f his victory, to the envy and admiration of his less venturous
companions.[C]
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[C] Hildreth's Pioneer History.
[Illustration: A MOUNTED RANGER.]
INDIAN FIGHT ON THE LITTLE MUSKINGUM.
In the latter part of September, 1789, an alarm being given that Indians
had been seen in the Campus Martius, on the Ohio, a party consisting of
five or six rangers, ten volunteer citizens, and twelve regular soldiers
was collected for pursuit.
The men went up in canoes to the mouth of Duck creek, where they left
their water craft. The more experienced rangers soon fell upon the trail,
which they traced across the wide bottoms on to the Little Muskingum. At a
point about half a mile below where Conner's mill now stands, the Indians
forded the creek. In a hollow, between the hills, about a mile east of the
creek, they discovered the smoke of their camp fire. The rangers now
divided the volunteers into two flanking parties, with one of the spies at
the head of each, and three of their number to act in front. By the time
the flankers had come in range of the camp, the Indians discovered their
pursuers, by the noise of the soldiers who lagged behind, and were not so
cautious in their movement. They instantly fled up the run on which they
were encamped. Two of their number leaving the main body, ascended the
point of a hill, with a ravine on the right and left of it.
[Illustration: AN INDIAN BRAVE.]
The rangers now began to fire, while the Indians, each one taking his
tree, returned the shot. One of the two Indians on the spur of the ridge
was wounded through the hips, by one of the spies on the right, who pushed
on manfully to gain the flanks of the enemy. The men in front came on more
slowly, and as they began to ascend the point of the ridge, Ned Henderson,
who was posted on high ground, cried out "Kerr! Kerr! there is an Indian
behind that white oak, and he will kill some of you." Kerr instantly
sprung behind a large tree, and Peter Anderson, who was near him, behind a
hickory, too small to cover more than half his body, while John Wiser
jumped down into the ravine. At that instant the Indian fired at Anderson,
and as John looked over the edge of the bank to learn the effect of the
shot, he saw Peter wiping the dust of the hickory bark out of his eyes.
The ball grazed the tree, just opposite his nose, and glancing off did him
no serious harm, but filling his eyes with the dust, and cutting his nose
with the
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