The bullets followed and clipped the twigs about him like scissors.

At last he gained the creek, forded, and mounted the bank on the other side.

Here, instead of safety, he found hundreds of Indians, all busily shooting at the soldiers, who were retreating discreetly in the face of a greatly superior force.

He was entirely cut off from retreat, unless he chose to make a bold dash for his life right through the middle of the Indians.

This he was about to do, when a young Indian, who had observed him, sent a shot after him, and his horse fell dead under him, rolling over and over, while he managed to scramble to his feet.
The shot had attracted the attention of all the Indians in that immediate neighborhood, and there were plenty of them there for all offensive purposes.