Another shot and another Indian stopped, but there were now returning shots. A sudden rush was made by a dozen or more of the Indians, but three shots in quick succession sent them back dragging with them three companions. That deadly aim was disconcerting.
Captain Mitchell says he determined it was time for him to take a part, as he saw some thirty Indians preparing to make a rush. It was then he heard the voice of Anderson.
"My arm is broken. Keep quiet. Can't work the Spencer any more."
From this it would appear that Anderson thought it would be useless to bring Mitchell into the fight, but I have never given Mitchell credit for sufficient courage to enter the fray. When I first heard the story, as it was told by Belden, the White Chief, the thought occurred to me that a few shots fired from another point, just as these thirty warriors were preparing to rush, would have turned the tide of
the battle and saved brave Anderson's life. The Indians could not have known how many might be concealed about them, and the delay and incertainty would have given time and the possibility of Bentz returning with assistance.
But Mitchell remained quiet and the Indians made the rush. Notwithstanding his disabled condition, Anderson did work the Spencer to the effect that four more Indians bit the dust before they dragged him from the brush and killed him. He was laid upon his back, and nine slashes made across his breast, one for each of the nine Indians he had killed.