^24 LAATSON^S HISTOriY 



what enemies they could take. The lesser num- 

 ber found they were discovered, and could not well 

 get over a river, (that lay between them and their 

 home) without engaging the other party, whose 

 numbers were much the greater ; so they called a 

 council, which met, and having weighed their 

 present circumstances with a great deal of argu« 

 ment and debate, for a considerable time, and 

 found their enemies advantage, and that they 

 could expect no success in engaging such an une- 

 qual number ; they, at last, concluded on this stra- 

 tagem, which, in my opinion, carried a great deal 

 of policy along with it. It was, that the same 

 night, they should make a great fire, which they 

 were certain would be discovered by the adverse 

 party, and there dress up logs of wood in their 

 cloths, and make them exactly seem like Indians, 

 that were asleep by the fireside ; (which is their 

 way, when in the woods) so,, said they, our ene- 

 mies will fire upon these images, supposing them 

 to be us, who w^ill lie in ambuscade, and, after 

 their guns are unloaded, shall deal well enough 

 with them. This result was immediately put in 

 execution, and the fire was made by the side of a 

 valley, where they lay perdu very advantageously. 

 Thus, a little before break of day, (which common- 

 ly is the hour they surprise their enemies in) the 

 Indians came down to their fire, and at once fired in 

 upon those logs in the Indians clothes, and run up 

 to them, expecting they had killed every man 

 dead ; but they found themselves mistaken, for 



