he also knew their weakness,
and putting spurs to his horse, rode briskly forward, calling aloud,
"open the gate,--open the gate." He was seen from the fort, and the
gate was loosed for his admission; but he did not live to reach
it.--Pierced by the bullets of the savages, he fell, to the regret of
all. Such noble daring, deserved a better fate.

During that night and the next day, the Indians still maintained the
seige, and made frequent attempts to take the fort by storm; but they
were invareiably repulsed by the deadly fire of the garrison and the
few brave men in Colonel Zane's house. On the third night, despairing
of success, they resolved on raising the siege; and leaving one
hundred chosen warriors to scour and lay waste the country, the
remainder of their army retreated across the Ohio, and encamped at the
Indian Spring,--five miles from the river. Their loss in the various
assaults upon the fort, could not be ascertained; but was doubtless
very considerable. Of the garrison, none were killed and only two
wounded,--the heroic Francis Duke was the only white who fell during
the siege. The gallantry displayed by all, both men and women, in the
defence of the fort, can not be too highly commended; but to the
caution and good conduct of those few brave individuals who occupied
Colonel Zane's house, its preservation has been mainly attributed.

In the evening preceding the departure of the savages from before
Wheeling, two white men, who had been among them for several years,
and then held commands in the army, deserted from them, and on the
next morning early were taken prisoners by Colonel Swearingen, who,
with ninety-five men, was on his way to aid in the defence of Wheeling
fort, and the chastisement of its assailants. Learning from them [266]
the determination of the savages to withdraw from Wheeling, and detach
a portion of their force to operate in the country, he despatched
runners in every direction to alarm the country and apprize the
inhabitants of danger.[14] The intelligence was received by Jacob
Miller when some distance from home, but apprehensive that the
meditated blow would be aimed at the fort where he resided, he
hastened thither, and arrived in time to aid in preparing for its
defence.

The place against which the savages directed their operations, was
situated on Buffaloe creek, twelve or fifteen miles from its entrance
into the Ohio, and was known as Rice's fort. Until Miller's return
ther