White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1928-11-02
By Hugh Pendexter
Illustrations by
Irwin Myers
Copyright by Hugh Pendexter.
WNU Service
CHAPTER IX-Continued

Pr
"They are charging us!" cried the
Onondaga. And sounding his war
whoop he fired at the figures now
swiftly bounding forward.
also fred and stopped q savage.
But did not believe the affair would
amount to anything more than an ex-
change Of shots between the scouts
until l recognized Captain Beaujeu at
the head Of mixed force of French
and Indians. On the breast of his
fringed hunting shirt was silver
gorget, pleasing target had moi
emptied my rife at the savage.
A moment after l fred, Beaujeu
halted and waved his hat above his
head, and the Indians scattered to left
and right. would have believed the
enemy was retreating had not the
Canadians and regulars remained to
hold the road against US.
While l was reloading, Mr.. Gordon
of the engineers came up and was the
first of the regulars to behold the enc
my. It seemed to be most foolhardy
thing for two hundred Frenchman to
dispute the Duquesne road against our
proud army. began to realize we
were in for something more than a
skirmish when q heavy fire opened on
us from ahead and from both sides.
Round Paw and both Rugged the
groun( and retired to the right.
A te rifle bowling and yelling was
started by the savages, sinister
chorus hat encompassed the road for
some distance. Cages troops seemed
to be confused by the 6endish clamor
and the invisibility of the foe. The
men staggered under the cruel fire,
then rallied and began emptying their
muskets in volleys. But there was
nothing to shoot at except the slim
French force ahead. Before they could
fall back from the jaws of the trap.
st. Clair's working force came up on
the run to pile confusion on confusion.
Gage felt the reinforcements behind
him and ordered his men to charge
straight ahead and eliminate the
Frenchmen. The head of his column
was speedily wiped out, and the rest
were sadly staggered by the fierce
fire.
gun was rushed up to support the
pioneers, and at the third discharge
of the piece, Beaujeu fell dead, dying
calamity as became Chevalier of
st. Louis. Captain Dumas took his
place, and for while the fighting was
stubbornly maintained by both Sides
with neither apparently, securing any
distinct advantage, but with the Eng
lish sustaining heavy punishment
General Braddock persisted In sending
heavy masses of men up the road
whereas be should have fallen back
until he could have cleared the woods
on both sides of the road.
During this portion of the fight, the
Onondaga and shifted about and
took turns firing and taking care that
one of our rifles should be loaded at
all times. On three different Occa-
sions we were charged BY small bands
of savages, but the. second unexpected
shot from behind the same tree al.
ways spoiled the attack and sent the
red man back to where the killing was
easier.
Then Braddock's mechanical dis
cipline began to give ground before
the craftsmanship of the enemy. We
sealed our fate by remaining astral.
die the ravine Braddock, furious al
most to the point of incoherency.
pushed Burton forward with the van
guard, thus making the congestion
worse; for the road was but twelve
feet wide
Burton formed his troops under a
most CALLING fire and had just finished
the difficult maneuver when Cages
forces fell back rapidly to form be-
hind him.
Then occurred the definite shift In
our faring. We had been sustaining
terrible punishment, the penalty Of
being caught in column, but we had
fhe superiority of numbers to permit
heavy losses. But now the two regf
,nents became badly mixed and stun
| bled about in the smOke-flled road
like sheep. There was smoke every
where. The woods were choked with
1t, the road was blotted out at times
by 1t. Sheets Of fire rippled along the
very edges of the narrow way. The
two regimental colors were advanced