350 The Winning of the West 



panied by most of his tories. Some of his war- 

 riors came from the lower towns that lay along the 

 Tugelou and Keowee, but most were from the mid- 

 dle towns, in the neighborhood of the Tellico, and 

 from the valley towns that lay well to the westward 

 of these, among the mountains, along the branches 

 of the Hiawassee and Chattahoochee rivers. Fall- 

 ing furiously on the scattered settlers, they killed 

 them or drove them into the wooden forts, ravag- 

 ing, burning, and murdering as elsewhere, and 

 sparing neither age nor sex; Colonel Andrew 

 Williamson was in command of the western dis- 

 tricts, and he at once began to gather together a 

 force, taking his station at Picken's Fort, with 

 forty men, on July 3. 52 It was with the utmost 

 difficulty that he could get troops, guns, or ammuni- 

 tion; but his strenuous and unceasing efforts were 

 successful, and his force increased day by day. It 

 is worth noting that these lowland troops were 

 for the most part armed with smooth-bores, unlike 

 the rifle-bearing mountaineers. As soon as he could 

 muster a couple of hundred men, 53 he left the fort 

 and advanced toward the Indians, making contin- 

 ual halts, 54 so as to allow the numerous volunteers 

 that were flocking to his standard to reach him. 

 At the same time the Americans were much en- 

 couraged by the repulse of an assault made just 



52 "View of South Carolina," John Dray ton, Charleston, 

 1802, p. 231. A very good book. 



53 More exactly two hundred and twenty-two, on the 8th of 

 July. 



54 E. g., at Hogskin Creek and Barker's Creek. 



