The five saw in the spaces, amid the briars and vines, scores of
dark figures leaping over the mud, naked to the breech cloth,
armed with rifle and tomahawk, and rushing down upon the
unprotected side of their foe. The swamp had been but little
obstacle to them.
Henry and his comrades gave the alarm at once. As many as
possible were called off immediately from the main body, but they
were not numerous enough to have any effect. The Indians came
through the swamp in hundreds and hundreds, and, as they uttered
their triumphant yell, poured a terrible fire into the Wyoming
left flank. The defenders were forced to give ground, and the
English and Tories came on again.
The fire was now deadly and of great volume. The air was filled
with the flashing of the rifles. The cloud of smoke grew
heavier, and faces, either from heat or excitement, showed red
through it. The air was filled with bullets, and the Wyoming
force was being cut down fast, as the fire of more than a
thousand rifles converged upon it.
The five at the fringe of the swamp loaded and fired as fast as
they could at the Indian horde, but they saw that it was creeping
closer and closer, and that the hail of bullets it sent in was
cutting away the whole left flank of the defenders.
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