf ilie North-Western American Army, was occupying Fort Greonville, which he had constructed tho preceding winter, news was brought to him that a party of Pottawatomy Indians had surprised and destroyed the block house of a small settlement not far distant, and massacred all the inmates except a young female, whom they had taken prisoner, and whom they were then supposed to be conducting to their village. This female, a Miss Eggleston, was the daughter of an officer of some note. He was a friend of Wayne's, and the General determined, if it was in his power, to save her. At that time he had some two or three heroic little bands of spies, or scouts, attached to his division; and he knew that if a rescue could be effected at all, the men to entrust with that important enterprise could be found among them, and them only, Now, it so happened that a small party of these scouts were at thafc moment.in the fort, having come in the previous •night with important information, and were preparing to set off again immediately. SendIng.one of the most daring of these, Robert M'Clellan by name, who, though not the regular appointed leader of the band, sometimes acted in that capacity when his commander was absent, the General briefly informed him of what had taken place, and asked him if he thought there was a hope of Miss Sggleston being rescued. " I can't say as to that, Gineral," replied the scout, " but this I will say, if it kin be done, I kin do it."

" How many men do you want f' asked Wayne. " How big is the party V enquired the other.

"Prom the report, I should judge there were twenty m thirty of them." " Then, it'll never do for us to make a regular stand-up fight on't, Gineral, unless we has the cap'n and the others all along ; and as they won't be in afore to-morrow, if then, I reckon it's best to operate by circumvention : and the two that's here with ■me —Hickman and Hart—will be jest as put me where I kin get their trail, and if the red niggers are not too far ahead, I'll goon fetch a good report of them, ef I don't of the young woman." " But yon must bring a good account of her," rejoined Wayne in a positive tone. It is to save her I send you; for she is the daughter of my friend, and her life and fescue are above price."

"Then we'll save her, Gineral," replied the hardy scout —" that is, ef the butchering varmints only save" her themselves till we kin get to whar she are."

General Wayne gave M'Clellan some further instructions, and then bade him get out immediately. He then returned to his temporary quarters in the fort, and informing his companions what was wanted of them, they at once set about preparing for their new adventure. In less than half-an-hour, the three were treacling the intricate mazes of a great dark forest which then stretched away, nnbrokenly, for many a long league before them. With long and rapid strides—M'Clellan, the fleetest-footed hunter of his time, in the lead—they got over some twenty miles of ground, and reached the ruins of the block-house, where the massacre had taken just as the sun was setting. There 'Wjas light enough to find the broad trail of the retreating Indians, and with no unnecessary delay, they set out upon it, and Advanced two or three miles further, when the gathering night compelled them to encamp and postpone further operations until the morning broke.

The night passed off without any disturbance ;'and at the first streak of day they arose and resumed their journey, and we the sun set again they had travelled far upon the broad trail of their foes in a northerly direction.

It is not our purpose to follow them in detail. Suffice it to say that, near the close .of the second day, they reached a point where t]ie trail forkted, and it became necessary to make a careful examination, in order to decide which party had taken the prisoner with them. To the best of their judgment the whole number of Indians was not much short of thirty ; but they were not equally divided at the point of reparation, as was evident from one trail being much larger than the other. They poon satisfied themselves that the girl had been taken with the smaller , party. This was a pleasing discovery, as it gave them more hope of being successful in her rescue, This decided, they pushed on rapidly till night, and then encamped—proceeding on the following morning as before ; and at the close of t,h& third day, just as night was setting in, they came within view of the camp-fire of their foes. Waiting some two or three hours until they thought the venture perfectly safe, they carefully proceeded to reconnoitre the Indian camp, which was in a email, pleasant, but'heavilywootled valley, through which flowed a branch of the Wabash. Creeping up cautiously, under the cover of some bushes, l&ey beheld six Indians carelessly disposed ground the lire, three of them lying down Cm If asleep, and the others sitting near tggethor, conversing in low tones, occasionally laughing, and evidently totally

unsuspicious of danger. A little apart, and bound to a tree, was tho poor captive —a young and beautiful female—whose now pale and dejected features bespoke the despair of her heart, and, combined with her dishevelled hair and torn and disarranged garments, rendered her an object of pity even to men hardened to almost every scene of suffering and distress. Having fully ascertained the number and position of their enemies, and tho fact that the prisoner whom they had come to rescue was still alive, the scouts drew back to a safe distance, and held a whispered consultation upon the manner of their future procedure, " I don't exactly like either of your plans," said M'Clellan, who had quietly listened to the propositions of the others. " It's our business to get the gal away—that's the Gineral's orders—and the way that we kin do that the best is the best way. Now, instead of trying to steal their guns, one o' you just creep up and cut her coids, and start her off towards us as easy as you kin; but if there's any alarm, tell her to break for the nearest thicket, and we'll stand atween her and harm. I don't think thar'll be any trouble 'bout our coming out all right, for we've fought bigger odds afore to-day, without the 'vantage of a surprise, and licked 'em to,"

After some further discussion, the plan of M'Clellan was acceded to as the best, and Hart was selected to enter the camp and release the girl—the others to be in readiness to pour in their fire in case of an alarm—which, to say the least, would be likely to throw the Indians into confusion, and give our friends so much the advantage—while the girl would be almost certain to escape, and her escape was what they now sought rather than the lives of the savages. Having thus arranged the matter, the three scouts kept perfectly quiet and silent some two or three hours longer, and then began the execution of their final scheme. The fire, which the Indians had fed while astir, had now gone down to mere embers; but this only the better served M'Olellan's idea, as it would render Hart less liable to be seen in his approach to the prisoner. Some quarter of an hour more was spent in arranging everything for perfect action, and getting into position, which they did in that stealthy and noiseless manner peculiar to men of their profession. Then leaving his two companions where their fire would be sure to be effective, Hart as cautiously and stealthily drew back, and glided round to the captive. He reached her without causing any alarm, but found her fast asleep, sitting on the ground, her back braced against the tree to which she was bound. To wake her, warn her, and assure her that deliverance was at hand—without causing her to start, or cry out, and so arouse her captors—was a delicate task, He began, however, by whispering in her ear, continued so untii she awoke, heard and comprehended his words, when her rare presence of mind came to his aid, and he was greatly relieved and rejoiced at her whispered reply : " I understand you—l thank you—God bless you, whoever you are! Have no fear —I am a soldier's daughter, and will do whatever you bid me."

" Then jest as soon as I cut your cords," whispered Hart in reply, "get up and foller me, and don't make a bit o' noise ; but ef the Enjuns do happen to rouse, don't get too skeered, but run for the nearest thicket, and leave me and ray comrades to settle them."

He then cut her bonds; and quietly, but with trembling eagerness, she arose to comply with his directions ; but the first step forward, her long corded and benumbed limbs partially giving way under her, she stumbled upon a dry branch, which Biiapped beneath her feet. Instantly one of the Indians nearest the tree started up into a sitting posture, when Hart, feeling himself called upon to act, suddenly presented his rifle at the breast of his foe, and lodged the contents in his body. As he fell back, the scout, with a yell of defiance and triumph, bounded over him to attack the next, the whole party being now fully aroused and amed. Snapping his pistol at the breast of the second, and finding it to miss fire, Hart struck out with his tomahawk, but stumbled at the same moment, and missing the warrior in the act of rising, fell heavily against him. The latter staggered, and was really much alarmed and confused ; but comprehending, withal, that he had an enemy within his reach, he quickly grappled him, whipped out his knife, and plunged it several times into his body. He was in the very act of doing this, in fact, when a ball from the rifle of M'Clellan pierced his brain, and he fell dead over the dying form of Hart, Hickman at the same instant shooting do vn another ; for, with loud, terrifying yells, both had rushed upon the Indians at the same moment with their unfortunate companion.

There were now three unwounded Indians to two whites ; and had the former known their advantage, the day might have been their own ; but they were surprised, alarmed, half-paralysed with the thought that they were attacked by overwhelming numbers, and before they had time to recover, the smaller weapons of our heroes had done their work upon two more of them, the sixth one onlv making his escape, with a yell of terror, The skjr-

wish, from first to Jast, scarcely exceeded a minute; and probably no regular battle in the world ever showed such a proportion of the killed, to the number engaged, in so short a time, {

It wtis a dearly-won contest to our two surviving friends, and sad and gloomy were their feelings as they lifted their poor comrade from beneath his foe, and listened to the irregular breathings which were soon to cease in death. The girl, who had not fled far, now returned, and joined them in their grief, for she felt that the poor fellow had fallen in her rescue and defence. In an hour, the dying man expired in tho arms of M'Clellan, rousing a little, at the last moment, and speaking a few word?, faintly : " Good-bye, boys," lie said, " and remember me wharever you see the red uiggers." .

" We'll do that, Hart, you may rest assured," replied M'Clellan, in an unsteady tone ; and over his mortal remains those two hardy scouts swore undying revenge against their savage foes. Drawing the poor girl apart from the bloody scene, and assuring her that they were as ready to yield their lives in her defence as the one who had so fallen, they gave her a blanket, and persuaded her. to lie down and get what rest she could, that she might be prepared for the long journey homeward, which would commence on the morrow. Then scalping their slain, and making prize of whatever they considered of any value, they sat down by their comrade, and passed the night beside him, rehearsing tales and adventures in which he had taken a part, and renewing their oaths of eternal vengeance against the whole Indian race.

By daylight the following morning they dug a rude grave with their hatchets and knives, and having ahown their final respect to their late companion, by interring his remains as well as their circumstances would permit, they set out on their return to the fort, which they eventually reached in safety, and where they delivered their rescued captive into the hands of General Wayne, who not only kindly thanked, but liberally rewarded them, and expressed a soldier's regret for the loss of their brave companion.

It may interest our readers to know that this same young lady—so providentially preserved at the general massacre of her friends and so gallantly rescued at the expense of the life of one of those brave heroes of the wilderness—subsequently became the wife of an officer under Wayne, and the mother of one who now hohls a distinguished position in the councils of the nation.