The Arkansas banner., 1843-11-11
MISCELLAN EOUS.
IEROISM OF ELIZABETH ZANE,

RT THE SIEGE OF FORT HENRY. kSt the break of day on the 27th Septem- H 1777, the commandant wishing to des- M In expresses to the nearest settlements,
 man, accompanied by negro, out of
 Mort to bring in some horses, which had
 turned loose the day before to graze on
 bank of the creek. While these men E le passing through tt,.lo cog... field south of Y Hort, they encountered party of six h.
 s, one of whom raised his frelock and
 hght the white man to the ground. The
 Fo, seized with alarm, turned about and
 to the fort, which he succeeded in enter Ii without being pursued or molested by
 enemy. As soon as the negro related
 story, the colonel despatched Capt. Sa-
 lei Mason, with fourteen men, to dislodge
 six Indians from the corn field. Capt
 son with his party marched through the
 i d. and arrived almost on the bank of the fek without finding the Indians, and had (eady commenced retrogade movement len he was suddenly and furiously assaled front, flank, and rear, by the whole of fy's army. The captain rallied his men
 m the confusion produced by this unex- sted demonstration of the enemy, and in hty comprehending the situation in which
 was placed, gallantly took the lead and
 ged passage through the savage phalanx
 opposed him. In this desperate conflict
 Fe than half the little band were slain,
 their leader severely wounded. Intent |fetreating back to the fort, Mason pressed Idly on with the remnant of his command,
 Indians following closely in pursuit. One
 one these devoted soldiers fell at the fk of the enemy's rifle. An Indian, who .erly pursued captain Mason, at length
 rtook him; and to make sure his prey,
 at him from the distance of five paces
 the shot, although it took effect, did not Rble the captain, who immediately turned 2ut and, hurling his gun at the head of his
 suer, felled him to the earth. The fear
 mess with which this act was performed,
 sed an involuntary dispersion of the gang
 Indians who led the pursuit; and Mason,
 ose extreme exhaustion of physical powers
 vented him from reaching the fort, was
 unate enough to hide himself in pile of en timber, where he was compelled to lain to the end of the siege. Only two l his men survived the skirmish, and they, E their leader, owed their safety to the bps of logs and brush that abounded in ! corn field.
 As soon as the critical situation of captain Pson became known at the fort, capt. Ogle, Eh twelve volunteers from the garrison, |led forth to cover his retreat. This noble, |f-devoted band, in their eagerness to press Fward to the relief of their suffering fellow Fders, fell into an ambuseade, and two-thirds
 ther number were slain upon the spot. Fgeant Jacob Ogle, though mortally wound- D managed to escape with two soldiers into woods, while captain Ogle escaped in |olher direction and found a place of con- |alment, which, like his brother officer, |p'am Mason, he was obliged to keep as eg as the siege continued. Immediately Ter the departure of captain Ogle's com FFthd, three new volunteers left the fort to [ef'ake and reinforce him. These men, Pwever, did not reach the corn field until |e bloody scene had been enacted, and |fely found time to return to the fort before ] indian host appeared before it. The 'elhy :, advanced in two ranks, in open order r,helr left flank reaching to the river bank, |a !, 'helr right extending into the woods as far
 'he eye could reach. As the three volun- sa sas were about to enter the gate, few ran P'n p 5 sho1s were fired at them, and instantly S aoua m whoop arose on the enemy's left flank, p pllch passed, as if by concert, along the re @ to e,, the extreme right, until the welkin 1 ,S niieo With a chorus of the most wild ~ s"ttiing character. This salute was re- ,onueu to by few well-directed rifle shots u,h ,. 'ae lower block-houses, which produced manifest confusion in the ranks of the be- gers. They discontinued their shouting a ,a re'lfed te'y paces, probably to await ' .oiiihg up of their right flank, which, ii ouiu 'a seem, had been directed to make a .as .aslai sweep of the bottom, and then ap- vaoa the stockade on the eastern side.
 ,a a, lais moment the garrison of Fort Henry blioefed h no more than twelve men and boys ase as ioftunes of the day, so far, had been ,.uiiy .a. against them; two of their best of 'e's' ana more than two-thirds of their ori-