They had not far to go ; for soon they descried them silently advancing in single file as is the wont of these sons of the forest ; but long before

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the troopers had discovered their swarthy foes the sharp eyes of the Indians had seen the horsemen and prepared for action. As was planned, the British horse only skirmished lightly and then fell back, the Indians following them in hot pursuit, until they were within the ambush, where over forty, out of a total of sixty, were killed or captured. When the old chief saw the situation he shouted: "Save yourselves, my children ; my time has come and I am ready," and he fell dead with a bullet in his heart. This leader was quite a well-known man for one of his race, having visited England and been presented at court. He could read and write fluently and had a very good idea of history.

To show what a crude idea the British ministry had of the topography of this country, it may not be out of way here to insert an order received by Lord Admiral Howe :

" As the County of Westchester is in a very unsettled condition, and our troops are much hnrrassed by the ' Rebels,' whenever in that vicinity, you will send a couple of frigates up the Bronx River, to protect our forces and fire into the enemy whenever seen."