87
PAPERS OF MIRABEAU BUONAPARTE LAMAR ,
'five·men, and reached the encampment of the Indians a-bbut twelve o'clock at night. Dividing his small force into two equal parties, and placing Major Milam at the head of one of them, he a,dvanc.ed upon the enemy silently and cautiously without being perceived. At a concerted signal, a simultaneous charge at two different points wa-s made upon the savages in t_he midst of their amusements. Being taken by surprise, the Indians suffered much from the .sudden on• slaught; but soon recovering from the shock, they seized their weap0ns a-nd gave battle with becoming energy. At the beginning of the fight General Long slew four of the Chiefs, when by the breaking of his sword, he was exposed to iminent danger, from which he was rescued by Major .Milam.-The battle now raged fiercely. The combatants fought hand to hand. It was a, contest in close quarters between the Bow and the bayonet. The Indians, instead of being intimidated, were rendered more furious by their sever losses, and fought with: increasing desperation. But their valor availed them nothing. Nor- could their superior numbers ensure them victory. After a, bloody and protracted resistance, they were forced to fly. They. fled with the loss of forty of their best warriors lying dead on the field.-At dawn of day the triumphant party, returned to Bolivar Point, and' received the thanks of their gallant comma-nder for their good conduct and wonderful success. As a matter of mere curiosity, we cannot resist the temptation of laying before the good-natured reader a circumstantial sta-tement oi the killed and wounded, as we gather it from the official account ren- dered by Doctor James G. Purnell, who appends to his signature the- digna,torial characters of S. G. R. A. T: which we interpret to mean Sergeon General of the Republican Army of Texas. Two Americans ·were killed, one of them a private by the name of l\Iartin, who expired on the ground, and the other, Captain Kendall Davis, who died af- terwa-rds of his wounds. Among the wounded were two Lieutenants, McFall and Jones, the one being shot in the leg, and the other in the hand; and three privates, Minklin, Ellis and Early. Early had his liver transpierced by an arrow, and to the astonishment of all re- covered without any serious detriment after having had a banda-nna handkerchief inserted in the wound to arrest hemmorage. So at least we ha,ve heard, without vouching for the truth of the statement. The commissary McIntosh received a severe injury in the spine, while the S. G. R. A. T. himself had his cap pinned to his scalp a little over his right eye. The arrow was extricated from the scalp, secundum arf1tm,. by General Long with his broken sword, before the worthy surgeon could render assistance to his suffering compa-nions. To crown the· whole Sergeant Bryant was cut on the foot with an oyster shell, and' Mr. Edington was stung by a Stingaree. Thus of the Americans: there were in all nine wounded and two killed. The loss on the part- of the India-ns as we have just stated were forty killed, and the baI-· ance, we presume to have been all more or less damaged. In this action two Karankaway boys were made prisoners. One· of them was accidentally drowned in returning to the Fort. The, other wa-s retained by General Long. He was a lively, activ.e and au
Powered by FlippingBook