66 THE BATTLE OF BUSHY EUN. [1763, Aug. 



the drivers, overcome by the terrors of a scene in 

 which they could bear no active part, hid them- 

 selves among the bushes, and could neither hear 

 nor obey orders. 



It was now about ten o'clock. Oppressed with 

 heat, fatigue, and thirst, the distressed troops still 

 maintained a weary and wavering defence, encir- 

 cling the convoy in a yet unbroken ring. They 

 were fast falling in their ranks, and the strength 

 and spirits of the survivors had begun to flag. If 

 the fortunes of the day were to be retrieved, the 

 effort must be made at once ; and happily the mind 

 of the commander was equal to the emergency. 

 In the midst of the confusion he conceived a mas- 

 terly stratagem. Could the Indians be brought 

 together in a body, and made to stand their ground 

 when attacked, there could be little doubt of the 

 result ; and, to effect this object. Bouquet determined 

 to increase their confidence, which had already 

 mounted to an audacious pitch. Two companies 

 of infantry, forming a part of the ring which had 

 been exposed to the hottest fire, were ordered to 

 fall back into the interior of the camp ; while the 

 troops on either hand joined their files across the 

 vacant space, as if to cover the retreat of their 

 comrades. These orders, given at a favorable mo- 

 ment, were executed with great promptness. The 

 thin line of troops who took possession of the 

 deserted part of the circle were, from their small 

 numbers, brought closer in towards the centre. 

 The Indians mistook these movements for a retreat. 

 Confident that their time was come, they leaped up 



