Clemson University - Taps Yearbook (Clemson, SC)

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THE INDIAN WAR 1769 — Silhouetted in the rain against the downcast heavens, a few weary horsemen stared at the muddy plains before them. A man, apparently their leader, spoke: Men, we ' re here. — Grimly spoken, these words gave no hint of the privations that had been en- dured by Daniel Boone and his follow- ers on their long and perilous journey west. After a year in the wilderness, with his brother the only other survivor, Boone returned home; but only to bring his family and others out to the new land. For a year the life was compara- tively peaceful bringing only occasional skirmishes with marauding tribes. Then one day while out hunting Boone was captured by the Indians. Learning of a planned attack on the little settle- ment, he made good his escape and hurried to the fortress to warn them of the impending danger. As men peered anxiously through loop-holes, their wives and children huddled close by to load guns, the hos- tile Indians appeared on the far bank of the river. It was soon apparent that the attack was incited by the British, as new rifles could be seen glittering in the sun. Swiftly the fight began. With yells and whoops the savages raced for the stronghold. The expert marks- manship of the pioneers made each shot tell, but mad with the lust of battle, the painted warriors came on to gain the barricade. Tomahawks flashed, knives glistened red. With the courage and determination that will live forever in the tales of the frontier, the pioneers drove them back. Each shot found its mark, and the Indians fled before the men that fought too fiercely to be de- feated by savage methods. Fires from burning huts were put out, the wounded cared for, sorrow lived through the night. Again the village struggled to carry on its existence — America in the making. A

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' i J V. t «aaB i 4 ii STR AT I O N