1763, July.] RETREAT OF THE ENGLISH. 311 



guard were half way over the bridge, and the 

 main body just entering upon it, when a horrible 

 burst of yells rose in their front, and the Indian 

 guns blazed forth in a general discharge. Half 

 the advanced party were shot down ; the appalled 

 survivors shrank back aghast. The confusion 

 reached even the n;ain body, and the whole re- 

 coiled together ; but Dalzell raised his clear voice 

 above the din, advanced to the front, rallied the 

 men, and led them forward to the attack.^ Again 

 the Indians poured in their volley, and again the 

 English hesitated ; but Dalzell shouted from the 

 van, and, in the madness of mingled rage and fear, 

 they charged at a run across the bridge and up 

 the heights beyond. Not an Indian was there to 

 oppose them. In vain the furious soldiers sought 

 their enemy behind fences and intrenchments. The 

 active savages had fled ; yet still their guns flashed 

 thick through the gloom, and their war-ci'y rose 

 wath undiminished clamor. The English pushed 

 forward amid the pitchy darkness, quite ignorant of 

 their way, and soon became involved in a maze of 

 out-houses and enclosures. At every pause they 

 made, the retiring enemy would gather to renew 

 the attack, firing back hotly upon the front and 

 flanks. To advance farther would be useless, and 

 the only alternative was to withdraw and wait 

 for daylight. Captain Grant, with his company, 

 recrossed the bridge, and took up his station on the 

 road. The rest followed, a small party remaining 

 to hold the enemy in check while the dead and 



1 Penn. Gaz. No. 1811. 



