Chapter XIX. The Battle of the Bank

by Joseph A. Altsheler

　　"What is it? What is it?" cried Adam Colfax, as the threesentinels, who were worth all the others combined, dashed intothe camp.

　　"An Indian army!" replied Henry Ware. "We do not yet know howstrong, but we have seen their scouts! Hark to them!"

　　The fierce war whoop rose and swelled through all the forest,died away, then swelled and died again. From the dark wall ofthe trees came the crackling fire of rifles. No one could be indoubt now.

　　"Out with the fires! Scatter them, trample them down!" exclaimedHenry.

　　He set the example, kicking the wood and embers in everydirection. Adam Colfax was not one to resent such a suddenassumption of authority, when he saw that it meant the saving ofhuman lives. He repeated the order and joined in the workhimself. Fortunately the fires had burned low and the task wassoon done, but not before two or three men had been hit bybullets from the surrounding darkness.

　　"Lie down, everybody!" cried Henry, and the order was obeyed atonce. Then the strange night battle in the heart of thewilderness began. The savages, after their first attack, ceasedto shout, and the voyagers on their own part made little noise.But they knew that the assailing force was numerous. It rimmedthem on all sides save that of the river, and the little pink andred beads of fire seemed to flash from every bush. The men onthe boats swarmed to the shore, but Adam Colfax allowed only halfof them to come, the land force at the same time falling back onthe river to meet them. He had no mind to let his communicationsbe cut.

　　As the white line fell back the red came on, and uttered againthe long-drawn, high-pitched war whoop, a cry of exultation. Butit was not repeated, as the white line withdrew only to the bank,and yielded no more. Then both lines lay in the forest, facesinvisible, but the pink and red beads of opposing fire ran backand forth in a stream. Now and then, even in the darkness, abullet struck true. A groan would start in the white line, butit would be checked at the lips, because these were men too proudto give expression to pain.

　　"They can't make much progress in this way," said Adam Colfax toHenry, who had crept to his side.

　　"They can make it terribly wearing by keeping it up all night."

　　"We can withdraw to the boats entirely and row away."

　　"I wouldn't do it, they're sure to have boats, too, knowing thatwe could take to the water, and, if we were to leave here they'dtake it as a sign of victory and follow. Then we'd have anotherand worse fight."

　　Adam Colfax was of the same opinion. He was not in favor ofyielding an inch.

　　"I think I can see some of their figures dancing about thereamong the bushes," he whispered to Henry.

　　"I see them, too," replied the youth, "and I think that I seewhite men. They must be the desperate gang that followed Alvarezout of New Orleans."

　　"No doubt of it."

　　Adam Colfax presently crept down the river bank, but came back ina few minutes.

　　"Now we'll see something," he whispered to Henry, and what thecautious leader said was quick to come true.

　　The fire of both sides died for a moment, and then came a heavycrash and a jet of fire from the river; there was a long, shrillscream as a missile curved high over the white line and droppedin the red, where it burst, flinging red-hot pieces of steel in ashower. It was followed instantly by another report, another jetof fire, and another shower of metal in the bushes. The brasstwelve-pounders on the boat had opened fire, and with shot aftershot they were searching the dark thickets, whence cries of ragenow came.

　　The Americans sent up shouts of triumph and redoubled their riflefire. Many of the more zealous were eager to creep to thethickets and turn the defensive into the offensive, but theleaders restrained them.

　　"No use to waste life in any such foolish fashion," said shrewdAdam Colfax. "While we stay under the cannon they won't rush us,but if we follow them into the bushes they'll have anoverwhelming advantage."

　　It began to lighten a little, but the wind blew stronger and verycold for the time of the year. The red line was withdrawnfurther into the forest, but it continued an intermittent fire,and now and then uttered a challenging war whoop. The cannonevery ten minutes sent a shot among them, but whether it did anydamage the Americans could not tell. The defenders saved theirbullets, firing only when there seemed to be a chance for a hit,and thus the hours dragged their leaden weight slowly by.

　　A score of the Americans had been wounded by the rifle fire, butin most cases the wounds were slight. Six were dead and theywere taken to the boats, where stones were ted to them and theywere dropped into the Mississippi to disappear forever. Rovers,adventurers, masterless men, they had been, but they died in agood cause, and they were not without mourners, as their bodiesslid into the brown waters.

　　Adam Colfax had coffee made on several of the boats provided witha cooking apparatus, and it was served in the darkness to thosewho fought on shore. One man had the tin cup shot from his handas he was raising it to his lips, but he calmly called foranother, and when he had drunk it, went on with his part of thebattle.

　　The hot coffee heartened them wonderfully, and the ten minutecannon shots were good company. They grew to look for them, andso strong is habit, that they knew almost to the second when theshot was due. It was like a slow, steady chorus, cheering themand telling them to hold on.

　　Far toward morning there was a tremendous burst of fire from thethickets, the fierce, high-pitched war shout was repeated threetimes, and after that, silence. Then the darkness sank away, andthe day came in a burst of red and gold, gilding river andforest.

　　"They are gone," said Henry, "you'll find now that the woods areempty."

　　Many of the voyagers rushed into the forest to discover that hespoke the truth. Nowhere was there a sign of an enemy. No treesheltered a warrior, the thickets were harmless. The peacefulmorning breeze had no note of warning in 'its song. But whenthey looked more closely they saw that many dark stains hadsoaked into the earth, and they knew that not all the bullets andcannon balls had gone amiss.

　　"Well, we drove them off that time," said Adam Colfax cheerfully."They found that they couldn't surprise us, and I guess they'veconcluded that they couldn't rush us either. I fancy it's thelast we'll see of 'em."

　　Henry shook his head, and Shif'less Sol and Tom Ross, who werestanding by, also shook theirs.

　　"We're pretty sure that a big league of the southern tribes hasbeen formed," Henry said, "and there are also many white men withthem, white men who are driven by hate and revenge. They'llstick."

　　"Then we've got to defend this fleet to the last," said AdamColfax. "It's bound to get through; and the first thing I'llhave done is to cover up our barrels of powder, so no fire or hotbullets can reach it. Those barrels of powder are as precious asgold."

　　This task was begun at once and everybody reembarked, a joyfullittle army that had won a triumph and that felt able to win moreif need be. The wounded made light of their wounds and all feltnew strength and courage with the daylight. The five returnedwith the others to their boats.

　　"Well, Jim," said Paul to Long Jim Hart, "there's trouble to befound away from New Orleans as well as in it. Last night was notso very peaceful, and the woods did contain danger."

　　Long Jim heaved a satisfied sigh.

　　"Yes, Paul," he replied, "thar wuz shorely a heap uv dangerstirrin' 'bout last night, an' thar wuz lots uv chances that someuv it would come knockin' up ag'inst me, but, Paul, I knowed itwuz thar, I knowed it wuz in the woods in front uv us; it wuzn'tsettin' by my side, talkin' soft things to me, an' sayin' it wuzmy friend. No, Paul, ef I had got killed last night I would heyknowed, ef I knowed anythin' at all, that it wuz an honest Injunbullet that done it, one that meant to do it, an' no foolin'."

　　The fleet resumed its passage up the river in its usual arrowformation, with the five near the tip of the barb, but the brightpromise of the morning was deceitful. Toward noon the clouds ofthe night before that had not retreated far, came back again,filing solemnly across the sky in a long, somber procession. Noair stirred. The wide, yellow river stretched before them, asmooth, molten surface.

　　The motion of the fleet became perceptibly slower. The men inthat turgid atmosphere felt languid and inert, and their handsrested but lightly on oar and paddle. Cheerfulness gave way todepression. The voyage was far less easy than it had seemed afew hours before. Overhead the clouds united and drew a leadenblanket from horizon to horizon.

　　"It's a storm, of course," said Henry. " Remember the one thatstruck us when we were coming down the river. It's just suchanother."

　　There was a sudden rush of hot air. Dull thunder, singularlyuncanny in its low, distant note, began to grumble. Lightning ofan intense coppery color flashed again and again across theheavens. The river began to rise in yellow waves that crumbledand rose again.

　　Some of the boats had sails, but these were quickly taken in -Adam Colfax was no careless seaman. The fleet, nevertheless,began to heave on the troubled water, break its formation, andfall into imminent danger of frequent collision. The greatriver, usually so friendly, and, like a long cord, uniting thegreen lands on either side, was now full of wrath and fury.Burst after burst of wind, screaming ominously, swept over it,and the waves rolled like those of the sea. Despite powerfulhands on oar and paddle, the fleet was driven about like a coveyof frightened birds. Meanwhile, the darkness increased until itwas almost like night.

　　Adam Colfax struggled hard. He wished to keep to the middle ofthe river, and a single boat might have fought out the stormthere, but the danger was steadily increasing. Two boats,already, were in collision, and with great difficulty were savedfrom sinking.

　　"We'll have to make for the shore and tie up," he shouted toHenry, who was in the boat next to him. "I think it's the mostviolent storm I ever saw on the Mississippi."

　　"We may find a sheltered place," Henry shouted back above theroar of the wind.

　　"There's nothing else to do," said Adam Colfax. "The easternshore looks the lower, and we'll go for it at once."

　　He gave the signal with hand and voice, and all the boats beganto pull with their whole strength in a diagonal course toward theeast bank, while the wind shrieked in gust after gust, thethunder crashed incessantly, and the coppery lightning flared ingreat saber-cuts across the sky.

　　It was enough to daunt the heart of many a brave man, but HenryWare was not appalled. His primeval instincts had risen to thesurface again. He saw the grandeur of it rather than theweirdness and danger. Like Long Jim, though less outspoken, hehad been troubled by the intrigue, the shiftiness and the falseseeming of New Orleans, and now his spirit replied to the battleof the elements. He was the most active man in the fleet. Hisquick hand and eye and powerful arm kept one canoe loaded withmedical stores, which had in them the saving of many lives, fromgoing to the bottom. The harder the wind blew and the rougherthe waves grew the higher his spirit rose to meet them.

　　"Look!" he shouted to Adam Colfax, as they approached the shore,"an opening! See it? I think it's a bayou, and if we go up thatwe'll be safe!"

　　Henry was right. Its mouth almost hidden by trees, the deep,still bayou opened out before them, and ran its narrow length farback into the land. One could not conceive a better anchoragefor the small boats such as constituted their fleet. The men,when they saw it, gave a hearty cheer that rose above the wind.Hardy as they were, fear had entered most of them.

　　The leading boats passed into the bayou, and all the others, manystruggling hard with wind, current, and waves, followed them.The change was immediate. They came into quarters comparativelystill, but there was a new danger. A tree, snapped through itsmighty trunk by the hurricane, fell across the bayou directly infront of them. It was lucky that no canoe was in its way.

　　"Out, men, with axes!" shouted Adam Colfax, and a dozen leaped toobey his command. The tree was quickly cut apart and a scoremore dragged the two halves up to the banks, leaving a passageonce more for the fleet. This was repeated further on, and nowthey began to look anxiously for more open country. Only goodfortune had saved them so far.

　　The bayou ran on narrow and deep, and they pulled and paddledwith all their might, until at last they came to a place that wasfringed only by high bushes. The forest on either side was twoor three hundred yards away, and Adam Colfax, despite his sternNew Hampshire nature, did not repress a cry of joy. Here theywere safe, alike from the Mississippi and the forest.

　　"Tie up!" he shouted, and the boats were soon fastened to thebushes in parallel rows on either side of the bayou. Then theyhurried to make shelter for themselves. The supplies werealready covered. The skies were now at the darkest, a solidcircle of heavy black clouds. The lightning and thunder alikeceased, and then, borne on the swift wind, came a mighty rain.It was so heavy, so steady, and so searching that they were putto their utmost labor and ingenuity to keep their precious cargodry.

　　"If the rain were not so tremendously heavy I would look throughthe forest to see if any enemies were about," said Henry to theleader.

　　Adam Colfax glanced up at the water which was falling in sheetsand laughed, a laugh of genuine relief from a great strain.

　　"Why, Henry," he said, "I don't believe that a man could keep hisfeet out there in all that pelting flood long enough to go manymiles. I wish I was always as safe from attack as I feel now."

　　It was certainly far more comfortable in the boats than it couldpossibly be in the sodden forest, where little lakes were alreadyforming. In addition, night, very dark, was coming on, and nocessation of the rain was promised. It was useless, in the faceof the deluge, to attempt to build fires on the shore, andhuddling in the boats under tarpaulins, sails, and blankets, theyate cold food. But Adam Colfax, as a precaution, allowed alittle brandy to be served to every man.

　　"It's medicine in this case, boys," he said, "and you must lookon it so. I don't think you'll get any more."

　　Bye and bye the rain slackened a little. Some one began a lineof a song, but it did not catch. Nobody joined in, and thesinger stopped. The atmosphere was not favorable to any kind ofmusic. The hours passed slowly, but it was nearly midnight whenthe rain ceased, and a timid moon came out to cast a few palerays over a soaked and dripping forest. Most of the men were nowasleep under their covers, but not one of the five slumbered, nordid Adam Colfax and a dozen others.

　　"Thank God, it's stopped at last!" said Adam Colfax devoutly - hewas a religious man, and his gratitude was not merely oral. "Theclouds are clearing away and I think we can soon see where weare."

　　"Yes, it will be much lighter soon," said Henry Ware, "but in themeantime we are about to receive a visitor. Look!"

　　He pointed down the bayou toward the river. A light canoe wasemerging from the mists and shadows. It contained a singleoccupant, and came straight on up the narrow channel.

　　The man who sat in the canoe was tall and thin and wrapped in adripping black robe. His head was bare and his gray hair fell inlong, straight locks. The moonlight fell directly upon his thin,ascetic face, and something in the eyes that Adam Colfax saw, orthought he saw, sent a thrill through him.

　　"Is it a ghost?" he asked of Henry Ware in an awed whisper.

　　At that moment the moonlight shifted and fell upon somethingmetallic that gleamed upon the breast of the mystic visitor.

　　"It is Father Montigny," said Henry. He, too, felt awe, not atany ghostly apparition but because the priest had come suddenlyat such a time.

　　"What does it portend?" was his silent thought.

　　Paddling with a strong hand the priest came straight toward them.The moonlight continued to shine upon his face, and Henry thoughtthat he read there the impulse of a great mission.