Tuesday,  I2th.  Maj.  Ferguson,  with  forty  American  Volunteers  and
one  hundred  militia,  got  in  motion  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and
marched  fourteen  miles  through  the  mountains  to  the  head  of  Cane  creek,
in  Burke  County,  in  order  to  surprise  a  party  of  Rebels  we  heard  lay
there.  Unfortunately  for  vis,  they  had  by  some  means  got  intelligence
of  our  coming,  in  consequence  of  which,  Mr.  McDowell,  with  three
hundred  infamous  villains  like  himself,  thought  it  highly  necessary  to
remove  their  quarters.  However,  we  were  lucky  enough  to  take  a
different  route  from  what  they  expected,  and  met  them  on  their  way,  and
to  appearance  one  would  have  thought  they  meant  sincerely  to  fight  us,
as  they  drew  up  on  an  eminence  for  action.  On  our  approach  they  fired
and  gave  way.  We  totally  routed  them,  killed  one  private,  wounded  a
Capt.  White,  took  seventeen  prisoners,  twelve  horses,  all  their  ammu-
nition, which  was  only  twenty  pounds  of  powder,  after  which  we
marched  to  their  encampment,  and  found  it  abandoned  by  those  Con-
gress heroes.  Our  loss  was  two  wounded  and  one  killed.  Among  the
wounded  was  Capt.  Dunlap,  who  received  two  slight  wounds.  After  the
skirmish  we  returned  to  one  Allen's  to  refresh  ourselves.  We  got  in
motion  about  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  countermarched  about
six  miles  to  a  Rebel  Mr.  Jones',  where  we  halted  all  night.
Wednesday ,  ijth.  Got  in  motion  about  eight  o'clock  in  the  morn-
ing and  continued  countermarching  to  a  Rebel  Col.  Walker's  plantation
where  we  met  Capt.  Ryerson  and  Lieut.  Fletcher  with  the  remainder
of  the  American  Volunteers  and  militia.  Here  we  took  up  our  ground,
very  much  fatigued  with  our  enterprise.
