About midnight the Indians stealthily
boarded their canoes and cautiously, but confidently,
swept towards her with muffled paddles. The _Gladwyn_
was ready for them. Not a sound broke the silence of the
night as the Indians approached the schooner; when suddenly
the clang of a hammer against the mast echoed over the
calm waters, the signal to the soldiers in the hold. The
Indians were almost on their prey; but before they had
time to utter the war-whoop, the soldiers had come up
and had attacked the savages with bullets and cannon
shot. Shrieks of death arose amid the din of the firing
and the splash of swimmers hurriedly making for the shore
from the sinking canoes. In a moment fourteen Indians
were killed and as many more wounded. From behind the
barricade the survivors began a harmless musketry fire
against the schooner, which simply weighed anchor and
drifted down-stream to safety. A day or two later she
cleared Turkey Island and reached the fort, pouring a
shattering broadside into the Wyandot village as she
passed it. Besides the troops, the _Gladwyn_ had on board
a precious cargo of a hundred and fifty barrels of
provisions and some ammunition. She had not run the
blockade unscathed, for in passing Turkey Island one
sergeant and four men had been wounded.
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