ly lying down at a time.

The night had almost passed away without our being assailed, when just
before dawn those on watch shouted out--

"Here they are! Up, up, boys! got in the cattle--quick!"

Just as the last animal was driven inside our fortifications the enemy
were upon us. We received them with a hot fire, which emptied three
saddles; when, according to their fashion, they lifted up their dead or
wounded companions and carried them off out of the range of our rifles.

Our men shouted, thinking that they had gained the victory; but the
Indians were only preparing for another assault. Seeing the smallness
of our numbers, they were persuaded that they could overwhelm us; and
soon we caught sight of them moving round so as to encircle our camp,
and thus attack us on all sides at once.

"Remember the women and children," cried my father, whose spirit was now
aroused. "If we give in, we and they will be massacred; so we can do
nothing but fight to the last."

The men shouted, and vowed to stand by each other.

Before the Indians, however, got within range of our rifles, they
wheeled round and galloped off again, but we could still see them
hovering round us. It was pretty evident that they had not given up the
intention of attacking us; their object being to weary us out, and make
our hearts, as they would call it, turn pale.

Just before the sun rose above the horizon they once more came on,
decreasing the circumference of the circle, and gradually closing in
upon us; not at a rapid rate, however, but slowly--sometimes so slowly
that they scarcely appeared to move.

"Do not fire, friends, until you can take good aim," cried my father, as
the enemy got within distant rifle range. "It is just what they wish us
to do; then they will come charging down upon us, in the hope of finding
our rifles unloaded. Better let them come sufficiently near to see
their eyes; alternate men of you only fire."

The savages were armed only with bows and spears; still they could shoot
their arrows, we knew, when galloping at full speed.

At a sign from one of their leaders they suddenly put their horses to
full speed, at the same time giving vent to what I can only describe as
a mingling of shrieks and shouts and howls, forming the terrific Indian
war-whoop. They were mistaken, however, if they expected to frighten
our sturdy backwoodsmen. The first of our men fired when they were
about twenty yards off. Several of th