04 - The Soldier Life

Chapter 4: The Soldier Life

Here, the focus is on Crockett’s military service, possibly during the Creek War, highlighting his experiences as a soldier and contributions to military efforts. Summary by Dream Audiobooks

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter four of David Crockett, His Life and Adventures. This
is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the
public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit
LibriVox dot org. Recording by Brett W. Downey. David Crockett,
His Life and Adventures by John S. C Abbott. Chapter four,

(00:24):
The Soldier Life. The awful massacre at Fort Mims by
the Creek Indians summoned as with a trumpet peal the
whole region to war. David Crockett had listened eagerly to
stories of Indian warfare in former years, and as he
listened to the tales of midnight conflagration and slaughter, his
naturally peaceful spirit had no yearnings for the renewal of

(00:45):
such sanguinary scenes. Crockett was not a quarrelsome man. He
was not fond of brawls and fighting. Nothing in his
life had thus far occurred to test his courage. Though
there was great excitement to be found in hunting, there
was but little, if any danger. The deer and all
smaller game were harmless, and even the grizzly bear had

(01:06):
but few terrors. For a marksman who with unerring aim
could strike him with the deadly bullet at the distance
of many rods. But the massacre at Fort Mims roused
a new spirit in David Crockett. He perceived at once
that unless the savages were speedily quelled, they would ravage
the whole region, and that his family, as well as
that of every other pioneer, must inevitably perish. It was

(01:28):
manifest to him that every man was bound immediately to
take arms for the general defense. In a few days,
a summons was issued for every able bodied man in
all that region to repair to Winchester, which, as we
have said, was a small cluster of houses about ten
miles from Crockett's cabin. When he informed his wife of
his intention, her womanly heart was appalled at the thought

(01:51):
of being left alone and unprotected in the vast wilderness.
She was at a distance of hundreds of miles from
all her connections. She had no neighbors near Her children
were too young to be of any service to her
if the dreadful Indians should attack them. She had no
one to look to for protection. If anything should happen
to him in battle, so that he should not return,

(02:12):
they must all perish. Of starvation these obvious considerations, she
urged with many tears. It was mighty hard, writes Crockett,
to go against such arguments as these, But my countrymen
had been murdered, and I knew that the next thing
would be that the Indians would be scalping the women
and children all about there if we didn't put a
stop to it. I reasoned the case with her as

(02:34):
well as I could, and told her that if every
man would wait till his wife got willing for him
to go to war, there would be no fighting done
until we all should be killed in our own houses.
That I was as able to go as any man
in the world, and that I believed it was a
duty I owed to my country. Whether she was satisfied
with this reasoning or not, she did not tell me,
But seeing I was bent on it, all she did

(02:55):
was to cry a little and turn about to her work.
David Crockett to Winchester. There was a large gathering there
from all the hamlets and cabins for many miles around.
The excitement was intense. The nation of Creek Indians was
a very powerful one, and in intelligence and military skill
far in advance of most of the Indian tribes. Mister

(03:16):
Crockett was one of the first volunteer to form a
company to serve for sixty days under Captain Jones, who
subsequently was a member of Congress from Tennessee. In a week,
the whole company was organized and commenced its march to
join others for the invasion of the Creek Country. It
was thought that by carrying the war directly into the
Indian towns, their warriors might be detained at home to

(03:37):
protect their wives and children, and could thus be prevented
from carrying desolation into the settlements of the whites. In
the meantime, David Crockett revisited his humble home, where his good,
but anxious and afflicted wife fitted him out as well
as she could for the campaign. David was not a
man of sentiment, and was never disposed to contemplate the
possibility of failure in any of his plans. With a

(03:59):
light heart, he bade adieu to his wife and his children, and,
mounting his horse, set out for his two months absence
to hunt up and shoot the Indians. He took only
the amount of clothing he wore, as he wished to
be entirely unencumbered when he should meet the sinewy and
athletic foe on the battlefield, this company of about one
hundred mounted men commenced its march for an appointed rendezvous

(04:21):
called Beatty's Spring. Here they encamped for several days, waiting
the arrival of other companies from distant quarters. Ere long
there was collected quite an imposing army of thirteen hundred men,
all on horseback, and all hardy backwoodsmen armed with the
deadly rifle. A more determined set of men was perhaps
never assembled. While they were thus gathering from far and near,

(04:43):
and making all preparations to burst upon the foe. In
one of war's most terrific tempests, Major Gibson came and
wanted a few men of tried sagacity in hardihood to
accompany him on a reconnoitering tour across the Tennessee River,
down through the wilderness into the country of the Creek Indians.
It was a very hazardous enterprise. The region swarmed with savages.

(05:04):
They were very vigilant. They were greatly and justly exasperated.
If the reconnoitering party were captured, the certain doom of
its members would be death by the most dreadful tortures.
Captain Jones pointed out David Crockett as one of the
most suitable men for this enterprise. Crockett unhesitatingly consented to go,
and by permission chose a companion by the name of

(05:25):
George Russell, a young man whose courage and sagacity were
far in advance of his years. I called him up,
writes Crockett, but Major Gibson said he thought he hadn't
heard enough to please him. He wanted men, not boys.
I must confess I was a little nettled at this,
for I'd knowed George Russell, and I'd knowed there was
no mistake in him. And I didn't think that courage

(05:47):
ought to be measured by the beard, for fear a
goat would have the preference over a man. I told
the Major he was on the wrong scent, that Russell
could go as far as he could, and I must
have him along. He saw I was a little rathy,
and said I had the best chance of knowing, and
agreed that it should be as I wanted it. The
heroic little band, thirteen in number, well armed and well mounted,

(06:08):
set out early in the morning on their perilous enterprise.
They crossed the Tennessee River, and, directing their steps south
through a region almost entirely uninhabited by the white man,
journeyed cautiously along, keeping themselves concealed as much as possible
in the fastnesses of the forest. They crossed the river
at what was called Ditto's Landing, and advancing about seven

(06:30):
miles beyond, found a very secluded spot, one of nature's
hiding places, where they took up their encampment for the night.
Here they chanced to come across a man by the
name of John Haynes, who for several years had been
a trader among the Indians. He was thoroughly acquainted with
the whole region about to be traversed, and consented to
act as a guide for the next day's march. Instructed

(06:51):
by their guide, the party divided into two bands, following
along two obscure trails, which came together again after winding
through the wilderness a distance of about twenty miles. Major
Gibson led a party of seven, and David Crockett the
other party of six. The Cherokee Indians, a neighboring nation
powerful and warlike, were not in alliance with the Creeks

(07:13):
in this war. They were at that time in general
friendly to the Whites. Many of their warriors were even
induced to join the Whites and march under their banners
on each of the trails that day to be passed over.
There was the lodge of a Cherokee Indian, Both of
them were friendly. Each of the parties was to collect
all the information possible from these Indians, and then to

(07:33):
meet where the trails came together again. When Crockett arrived
at the wigwam of the Indian, he met with a
very friendly reception. He also found there a half breed
Cherokee by the name of Jack Thompson. This man of
savage birth and training, but with the white man's blood
in his veins, offered to join the reconnoitering party. He, however,
was not ready just then to set out, but in

(07:54):
a few hours would follow and overtake the band at
its night's encampment. It was not safe to encamp directly
upon the trail, lest some Creek war party should be
passing along and should discover them. It was necessary to
seek concealment where even the prying eyes of the savage
would with difficulties search them out. The cry of the
shriek owl is exceedingly shrill and could be heard at

(08:14):
a great distance. A particular spot on the trail was
designated near which Crockett would seek his secret encampment. When
Jack Thompson reached that point, he was to imitate the
cry of the owl. Crockett would respond and thus guide
the Indian to his retreat. As night approached, Crockett with
his party found a deep and dark ravine, where, encircled

(08:35):
by almost impenetrable thickets, he hid his men and horses.
No camp fires could be built. It was ten o'clock
in the night when in the distance he heard the
signal shriek of the owl, a cry too common to
arrest the attention of any Indian bands who might be
in the vicinity. Jack, guided by a responsive cry, soon
found the place of concealment, and there the party remained

(08:56):
through the night. The next morning, after breakfast, they set
out to join Major Gibson and his band, but in
some way they had lost track of him, and he
could not be found. Some were alarmed, as in so
small a band they were entering the domains of their
powerful foe, Crockett taunted them with their fears, and indeed
fear kept them together. The party consisted now of seven,

(09:17):
including the Indian guide. Most of them determined to press on.
The two or three who were in favor of going
back dared not separate from the rest. At the distance
of about twenty miles, Jack Thompson told them that there
was a village of friendly Cherokee Indians. As he was
leading them through obscure trails towards that place, they came
across the hut of a white man by the name

(09:37):
of Radcliffe, who had married a Creek woman and had
been adopted into their tribe. The man had two nearly
grown up boys, stout burly fellows, half breeds by birth
and more than half savage in character and training. The
old man's cabin was slightly above the usual style of
Indian wigwams. It was in a region of utter solitude.
There Radcliff had taught his barbarian boys some of the

(10:00):
arts of industry. He had cleared quite a space of
ground around his hut and was raising a supply of
corn and potatoes, ample for his family's wants. With these
vegetable productions and with the game which the rifle supplied them.
They lived in abundance and free from most of those
cares which agitate a higher civilization. But the old man
was quite agitated in receiving and entertaining his unwelcome guests.

(10:23):
He was an adopted Creek and ought to be in
sympathy with his nation. He was bound to regard the
white men as his enemies, to withhold from them all
important information, and to deliver them up to the Creeks
if possible. Should he be suspected of sympathy with the
white man, the tomahawk of the Savage would soon cleave
his brain. He entreated Crockett immediately to leave him. Only

(10:44):
an hour ago, said he there were ten Creek warriors here,
all on horseback and painted and armed. Should they come
back and discover you here, they would certainly kill you all,
and put me and my family to death also. But Crockett,
instead of being alarmed by this intelligence, was only animated
by it. He assured Radcliffe that he could desire no
better luck than to meet a dozen Indians on the

(11:05):
war path. He considered his party quite strong enough to
meet at any time three times their number. Evening was
approaching and the full moon, in cloudless brilliance, was rising
over the forest, flooding the whole landscape with extraordinary splendor.
After feeding their horses abundantly and feasting themselves from the
fat larder of their host, they saddled their steeds and

(11:25):
resumed their journey. By moonlight. The trail still led through
the silent forest. It was, as usual very narrow, so
that the horses walked along in single file, as there
was danger of falling into an ambush. Not a word
was spoken, and as noiselessly as possible they moved onward,
every eye on the eager lookout. They had been thus
riding along when Crockett in the advance heard the noise

(11:48):
of some animals or persons apparently approaching at a given signal.
Instantly the whole party stopped. Every man grasped his rifle
ready in case of need to leap from his horse
and select the largest tree near him as a rampart
for the battle. All solicitude was, however, soon dispelled by
seeing simply two persons advancing along the trail on Indian ponies.

(12:09):
They proved to be two Negro slaves who had been
captured by the Indians and who having escaped, were endeavoring
to make their way back to their former master. They
were brothers, and being both very stout men enable to
speak the Indian as well as the English language, were
esteemed quite a powerful reinforcement to the Crockett party. They
rode quietly along another hour and a half, when toward

(12:30):
midnight they saw in the distance the gleam of camp
fires and heard shouts of merriment and revelry. They knew
that these must come from the camp of the friendly Cherokees,
to which their Indian guide, Jack Thompson, was leading them.
Soon a spectacle of wonderful, picturesque beauty was opened to
their view. Upon the banks of a beautiful mountain stream.
There was a wide plateau carpeted with the renowned bluegrass,

(12:52):
as verdant and soft as could be found in any
gentleman's park. There was no underbrush. The trees were two
or three yards from each other, composing a luxuriant, overhanging
canopy of green leaves more beautiful than art could possibly create.
Beneath this charming grove, and illumined by the moonshine, which
in golden tracery pierced the foliage. There were six or

(13:13):
eight Indian lodges scattered about. An immense bonfire was crackling
and blazing, throwing its rays far and wide through the forest,
moving round in various engagements in sports. Were about forty men,
women and children in the fringed, plumed, and brilliantly colored
attire of which the Indians were so fond. Quite a
number of them, with bows and arrows, were shooting at

(13:35):
a mark which was made perfectly distinct by the blaze
of pitch pine knots, a light which no flame of
candle or gas could outvy. It was a scene of
sublimity and beauty, of peace and loveliness, which no artists
could adequately transfer to canvas. The Cherokees received very cordially.
The newcomers took care their horses and introduce them to

(13:56):
their sports. Many of the Indians had guns, but powder
and bulllde were too precious to be expended in mere amusements. Indeed,
the Indians were so careful of their ammunition that they
rarely put more than half as much powder into a
charge as the white man used. They endeavored to make
up for the deficiency by creeping nearer to their prey.
Crockett and his men joined these barbarians merry in their

(14:18):
pleasant sports. Such are the joys of peace so different
from the miseries of demoniac war. At length, the festivities
were closed, and all began to prepare to retire to sleep.
The Cherokees were neutral in the war between the Whites
and the Creek Indians. It was very important for them
to maintain this neutrality strictly that they might not daw
down upon themselves the vengeance of either party. Some of

(14:41):
the Cherokees now began to feel anxious lest a war
party of the Creek should come along and find them
entertaining a war party of the Whites who were entering
their country as spies. They therefore held an interview with
one of the Negroes and requested him to inform mister
Crockett that should a war party come and find his
men in the Cherokee village, not only were they put
all the white men to death, there would also be

(15:02):
the indiscriminate massacre of all the men, women and children
in the Cherokee lodges. Crockett, wrapped in his blanket, was
half asleep when this message was brought to him. Raising
his head, he said to the negro in terms rather
savoring of the spirit of the braggadaccio than that of
a high minded and sympathetic man. Tell the cherokeys that
I will keep a sharp lookout, and if a single

(15:23):
creek comes near the camp to night, I will carry
the skin of his head home to make me a moccasin.
When this answer was reported to the Indians, they laughed
aloud and dispersed. It was not at all improbable that
there might be an alarm before morning. The horses were, therefore,
after being well fed, tied up with their saddles upon them,
that they might be instantly mounted in case of emergence.

(15:43):
They all slept, also with their arms in their hands.
Just as Crockett was again falling into a doze, a
very shrill Indian yell was heard in the forest, the
yell of alarm. Every man, white and red was instantly
upon his feet. An Indian runner soon made his appearance
with a tieing that more than a thousand Creek warriors
had that day crossed the Coosa River, but a few

(16:05):
leagues south of them at what was called the Ten Islands,
and were on the march to attack an American force
which under General Jackson, was assembling on another portion of
the Cusa River. The friendly Indians were so greatly alarmed
that they immediately fled. Crockett felt bound to carry back
this intelligence as speedily as possible to the headquarters from

(16:25):
which he had come. He had traversed a distance of
about sixty miles in a southerly direction. They returned by
the same route over which they had passed, but they
found that a general alarm had pervaded the country. Radcliffe
and his family, abandoning everything, had fled. They knew not where.
When they reached the Cherokee town of which we have
before spoken, not a single Indian was to be seen.

(16:48):
Their fires were still burning, which showed the precipitancy with
which they had taken flight. This rather alarmed the party
of the whites. They feared that the Indian warriors were
assembling from all quarters at some secqut at rendezvous, and
would soon fall upon them in overwhelming numbers. They therefore
did not venture to replenish the Indian fires and lie
down by the warmth of them, but pushed rapidly on

(17:09):
their way. It chanced to be a serene, moonlit night.
The trail through the forest, which the Indian's foot for
countless generations had trodden, smooth illumined by the soft rays
of the moon, was exceedingly beautiful. They traveled in single file,
every nerve at its extreme tension and anticipation of falling
into some ambush. Before morning they had accomplished about thirty miles.

(17:31):
In the gray dawn, they again reached mister Brown's. Here
they found grazing for their horses and corn and game
for themselves. Horses and riders were equally fatigued. The weary
adventurers were in no mood for talking. After dozing for
about an hour or two, they again set out, and
about noon reached the general rendezvous from which they had

(17:52):
departed but a few days before. Here Crockett was not
a little disappointed in the reception he encountered. He was
a young, raw backwoodsman, nearly on a level with the
ordinary savage. He was exceedingly illiterate and ignorant, and yet
he had the most amazing self confidence, with not a
particle of reverence for any man, whatever his rank or culture.

(18:13):
He thought no one. His superior, Colonel Coffee, paid very
little respect to his vainglorious report. In the following characteristic strain,
Crockett comments on the event, he didn't seem to mind
my report a bit. This raised my dander higher than ever.
But I knowed that I had to be on my
best behavior, and so I kept it all to myself,

(18:33):
though I was so mad that it was burning inside
like a tar kiln, and I wondered that the smoke
had not been pouring out of me at all points.
The next day Major Gibson got in. He brought a
worse tale than I had, though he stated the same facts.
As far as I went. This seemed to put our
colonel all in a fidget, and it convinced me clearly
of one of the hateful ways of the world. When

(18:55):
I made my report, I was not believed because I
was no officer. I was no great man, but just
a poor soldier. But when the same thing was reported
by Major Gibson, why then it was all true was preaching,
and the colonel believed it every word. There was indeed
cause for alarm. Many of the Indian chiefs displayed military
ability of a very high order. Our officers were frequently

(19:18):
outgeneraled by their savage antagonists. This was so signally the
case that the Indians frequently amused themselves in laughing to
scorn the folly of the white men. Every able bodied
man was called to work in throwing up breastworks. A
line of ramparts was speedily constructed nearly a quarter of
a mile in circuit. An express was sent to Fayetteville,

(19:39):
where General Jackson was assembling an army, to summon him
to the rescue. With characteristic energy, he rushed forward by
forced marches day and night, until his troops stood with
blistered feet behind the newly erected ramparts. They felt now
save from attack by the Indians. An expedition of eight
hundred volunteers, of which Crockett was one, was fitted out

(20:00):
to recross the Tennessee River and marching by the way
of Huntsville, to attack the Indians from an unexpected quarter.
This movement involved a double crossing of the Tennessee. They
pressed rapidly along the northern bank of this majestic stream
about forty or fifty miles due west, until they came
to a point where the stream expands into a width
of nearly two miles. This place was called mussel shoals.

(20:25):
The river could be here forded, though the bottom was
exceedingly rough. The men were all mounted. Several horses got
their feet so entangled in the crevices of the rocks
that they could not be disengaged, and they perished there.
The men, thus dismounted, were compelled to perform the rest
of the campaign on foot. A hundred miles south of
this point, in the state of Alabama, the Indians had

(20:47):
a large village called Black Warrior. The lodges of the
Indians were spread over the ground where the city of
Tuscaloosa now stands. The Wherry. Indians kept their scouts out
in all directions. The runners conveyed of the warriors prompt
warning of the approach of their foes. These Indians were
quite in advance of the northern tribes. Their lodges were full,

(21:07):
as comfortable as the log huts of the pioneers, and
in their interior arrangements more tasteful. The buildings were quite numerous,
upon many of them much labor had been expended. Luxuriant
corn fields spread widely round, and in well cultivated gardens.
They raised beans and other vegetables in considerable abundance. The
hungry army found a good supply of dried beans for

(21:29):
themselves and carefully housed corn for their horses. They feasted themselves,
loaded their pack horses with corn and beans, applied the
torch to every lodge, laying the whole town in ashes,
and then commenced their backward march. Fresh Indian tracks indicated
that many of them had remained until the last moment
of safety. The next day, the army marched back about

(21:50):
fifteen miles to the spot where it held its last encampment.
Eight hundred men on a campaign consume a vast amount
of food. Their meat was all devoured. They had now
not only corn and beans. The soldiers were living mostly
on parched corn. Crockett went to Colonel Coffee, then in command,
and stating very truthfully that he was an experienced hunter,

(22:11):
asked permission to draw aside from the ranks and hunt
as they marched along. The colonel gave his consent, but
warned him to be watchful in the extreme lest he
should fall into an Indian ambush. Crockett was brave, but
not reckless. He plunged into the forest with vigilant gaze,
piercing the solitary space in all directions. He was alone
on horseback. He was not gone far when he found

(22:33):
a deer just killed by a noiseless arrow. The animal
was but partially skinned and still warm and smoking. The
deer had certainly been killed by an Indian, and it
was equally certain that the savage, seeing his approach, had fled.
The first thought of Crockett was one of alarm. The
Indian might be hidden behind some one of the gigantic trees,
and the next moment a bullet from the Indian's rifle

(22:56):
might pierce his heart. But a second thought reassured him
the deer been killed by an arrow. Had the Indian
been armed with a rifle, nothing would have been easier,
as he saw the approach of Crockett in the distance,
than for him to have concealed himself and then to
have taken such deliberate aim at his victim as to
be sure of his death. Mounting the horse which Crockett rode,
the savage might have disappeared in the wilderness beyond all

(23:18):
possibility of pursuit. But this adventure taught Crockett that he
might not enjoy such good luck the next time. Another
Indian might be armed with a rifle, and Crockett, self
confident as he was, could not pretend to be wiser
in woodcraft than were the savages. Crockett dismounted, took up
the body of the deer, laid it upon the mane
of his horse in front of the saddle, and, remounting

(23:40):
with increasing vigilance, made his way as rapidly as he
could to the trail along which the army was advancing.
He confesses to some qualms of conscience as to the
right of one hunter thus to steal away the game
killed by another. It was late in the afternoon when
he reached the rear. He pressed along to overtake his
own company. The soldiers looked wistfully at the venison. They

(24:00):
offered him almost any price for it. Crockett was by
nature a generous man. There was not a mean hair
in his head. This generosity was one of the virtues
which gave him so many friends. Rather boastfully, and yet
it must be admitted truthfully, he writes, in reference to
this adventure, I could have sold it for almost any
price I would have asked. But this wasn't my rule,

(24:21):
neither in peace nor war, whenever I had anything and
saw a fellow being suffering, I was more anxious to
relieve him than to benefit myself. And this is one
of the true secrets of my being a poor man
to the present day. But it is my way, and
while it has often left me with an empty purse,
it has never left my heart empty of the consolations

(24:41):
which money couldn't buy, a consolation of having sometimes fed
the hungry and covered the naked. I gave all my
dear away, except a small part, which I kept for myself,
and just sufficient to make a good supper for my mess.
The next day, in their march, they came upon a
drove of swine which belonged to a Cherokee farmer. The
Whites were as little disposed as were the Indians in

(25:02):
this war to pay any respect to private property. Hundreds
of rifles were aimed at the poor pigs, and their
squealing indicated that they had a very hard time of it.
The army, in its encampment that night feasted very joyously
upon fresh pork. This thrifty Cherokee was also the possessor
of a milch cow. The animal was speedily slaughtered and devoured.

(25:23):
They soon came upon another detachment of the army, and uniting,
marched to ten islands on the Coosa River, where they
established a fort, which they called Fort Struther, as a
depot for provisions and ammunition. They were here not far
from the center of the country inhabited by the hostile Indians.
This fort stood on the left bank of the river
in what is now Saint Clair County, Alabama. It was

(25:46):
a region but little explored, and the Whites had but
little acquaintance with the nature of the country around them
or with the places occupied by the Indians. Some scouts
from the friendly Creeks brought the intelligence that at the
distance of about eight miles from the fort, there was
an Indian town where a large party of warriors was
assembled in preparation for some secret expedition. A large and

(26:08):
select band was immediately dispatched on horseback to attack them.
By surprise, two friendly Creeks led them with Indian sagacity
through circuitous trails. Stealthily, they approached the town, and, dividing
their force, marched on each side so as to encircle
it completely. Aided by their Creek guides, this important movement
was accomplished without the warriors discovering their approach. The number

(26:32):
of Whites was so great that they were enabled to
surround the town with so continuous a line that escape
was impossible for any enclosed within that fearful barrier of
loaded rifles wielded by unerring marksmen. Closer and more compactly,
the fatal line was drawn. These movements were accompassed in
the dim morning twilight, all being ready, Captain Hammond and

(26:53):
a few rangers were sent forward to show themselves and
to bring on the fight. The moment the warriors caught
sight of them, one general war whoop rose from every throat.
Grasping their rifles, they rushed headlong upon the rangers who
retired before them. They soon reached one portion of the
compact line, and were received with a terrible fire, which
struck many of them down in instant death. The troops

(27:15):
then closed rapidly upon the doomed Indians, and from the north,
the south, the east, and the west they were assailed
by a deadly storm of bullets. Almost immediately the Indians
saw that they were lost. There was no possibility of escape.
This was alike manifest to everyone, to warrior, squaw and papoose,
all surrendered themselves to despair. The warriors threw down their

(27:37):
weapons in sign of surrender. Some rushed into the lodges.
Some rushed towards the soldiers, stretching out their unarmed hands
in supplication for life. The women, in particular, panic stricken,
ran to the soldiers, clasped them about the knees, and
looked up into their faces with piteous supplications for life.
Crockett rights, I saw seven squaws half hold of one man,

(28:00):
so I hollered out the scriptures. Was fulfilling that there
were seven women holding to one man's coat tail, But
I believe it was a hunting shirt all the time.
We took them all prisoners that came out to us
in this way. Forty six warriors by count threw down
their arms in token of surrender and ran into one
of the large houses. A band of soldiers pursued them

(28:20):
with the apparent intent of shooting them down. It was
considered rare sport to shoot an Indian. A woman came
to the door, bow and arrow in hand. Fixing the
arrow upon the string, she drew the bow with all
the strength of her muscular arm, and let the arrow
fly into the midst of the approaching foe. It nearly
passed through the body of Lieutenant More, killing him instantly.

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The woman made no attempt to evade the penalty which
he knew would follow this act. In an instant, twenty
bullets pierced her body, and she fell dead at the
door of the house. The infuriate warriors rushed in and
shot the defenseless warriors mercilessly until every one was fatally
wounded or dead. Then they set the house on fire
and burned it up with the forty six warriors in.

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It mattered not to them whether the flames consumed the
flesh of the living or of the dead. There was
something very remarkable in the stoicism which the Indians ever manifested.
There was a bright looking little Indian boy, not more
than twelve years of age, whose arm was shattered by
one bullet and his thigh bone by another. Thus terribly wounded,
the poor child crept from the flames of the burning house.

(29:24):
There was no pity in that offlur to come to
his relief. The heat was so intense that his almost
naked body could be seen blistering and frying by the fire.
The heroic boy, striving in vain to crawl along. Was
literally roasted alive, and yet he did not utter an
audible groan. The slaughter was awful, but five of the
Americans were killed. One hundred and eighty six of the

(29:47):
Indians were either killed or taken prisoner. The party returned
with their captives the same day to Fort Struther. The
army had so far consumed its food that it was
placed on half rations. The next day, a party was
sent back to the smoldering town to see if any
food could be found. Even these hardy pioneers were shocked
at the awful spectacle which was presented. The whole place

(30:08):
was in ruins. The half burned bodies of the dead
in awful mutilation were scattered around. Demoniac war performed one
of its most fiendlike deeds on this bloody field. An
Indian babe was found clinging to the bosom of its
dead mother. Jackson urged some of the Indian women who
were captives to give it nourishment. They replied, all the

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child's friends are killed. There is no one to care
for the helpless babe. It is much better that it
should die. Jackson took the child under his own care,
ordered it to be conveyed to his tent, nursed it
with sugar and water, took it eventually with him to
the hermitage, and brought it up as his son. He
gave the boy the name of Linkoyer. He grew up
a finely formed young man, and died of consumption at

(30:50):
the age of seventeen. Jackson was a very stern man.
The appeals of pity could seldom move his heart. Still,
there were traits of heroicism which marked his character. On
the return march, a half starved soldier came to Jackson
with a piteous story of his famished condition. Jackson drew
from his pocket a handful of acorns, and, presenting a
portion to the man, said, this is all the fair

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I have. I will share it with you. Beneath one
of the houses was found quite a large cellar, well
stored with potatoes. These were eagerly seized all the other
stores of the Indians. The insatiable flames had consumed. Starvation
now began to threaten the army. The sparsely settled country
afforded no scope for forage. There were no herds of cattle,

(31:34):
no well replenished magazines near hand. Neither was there game
enough in the spreading wilderness to supply so many hungry mouths.
The troops were compelled to eat even the very hides
of the cattle whom they had driven before them, and
who were now all slaughtered. While in this forlorn condition,
awaiting the arrival of food, and keeping very vigilant guard
against surprise, one night, an Indian cautiously approaching from the

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forest shouted out that he wished to see General Jackson,
for he had important information to communicate. He was conducted
to the general's tent. The soldiers knew not the news
which he brought, but immediately the beat of drums summoned
all to arms. In less than an hour, a strong
party of cavalry and infantry, in the darkness, were on
the march. General Andrew Jackson was one of the most

(32:20):
energetic of men. The troops crossed the Cousa River to
the eastern shore, and as rapidly as possible, pressed forward
in a southerly direction towards Talladega, which was distant about
thirty miles. Gradually, the rumors spread through the ranks that
General Jackson had received the following intelligence. At Talladega, there
was a pretty strong fort occupied by friendly Indians they

(32:41):
had resolutely refused to take part in the war against
the Americans. Eleven hundred hostile warriors of the Creek Nation
marched upon the fort and camped befot and sent word
to the friendly Indians within the palisades that if they
did not come out and join them in an expedition
against the Whites, they would utterly demolish the fort and
take all their provisions and ammunition. The Creeks were in

(33:03):
sufficient strength to accomplish their threat, The friendly Indians asked
for three days to consider the proposition. They stated that
if at the end of this time they did not
come out to join them in an expedition against the Whites,
they would surrender the fort. The request was granted instantly.
An Indian runner was dispatched to inform General Jackson at
Fort Struther of their danger and to entreat him to

(33:26):
come to their aid. Hence the sudden movement. The Creek
warriors had their scouts out carefully watching, and were speedily
apprized of the approach of General Jackson's band. Immediately they
sent word into the fort to the friendly Indians there
that the American soldiers were coming with many fine horses
and richly stored with guns, blankets, powder, bullets, and almost

(33:46):
everything else desirable. They promised that if the Indians would
come out from the fort and help them attack and
conquer the Whites, they would divide the rich blunder with them.
They assured them that by thus uniting, they could easily
gain the victory over the Whites, who were the dead
of their whole race. The appeal was not responded to.
A little south of the fort there was a stream which,

(34:06):
in its circuitous course, partially encircled it. The bank was high,
leaving a slight level space or meadow between it and
the stream. Here the hostile Indians were encamped and concealed
from any approaches from the north. It was at midnight
on the seventh of December that Jackson set out on
this expedition. He had with him for the occasion a
very strong force, consisting of twelve hundred infantry and eight

(34:29):
hundred cavalry. When they reached the fort, the army divided,
passing on each side, and again uniting beyond as they
approached the concealed encampment of the enemy. While passing the fort,
the friend the Indians clamored the palisades and shouted out
joyously to the soldiers, how de do brother, How de
do brother? The lines meeting beyond the fort formed for battle.

(34:51):
No foe was visible. Nearly a thousand warriors, some armed
with arrows, but many with rifles, were hidden but a
few rods before them, beneath the curving bank, which was
fringed with bushes. Major Russell, with a small party, was
sent cautiously forward to feel for the enemy and to
bring on the battle. He was moving directly into the curve,
where a concentric fire would soon cut down every one

(35:13):
of his men. The Indians in the fort perceived his
danger and shouted warning to him. He did not understand
their language. They made the most earnest gestures. He did
not comprehend their meaning. Two Indians then leaped from the fort, and,
running toward him, seized his horse by the bridle. They
made him understand that more than a thousand warriors, with
rifle in hand and arrows on the string, were hidden

(35:36):
at but a short distance before him, ready to assail
him with a deadly fire. The account which Krocat gives
of the battle, though neither very graphic nor classic, is
worthy of insertion here as illustrative of the intellectual and
moral traits of that singular man. This brought them to
a halt, and about this moment the Indians fired upon them,
and came rushing forth like a cloud of Egyptian locusts,

(35:59):
and screaming, like all the young devils had been turned loose,
With the old devil of all at their head. Russell's
company quit their arses and took into the fort. Their
horses ran up to our line, which was then in view.
The warriors then came yelling on meeting us, and continued
till they were within shot of us. When we fired
and killed a considerable number of them. They broke like

(36:20):
a gang of steers and ran across to the other line.
And so we kept them running from one line to
the other constantly under a heavy fire, till we had
killed upward of four hundred of them. They fought with
guns and also with bow and arrows, but at length
they made their escape through a part of our line,
which was made up of drafted militia, which broke ranks
and they passed. We lost fifteen of our men, as

(36:43):
brave fellows as ever lived or died, we buried them
all in one grave, and started back to our fort.
But before we got there, two more of our men
died of wounds they had received, making our total loss
seventeen good fellows in that battle. End of Chapter Recording
I Brett Downey