Charlotte messenger. [volume] (Charlotte, Mecklenburg Co., N.C.) 1882-18??, 1886-10-16


night approached the want of water be-
gan TO be felt. No one had had drop
since morning. One of the men crept
back to the blnk of the river to see what
the prospects were for getting down to
the water, and he was instantly killed by
bullet fired from the other side of the
stream. His fate was not known until
darkness came on and second man went
to look for him. The bank was very
steep, twelve or fourteen feet high, and
it would have been extremely difficult to
get down to the stream had there been
no danger. The attempt to secure
water was abandoned for the time. All
the provisions in the party were in raw
state and, of course, no fire could be
lighted. Soon after dark the fire of the
Indians ceased entirely. They probably
reasoned that it was onlya question of q
few hours more when the white men
would fall into their hands, and they had
maintained such q hot fire through the
day that their ammunition must have
been running low.
The death of Wolcott cast gloom over
the rlrty, but no one weakened Along
toward midnight, when everything had
grown very quiet, Capt. Swift tried for
water. A cottonwood leaned off over
the bank until ono in its top would be
over the water. A cantecn was lowered
bya rope after Swift got into position,
but some slight noise was made, which
caused the Indians OH the opposite bank
to open fire, and L.fore Swift could de-
Acend from the tree bullet wounded him
in the calf of the leg. He crept back to
the rife pit and banuaged the wound.
and IN fifteen minutes would have given
year of his ne for pirt of water.
Various metsrds 10, obfai ling what all
now really S &c I'd for we're suggested
aod rejected. There was e1ly one way.
I must be got from II tree if at all. An
Lour or two after S lit vas shot man
named Cooper crept out on the tree and
lowered the canteen. He succeeded in
drawing up few swallows of water, and
at once hastened to Swift. The Captains
wound had of course set him in a fever,
and while he could have gulphed down
quart he had only gill. Cooper re-
turned to the tree, and in lowering the
canteen lost it. Another rope was extern
porized and coffee pot lowered, but the
Indians in some manner got hint of
what was going on and again opened fire.
While Cooper was not wounded, he was
driven to the pit, and all further hope of
securing water was abandoned. Not man
slept wink during the night, it being
generally understood that the Indians
might make rush any moment. As
early dawn came a shot was fired from
the top of tree in the edge of the grove,
Which struck a man nameu AbDot5 in tie
head and killed him instantly. A Sec
ond shot Immediately followed, but hit
no one. 1t was at once discoverd that
two Indian sharpshooters had climbed
into the tree during the night, and from
their elevation could look down into the
rifle pit. They could not be seen, but
two of the men opened a rapid fire on
the tree, and after about twenty-five
shots had been fired both redskins were
tumbled to the ground. Their fall was
the signal for the ball to open all along
the line, and again the bullets whizzed
over the pit like legions of angry bees.
The Indians were pretty cautious about
exposing themselves, but during the
lOItHOOn buTtC VI luciu WCTc oeCu W QlOpJ
either hard hit or killed outright.
From noon to 5 o'clock not shot was
fired on either side, and from to sun
down the Indians fired only about a
dozen times-sufficient to warn the white
men that the siege was still on. Hunger
now compelled the men to eat raw bacon
and flour, and the torments of thirst
were increased. Swift suffered far more
than the others, being wounded, but not
a compla mt passed his lips. He was too
stiff and sore to leave the pit, but about
10 o'clock one of the men volunteered to
try for water Some of the Indiana had
swan across. and were located under the
bank. While they could not climb it, or
at least did not. they were at hand to
prevent the men from getting water.
1t was Foster who went out on the
tree this time, and he had not yet low
cred the vessel when a bullet knocked
his cap off, a second struck the stock of
his rifle, and third went through the
coffee pot. He reached the pit un-
wounded, however, and Swift advised
that no one else should G pose himself.
They dug up the roots around them and
got slight consolation from chewing
them, and again the morning broke. 1t
soon became evident that the Indians in-
tended to finish their work. They were
whooping and shouting all along the
line, and seemed in good spirits.
An hour after daylight the whole line
advanced on the pit. each redskin work
ing along under the best shelter he could
find. There were only four men to de-
fend the pit, but armed as they were, and
desperate as they mad become, the odds
were not SO great. They fired coolly yet
rapidly, and they not only halted the
line, but at one point where three bucks
were killed within ten seconds of each
other panic occurred. Thirty or more
Indians rose up in body for rush, but
the fire broke them before they had made
Jump. The four men had the six rifles,
and their revolvers were lying beside
them for the emergency which all ex-
pected. The peril Of the morning did
not last twenty minutes. The baflled In
dians retreatcd back to their old posi-
tion, and about 8 o'clock withdrew so
quietly that their going was not sus-
pected for another hour. They went IN