river.
On the 14th, having crossed the river, camp was
made about five miles beyond. A few natives ap-
proached, and one of them, accompanied by a boy ten
years of age, entered the camp in a friendly manner.
Gay deliberately raised his gun and fired, and as the
Indian attempted flight, Bailey also fired, and the man
fell. The cry then arose, " Shoot the boy! shoot the
boy ! " but he escaped behind a point of rock. This
dastardly act could not be excused on the ground ot
revenge, as the spot where these men were attacked
two years before was yet four days distant. The folly
of inciting a conflict with the natives, under the cir-
cumstances, was indefensible.
The men had become so excited by past wrongs and present sufferings, aggravated now by bloodshed, that on the following day, after a toilsome march through dust and heat, their insubordination culminated in a quarrel with guns and knives, which continued ^ for fifteen minuter, while threats and curses emphasized their acts. Then once more the firmness of their leader prevailed, and peace was restored.
For several days and nights Young was on the alert for the expected retaliation of the natives ; he doubled the guard, and used extreme caution in passing through the frequent defiles, where the enemy might lurk in ambush. The first night Edwards fired on a party of five Indians stealing through the woods, and frightened them off. The next day there were arrows shot from each side of the road, and several of the cattle wounded, but only one killed.
On the morning of the 18th, when the company entered that part of the country where Turner, Gay, and Bailey had been attacked, Indians were discovered running along the mountain side as if to intercept them in some defile. It was nearly noon, and they were passing between the banks of the Kogue River, when suddenly from the thickly wooded mountains yells were heard, and arrows showered upon those in advance. Young, apprehending such an attack, was