About two hours after meridian, the Governor let fly the signal agreed
upon with his reserve, which was nothing less than a volley of musketry upon

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the astounded enemy, who were still engaged in hurling stones and firing
the mountains along the supposed route of those who so unexpectedly presented
themselves upon their flank, and rather above them. The Governor's
fire was answered by a sound, which made the hair of many a gallant youth
stand erect—it was the war-whoop from fifteen hundred savage throats at
once—a thing once heard, never to be forgotten while memory lasts. The
Governor himself, veteran as he was, dropped his compase, and seized his
arms. The very trees of the forest seemed to have become moved by the
unearthly discord. The enemy, though completely taken by surprise and
disconcerted for the moment, were not long inactive. As if moved by one
common impulse, each warrior seized his arms and took to a tree or log, so
that, in a few moments, they seemed to have disappeared as if by magic, and
except for the stealthy fire, which they now commenced, the field might have
been supposed entirely abandoned. If any labored under this delusion, they
were ere long undeceived. Never had Gen. Spotswood been placed in such
a position before. He and his little army seemed stationed upon the mountain
side, only as targets for his unseen enemy. He was just beginning to
wonder what had become of his adjunct, when the reserve came swooping
down behind the enemy like an avalanche—Lee and Jarvis seeming to vie
with each other in their eagerness to spring first to the deadly encounter.
At the same instant, the Governor's party advanced to the charge, so as to
assail the enemy at the very moment he was dislodged by the party in the
rear.

Such was the impetuosity of the charge, however, on both sides of the
field, that whites and Indians were very soon indiscriminately mingled in one
general melee, fighting hand to hand, in many instances—while in others,
one of each party fired from behind neighboring trees. Jarvis had early in
the engagement thus ensconced himself, and was loading and firing with
the greatest coolness and deliberation, picking off here and there the most
conspicuous of their leaders. He had been for some time thus engaged,
when, as if by a sudden impulse, he rushed from behind his hiding place,
and closed in deadly encounter with a warrior, his swarthy visage, naturally
frightful, rendered still more hideous, by the ghastly effect of the paint
with which it was besmeared. The encounter between them was long doubtful,
but, as is generally the case in such struggles, the scout was triumphant.
He was not content with a mere nominal victory; for he tied his prisoner,
and immediately regained his arms and commenced firing from the very tree,
behind which his late antagonist had hid himself. The slaughter of the
savages was dreadful, for more than half of them were only armed with
bows, and arrows, and the tomahawk. Nor would they have maintained
their ground as long as they did, but for the precipitate manner in which the
two parties of whites rushed to the encounter—thus giving their enemies
a chance to use their deadly knives and tomahawks. As soon as the Governor
became certain that victory perched upon his standard, he issued orders
to his troops to deal in mercy with the enemy.

While the main body of both parties were thus engaged, in a hand to hand
conflict for the most part, on the very ground of the late Indian encampment,
other portions of the field presented different aspects of the battle.
Lee and a large part of his force had swept down the mountain side with
such impetuousity, that they were borne far past the table land, on which the
general battle raged—carrying with them an equal number of the enemy.
These were engaged in a straggling sort of warfare far down the defile, so
that the whole side of the mountain presented one great battle-field—stretching,
in some instances, for half a mile from the encampment. Long after that
portion of the enemy with which the Governor and his command were engaged,
was entirely vanquished or captured, straggling shots were heard down
the mountain, as if parties still pursued the retreating enemy. In vain the

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Governor ordered his bugles to call in the scattered troops. Many of them
lay bleeding and helpless on their rocky beds. As Lee and his party returned
from the pursuit, most of his men were ordered by him to the assistance of the
wounded—in many instances, four or five being required to carry one man up
the steep activity. When that young officer returned to the presence of
his commander, he fell prostrate, with exhaustion and loss of blood. The
Governor ordered his outer garments to be stripped off, and proceeded in person
to examine his wounds. Luckily they were not found to be mortal. The
old veteran dressed them and bound them up with his own hands, and had him
carried to his tent. Here a new difficulty presented itself. No surgeon had
been provided for the expedition, and many of the troops were wounded with
poisoned arrows, and were suffering great pain. In this emergency, it was
remembered that a student of Dr. Evylin, who had made considerable
progress in his studies, belonged to the expedition. He was speedily required
to doff his military gear, and resume his instruments. Never had
the poor fellow seen such a day of surgery; for the old chief required
the wounded Indians, as well as his own wounded, to be ministered to.

These behests of mercy all attended to, the Governor assembled the
young gentry and the officers of rangers around him, to witness the interesting
ceremony of planting the British standard upon the highest peak
of the Blue Ridge, in the name of his sovereign. They still, however,
called it under the general term of Apalachee, under the mistaken
impression with which they set out, that there was but one chain of
mountains.

After a toilsome struggle from the table land before described, and
upon which the battle had been fought, they at length found themselves
on the real summit of the long sought eminence, and the Governor
planted the British standard upon the highest rock, with due form, and
in the name of his royal master.

It was a bleak and barren spot, made up wholly of huge fragments of
rock, piled up one upon the other, as if in some far remote age, they had
been cast there by a violent convulsion of nature. It was fortunate, however,
that it was thus barren of vegetation in one respect—for it gave
them an uninterrupted view of what has since been called the Valley
of Virginia! What a panorama there burst upon the enraptured vision
of the assembled young chivalry of Virginia! Never did the eye of mortal
man rest upon a more magnificent scene! The vale beneath looked
like a great sea of vegetation in the moon-light, rising and falling in undulating
and picturesque lines, as far as the eye could reach towards the
north-east and south-west; but their vision was interrupted on the opposite
side by the Alleghanies. For hours the old veteran chief stood on the identical
spot which he first occupied, drinking in rapture from the vision which
he beheld. Few words were spoken by any-one, after the first exclamations
of surprise and enthusiasm were over. The scene was too overpowering—
the grand solitudes, the sublime stillness, gave rise to profound emotions which
found no utterance. Nearly every one wandered off and seated himself
upon some towering crag, and then held communion with the silent spirit of
the place. There lay the valley of Virginia, that garden spot of the earth,
in its first freshness and purity, as it came from the hands of its Maker. Not
a white man had ever frod that virgin soil, from the beginning of the world.
What a solemn and sublime temple of nature was there—and who could
look upon it, as it spread far out to the east and west, until it was lost in the
dim and hazy horizon, and not feel deeply impressed with the majesty of its
Author.

Governor Spotswood carried his thoughts into the future, and imagined
the fine country which he beheld, peopled and glowing under the hands of
the husbandman, and all his bright anticipations were more than realized.

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At length he turned to Moore, who sat near him not less entranced, and said,
“They call me a visionary, but what imagination ever conjured up a vision
like that? Oh! 'tis a magnificent panorama; but tell me do you not see,
smoke curling up there among the trees like a blue thread?”

The young officer rose instantly, and gazed into the leafy world below,
and after a long and searching inspection, confirmed the Governor's suspicion.

“It is doubtless the camp of the Indian women and children, waiting for
their warriors, whom they suppose still engaged with us on the east side of
the mountain. It is a happy discovery—haste Mr. Moore, and call our
young men together, and ascertain who is willing to bear a flag of truce to
them. Now is the time to rescue Miss Eiliot, before they hear the disastrous
news respecting their own party from other lips.”

“It requires no prophet to tell who will go, even without summoning
them,” replied Moore.

“You mean Hall! true, true—but would it be prudent, think you, to suffer
him to set out upon such an errand?”

“I do not know, Sir, but Lee says that he fought like a lion, and behaved
in every way in the most prudent as well as gallant manner.”

“Then bring him here, with the scout.”

In the course of little more than an hour, young Hall stood before the
Governor, with the scout by his side.

“Are you willing to carry a flag of truce to the enemy's camp or village,
as the case may be?” enquired His Excellency.

“I desire that privilege of all things, Sir, and am ready to set out.”

The Governor then turned to Jarvis, but started back, and said, “Why,
who the d—l have you got there?”

“This is one of the yaller niggers, your honor—I fout him myself, and
hearin' that you was a goin' to send this young gent with me to the Ingin
village, I thought it best to take him along, 'case he can tell his folks that
we've got lots more of 'em up here, and that your honor will hang one on
'em for every hair in Mr. Hall's head that they meddle with—for your Excellency
knows that they've got quite a curious way of medlin' with people's
hair sometimes.”

“A good idea, Jarvis; but I did hear that you had captured the interpreter,
Chunoluskee—is it so?”

“Sartin sure, but I am, too old a coon to take him down yonder. He's the
best card we've got in our pack, and you know, Governor, it aint always the
best plan to lead off with your trumps, unless you've got a desperate bad
hand, which aint the case with us, by no manner o' means.”

Without farther parley, the Governor instructed Hall to go with Jarvis, and
search out the spot from which the smoke rose, and if he found out the encampment
or village, to offer ten of their best warriors among the prisoners for
the release of Miss Elliot—indeed, to go to any extent in like offers, if necessary,
besides promising them valuable presents, “which,” said he, “we
will ratify when we descend to the mountain. Should they, however, turn
a deaf ear to all your overtures, and break up the encampment and move off,
kindle fires on their trail, Jarvis, and we will station parties ready to cut off
their retreat in either direction.”

The Governor then returned to his own encampment, and our adventurers
commenced their perilous enterprise.