Capt. Estill, captive. The Indians imme. diately and hastily retreated, in consequence of a highly exaggerated account which Munk had given them of the strength of the station, and number of fighting men in it. No sooner had the Indians commenced their retreat, than the women in the fort (the men being all absent except one of the sick list) despatched two boys, the late Gen. Samuel South and Peter Hacket, to take the trail of Capt. Estill and his men, and, overtaking them, give information of what had occurred at the fort. The boys had sucseeded in coming up with Capt. Estill early on the morning of the 21st, between the mouths of Drowning creek and Red river. After a short search, Capt. Estill's party struck the trail of the retreating Indians. It was resolved at once to make pursuit, and no time was lost in doing so. Five men of the party, however, who had families in the fort, feeling uneasy for their safety, and unwilling to trust their defense to the few who remained there, returned to the fort, leaving Capt. Estill's party thirty-five in number. These pressed the pursuit of the retreating Indians as rapidly as possible, but night coming on, they encamped near the Little Mountain, at present the site of Mount Sterling. Early next morning, they put forward, being obliged to leave ten of the men behind, whose horses were too jaded to travel further. They had not proceeded far until they discovered, by fresh tracks of the Indians, that they were not far distant. They then marched in four lines until about an hour before sunset, when they discovered six of the savages helping themselves to rations from the body of a buffalo, which they had killed. The company was ordered to dismount. With the usual impetuosity of Kentuckians, some of the party fired without regarding orders, and the Indians fled. One of the party, a Mr. David Cook, who acted as ensign, exceedingly ardent and active, had proceeded in advance of the company, and sering an Indian halt, raised his gun and fired. At the same moment another Indian crossed on the opposite side, and they were both levelled with the same shot. This occurring in view of the whole company, inspired them all with a high degree of ardor and confidence. In the mean time, the main body of the Indians had heard the alarm and returned, and the two hostile parties, exactly matched in point of numbers, having twenty-five on each side, were now face to face. The ground was highly favorable to the Indian mode of warfare; but Capt. Estill and his men, without a moment's

hesitation, boldly and fearlessly commenced an attack, and the latter as boldly (for they were picked warriors) engaged in the bloody combat. It is, however, disgraceful to relate, that, at the very onset of the action, Lieut. Miller, of Capt. Estill's party, with six men under his command, "ingloriously fled" from the field, thereby placing in jeopardy the whole of their comrades, and causing the death of many brave soldiers. Hence, Estill's party numbered eighteen, and the Wyandots twenty-five.

The flank becoming thus unprotected, Capt. Estill directed Cook, with three men, to occupy Miller's station, and repel the attack in that quarter, to which this base act of cowardice exposed to the whole party. The Ensign and his party were taking the the position assigned, when one of them discovered an Indian and shot him, and the three retreated to a little eminence whence they thought greater execution could be effected with less danger to themselves, but Cook continued to advance without noticing the absence of his party until he had discharged his gun with effect, when he immediately retreated, but, after running some distance to a large tree, for the purpose of shelter in firing, he unfortunately got entangled in the tops of fallen timber, and, halting for a moment, received a ball which struck him just below the shoulder blade, and came out below his collar bone. In the mean time, on the main field of battle, at the distance of fifty yards, the fight raged with great fury, lasting one hour and three quar

ters.

On either side wounds and death were inflicted, neither party advancing nor retreating. Every man to his man, and every man to his tree." Capt. Estill, at this period was covered with blood from a wound received early in the action; nine of his brave companions lay dead upon the field; and four others were so disabled by their wounds, as to be unable to continue the fight. Capt. Estill's fighting men were now reduced to four. Among this number was Joseph Proctor.

Capt. Estill, the brave leader of this Spartan band, was now brought into personal conflict with a powerful and active Wyandot warrior. The conflict was for a time fierce and desperate, and keenly and anxiously watched by Proctor, with his finger on the trigger of his unerring rifle. Such, however, was the struggle between these fierce and powerful warriors, that Proctor could not shoot without greatly endangering the safety of his captain. Estill had had his right arm broken the preceding summer, in

an an engagement with the Indians; and, in the conflict with the warrior on this occasion, that arm gave way, and in an instant his savage foe buried his knife in Capt. Estill's breast; but in the very same moment, the brave Proctor sent a ball from his rifle The survivors to the Wyandot's heart.

then drew off as by mutual consent. Thus ended this memorable battle. It wanted nothing but the circumstance of numbers to be the most memorable in ancient or modern times. The loss of the Indians, in killed and wounded, notwithstanding the disparity of numbers after the retreat of Miller, was even greater than that of Capt. Estill.

It was afterwards ascertained by prisoners who were recaptured from the Wyandots, that seventeen of the Indians had been killed and two severely wounded. This battle was fought on the same day with the the disasterous battle of the Blue Licks, March 22d, 1782. The chief who led on the Wyandots with so much desperation, fell in the action. The coolness and bravery of Proctor, during this bloody engagement, were unsurpassed; and after the battle, he brought from the field, and most of the way to the station, (a distance of 40 miles,) on his back, his wounded friend, the late brave Col. William Irvine, so favorably known in Kentucky.

In an engagement with the Indians at the Pickaway towns, on the Great Miami, Proctor killed an Indian chief. He was a brave soldier, a stranger to fear, and an ardent friend to the institutions of his country. He made three campaigns into Ohio, in defense of his country, and in suppressing Indian wars. He had fought side by side with Col. Daniel Boone, Col. Calloway, and Col. Logan.

He joined the Methodist Episcopal Church, in a fort in Madison county, Ky., under the preaching of Rev. James Hawkes. He was ordained by Bishop Asbury, in Clarke county, Kentucky, in 1809. He had been a local preacher more than half a century, and an exemplary member of the Church for sixty-five years.

He was buried with military honors. The several military companies of Madison and Estill counties, with their respective officers, and more than a thousand citizens, marched in solemn procession to the grave.

Eggs and Poultry in England.-In the three years ending with 1843, upwards of 150,000,000 of eggs were imported into England, and in two years the value of fóreign Poultry brought in, living and dead, was £600,000!

FOREIGN TRAVELS.

Greece in 1844; or, a Greek's Return to his Ndtive Land-a narrative, edited by THEODORE DWIGHT, JR.

CHAPTER IX.

Visit to Euboea continued.-Marcópolo.Approach to Euboea.-The Euripus.-The bridge.-Remarkable currents and tides.Chalcis.-Antiquities.

Late in the afternoon we came in signt of a house of considerable size, in a lonely situation, where I was informed we were to stop for the night. The place had been known to the Turks, in their day, by the name of Marcopolo, which means, in Turkish, the son of Mark. The master of the house was a Greek, who had been abroad, and, from his acquaintance in foreign countries, had undertaken to introduce an improved plan of inn-keeping into that part of the country. He was so far successful, that we found the house commodious, well furnished, and well attended. Although not equal to the foreign hotels in Athens, (a thing, indeed, not reasonably to be expected,) it has the reputation of being the best country public house in Greece.

The next morning, about seven o'clock, we set off again on our journey, and travelled over a pleasant tract of country, generally level, where nothing of particular interest presented itself to view. At length we reached the borders of the sea, and travelled along the shore, where a fine bay spread northward for several miles. Opposite, and at no great distance, appeared the eastern part of Euboea, presenting a range of mountains, which stretches far away towards the north. The nearer part seemed, at first, at such a short distance, that nothing appeared to be wanting but a bridge, of moderate length, to afford a direct passage from shore to shore. But the want of one, caused by the actual breadth of the water, (probably nearly two miles,) made it necessary to take a considerable circuit towards the left; and our ride along the curving shore, and part of the time on the very beach, occupied us the remainder of the day (four hours), till about five o'clock. At that time we found ourselves at the spot where the main land and the island approach each other most nearly. Indeed, they are almost in contact-the arm of the sea which separates them being in that place not more, I thought, than 80 feet wide, which is about the length of the bridge. This has the appearance of great antiquity. At least the foundation stones are large and worn with age; and some weather-beaten walls adjoining it look like many other antique specimens of mason work which I saw elsewhere.

On our left, and close by the end of the bridge, rose a high and steep hill, on the top of which was a fort, with the national flag flying on the walls. The appearance of the place, as well as the peculiar situation and nature of the eminence, gave me reason to

believe that here had been an important fortress in ancient times, though the present walls are said to be Venetian. We had not time to go up and examine the structure, or to enjoy the fine and extensive view from the summit. The hill is so near the bridge, as completely to command it; and not only that, but also the city at the other end of it. This place, so important in the history of the island, still retains its ancient name, Chalcis, (pronounced Halkees,) which is, as formerly, a noun of the third declension. Of course, when I wished, in speaking of the city by the way, to say of Chalcis, it was necessary for me to say Halkédos"-to Chalcis, "Halkéde;" and when I made it the object of a verb or preposition, I must say "Halkéda." The reader should bear in mind that the modern Greeks pronounce d like th in this.

We passed along by the foot of the hill; and, in crossing the bridge, (which is only about twelve feet wide,) we enjoyed a fine view to the left, up the sea of Euboea; for in that direction, as well as the other, there is a sudden expansion of the water, which extends to the north far and broad, between two ranges of lofty mountains. It is evident from that spot, at the first glance, that this must always have been, as it is now, the main and indeed the only point of frequent communication between the continent and Euboea. Here passed the ancient Athenian armies when they approached for the conquest of the island; here they doubtless fortified themselves above the bridge; and hereby they retreated when compelled to abandon their possession, by the strength of the rising islanders, aided by their allies, or when called back by the invaders of their own city.

Spon, who crossed this bridge in 1675, describes it particularly. He says its whole length is but thirty paces, and it has a tower in the middle, under which he went, then crossing a draw between the tower and Chalcis, through which gallies pass.

A late French writer gives the distance from shore to shore as 110 feet, with a rock in the midst, and says the lions of St. Mark are still to be seen on the Venetian walls of the fortress, on the hill before mentioned. He adds, on the authority of a Jesuit, who resided there some years ago, and paid particular attention to the ebb and flow of the water through the narrow passage, that it sometimes runs at the rate of eight miles an hour. He mentions that there is a daily tide, although there is none in the Mediterranean; but the irregularity is so great, that no calcu lation can be made of the time of high or low water, except at the new and full moons, or of the number of risings and falls in twentyfour hours, though they sometimes, in the quarters of the moon, amount to eight and even fourteen. This phenomenon is doubtless owing to the pressure of the water into the narrow channel, which is a mere funnel, by the winds as they blow from different points and with different forces. This subject,

however, has excited the attention of curious observers long before our day; for Aristotle is said to have committed suicide, by drowning, because he was unable to account for this strange anomaly of nature.

A somewhat important historical fact has been proved, by ascertaining the depth of water at this place. While Xerxes had his fleet stationed in the gulf of Volo, off the northern end of Euboea, 480 years before Christ, he lost a squadron on the eastern coast, in one of the storms still the dread of sailors on that havenless part of the island. The rest of the fleet pursued the Greeks, who were crossing the Euripus, and passed through this narrow strait. Now, as the depth of water there is only three feet between the main land and the rock, and seven between the rock and the island, the largest of Xerxes' vessels must have been of very moderate size.

Agamemnon, as Homer tells us, collected the Grecian fleet at Antis, when preparing for the expedition against Troy; and, although the site of that ancient city has not been ascertained, it is believed to be still marked by some of the most remarkable of the ruins in the vicinity of Chalcis. A little south of the town are some of the remains I have mentioned, constructed of stones of great magnitude, and belonging to that massive style found in different parts of Greece from the highest recorded antiquity, and denominated the Cyclopæan. They are near a large and convenient harbor, which is a good one, central enough for a general rendezvous, and, at the same time, nothing is known of the place that seems to discountenance the supposition.

We found the town of Chalcis with narrow streets and many old Turkish houses, left standing through the war, and now inhabited by Greeks, who had before been confined to a suburb, with the Jews. There were some buildings of recent date; for the place is one of considerable trade, as a large part of the products of the island find their way to the continent through it. Of this we saw evidence as we passed through the streets; for there was a considerable display of wool, honey, figs, almonds, and other fruits.

We proceeded to a hotel, where I took up my lodgings, with most of my fellow travellers. My brother, having a friend in the town whom he wished to visit, accepted an invitation to lodge at his house. I was pretty well accommodated, and found the charges moderate, as my food and lodging cost but half a dollar. Having time enough for a walk after our arrival, I made a circuit of the town, and saw many remains of antiquity.

Many of the Samians, who have left our native island to take up their abode in free Greece, have congregated at Chalcis. They have been provided with land by the government, and, in connection with the fourteen families of their fellow-islanders resident in Athens, have a representative in the national congress, whose name, if I recollect, is Ly

curgus.

which have been destroyed, mended or renewed, and after minute observations of the flight of different volatiles, I succeeded finally in constructing a model on a very simple systen, based on a physical law, which triumphantly solves the problem of steering ærostatic machines through atmospheric currents.

By this system, I obtained the decomposition of the ascentional and descensional vertical force of balloons independent of any such mechanical contrivances as oars, sails, wheels, spirals, or steam power.

This new system of giving a direction as desired, consists of inclined planes, so disposed as to cause the propulsion of the balloon through the air one mile per minute.

It is neither ambition nor thirst of money that prompted me to write these pages, but an ardent desire to see the advancement of a science which does not certainly deserve to become the object of ignorant speculators, or to be discouraged by any sensible man.

Let me hope, then, that among the lovers of knowledge and national honor, among those who possess pecuniary means and are able to spare a small portion for the execution of the first arial voyage at the will of a man, some may be found willing to unite with the inventor; and as I have no doubt many will be so disposed, I feel confident they will communicate with the author in order to construct a large machine." [To be concluded.]