338 The Winning of the West 



Mile Ford. The roads leading to the wooden forts 

 were crowded with settlers, who, in their mortal 

 need of hurry, had barely time to snatch up a few of 

 the household goods, and, if especially lucky, to 

 mount the women and children on horses; as usual 

 in such a flight, there occurred many deeds of cow- 

 ardly selfishness, offset by many feats of courage 

 and self-sacrifice. Once in the fort, the backwoods- 

 men often banded into parties, and sallied out to fall 

 on the Indians. Sometimes these parties were 

 worsted; at other times they overcame their foes 

 either by ambush or in fair fight. One such party 

 from the Wolf Hills fort killed eleven Indian war- 

 riors; and on their return they hung the scalps of 

 their slain foes, as trophies of triumph, from a pole 

 over the fort gate. 30 They were Bible-readers in 

 this fort, and they had their Presbyterian minister 

 with them, having organized a special party to bring 

 in the books he had left in his cabin; they joined 

 in prayer and thanksgiving for their successes; but 

 this did not hinder them from scalping the men they 

 killed. They were too well-read in the merciless 

 wars of the Chosen People to feel the need of spar- 

 ing the fallen; indeed they would have been most 

 foolish had they done so; for they were battling 

 with a heathen enemy more ruthless and terrible 

 than ever was Canaanite or Philistine. 



The two largest of the invading Indian bands 31 



30 "American Pioneers," I, 534. Letter of Benjamin Sharp, 

 who was in the fort at the time as a boy fourteen years old. 



31 Many writers speak as if all the Indians were in these 



