INTRODUCTION. ' 279 linians. With the utmost celerity, he passed chap.vh. through the difficult and dangerous wilderness 1712. which then separated the northern from the southern settlements; obtaining on his march supplies of provisions, by hunting parties of friendly Indians ; and, on his first arrival, at- tacked the hostile savages with great and unex- pected fury. In this engagement, three hundred Tuscororas of them were killed, and about one hundred taken prisoners. The survivers retreated to the Tuscorora town within a wooden breastwork, where they were surrounded, and after sus- taining considerable loss, sued for peace. This was granted them; but the Tuscororas who were computed to have lost nearly one thousand men in the course of this war, soon afterwards abandoned their country, and united themselves with the Iroquois, or Five Nations. The expense of this expedition greatly ex- ceeded the scanty means of South Carolina. The most perfect harmony, however, then subsisted between the governor and the legis- lature, and they united cordially in their en- deavours to apply a remedy to their existing scheme of difficulties. The scheme adopted was a public bank. For answering the exigencies of go- vernment, and promoting the convenience of commerce, it was determined to issue forty- eight thousand pounds in bills of credit, to be denominated bank bills. This money was to a bank.
