pioneers of the old southwest-第27部分

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senger　of　Ferguson's　who　failed　to　carry　through。　The　men　he　had　sent　out　previously　had　been　followed　and；　to　escape　capture　or　death；　they　had　been　obliged　to　lie　in　hiding；　so　that　they　did　not　reach　Cornwallis　until　the　day　of　the　battle。

At　three　o'clock　on　the　afternoon　of　the　7th　of　October；　the　overmountain　men　were　in　the　forest　at　the　base　of　the　hill。　The　rain　had　ceased　and　the　sun　was　shining。　They　dismounted　and　tethered　their　steaming　horses。　Orders　were　given　that　every　man　was　to　〃throw　the　priming　out　of　his　pan；　pick　his　touchhole；　prime　anew；　examine　bullets　and　see　that　everything　was　in　readiness　for　battle。〃　The　plan　of　battle　agreed　on　was　to　surround　the　hill；　hold　the　enemy　on　the　top　and；　themselves　screened　by　the　trees；　keep　pouring　in　their　fire。　There　was　a　good　chance　that　most　of　the　answering　fire　would　go　over　their　heads。

As　Shelby's　men　crossed　a　gap　in　the　woods；　the　outposts　on　the　hill　discovered　their　presence　and　sounded　the　alarm。　Ferguson　sprang　to　horse；　blowing　his　silver　whistle　to　call　his　men　to　attack。　His　riflemen　poured　fire　into　Shelby's　contingent；　but　meanwhile　the　frontiersmen　on　the　other　sides　were　creeping　up；　and　presently　a　circle　of　fire　burst　upon　the　hill。　With　fixed　bayonets；　some　of　Ferguson's　men　charged　down　the　face　of　the　slope；　against　the　advancing　foe；　only　to　be　shot　in　the　back　as　they　charged。　Still　time　and　time　again　they　charged；　the　overhill　men　reeled　and　retreated；　but　always　their　comrades　took　toll　with　their　rifles；　Ferguson's　men；　preparing　for　a　mounted　charge；　were　shot　even　as　they　swung　to　their　saddles。　Ferguson；　with　his　customary　indifference　to　danger；　rode　up　and　down　in　front　of　his　line　blowing　his　whistle　to　encourage　his　men。　〃Huzza；　brave　boys！　The　day　is　our　own！〃　Thus　he　was　heard　to　shout　above　the　triumphant　war　whoops　of　the　circling　foe；　surging　higher　and　higher　about　the　hill。

But　there　were　others　in　his　band　who　knew　the　fight　was　lost。　The　overmountain　men　saw　two　white　handkerchiefs；　axed　to　bayonets；　raised　above　the　rocks；　and　then　they　saw　Ferguson　dash　by　and　slash　them　down　with　his　sword。　Two　horses　were　shot　under　Ferguson　in　the　latter　part　of　the　action；　but　he　mounted　a　third　and　rode　again　into　the　thick　of　the　fray。　Suddenly　the　cry　spread　among　the　attacking　troops　that　the　British　officer；　Tarleton；　had　come　to　Ferguson's　rescue；　and　the　mountaineers　began　to　give　way。　But　it　was　only　the　galloping　horses　of　their　own　comrades；　Tarleton　had　not　come。　Nolichucky　Jack　spurred　out　in　front　of　his　men　and　rode　along　the　line。　Fired　by　his　courage　they　sounded　the　war　whoop　again　and　renewed　the　attack　with　fury。

〃These　are　the　same　yelling　devils　that　were　at　Musgrove's　Mill；〃　said　Captain　De　Peyster　to　Ferguson。

Now　Shelby　and　Sevier；　leading　his　Wataugans；　had　reached　the　summit。　The　firing　circle　pressed　in。　The　buckskin…shirted　warriors　leaped　the　rocky　barriers；　swinging　their　tomahawks　and　long　knives。　Again　the　white　handkerchiefs　fluttered。　Ferguson　saw　that　the　morale　of　his　troops　was　shattered。

〃Surrender；〃　De　Peyster；　his　second　in　command；　begged　of　him。

〃Surrender　to　those　damned　banditti？　Never！〃

Ferguson　turned　his　horse's　head　downhill　and　charged　into　the　Wataugans；　hacking　right　and　left　with　his　sword　till　it　was　broken　at　the　hilt。　A　dozen　rifles　were　leveled　at　him。　An　iron　muzzle　pushed　at　his　breast；　but　the　powder　flashed　in　the　pan。　He　swerved　and　struck　at　the　rifleman　with　his　broken　hilt。　But　the　other　guns　aimed　at　him　spoke；　and　Ferguson's　body　jerked　from　the　saddle　pierced　by　eight　bullets。　Men　seized　the　bridle　of　the　frenzied　horse；　plunging　on　with　his　dead　master　dragging　from　the　stirrup。

The　battle　had　lasted　less　than　an　hour。　After　Ferguson　fell；　De　Peyster　advanced　with　a　white　flag　and　surrendered　his　sword　to　Campbell。　Other　white　flags　waved　along　the　hilltop。　But　the　killing　did　not　yet　cease。　It　is　said　that　many　of　the　mountaineers　did　not　know　the　significance　of　the　white　flag。　Sevier's　sixteen…year…old　son；　having　heard　that　his　father　had　fallen；　kept　on　furiously　loading　and　firing　until　presently　he　saw　Sevier　ride　in　among　the　troops　and　command　them　to　stop　shooting　men　who　had　surrendered　and　thrown　down　their　arms。

The　victors　made　a　bonfire　of　the　enemy's　baggage　wagons　and　supplies。　Then　they　killed　some　of　his　beeves　and　cooked　them；　they　had　had　neither　food　nor　sleep　for　eighteen　hours。　They　dug　shallow　trenches　for　the　dead　and　scattered　the　loose　earth　over　them。　Ferguson's　body；　stripped　of　its　uniform　and　boots　and　wrapped　in　a　beef　hide；　was　thrown　into　one　of　these　ditches　by　the　men　detailed　to　the　burial　work；　while　the　officers　divided　his　personal　effects　among　themselves。

The　triumphant　army　turned　homeward　as　the　dusk　descended。　The　uninjured　prisoners　and　the　wounded　who　were　able　to　walk　were　marched　off　carrying　their　empty　firearms。　The　badly　wounded　were　left　lying　where　they　had　fallen。

At　Bickerstaff's　Old　Fields　in　Rutherford　County　the　frontiersmen　halted；　and　here　they　selected　thirty　of　their　prisoners　to　be　hanged。　They　swung　them　aloft；　by　torchlight；　three　at　a　time；　until　nine　had　gone　to　their　last　account。　Then　Sevier　interposed；　and；　with　Shelby's　added　authority；　saved　the　other　twenty…one。　Among　those　who　thus　weighted　the　gallows　tree　were　some　of　the　Tory　brigands　from　Watauga；　but　not　all　the　victims　were　of　this　character。　Some　of　the　troops　would　have　wreaked　vengeance　on　the　two　Tories　from　Sevier's　command　who　had　betrayed　their　army　plans　to　Ferguson；　but　Sevier　claimed　them　as　under　his　jurisdiction　and　refused　consent。　Nolichucky　Jack　dealt　humanely　by　his　foes。　To　the　coarse　and　brutish　Cleveland；　now　astride　of　Ferguson's　horse　and　wearing　his　sash；　and　to　the　three　hundred　who　followed　him；　may　no　doubt　be　laid　the　worst　excesses　of　the　battle's　afterpiece。

Victors　and　vanquished　drove　on　in　the　dark；　close　to　the　great　flank　of　hills。　From　where　King's　Mountain；　strewn　with　dead　and　dying；　reared　its　black　shape　like　some　rudely　hewn　tomb　of　a　primordial　age　when　titans　strove　together；　perhaps　to　the　ears　of　the　marching　men　came　faintly　through　the　night's　stillness　the　howl　of　a　wolf　and　the　answering　chorus　of　the　pack。　For　the　wolves　came　down　to　King's　Mountain　from　all　the　surrounding　hills；　following　the　scent　of　blood；　and　made　their　lair　where　the　Werewolf　had　fallen。　The　scene　of　the　mountaineers'　victory；　which　marked　the　turn　of　the　tide　for　the　Revolution；　became　for　years　the　chief　resort　of　wolf　hunters　from　both　the　Carolinas。

The　importance　of　the　overmountain　men's　victory　lay　in　what　it　achieved　for　the　cause　of　Independence。　King's　Mountain　was　the　prelude　to　Cornwallis's　defeat。　It　heartened　the　Southern　Patriots；　until　then　cast　down　by　Gates's　disaster。　To　the　British　the　death　of　Ferguson　was　an　irreparable　loss　because　of　its　depressing　effect　on　the　Back　Country　Tories。　Ding's　Mountain；　indeed；　broke　the　Tory　spirit。　Seven　days　after　the　battle　General　Nathanael　Greene　succeeded　to　the　command　of　the　Southern　Patriot　army　which　Gates　had　led　to　defeat。　Greene's　genius　met　the　rising　tide　of　the　Patriots'　courage　and　hope　and　took　it　at　the　flood。　His　strategy；　in　dividing　his　army　and　thereby　compelling　the　division　of　Cornwallis's　force；　led　to　Daniel　Morgan's　victory　at　the　Cowpens；　in　the　Back　Country　of　South　Carolina；　on　January　17；　1781another　frontiersmen's　triumph。　Though　the　British　won　the　next　engagement　between　Greene　and　Cornwallisthe　battle　of　Guilford　Court　House　in　the　North　Carolina　Back　Country；　on　the　15th　of　MarchGreene　madethem　pay　so　dearly　for　their　victory　that　Tarleton　called　it　〃the　pledge　of　ultimate　defeat〃；　and；　three　days　later；　Cornwallis　was　retreating　towards　Wilmington。　In　a　sense；　then；　King's　Mountain　was　the　pivot　of　the　war's　revolving　stage；　which　swung　the　British　from　their　succession　of　victories　towards　the　surrender　at　Yorktown。

Shelby；　Campbell；　and　Cleveland　escorted　the　prisoners　to　Virginia。　Sevier；　with　his　men；　rode　home　to　Watauga。　When　the　prisoners　had　been　delivered　to　the　authorities　in　Virginia；　the　Holston　men　also　turned　homeward　through　the　hills。　Their　route　lay　down　through　the　Clinch　and　Holston　valleys　to　the　settlement　at　the　base　of　the　mountains。　Sevier　and　his　Wataugans　had　gone　by　Gillespie's　Gap；　over　the　pathway　that　hung　like　a　narrow　ribbon　about　the　breast　of　Roan　Mountain；　lifting　its　crest　in　dignified　isolation　sixty…three　hundred　feet　above　the　levels。　The　〃Unakas〃　was　the　name　the　Cherokees　had　given　to　those　white　men　who　first　invaded　their　hills；　and　the　Unakas　is　the　name　that　white　men　at　last　gave　to　the　mountain。

Great　companies　of　men　were　to　come　over　the　mountain　paths　on　their　way　to　the　Mississippi　country　and　beyond；　and　with　them；　as　we　know；　were　to　go　many　of　these　mountain　men；　to　pass　away　with　their　customs　in　the　transformations　that　come　with　progress。　But　there　were　others　who　clung　to　these　hills。　They　were　of　several　stocksEnglish；　Scotch；　Highlanders；　Ulstermen；　who　mingled　by　marriage　and　sometimes　took　their　mates　from　among　the　handsome　maids　of　the　Cherokees。　They　spread　from　the　Unakas　of　Tennessee　into　the　Cumberland　Mountains　of　Kentucky；　and　they　have　remained　to　this　day　what　they　were　then；　a　primitive　folk　of　strong　and　fiery　men　and　brave　women　living　as　their　forefathers　of　Watauga　and　Holston　lived。　In　the　log　cabins　in　those　mountains　today　are　heard　the　same　ballads；　sung　still　to　the　dulcimer；　that　entertained　the　earliest　settlers。　The　women　still　turn　the　old…fashioned　spinning　wheels。　The　code　of　the　men　is　still　the　code　learned　perhaps　from　the　Gaelsthe　code　of　the　oath　and　the　feud　and　the　open　door　to　the　stranger。　Or　were　these；　the　ethical　tenets　of　almost　all　uncorrupted　primitive　tribes；　transmitted　from　the　Indian　strain　and　association？　Their　young　people　marry　at　boy　and　girl　ages；　as　the　pioneers　did；　and　their　wedding　festivities　are　the　same　as　those　which　made　rejoicing　at　the　first　marriage　in　Watauga。　Their　common　speech　today　contains　words　that　have　been　obsolete　in　England　for　a　hundred　years。

Thrice　have　the　mountain　men　come　down　again　from　their　fastnesses　to　war　for　America　since　the　day　of　King