Page:History of Southeast Missouri 1912 Volume 1.djvu/234

 174 HISTORY OP SOUTHEAST MISSOURI reach to the ground within some eighteen inches, the men calculating to shoot beneath the lower end at the Indians, but the latter from their position had decided advantage of this neglected aperture, for the Indians, shoot- ing beneath the battery at an upward angle, would get shots at the whites before the latter could see them. The Indians also watched the port holes and directed some of their shots at them. Lieutenant Spear was shot dead through the head, and his death was much lamented, as he had proved himself an in- trepid officer. John Patterson was wounded in the thi<,'li. and some others were also wounded behind the battery. Having failed in its design, the battery was abandoned after sun-down. Our hope all along had been that the Indians would emerge from their covert and attempt to retreat to where we supposed their canoes were left, some three or four miles distant, in which case we were firmly deter- mined to rush upon them and endeavor to cut them off totally. The men generally evinced the greatest bravery during the whole engage- ment. ' ' Night was now coming on and the reports of a half a dozen guns in the direction of the fort by a few Indians, who rushed out of the woods skirting Bob's creek not more than forty rods from the north end of the fort, was heard. This movement on the part of the few Indians who had escaped when the others took refuge in the sink hole was evidently designed to divert the attention of the whites and alarm them for the safety of the fort, and thus effectually relieve the Indians in the sink hole. This was the result, for Captain IMusick and men retired to the fort, carrying the dead and wounded, and made every preparation to re- pel a night attack. "The men at the fort were mostly up all night, ready for resistance if necessary. There was no physician at the fort and much effort was made to set some broken bones. There was a well in the fort, and provisions and ammunition to sustain a pretty formidable attack. The women were greatly alarmed, pressing their infants to their breasts, fearing they might not be permitted to behold another morning's light, but the night passed away without seeing or hearing an Indian. The next morning a party went to the sink hole and found the Indians gone. They had car- ried off all their dead and wounded except five dead bodies left on the northwest side. From all signs it appeared some thirty of them -were killed or woimded. Lieutenant Gray reported eight of our party killed, one missing and five wounded. The dead were buried near the fort, and a man sent to St. Charles for medical assistance. Lieutenant Gray assumed command." Those who were killed in this battle were: Captain Craig, Lieutenant Spear, Alexander Giboney, James Putney, Antoine Pelkej', Hubbard Tayon and Francois Lemmey. John Patterson, Benjamin Hale and Abraham Letts were woimded. The company was soon mus- tered out and the men returned to their homes. In 1816 a regiment was formed in Cape Girardeau, Ste. Genevieve, St. Charles and St. Louis. John Shaw was the colonel and Levi Roberts was the major. They took no part in the hostilities as the war ended be- fore they reached their destination in Illinois.