men. Along the road over which the main body fled, the dead and wounded lay scattered for several miles beyond the place where Bullet had made his gallant stand. Grant offered no excuse for his conduct of the affair. On the contrary, he justified himself. In his captivity, on the day on which he was taken prisoner, he had his own advantage in mind more than the loss of so many of his men. He says in his report of the engagement, "I am willing to flatter myself that my being a prisoner will be no detriment to my promotion, in case vacancies should happen in the army." French authorities place the loss on their side at the incredibly low number of nine killed and wounded.
Emboldened by Grant's defeat, the French determined to take the offensive, and attack Colonel Boquet in his camp on Loyalhanna Creek before the arrival from Raystown of the forces under General Forbes. Boquet was attacked on October 12th, with great spirit, by a force estimated at twelve hundred French and two hundred Indians under command of DeVetri. The action lasted four hours, when the French withdrew with considerable loss. During the night they made a second attack, but a few shells thrown into their camp compelled them to retreat. In this engagement, Colonel Boquet lost sixty-seven men.
At last, General Forbes considered everything to be in readiness for his own forward movement. Post had returned and reported his success with the Indians on the Ohio; and Forbes felt confident that the conference between the eastern Indians and the provincial authorities at Easton would terminate in a treaty of peace and amity. The road was practically finished, the weather was cooler, and on October 24th, with the rear division of the army, he left Raystown for Loyalhanna Creek, where they arrived on November 1st. It was a week of torture to the suffering officer. His disease had been progressing and he was now carried on a litter over the rough road. Though emaciated and weak, his determined will kept his mind from his illness and on his task; in admiration of this power, the Indians in his force called him the "Iron Head."
The weather turned cold and the mountains were white with snow; then the snow melted and the cold rains fell, and the new road over which the army struggled became deep with mud. The soldiers were still in their summer attire and complained bitterly; still colder weather was to be looked for soon. Some of the officers who had expected to be engaged only in a pleasant summer excursion, were anxious to get back to their homes, and in consequence saw
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