CHAPTER XIII
ANOTHER BATTLE.
Was it the distant roar of heaven's artillery that caught my ear. I
listened and heard it again. The Indians heard it and were frightened.
A half-breed in a stage whisper cried, "a cannon! a cannon!"
An Indian answered, "a cannon is no good to fight."
I looked at them and it showed them to be a startled and fear-stricken
company, notwithstanding that they held the cannon with such disdain
as to say "cannon no good to fight." That night was full of excitement
for the Indians; they felt that the enemy was drawing near, too close
in fact to be safe. The prisoners were excited with the thought, that
perhaps there was liberty behind that cannon for them, and taking it
all round, there was little sleep within the tepees.
The next morning I awoke early with hopefulness rising within my
breast at the thought of again obtaining my liberty. The first sound I
heard was the firing of cannon near at hand; it sounded beautiful; it
was sweet music to my ears. Anticipating the prospect of seeing
friends once more, I listened and breathed in the echo after every
bomb.
The fighting commenced at seven o'clock by Gen. Strange's troops
forcing the Indians to make a stand. It was continued until ten with
indifferent success. The troops surely could not have known the
demoralized condition of the Indians, else they would have compelled
them to surrender.
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