liged to march in Indian file, fired upon from both front and
rear, they were not collected at Etchowee until midnight; after a loss
of twenty killed and seventy-six wounded. Of these, the Highlanders had
one Serjeant, and six privates killed, and Captain Sutherland,
Lieutenants Macmaster and Mackinnon, and Assistant-Surgeon Munro, and
one Serjeant, one piper, and twenty-four rank and file wounded.

"Several soldiers of this (Montgomery's) and other regiments fell
into the hands of the Indians, being taken in an ambush. Allan
Macpherson, one of these soldiers, witnessing the miserable fate of
several of his fellow-prisoners, who had been tortured to death by
the Indians, and seeing them preparing to commence the same
operations upon himself, made signs that he had something to
communicate. An interpreter was brought. Macpherson told them, that,
provided his life was spared for a few minutes, he would communicate
the secret of an extraordinary medicine, which, if applied to the
skin, would cause it to resist the strongest blow of a tomahawk, or
sword, and that, if they would allow him to go to the woods with a
guard, to collect the plants proper for this medicine, he would
prepare it, and allow the experiment to be tried on his own neck by
the strongest and most expert warrior among them. This story easily
gained upon the superstitious credulity of the Indians, and the
request of the Highlander was instantly complied with. Being sent
into the woods, he soon returned with such plants as he chose to pick
up. Having boiled these herbs, he rubbed his neck with their juice,
and laying his head upon a log of wood, desired the strongest man
among them to strike at his neck with his tomahawk, when he would
find he could not make the smallest impression. An Indian, levelling
a blow with all his might, cut with such force, that the head flew
off to a distance of several yards. The Indians were fixed in
amazement at their own credulity, and the address with which the
prisoner had escaped the lingering death prepared for him; but,
instead of being enraged at this escape of their victim, they were
so pleased with his ingenuity that they refrained from inflicting
farther cruelties on the remaining prisoners."[140]

Only for one day did Colonel Montgomery rest in the heart of the
Alleghanies. On the following night, deceiving the Indians by kindling
li