In the Current of the Revolution 275 



They reached the mouth of the river on the 6th, 19 

 and camped on Point Pleasant, the cape of land 

 jutting out between the Ohio and the Kanawha. 

 As a consequence the bloody fight that ensued is 

 sometimes called the battle of Point Pleasant, and 

 sometimes the battle of the Great Kanawha. Hith- 

 erto the Indians had not seriously molested Lewis' 

 men, though they killed a settler right on their line 

 of march, and managed to drive off some of the 

 bullocks and pack-horses. 20 



The troops, though tired from their journey, were 

 in good spirits, and eager to fight. But they were 

 impatient of control, and were murmuring angrily 

 that there was favoritism shown in the issue of beef. 

 Hearing this, Lewis ordered all the poorest beeves 

 to be killed first; but this merely produced an ex- 

 plosion of discontent, and large numbers of the 

 men in mutinous defiance of the orders of their 

 officers began to range the woods, in couples, to 

 kill game. There was little order in the camp, 21 



19 Campbell MSS. Letter of Isaac Shelby to John Shelby, 

 Oct. 16, 1774. A portion of this letter, unsigned, was printed 

 in "Am. Archives," p. 1016, and in various newspapers (even 

 at Belfast; see Hale, p. 187, who thinks it was written by 

 Captain Arbuckle). As it is worth preserving and has never 

 been printed in full I give it in the Appendix. 



20 Stewart's Narrative. 



21 Smyth, II, p. 158. He claims to have played a prominent 

 part in the battle. This is certainly not so, and he may not 

 have been present at all ; at least Col. Stewart, who was there 

 and was acquainted with every one of note in the army, as- 

 serts positively that there was no such man along; nor has 

 any other American account ever mentioned him. His mili- 

 tary knowledge was nil, as may be gathered from his remark,. 



