The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1876-07-04

~ u MAX Of cay q " - ~
wishing % digpltch e1-1
lfe1sel 70 he bsaFeFt seitlenentt, tell =
nIH, aseompaEied By . asEro, Ont q DE
lpfl TO bring In s9uis hOfheI. uhieh hst
ben tnrpsd lpase The dag bsioro p gfn1a
% the nnk Of The ereek. While thele
men we're passing through the eorh6eid
,0gth Of the fort, they encountered party
Of NiI Indians, one Of whom raised bis
5reloek md brought he uhiis man 70 Tie
gtoand. The RFgro, ssilei With alarm,
.urned ab0qt add sed 70 he fort, Uhieh
he succeeded IN entering without being
purIued or molestsd By the ensmy. A.
iOoa - the negro EslAtsd his story, the
Colonel dispatched Capt. samasl AAs0n,
With "A men, TO diSlOdgs de SIX Indians
from the eoTuksld. CaPt. AhsOn with bis
party marched through the 6eld, and Ar
rived almost on the bank Of the creek |
without 6nding the Indiana, and had al.
ready eomnsnecd aFstFoErade moVsnsnt, |
Ehsn be VA snddsnIy abd fuFiOuIlT -
sailed In front, flank and rear By The
Vhols Of Giriy's army. Ths Captain raj |
lied his men from the confusion pro-
duced By this unexpected DEMONSTRATES
Of the snemy, and instantly eonpFthepd.
ing the EiluatiOn 10 which he Va places,
calamity took the lead and heWed
pasAge through The savage phHlahK that
opposed him. In tins desperate conflict
mGre than half de little band EaI SlAln,
sad their leadar severely wounded. In
tent on retreating back 70 the tOFt, Mason
pressed rapidly on with the remnant OF
bis command, the Indians following
closely in pursuit. One BY one these
devoted soldiers fell At the crack Of the
enemy,s ride. An Indian who eagerly
puraued Capt Mason, At length overlook
him, and 70 make sure Of his prey, fred
At him from the distance Of four PAGES;
but the shot, although il took effect, did
not disable the Captain, who Immediate
" turned about sRd, hurting his gun
Al the head Of his pnrsueT, ielled him TO
the earth. The iearlsEsnesS with which
this act vas done caused an involuntary
disperion Of the gang oil Indians who
led the pursuit, and Mason, whose s1-'
IRENE exhaustion Of physical POUer pre-
vented him from reaching the fort, was
fortunate enough to bids himself IN
nile Of fallen timber, where he was com.
RELIED TO remain TO the end Of the siege.
Only t1o Of his men survived the Skin.
mish, and they, like their leader, owed
their safety 70 the heaps Of logs and brnGh
that abounded in the coThfeld.
As suOn q. the critical situation Of Capt.
Mason became known At the fort, Capt
OgIe, with II volunteers from the Garri-
son, sallied forth to cover his retreat. This
noble, Self.dsyOled band in their eagOrness
70 press forward to the relief Of their sui
lrring ielloW.soldiens, fell into an ambus-
catle and tHo.thirtlA OF their number were
slain pom the spot Sergeant jacob Ogle,
though MORALLY wounded, managed to
escape with two soldiers into the woods,
while Capt. OEle escaped in another di.
rection and found place ofconcealment,
which, like his brother officer, Capt. Ma
son, he was Obliged TO keep a. long As the
siege continued. Immediately after the
departure Of Capt OSle'A command, three
new volunteers left the Garrison to over
take and reinforce him. These men,
hoWevertlid not search the corniield until
after the bloody scenes had been enacted,
and barely found time TO return TO the
fort before the Indian host appeared be-
fore il. The enemy advanced in two
ranks, in open order, their left flank
reaching 70 the river bank, and their right
extending into the woods as far as the eye
conld reach. As the three volunteers
were about to enter the gate few ran!
dom shots we're fred At them, and In
SANITY a loud whoop arose on the enc
mics left flank, which passed, As II by con-
cert, along the line to the extreme right
until the Welkin was filled with chorus
Of the most Wild and startling character.
This salute was responded TO by few
well.directed rifle shots from the lower
block houses, which produced mani.
fest confusion in the ranks OF the beseig-
ers. They discontinued their shouting
and retired a few PAGES, probably TO
await the coming up Of their right flank,
which, il would seem, had been directed
to make general sweep OF the bottom, and
then approach the stockade on the eastern
side.
Al this moment the Garrison Of Fort
Henry numbered no more than l2 men
and boys. The fortunes Ofthe day, so far,
had been feariully against them; two Of
their best officers and more than two
thirds Of their original force were miss.
| inp. The exact fate Of their comrades
WaE unknown to them, but they had every
reason to apprehend that they had been
cut to pieces; still they were not diSmayed
their mothers, sisters, wives and chill.
dren were assembled around them-they
thad n sacred charge to protect and they
resolved TO fight TO the last extremity and
confidently trusted in Heaven for the sue
cesful issue OF the combat.
When the enemy's right hank came up,
| Girty changed his order Of attack. Par
Ties q Indians were placed in such Of the
village houses "A commanded view oi
the block. houses, a strong body occupied
the yard Of Col. Ebenezer Zane, about
fifty yards from the fort, using a
paiing fence rs a cover, while the greater
part we're posted under cover in the edge
\ Of the cOrnield, to act Extensively or serve
as corps Of reserve as occasion might
require. These dispositions having been
made, GirIy, with q white flag In his
hand, appeared at the window Of a cabin
and demanded the surrender Of the gar
rison in the name Of His Brittanic Majcs'
lty. He read the proclamation Of Gov,
| Hamilton, and promised them protection
liz they would lay down their arms and
sweaf allegiance 10 the British Crown,
| Eta ,Vanted them 10 submit DeAceAbly and
admitted his inability to restrain the pas
sions Of his Warriors when they once be.
came excited with the strife Of battle.
Col. Shepherd promptly told him, in re-
ply, that the garrison would never sur
render to him, and that he could only OBJ.
tain possession OF the fort when there was
no longer an American soldier to defend
lit Girty renewed his proposition, bnt
before he finished his harangue thought.
lless youth In one Of the block.houses fired
gun at the speaker, and brought the
conference TO an abrupt termination.
Girty disappeared, and in about Is min
| nteS the Indians opened the siege by a gen
eral discharge Of rifles.
II was yet quite early in the morning,the
sun not having appeared above the sum.
init Of Wheeling Hill, and the day ia rep.
resented to have been one Of surprising
beauty. The Indians, not entirely co n
cealed from the view Of the garrison,
| L., -, :, k.;sl, fee fnr the ahaCa nj aiX