By this victory the backwoods hunters greatly weakened the British cause
in the south and made easier General Greene's victory over Cornwallis, of
which we have already learned. Thus they took their part in winning the
nation's liberty.
[Illustration: Battle of King's Mountain.]
On returning from King's Mountain to their homes, these pioneer warriors
had to meet the Cherokees again in stubborn warfare. In his usual way
Sevier struck a swift, crushing blow by marching to the mountain homes of
his savage foes, where he burned a thousand of their cabins and destroyed
fifty thousand bushels of their corn.
In spite of this defeat, however, the Indians kept on fighting. So Sevier
determined to strike another blow. At the head of one hundred and fifty
picked horsemen, he rode for one hundred and fifty miles through the
mountain wilds and completely surprised the Indians, who did not think it
possible for an enemy to reach them. After taking the main town, burning
two other towns and three villages, capturing two hundred horses,
destroying a large quantity of provisions, and doing other damage, he
withdrew and returned home in safety. He had made the Indians afraid, and
they were quiet for a time.
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