The War in the Northwest 15 



to their rescue. But a dreadful retribution fell on 

 the Indians; for they were infected with the dis 

 ease of their victims, and for some months virulent 

 small-pox raged among many of the bands of Creeks 

 and Cherokees. When stricken by the disease, the 

 savages first went into the sweat-houses, and when 

 heated to madness, plunged into the cool streams, 

 and so perished in multitudes. 



When the boats entered the Narrows they had 

 lost sight of the Indians on shore, and thought they 

 had left them behind. A man, who was in a canoe, 

 had gone aboard one of the larger boats with his 

 family, for the sake of safety while passing through 

 the rough water. His canoe was towed alongside, 

 and in the rapids it was overturned, and the cargo 

 lost. The rest of the company, pitying his distress 

 over the loss of all his worldly goods, landed, to see 

 if they could not help him recover some of his prop 

 erty. Just as they got out on the shore to walk 

 back, the Indians suddenly appeared almost over 

 them, on the high cliffs opposite, and began to fire, 

 causing a hurried retreat to the boats. For some 

 distance the Indians lined the bluffs, firing from the 

 heights into the boats below. Yet only four people 

 were wounded, and they not dangerously. One of 

 them was a girl named Nancy Gower. When, by 

 the sudden onslaught of the Indians, the crew of 

 the boat in which she was were thrown into dismay, 

 she took the helm and steered, exposed to the fire 

 of the savages. A ball went through the upper part 

 of one of her thighs, but she neither flinched nor 



