35 8 The Winning of the West 



flank or partially surround the Indians, while his 

 sudden rush demoralized them; so that, in striking 

 contrast to most other Indian fighters, he inflicted a 

 far greater loss than he received. He never fought 

 a big pitched battle, but, by incessantly harrying and 

 scattering the different war bands, he struck such 

 terror to the hearts of the Indians that he again and 

 again, in a succession of wars, forced them into 



neers, or some of the pioneers, forty or fifty years after the 

 event ; and they do a great deal of bragging about the prowess 

 of the old Indian fighters. The latter did most certainly per- 

 form mighty deeds; but often in an entirely different way 

 from that generally recorded ; for they faced a foe who 'on 

 his own ground was infinitely more to be dreaded than the 

 best trained European regulars. Thus Haywood says that 

 after the battle of the Island Flats, the whites were so en- 

 couraged that thenceforward they never asked concerning 

 their enemies, "How many are they?" but "Where are they?" 

 Of course, this is a mere piece of barbaric boasting. If the 

 whites had really acted on any such theory there would have 

 been a constant succession of disasters like that at the Blue 

 Licks. Sevier's latest biographer, Mr. Kirke, in the "Rear- 

 guard of the Revolution," goes far beyond even the old 

 writers. For instance, on p. 141, he speaks of Sevier's vic- 

 tories being "often" gained over "twenty times his own 

 number" of Indians. As a matter of fact, one of the proofs 

 of Sevier's skill as a commander is that he almost always 

 fought with the advantage of numbers on his side. Not a 

 single instance can be produced where either he or any one 

 else during his lifetime gained a victory over twenty times 

 his number of Indians, unless the sieges are counted. It is 

 necessary to keep in mind the limitations under which Hay- 

 wood did his work, in order to write truthfully ; but a debt of 

 gratitude will always be due him for the history he wrote. 

 Like Marshall's, it is the book of one who himself knew the 

 pioneers, and it has preserved very much of value which 

 would otherwise have been lost. The same holds true of 

 Ramsey. 



