CHAPTER XXIXBAD AXE
Suddenly shots were heard. A bugle sounded and the men realized that the deciding struggle of the war had commenced. Orders were at once given for the army to form for the attack. An orderly came riding furiously through the lines with orders from General Atkinson. Alexander and Posey with their commands formed the right wing, Dodge with his regulars the center, and General Henry the left.
The firing increased. Dense timber afforded a protection to the Sacs and hindered the operations of the army. An advance was ordered, however, and the Indians withdrew slowly. Their fire seemed to come from a wide range of ground and it was confidently believed that now the main body of Black Hawk’s force had beenencountered. Upstream the Indians retreated. A proof of John Mason’s remark as to the jealousy borne General Henry was provided by the commands which next were issued. The right wing and the center were ordered to pursue the savages. General Henry, however, received no orders at all and so was apparently left out of the fight entirely. This was evidently part of a plan to deprive him of any share in the honor which everyone felt was to be won in this fight.
“A mean shame!” protested John Mason hotly. “I knew they were going to try something like this all the time.”
“I should say it is a shame!” cried Robert angrily. “Why should we stand for it?”
“What can we do?” queried Joseph. “We are left here with no orders. Certainly if they wanted us they would have asked us to come.”
“Well then, if we have no orders why can’t we go anywhere we please?” Robert protested. “I’d follow along if I were General Henry.”
“We can’t do that,” said Mason. “I guess we’re left.”
Henry’s brigade was stationed on the top of a bluff, not far from the river.
Sounds of firing came to the men left there and a feeling of intense rage at the affront offered them possessed everyone present. For days and weeks they had fought their way through countless difficulties and had endured untold hardships. Now that the prize was almost in their grasp they were denied any share in it.
Suddenly two men on horseback appeared, riding furiously from the direction of the river.
“Two of Ewing’s spy battalion,” announced Joseph, as he recognized the men. “I wonder what they want.”
The horsemen at once sought General Henry and excitedly began to talk and gesticulate to him. They continually pointed toward the river in the direction whence they had come. As they finished speaking, General Henry drew his sword, waved it above his head and gave the order to advance.
“What is it? What’s going on?” demanded Robert.
Many more were asking the same questions and the answers were not long in forthcoming. The spies had discovered that the main trail was farther down the river than the course ofthe Indians pursued by the center and right wing. Evidently the Sacs first encountered were merely decoys who were purposely attempting to lead the army astray.
“What luck!” cried Robert joyously. “They tried to leave us out but we stumbled into the main affair after all.”
Down the steep sides of the bluff General Henry led his troops. Arriving at the base, the men found themselves on a wooded plateau which stretched between the bluff and the shore. On the other side of the timber, Black Hawk was stationed.
A bullet tore some leaves from a tree close to Joseph’s head. A second bullet followed the first and soon a perfect hail of lead was cutting its way through the forest. The trooper next to Deerfoot had his horse shot from under him. The bugle sounded and with a shout the men dashed forward. Over dead logs, under low hanging branches and through thick clumps of bushes they forced their way. A galling fire raked their lines from end to end but not a man faltered.
As yet no sight of the Indians appeared. That they were present was testified to, however,by the energetic fusillade they kept up. Suddenly the woods thinned and the brigade found itself in the midst of about three hundred warriors. The numbers on each side consequently were even.
Savage yells and whoops rent the air. Mixed with these were the cheers and shouts of the troops who urged one another forward. No man needed much urging, however, for everyone was there to do his duty and it was done with no thought of flinching.
“Dismount!” came the order from the bugle.
Instantly every man sprang from his horse’s back, and quickly tethering his mount to some nearby tree, continued the attack on foot. Every tree seemed to shelter a hostile Indian, and the Whites themselves took advantage of every bit of cover that offered itself.
“Keep close together, boys!” urged John Mason, as, rifle in hand, he started forward with Deerfoot and the two brothers. “Watch every tree and don’t let yourselves be taken by surprise.”
“Look out!” warned Joseph suddenly. “There’s an Indian.” He pointed to a large tree in front of them and as he spoke a shavedhead appeared on one side, a rifle was quickly raised and a bullet sang close above the heads of the four troopers.
“Quick! Before he can reload!” cried Robert, and at full speed he darted forward toward the tree which sheltered their enemy.
“Follow him! Follow him!” shouted Mason. “Two on each side.”
Robert was the first to reach the spot, but the Sac had fled. A movement in the bushes close at hand warned him of the Indian’s presence, however, and quickly raising his rifle he fired. He saw a body fall, crashing to the ground and knew that his aim had been true.
“Bob!” shouted Joseph. “Look out! Behind you!”
Robert unconsciously dropped to the ground in response to his brother’s warning. He was not a second too soon. A tomahawk whizzed over his head and buried itself deep in the trunk of a nearby tree. Robert shuddered as he realized how narrow an escape he had had. The brave who had made this attempt on his life, however, did not long escape the attention of his intended victim’s companions. Three rifles spoke almost at the same instant and onemore Sac was added to those already lost by Black Hawk.
“We’d better keep under cover more,” Mason advised when Robert had rejoined his comrades. “It’s all right to dash out and chase Indians from behind trees but it’s risky business.”
“We must do it if we are going to win,” protested Robert.
“Not at all,” retorted Mason. “We’ll drive them off all right without having to expose ourselves as much as you did.”
The noise was terrific. The reports of the guns filled the air and the constant whoops of the Indians added a weird note to the din. How often the two brothers had heard the war whoop. This time, however, it was tempered by the shouts and cheers of the troops and its effect consequently was not as horrifying.
“Here comes Atkinson!” cried Joseph suddenly. The fight had been in progress for half an hour and General Henry’s men were more than holding their own.
“He heard the noise,” exclaimed Mason. “I’m sorry for it, too. After the way he treated General Henry he doesn’t deserve to be in this at all.”
“It will finish it up quicker, that’s all,” said Robert, who was feverishly engaged in reloading his rifle. He was intent upon doing his full share in the battle and he was fearful that he might waste a moment.
“They’ll be nearly surrounded now,” remarked Joseph. “This is the end of Black Hawk, I guess.”
The battle now degenerated into a massacre. The Indians put up a stubborn defense until the last, but their case was hopeless. They were outnumbered and they were also weakened by lack of food. The nature of the ground was to their advantage, however. Deep ravines, old logs, swamp holes, high grass and weeds abounded, providing excellent protection to the warriors. Knowing that they were doomed they fought desperately, determined to sell their lives as dearly as possible.
“This is too much for me,” exclaimed Joseph at length.
“What’s the matter, Joe?” demanded Robert.
“I can fight, but I can’t slaughter people,” replied Joseph with a shudder.
“I was just thinking the same thing,” remarked John Mason. “I saw one of our menshoot a wounded Indian a few minutes ago. That settles me.”
“It’s awful,” cried Joseph. “This isn’t war. It is butchery.”
“They butchered us, though,” Robert maintained stoutly. “Why shouldn’t we give them what they gave us?”
“They don’t know any better, Bob,” said Mason. “They are savages, but we are supposed to be civilized, and we ought to know better, if we don’t. A fair fight is one thing, but this is not fair.”
“Look there!” cried Joseph. “Did you see that?”
“No, what was it?” demanded Robert.
“An Indian girl held up her hands to surrender, and somebody shot her down. Do you call that right?”
“I certainly do not,” admitted Robert. “Where’s Deerfoot?”
“In the thick of it, I suppose,” answered Joseph. “We can’t stop him, for he wouldn’t understand, but we can at least keep out of it ourselves.”
The three volunteers were now standing on a bluff overlooking the great river. The Indianswere hopelessly beaten and were making desperate efforts to escape. Men, women and children were trying to swim across the river, but many were drowned and others coolly picked off by sharpshooters stationed on the bank. The sight was sickening. The ground was littered with the corpses of Indians and many of the white men were taking scalps as freely as their red enemies ever did.
“There are a whole lot of Indians on that island,” cried Robert pointing to a small piece of ground covered with willows which lay not far from the shore.
“Not for long, though,” said Mason grimly. “Here comes theWarrior.”
TheWarriorwas a small steamer used to transport army supplies. On board were a few regulars and volunteers and a small cannon. The boat approached close to the island that Robert had indicated and fired round after round of canister, raking it from end to end. As if this were not enough a detachment of troops was landed on the island soon after the bombardment and with bayonets completed the destruction of the few remaining survivors.
“Do you suppose any one escaped?” asked Robert.
“From the island?” queried Mason. “Not a single soul, I’m sure.”
“Do you think any Indians escaped at all?”
“I think so. Some crossed the river before we got here.”
“Not many, I guess,” exclaimed Joseph. “Black Hawk hasn’t enough men left to do any damage now. The war is ended.”
“Yes,” agreed Mason. “The war is ended. We can now go back to our homes and lead peaceable lives once more. For my part I’m glad of it.”
“I’d be, too, if I had a home to go to,” remarked Joseph sadly.
“We’ve had our revenge, though, Joe,” exclaimed Robert.
“Yes, we’ve had that, all right. At least Black Hawk has been punished, though we didn’t do so much of it.”
“You did your share,” said John Mason warmly. “You got one good thing out of the war, too, Joe.”
“What was that?” asked Joseph.
“The Swallow.”
“I certainly did,” exclaimed Joseph warmly. “I think I’ll go see if he is all right. I’d hate to have him stolen at this late date.”
“We’ll all go,” said Mason. “The fight is over and we might as well leave. Where’s Deerfoot?”
“He here,” replied a familiar voice as Deerfoot appeared from behind a large clump of willows. He had an expression of grim satisfaction on his face and at his belt hung three new scalps. The boys could not repress a feeling of disgust as they saw these bloody trophies. They had witnessed a great deal of killing and seen much gore in the past few weeks, but instead of becoming accustomed to it, they were thoroughly sick of it all.
“Where’s Black Hawk?” demanded Robert of Deerfoot. “Did you capture or kill him?”
“Black Hawk run away,” replied Deerfoot.
“If he is still at large we may have trouble yet,” remarked Mason somewhat anxiously. “He is a very smart man and may be able to collect more braves and come back for revenge some time.”
“Don’t you think he realizes that it is hopeless to resist?” asked Joseph.
“I don’t know,” said Mason, shaking his head. “I have a feeling that we are always going to have trouble until he is put out of the way. I wish someone would capture him.”