ites, burn their
dwellings, and drive off their horses and cattle. This time, however,
the Indians had been followed by a few hundred men, under the leadership
of General David Adams, who was at that time a major in the militia,
and a scout. Major Adams had taken part in the closing scenes of
the Revolution when quite a young man. When the Creeks renewed their
depredations after the war, Major Adams, both as a scout and as a
leader, fought the Indians with such success as to win distinction.

He followed the Indians on this occasion with a few hundred men, who had
volunteered to accompany him. His pursuit was not active. The men under
him were not seasoned soldiers; and even if they had been, the force
of Indians was too large to justify an attack. Major Adams followed the
Indians in the hope that he and his men would find an opportunity to
surprise them. The Indians marched straight for the village on the west
bank of the Chattahoochee, about eight miles beyond the point where La
Grange now stands. At this village, which was the central point of the
Lower Creek nation at that time, there were many Indians--men, women,
and children--awaiting the return of the raiders. It was in the late
afternoon when they reached the village, and as the sun went down they
began the celebration of their victories; and in this they were joined
by the Indians, who had been waiting for their return.

Major Adams had halted his command a few miles from the river, where he
waited until night fell. He then advanced silently to the banks of the
stream, which was not so wide that he and his men could not see the
Indians dancing around their fires, and hear their whoops and yells. On
one bank stood the men whose families and friends had been murdered; on
the opposite shore, and almost within a stone's throw, the red murderers
danced and howled in savage delight.

For half the night, at least, the orgies were kept up by the Indians;
but at last they grew weary of the song and dance. Their fires slowly
died out, and there came a moment when the whites, who were watching and
waiting, could hear nothing but the murmur of the flowing water, as it
rippled over the shoals or lapped the bank. The time had come to strike
a blow, if a blow was to be struck. It was characteristic of Major
Adams, that, instead of sending one of his little party to find out the
position of the village and its surroundings, so as to be able to make a
swift, sudden, and an e