The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-03-14


 some time before they could he recon ciled to. him. After plundering the fort, they scattered in various direc- tions and made their way back to the nation. except a few.
 The Indians expected that the whites would pour into the Nation from all quarters and most of them that were at Fort Mims returned to where Robinson had a plantation afterwards and the place from where Moniac had escaped. The reason why they selected that place was that there was on the north side of the river. Nocoshatchy. or Bear Creek. which afforded the most impenetratable swamps in the whole country.
 HOW BATTLE AT HOLY
 GROUND WAS FOUGHT.
 But the movements of the whites were So slow that the Indians grew careless and few Indians with weatherford and the chief Hossa Yoholo made what has been known as the Holy Ground. their headquarters Some time in December General Clai- borne piloted by Sam Moniac and an old McGlllivray negro got near tho place before the Indians discovered them.
 The Indians began to cross their wives and children over the river; they had scarcely time to do that be- fore the army arrived-a skirmfsh ensued and the Indians losing a few men gave way in every direction. Weatherford was among the last to quit the place. He made an attempt to go down the river that is down the bank of the river-but found that the soldiers would intercept his passage. and he turned up. keeping on the bluff near the river. until he reached the ravine or little branch that makes into the river above where the town used to be. There was small foot path that crossed the ravine near the river he carried his horse down that path and instead of going out of the ravine at the usual crossing. he kept up 1t towards its head until he passed the lines of the whites. So. now you have the bluff jumping story.
 This story was told long before Weatherford died. Major Cowles and myself asked him how that report got out He said Sam Moniac knew him and seeing him on horseback on the brink of the bluff. and his disappear ing suddenly, caused those who saw him to believe that he had gone over the bluff. He said that he ran a greater risk in going that way than he would to have gone over the bluff. and but for his horse he would have gone over the bluff and crossed the river. But it was to save his pony that he risked passing between two lines of the whites. From that cir cumstance the report got out, and he would often own to 1t for the grati- fication of some for they wanted to be deceived anyhow. But in going the way he did 1t was hazarding more than one in thousand would do for a hun dred times the value of a pony.
 There was one Indian If no more killed at Holy Ground I believe it from this circumstance. Some years after the fight, and the whites began to settle Alabama, very poor man by the name of Stoker settled on the Autauga side of the river near Holy Ground. His little boys. while out hunting one day found the irons of an old trunk and some $15O or $2o0 in eagle half dollars; this I have no doubt was plundered at Fort Mims and the plunderers placed 1t where the boys of Stoker found it. and went back into the fight at Holy Ground and was killed
 Weatherford said that after he